References of MDI (updated 30 th March 2016)

Transcription

1 References of MDI (updated 30 th March 2016) Study on migration in Kanta-Häme region Client: Regional Council of Häme MDI will analyse Häme s regional development and migration during April and May The report delves into the departure and arrival of local and regional motives and will form recommendations to further promote the region s attraction factors. The work consists of three parts: regional profile, structure of the migration and a survey, in which 600 persons will be interviewed. MDI s partners in the work are Innolink Ltd and Dr. Timo Aro as an adviser. The results of the analysis will be published in Vitality and municipality day of Häme on May 11, Camp: Attracting investments to Eastern Finland? Client: Finpro In May 2016 the most central investment attractors from cities, municipalities, regional development companies and regions of the Eastern Finland (Southern Savo, Northern Karelia and Northern Savo) gather together to work on functioning models for attracting investments. The camp scans and enlightens the best investment objects and development platforms and exchanges experiences of the functioning aftercare services of the established companies. The aim is to strengthen the idea of Eastern Finland being an interesting investment target and to find out about best practices in other regions. Innovation camp Komia Camp 2016 Client: Into Seinäjoki Oy Into Seinäjoki has decided to organize an innovation camp Komia Camp 2016 for the food business. The aim of the camp is to build new product, service and application ideas for food distribution and even get the best concepts introduced in the upcoming supersummer in Seinäjoki with visitors. MDI stands for the overall planning and implementation of the camp taking care of recruiting, organizing the camp in April, further working on the camp results in May in a workshop and prize-giving in the Food Business Summit in Seinäjoki in June. Rural digital services, development corridors and regional administrative reform Client: Prime Minister s Office Finland s Prime Minister s Office has made a decision to finance assessment and research activities in MDI takes part in three projects. First of them (ToKaSu), implemented with the Finnish Environment Institute, is related to urban policy as it studies functional regions and potential growth corridors. The second (DIPA) studies developing and diversifying rural services by using digitalization and experiments. The study is carried out with Spatia Centre for Regional Research, Finnish Environment Institute and University of Vaasa. The third study (VAAKA) is about effectiveness, regional administration system, customer orientation and cost-effectiveness in the regional administrative reform. The study focuses on Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centres) and Employment and Economic Development Offices (TE offices) and is carried out with Tempo Economics Oy and Melkior Oy. The studies are due in Regional profiles Client: Study by MDI The aim of the regional profiles is to gather and analyze the current data and study the development of Finnish regions since Apart from the statistical data, the work consists of a strategy analysis and qualitative data gathered with a survey. The study is carried out in Spring 2016.

2 Developing of the city centre of Seinäjoki Client: Into Seinäjoki Oy Into Seinäjoki has started a project called Operation Our Seinäjoki Have your say on the development of the city centre of Seinäjoki. The project aims at user-oriented mapping citizens and others actors visions about how should the city centre of Seinäjoki look like and what functions and facilities should the city centre (restricted area) have. MDI carries out three intensive workshops for Into Seinäjoki in the beginning of February The workshops aim at collecting different stakeholder groups views about developing of the city centre. Voice of the travellers Clients: Finnish Transport Agency and Finnish Transport Safety Agency MDI studies different approaches to gather user views from mobility and transport system in a genuine and continuous manner. The approach aims at increasing understanding of the average client and at developing the transport system travel chains and mobility service from the traveller s point of view and taking into account her wishes, needs and behaviour. The most important in creating a new approach is to understand the legal status and trends of civic participation and to see the possibilities the new technology offers. The work is carried out in two expert workshops in January-February and will be finalised in Spring The clients of the work are Finnish Transport Agency and Finnish Transport Safety Agency. Updating the Roadmap for Urbanization Clients: Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT (CFCI), Building Information Group, The Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions, Finnish Construction Trade Union, Hypo Bank, cities of Espoo, Hämeenlinna, Kuopio, Lahti, Tampere and Turku The first Roadmap for Urbanization was finalized in March The report provided background material for the preparation of the Government Programme. The role of the cities as creators of the growth and in strengthening of the vitality is facing a new challenge with the renewing of the regional administration system. The work produces a report that includes a description of the views of Finnish urbanization based on the best disposable knowledge and an action plan for the upcoming urban building needs in Finnish cities and growth corridors. A special attention is paid to the role of the cities, renewing division of labour between different actors and financing of the future infrastructure investments. The work id carried out in workshops during Spring The clients are the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT (CFCI), Building Information Group, The Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions, Finnish Construction Trade Union, Hypo Bank and cities of Espoo, Hämeenlinna, Kuopio, Lahti, Tampere and Turku. The report can be found here (in Finnish): Evaluation of the regional programme Client: Regional Council of the Northern Savo Region Northern Savo Region carries out an external evaluation of the regional programme in the beginning of The regional programme implements the regional plan that aligns the development of the region until The work is carries out in a straightforward way with a survey, interviews and a workshop. The current renewal of the regional administration system brings a special touch to this work. MDI participates in the evaluation as a subcontractor for TK-Eval. The client is the Regional Council of the Northern Savo Region and the work is due in summer

