STOB regions' Finnish partner, Kainuun Etu Ltd. held the 4th regional stakeholder group meeting on 21st September 2018. Participating and contributing in the meeting were local representatives of State-owned financing company Finnvera, Kainuu's ELY centre, and the Regional Council of Kainuu (IB authority).
During the meeting an update on the current progress of the STOB regions Interreg Europe project and results of interregional learning were presented. In addition, the regional stakeholder group agreed on the content and organizational aspects regarding the upcoming Business Transfer dissemination event to be held in Kajaani in mid-January 2019. The event is co-organised by Kainuun Etu Ltd., The Federation of Finnish Enterprises and other regional stakeholders.
The national-level Good practice MAVI was presented in detail to the stakeholder group; the functional support scheme (FSS) is a joint service co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry, Rural Network Services of the Centres for Business, Environment & Transport (ELY Centres), Leader Local Action Groups, Evira (Finnish Food Authority), and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE). The key challenge addressed by the MAVI service is the need to safeguard the profitability and continuity of agricultural production. Transferability options towards the Regional Action Plan, regarding certain aspects of the Good Practice with relevance to all industries, were discussed between the stakeholders.
The final item on the agenda was confirming the relevance and initial support from from the Regional Stakeholder Group of the proposed Regional Action plan. The three pillars of the Regional action plan are as follows: 1) Regional and national level Business Transfer Platform 2) Good practice transfer, to provide 3) a consolidated and quality-oriented Business Transfer service strongly linked to the opportunity for innovation renewal and growth for local companies. Feedback from the stakeholder group was positive. It was agreed that the action plan will explore in more details the proposed activities and get back for more insights and inputs by the regional stakeholders. The preparation steps will lead eventually to the endorsement of an approved and quantified action plan, ready to be implemented during Phase 2 of the project.
The next Regional stakeholder Group Meeting is planned for Spring 2019.
For more information regarding STOB regions' Finnish partner visit the website here.
