The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and 18 university cities, including the City of Oulu, have agreed on separate innovation ecosystem agreements to implement the Sustainable urban development as part of the Renewable and Competent Finland programme. The agreements outline the strategic allocation of public and private RDI funding to strengthen globally competitive ecosystems.
In Oulu, the implementation of the ecosystem agreement is implemented in cooperation within the Oulu Innovation Alliance (OIA): the strategy of the Oulu Innovation Alliance is in line with the agreement.
The vision of the Oulu Innovation Alliance is to be the best digital ecosystem in Europe to create global added value from digitalisation. The aim is to boost the creation, development and internationalisation of high-expertise companies and solve global ecological, economic and social sustainability problems.
The Oulu ecosystem agreement and the OIA strategy target regional efforts in the following areas::
- Digitalisation in a changing urban environment
- OuluHealth – Digital solutions for well-being and health
- Sustainable circular economy and clean solutions
- Start-up entrepreneurship, expertise and continuous learning
- Business ecosystems and their support, and
- The city as a development platform for Smart City solutions
The ecosystem agreement between the City of Oulu and the State (FI).
Agreements focusing on the development of innovation ecosystems will be implemented mainly through the sustainable urban development resources of the EU’s programme period 2021–2027. The City of Oulu, in cooperation with the Council of Oulu Region and the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, annually launches ERDF and ESF calls specifically targeted at promoting the objectives of the ecosystem agreement.
Read more about the ecosystem agreements on the pages of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Read more about the funding sustainable urban development on the pages of the Council of Oulu Region. (FI) .
Second application round
The City of Oulu, in cooperation with the Council of Oulu Region, will open an ERDF project call for sustainable urban development implementing the ecosystem agreement on 7 November 2022. The call will close on 9 December 2022.The second round of applications will provide funding for projects with a maximum of EUR 391,141. The call notice can be found in the EURA2021 system under Open calls for proposals.
The call, which complements the first round of applications in 2022, seeks a project or projects that will result in Oulu becoming the best ecosystem in Europe to create global added value with digitalisation by 2027.
The aim of the project(s) is to boost the creation, development, and internationalisation of high-expertise businesses and to increase investments and RDI funding in the region. The project(s) to be funded will strengthen the business and entrepreneurial orientation of OIA activities, pilot innovations that contribute to OIA objectives and highlight the impact of OIA cooperation through events and communication co-produced with OIA partners.
The projects under the ecosystem agreement will support the formation of business clusters and ecosystems in the selected target sectors, identify the needs and services of the companies belonging to them, promote longer-term concrete objectives and large-scale entities in line with the target sectors and flagship programmes of the Oulu Innovation Alliance strategy, and add value from digitalisation to the everyday services and built environment of the city’s citizens.