3 Sparring the economic development strategy in Pielinen Karelia Client: Pielinen Karelia Development Centre Ltd PIKES MDI spars the preparation of the economic development strategy in Pielinen Karjala (Lieksa, Nurmes, Valtimo) in Spring The work includes helping draft the basic elements of the strategy with a workbook and two workshops in Nurmes and Lieksa. Pielinen Karelia Development Centre Ltd PIKES stands for writing the strategy, MDI spars the work remotely and comments the drafts during spring. The work is carried out on a Google Docs document and is due in Spring Updating the economic development strategy in Central Karelia Client: Central Karelia Development Company Keti Ltd MDI carries out an updating of the economic development strategy for Central Karelia Development Company Keti Ltd. The work aligns the premises of economic development and vitality and draws situational awareness and desired objective. The work is carried out in a tight cooperation with the development company s personnel and regional stakeholders. The work is due in Spring Planning the regional forecasting approach in Satakunta Region Client: The Regional Council of Satakunta The Regional Council of Satakunta is renewing its forecasting work towards governance of the anticipated structural change. The work enhances using of forecasting, preparedness of economic renewal, smart specialization and reinforcing the culture of experimenting. The anticipated structural change makes a part of continuous strategy work and decision-making, needs strong strategies that can handle the future and has to be implemented in a resilient manner. MDI supports the Regional Council of Satakunta in renewing the approach, focusing especially on forecasting and tracking. The work is due in May Urban Network Study 2015 Client: Study by MDI MDI updated the Urban Network Study that has monitored and developed the national urban network and Finnish urban regions for 20 years (1995, 1998, 2001, 2006). The method, a statistical analysis, was kept as unchangeable as possible to make longitudinal comparison ( ) possible. According to the study there are now 30 functionally relevant urban regions. The number of the regions has dropped, but there are more strong regional centres than in the middle of the 90s. The Urban Network Study, its background articles and statistics (in Finnish) can be found on Available funding sources for the implementation of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Client: Interact Point Turku The Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region doesn t have it s own financing, but it is co-dependent on other financing sources. MDI scanned with its European partners possible financing opportunities for the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and studied with interviews what kinds of needs do the stakeholders have related to the inventory of funding sources. MDI acted as a subcontractor for Spatial Foresight. The work was due in January Mobility as a Service in the Growth Corridor of Finland Client: Growth Corridor of Finland Network / City of Hämeenlinna Growth Corridor of Finland aims at being the leading European smart transport experiment base by To make this true, MDI interviewed 22 experts regarding developing Mobility as a Service in the Growth Corridors. The work was due in December

4 Bicycle The missing wheel of MaaS? Client: Finnish Transport Agency MDI takes part in studying what is the status of bicycling in MaaS (Mobility as a Service) abroad and in Finland. The work maps best practices and successful experiments and evaluates how they could be made use of in Finland. MDI studies especially the role of different organizations and practical possibilities in Finnish cities. MDI acts as a subcontractor for Sweco. The work was due in Vitality rocket Client: City of Kouvola MDI constructs a vitality rocket for Kouvola. It consists of economic development, accessibility, business friendliness, planning, housing and land use policies. The result is a concrete, compact and clear programme for enhancing and highlighting the vitality of Kouvola that includes the most important measures and development areas. The work acts as a motherboard for several on-going programmes, such as the employment programme, development of competitiveness, attractiveness, knowledge base, economic development and rural development. The work is due in March Vitality indicators in the City of Pori Client: City of Pori MDI sparred the City of Pori in updating the vitality strategy, especially the indicators and strategy process. The project studied competitiveness indicators, monitoring practices and urban community strategies used in the biggest Finnish cities. The project made a proposal on the method to draft a continually developing strategy the main idea being self-assessment and monitoring. It is not as important to define indicators than to steer the setup of stakeholders towards implementing of the programme. Another important thing is to infect attitude: what kind of promises, questions, experiments and partners will make the strategy happen. The work was due in December Various studies for the European Investment Bank Client: European Investment Bank MDI takes part in a European consortium that has carried out various studies for the European Investment Bank related to ESI Funds. MDI acted as a subcontractor for Spatial Foresight. In 2015 the tasks included translation and mapping of the Finnish needs. Strategy workshop Client: Seinäjoki Art Design Week MDI carried out a strategy workshop for Seinäjoki Art & Design Week that aimed at focusing the core of the SADW Cooperation Network. Questions like What SADW does and what it doesn t do, what it is and what it is not were dealt in the workshop. This aligned the rules and future activities of the network. MDI carried out the strategy day as a pro bono work. Role of regional development companies in national economic policy Client: Association of Regional Development Agencies in Finland, SEKES ry Association of Regional Development Agencies in Finland, SEKES ry has commissioned a study from MDI to clarify the role of the regional development companies in national economic policy. The study makes an international peer study from cases of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands regarding interpretations of project funding for regional development companies. 3

5 Sparring of local cooperation Client: Joint Municipal Authority of Eastern Lapland In September an October 2015 MDI studied the regional cooperation model of Kemijärvi, Salla, Savukoski and Pelkosenniemi municipalities. MDI studied how the regional cooperation could be executed in a more flexible and economical way. The options are further developing the current organisational model, a registrated association, company model or functioning without a separate organisation, for example as a cooperation group of municipal leaders. The work took into account special circumstances and future possibilities and arising needs for cooperation in Eastern Lapland. Strategy sparring Client: Nykarleby Kraftverk Ab Nykarleby Kraftverk Ab is an energy company owned by the Uusikaarlepyy city. The former city establishment was incorporated in the beginning of MDI spars the Board of Directors and management with a three-day workshop series. The aim was to clarify the shared vision of the development needs of the company. The work was due in December Network training Client: Posintra Ltd Posintra is creating a new learning environment and starting a new digital platform for local businesses and municipalities within social and health care sector in Eastern Helsinki Region. MDI carries out network training for the actors in order to bring together the different parts and to act as a cooperation forum. The network training strengthens mutual trust of the partners and improves the conditions for a sustainable and effective change of approaches. The work is due in December Business and effective public services with mass data Client: Prime Minister s Office Finland MDI takes part in a consortium led by ETLA, the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, that analyses the use of mass data. The research is financed by the Prime Minister s Office. The aim is to provide data about economical effects and business potential of mass data in different sectors. Developing the approaches to my data is an important step in creating a better functioning digital world. My data ecosystem needs a reliable way of communicating between different actors. This connects the project to the biggest six cities in Finland and to their Open Data top project. The work is due in April Regional Rural Network days Client: Rural Network Services MDI carries out six Regional Rural Network days in The aim of a network day is to gather rural developers and create an active and goal-oriented network that enhances and supports the implementation of the Rural Development Programme for The network days will be held in Lapland, Kainuu Region, Northern Ostrobothnia Region, Ostrobothnia Region, Southern Ostrobothnia Region and Åland Islands. The client is the Rural Network Services in the Agency of Rural Affairs. Sparring the city strategy Client: City of Seinäjoki City of Seinäjoki wants their strategy be a strategy of renewal and news tasks. When the current city council period ends in Spring 2017, the task of the new city council is to renew the city strategy. The starting point for renewing is exceptional: the duties of the municipalities will change drastically due to the decision and restructuring of social and health care sector and the economical downturn of the public sector. MDI spars the preparation of the new strategy in Autumn 2015 and Spring 2016 with its expert team. The aim is to challenge the city with new ways of thinking, creative solutions and courage to step out of the box. 4

6 Competitiveness of Lahti Region Client: LADEC MDI carried out a competitiveness study for Lahti Region. The study was based on a heavy data mining and qualitative analysis of the strategies that focused on reacting in structural changes. The comparative study was made between Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Joensuu, Pori, Helsinki, Hämeenlinna and Tampere Regions. MDI s Regional Development Expert Timo Aro conducted the data mining. The study was due in September MaaS Vision and effects 2025 Client: Ministry of Transport and Communications and five other organisations The idea of MaaS (Mobility as a Service) has been a bubbly topic for over a year in Finland and abroad. MaaS has wide effects in development of society and service businesses. MDI carried out a broad effectiveness study of MaaS. The work focused on gathering, filtering and simplifying information. The work had three phases: 1) trends, 2) roles and 3) road map. The most essential task was to reinforce the decisionmakers understanding of possibilities of MaaS, creating a favourable ecosystem and linking MaaS into other development themes. The work was due in August Evaluation of the MAL Network Client: Tampere City Region MDI evaluated the operating of the MAL Network. The MAL Network is a national network for land use, housing and transport. Since 2012 the MAL Network has continued as a cooperation forum for 16 cities, regions, civil service, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities and research organisations. The work focused on evaluation how the network has functioned and on sparring thoughts to ensure the perseverance of the work. The evaluation was due in September Evaluation of Farm Energy Programme Client: Motiva Ltd The Farm Energy Programme is a voluntary agreement for improving energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in Finnish farms. Farms were entitled to join the programme until the end of MDI evaluated the activities in the programme during the years The main purpose of the evaluation work was to gather a comprehensive understanding of the outputs and functionality of the programme as well as to draft development proposals for the future, as the National Energy Efficiency Agreements is currently under renewal. Motiva Ltd commissioned the evaluation that was due in October KomiaCamp Innovation Camp Client: Into Seinäjoki Ltd Into Seinäjoki Ltd hosted a 30-hour innovation camp, KomiaCamp in Seinäjoki The camp produced new software and application ideas for agriculture and transport. The AgroApps group had three teams developing new applications for farmers, consumers and authorities. The Digital Services for Transport group had two teams competing for new business ideas in themes of search and route applications and Mobility as a Service. In total 70 participants took part in the camp, varying from entrepreneurs to researchers, transport engineers, developers and authorities. MDI stood for the overall planning and executing of the camp and of guiding the groups. 5

7 Porkkala Municipality of the future Client: Reenpää, Herlin, Bergh MDI took part in ventilating thoughts around the Municipality of the future, making a case of Porkkala city. The municipal level needs revolution new thinking, experiments and ways of acting. It is time to get rid of the thought of one model for a municipality. We have to find various solutions around Finland different models for in different regions. Municipalities of Inkoo, Kirkkonummi and Siuntio make a great platform for experimenting around Municipality of the future and around the framework region solutions around metropolis. The founding fathers of the idea have beer professor Heikki A. Reenpää, Kaj-Gustaf Bergh and Antti Herlin. The idea was published at Reenpää s estate Loviselund in 11th June The report and more information in Finnish and Swedish can be found at porkkala.info. Cooperation methods and tools applied by European Structural and Investment Funds programmes for to support implementation of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Client: INTERACT Point Turku As a part of a European cooperation network MDI analysed the implementation of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region in the European Structural and Investment Funds programmes for The analysis paid special attention to cooperation methods and tools. MDI acted as a subcontractor for Spatial Foresight. The work was due in April Process descriptions for regional business services Client: Keuke, Development Centre Ltd. Helsinki Region North Well-functioning regional business services are the cornerstone in developing business and vitality at the regional level. Developing the multiorganizational services as common processes improves the understanding of the regional service package and reduces the risk of partial optimization. MDI works with Keuke, Development Centre Ltd. Helsinki Region North in a close cooperation to describe the business service processes. The work includes days at the client, regional workshops to strengthen the common understanding, a testing day for the entrepreneurs and tailored mentorings for the business advisors. The work is due in November Sparring the Rural Network Client: Rural Network Services Rural Network contributed in implementing the Rural Development Programme MDI sparred the Rural Network in drawing the action plan, organizing the network activities and collecting the local networks. The job included a network training, workshop and implementation of the Rural Network Day. The work was due in March Defining the development activities of the archipelago in Eastern Uusimaa region Client: Posintra Ltd Eastern Uusimaa region has implemented the Archipelago Programme since The Finnish archipelago has a great potential, but as a development environment it is not too easy since the business and financing environment are in choppy water. Posintra ordered help from MDI to navigate the development in Porvoo, Loviisa and Sipoo. The chart helps the entrepreneurs and regional developers in the archipelago to draw buoys for future endeavours. The work was due in March

8 Study on the development needs of the metropolis policy in Helsinki Region Clients: Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Finance Metropolis policy has been on the agenda since The spear themes of the policy are land use, housing and transport, international competitiveness of the region, immigration and social coherence. MDI assessed the needs to develop the policy. The core of the assessment was targeted towards the policy approach that has been thanked for its pragmatism and focusing on essential questions. The challenges have lied in strengthening the actors and further developing the regionally differentiated policies. The work was due in February Effectiveness of the regional and local rural development plans Client: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry MDI carried out a study on the implementation and effectiveness of rural development plans of 15 Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centres) and 55 local action groups (LAGs). The study also contributed in recommendations for further developing the qualitative and quantitative indicators. MDI acted as the lead partner in the consortium that consists of Avaintaito Osuuskunta Suomi, Ruralia Institute at the University of Helsinki and Spatia at the University of Eastern Finland. Common strategy document for Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVIs) and Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELYs) Client: Ministry of Finance The steering model for AVIs and ELYs are being renewed and cleared. The current model of goal setting is divided into three steps. In the future, there will be a two-step steering and planning model that is made for both ELYs and AVIs for the reign of the government. MDI, in cooperation with Tempo Economics Ltd, helped the Ministry of Finance, AVIs and ELYs to prepare a common strategy document. The work was due in March Roadmap for urbanization Clients: The Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions, Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT (CFCI) and 5 other organizations MDI drafted a concrete proposal for a roadmap for urbanization. The roadmap included a summary of the approaches, national opportunities and potential actions of Finnish urbanization. The data was collected with a series of intensive club workshops and the results were used in the preparation of the Government Program. The work was due in Updating the strategy Client: Joensuu Regional Development Company JOSEK MDI continued its cooperation with JOSEK and wrote another chapter in its story. MDI updated JOSEK s strategy for The data was collected by interviewing the owners, companies, citizens and other stakeholders of JOSEK. Furthermore, the essential contents of the strategy were formulated on a strategy camp organized with JOSEK personnel and board. The contents were then tested with an electronic survey sent to JOSEK s customers and stakeholders. The work was due in May Workshop to develop Tourism Strategy Client: Council of Oulu Region Northern Ostrobothnia is the third biggest tourism region measured by overnight stays after Lapland and Helsinki Region. The Council of Oulu Region updated its Tourism Strategy MDI held a workshop for the developers and other stakeholders in connection with the meeting of the Tourism Parliament in October

9 Coaching public procurements Client: Innopark Programmes Ltd MDI carried out a coaching session in Hämeenlinna for Innopark Programmes Ltd and City of Hämeenlinna. The coaching consists of planning and executing an afternoon coaching session and conceptualization of a procurement clinic concept and piloting the concept twice. The aim is to build a process for the clients to carry out public procurements in a more innovative way and in a way that enables the procurements to support the renewal of the local economy and developing competitiveness. The coaching program was carried out in September Developing the trackside in Lahti Region Client: LADEC The trackside area makes a great object of investments in both the Growth Agreement and in INKA (Innovative Cities) Programme for Lahti Region. The trackside between Henna in Nastola, Hennala in Lahti, Villähde in Nastola and Uusikylä form a ribbon-shaped area where housing, entrepreneurship, transport and building are developed. MDI carried out two intensive workshops for developing the trackside area giving a starting shot for drafting a roadmap in the future. MDI executed the work in cooperation with Ari Hynynen, Professor at School of Architecture at Tampere University of Technology and Jari Kolehmainen, Head of Research at School of Management at University of Tampere. Sparring the INKA (Innovative cities) programme Client: Tekes the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation MDI coached Tekes the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, INKA cities, regional councils and Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centres) during autumn The aim of the work was to form an opinion of the regional focuses and targets and to harmonize the financial instruments to support the execution of the INKA programme. The work was crystallized in the Mass Centrum in Helsinki in 26 th August Report on a centre for skiing, adventure and nature activities Client: LADEC Ltd Skiing, nature activities and adventure sports are popular in Southern Finland. The Lahti Region is internationally profiled as a sports and specially winter sports region. MDI carried out a research what are the premises of building a centre for skiing, adventure and nature activities. The centre should be both an international centre of excellence and a place for active practitioners. The adventure and nature sports part would bring vitality to the region round the year. The report was due in September Usability testing of the Project Gallery (Hankegalleria) Client: Prime Minister s Office The Finnish Government aims at taking better advantage of research data in the decision-making. The Prime Minister s Office has identified a need for communicating the research data better between users, producers and financers. There is a possibility to use an existing platform, Project Gallery ( MDI gathered users views, feedback and development ideas and tests whether the platform worked well also for the reports and studies financed by the Finnish Government. 8

10 Study on municipal restructuring in the Kainuu region Client: City of Kajaani With Janne Antikainen in the lead, MDI Team studies the municipal restructuring in the Kainuu region by the end of June The main idea of the work is to strengthen the vitality and cooperation no matter what the decisions based on the study are. The municipalities of Kainuu will receive tools for working on their vitality and it is possible to build more compatible, attractive and funny Kainuu based on the work. The most important question is to define what the municipality is now and in the future when the world changes around it. The work is due in May Coaching the economy and innovation services in the Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centres) Client: Ministry of the Employment and the Economy MDI supported the Ministry of the Employment and the Economy in clearing the success factors in ELY centres. The work identified the essential change factors, basic tasks for the future and critical success factors to focus the activities. The aim is to find common resources in the pool of decreasing resources to develop businesses and regional growth. The results of the report aimed at sharpening the economy and innovation services in ELY centres. Study on municipal restructuring in the Oulu region Client: Ministry of Finance One of MDI s partners, Design Director Janne Antikainen has been called to study the restructuring of municipalities in the Oulu region from March 2014 onwards. The work appointed by the Minister of Local Government Henna Virkkunen was started in March and the kick-off was in April Data is collected during the summer and the final proposal was formulated before the due date in December Developing the Helsinki-Hämeenlinna-Tampere growth corridor Client: City of Hämeenlinna The Helsinki-Hämeenlinna-Tampere growth corridor is the most significant development zone in Finland. The corridor has remained on the agendas for years now it has become more vivid also for companies and citizens. To strengthen the functioning corridor in everyday life development ideas were combed out in two workshops. MDI stood for the transport themed workshop in April in Hämeenlinna. The client of the work is Project HHT coordinated by Anna-Mari Ahonen from the city of Hämeenlinna. Harvesting the innovation camps Client: Rural Network Unit, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Rural Network Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry financed five innovation camps in MDI dived into the life after the camps and gathered information about the current state of the ideas. The publication focuses also on the role of innovation camps in rural development and in creating new cooperation in the area. Companies views about the Smart Specialization Strategy of Southern Ostrobothnia Client: University of Tampere Southern Ostrobothnia has been preparing the smart specialization strategy that combines the focus areas of the regional strategy and the horizontal themes that have to be developed in the area. MDI carried out a study for the University of Tampere about the views and opinions of Southern Ostrobothnian companies about the strategy. The work was done with interviews in April

11 Playbook of internationalization in Vierumäki Client: Vierumäki Country Club Ltd MDI drew a playbook of internationalization for Heinola region. The work was related to a project turning wellness tourism into internationalization. The region developed the Heinola region and Vierumäki into a nationally and internationally significant wellness and tourism business driver. The playbook is intended to activate all wellness actors in the area. The work was due in March DG Regio framework agreement Client: DG Regio MDI is part of a European consortium that has been selected as one of the DG Regio framework supplier. According to the decision made in March 2013 the consortium is working in four subsystems that handle the future of the cohesion policy, structural funds and the investment fund through impact assessment and research. The study focuses also on EU policies impact on the economic, social and regional development and the expenses and bureaucracy of EU policies. The consortium has over 100 offices around the Europe. Evaluation of the EU Cohesion Policy Client: DG Regio MDI is part of the evaluation consortium that evaluates programs and their indicator data in ERDF and Cohesion Fund. The evaluation data will formulate a base for the evaluation of the cohesion policy MDI takes a look at the five Finnish ERDF programs (Southern, Western, Eastern and Northern Finland + Åland Island) and Central Baltic program that is governed by Finland. MDI is a subcontractor in the program led by t33, Spatial Foresight and ÖIR. The work is due in Preparing the regional program of Central Ostrobothnia Client: Regional Council of Central Ostrobothnia MDI drew the regional program for of Central Ostrobothnia with 60 regional developers in a workshop held in March The result of the workshop was ingredients for the structure of the new program, focusing the content and finding new ways to implement the program. At the same time the identity of the region was strengthened. Impact assessment Client: Josek Ltd. Taking into consideration the circumstances, Joensuu region has developed well in the 2000s. Despite the structural change in both private and public sector the key figures have been positive. The regional actors ability to react quickly to changes has been thanked. MDI assesses the impacts of JOSEK to Joensuu region during the last decade. Data is collected in various ways and a jury will assess the impact, too. The work will be finished in Impact assessment of business incubator Client: Development Centre Ltd. Helsinki Region North (Keuke) Development Centre Ltd. Helsinki Region North (Keuke) has been vivid for a decade. It has worked actively among supporting and incubating hundreds of companies. MDI assesses the impact of the business incubator by interviewing companies and through a survey. MDI also organized an assessment workshop to work on thoughts for coming years: in the future, the services are directed to more established companies, too. The work was finished in January

12 Innovation activities within wellness sector Client: Posintra Ltd. MDI helps Posintra in developing their innovation activities within the wellness sector by organizing an innovation camp to further develop the idea of a Wellness Centre and to establish one in Eastern Helsinki Region. In the beginning of 2014 there will be an innovation contest to activate and comb service innovations within the wellness sector with series for entrepreneurs, young people and everybody. The contract includes an option to organize another camp to further develop the most interesting ideas during spring Transfer of the invention activities Client: Ministry of the Employment and the Economy MDI helped the Ministry of the Employment and the Economy and the Uusimaa region Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centre) in the process of transferring the invention activities from the Invention Foundation to the Uusimaa region ELY centre. The aim of the work was to clear the vision, strategic actions and development. In addition MDI helped in defining the strategic guidance to promote inventions and measure them in The work was mainly implemented through an intensive workshop round by the end of February Workshop for renewing the management system in the city of Helsinki Client: City of Helsinki The city of Helsinki is changing its management system in The city began to discuss the renewal already in In the workshop held by MDI in the beginning of 2014 the highest political and civil officials listened to key note speeches and discussed the new system during the 24-hour workshop. The workshop worked on the most central theme, questions and national and international benchmarks. Special municipal restructuring of Seinäjoki and Jalasjärvi Client: Ministry of Finance Janne Antikainen, as a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, carried out a special municipal restructuring of Seinäjoki and Jalasjärvi in the beginning of 2014 in cooperation with Eero Laesterä. The study recommended the municipalities to merger in the beginning of Developing the European Innovation Partnerships Client: Rural Network Unit European Innovation Partnership, EIP brings new tools for rural economy. The aim of EIP is to develop grass-root level ideas into agricultural innovations. It brings practical needs and research results nearer to each other. MDI organized two workshops for rural developers about the contents and steps of European Innovation Partnerships. EIP is further developed during 2014 including opening the theme application. The EIP groups begin in 2015 focusing on farmers and other actors forming a group around a specific practical question. Experimenting, piloting and testing are central principles of operation. Development Day for the Rural Network Unit and Agency for Rural Affairs Client: Agency for Rural Affairs The Rural Network Unit moved from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry into the Agency for Rural Affairs. MDI organized a development day for the staff of the uniting organizations to discuss the possibilities a change can bring. The day included common rules for the new workplace, too. 11

13 Regional scanning for resource wisdom Client: The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra Resource wisdom is about the ability to use different resources e.g. natural resources, raw material, energy, products, time and space considerably and by promoting wellbeing and sustainable development. MDI scans quickly Finnish regions and municipalities interest and strategic choices towards resource wisdom. At the same time, the scanning activates the actors to participate in the national resource wisdom seminar on 4 th December More about resource wisdom: Regional innovation camps Client: Rural Network Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry MDI executes a series of five innovation camps in autumn 2013 for the Rural Network Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The aim of the innovation camps is to create, challenge and develop the people, economy and networks of the rural areas. Every innovation camp is implemented based on the need of the region. The camps take 50 hours and during that time chosen blanks are processed further, tested and finally conceptualized. The work is finalized on 3 rd December Additionally, the agreement includes an option for carrying out five camps in Camp ideas for 2014 are sought by the Rural Network Unit. Facilitating a workshop for the digi researchers of University of Helsinki and Aalto University Client: Aalto University MDI facilitated a workshop for digi researchers in Otaniemi. Dozens of the most active researchers gathered in the Open Innovation House to work on the research topics within digitalization. The potential is amazing; Finland will definitely hear good news from Otaniemi also in the future. Study on special municipal restructuring of the municipality of Jalasjärvi and the city of Seinäjoki Client: Ministry of Finance Design director Janne Antikainen, one of MDI s partners, has been called to study the special municipal restructuring of the municipality of Jalasjärvi and city of Seinäjoki. The study is carried out to ensure the statutory services in a way that the municipalities can be merged in the beginning of There was also another person to conduct the study along other experts. To carry out the study, Antikainen worked as an official in the Ministry of Finance until the end of February Evaluation of the development measures of creative economy Client: Regional Council of Central Finland MDI evaluates the development measures of creative economy for the Regional Council of Central Finland. The work is based on years , the emphasis being on years The main questions of the evaluation are how the development of the creative economy has worked as a process, how the projects have improved creative companies and other actors operating conditions and how they have promoted the development of the creative economy in Central Finland. The evaluation finds out how the projects have effected in strengthening the common view and cooperation of the actors, in commitment and in implementing the target setting. The work is finished in

14 Updating the Regional Development Plan Client: Regional Council of Lapland By assignment of the Regional Council of Lapland MDI updates the Regional Development Plan that points out the pursued development and strategy until The update studies effects of central megatrends, factors of uncertainty and changes in values for the vision chosen by Lapland and for the development alignments. The update pays special attention to the competitiveness of the business and industry, knowhow in the region and service structure related to wellbeing. MDI envisions that rising or staying in the group of developed regions requires resources and ability to be renewed. MDI will walk the Regional Council of Lapland from defining the purposes till the final report. The report will be finishes in February Process of the Nature Innovations project Client: Häme Development Centre Ltd. The Nature Innovations project by Häme Development Centre Ltd. aims at creating a national level knowledge centre in Kanta-Häme Region. MDI executes the process that starts by collecting information, ideas and questionnaire and culminates in three workshops in Companies and other actors interested in the nature innovation theme are invited to the workshops. Strategy seminar for municipal council of Kuortane Client: Municipality of Kuortane MDI planned and carried out a strategy seminar for municipal council of Kuortane in Härmän Kuntokeskus The seminar handled the municipality s vision and strategic goals for current council period, discussed the emphases of the economic program and measures for balancing the municipal economy. Earlier that year MDI coached the municipality of Kuortane to update their economic program. Sparring the regional cities Client: Ministry of the Employment and the Economy Regional cities are the second or third cities of their regions. Their success reflects to everyday of millions of people. These 50 regional cities are often important centres of local services and motors of potential growth. Ministry of the Employment and the Economy is starting a pilot in order to develop regional cities. MDI organizes three workshops to spar the regional cities in piloting. The first workshop supports the applications, second prepares the piloting and third is a kick off seminar in January Evaluating the action group and sparring the strategy Client: Seinäjoen Seudun Kehittämisyhdistys Liiveri ry MDI evaluated the activities of program period for the local action group Seinäjoen Seudun Kehittämisyhdistys Liiveri ry. The task was to analyze the impacts of Liiveri and its projects, pick up success stories and gather information for strategy work. In additions, MDI sparred Liideri s new strategy. The report was finished in June Developing the MicroNanoBio Ecosystem Client: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University MDI implements a series of four workshops for VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University in order to create a concept of ecosystem for micro-, nano- and biosciences and for researchers and business to meet in Otaniemi, Finland. The first and third workshops were meant for researchers, the second and fourth invited in also companies and other developers. The result comprises of three scenarios for a MicroNanoBio Ecosystem. The workshop s working language was English. 13

15 Renewing the innovation programme Client: Lapland University Consortium (LUC) Lapland University Consortium is a strategic conglomeration for three Lappish universities. The consortium renewed its innovation programme during summer 2013 and MDI helped in the process. The previous innovation programme had strengthened the cooperation between Lappish univeristies and other actors. The purpose of the new programme is to define the role of universities in the the strategy of smart specialization of Lapland and strengthen the international cooperation. The contents and objectives were defined during a 24h strategy camp in June Story camp Client: Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences wanted to attach a story to its application for authorization for the Ministry of Education and Culture. The project was about telling a story about the meaning of the University of Applied Sciences to the development of Seinäjoki Region and the whole Southern Ostrobothnia Region. Before the camp MDI collected newspaper stories, pictures, drawings, historical depictions, feelings and athmosphere descriptions about the region and the University of Applied Sciences. The camp was an intensive 24h story camp in June The participants collected a map for reminiscencing and a description of the development processes and impacts of the University of Applied Sciences. Apart from the historical analysis the story camp included a future-oriented session where the camper evaluated the impact of the University of Applied Sciences at the moment and during the ten following years. Governance Model for the Rail Baltica Growth Strategy Client: City of Helsinki MDI was part of planning the Rail Baltica Growth Strategy. Rail Baltica Growth Strategy is a joint effort of Helsinki and Berlin and the largest cities between them. It studies prerequisites for a joint growth strategy that rests heavily on developing the transport infrastructure. MDI acts as a subcontractor for KPMG. MDI s special assignment is to present the governance model for the Rail Baltica Growth Strategy. Regional Guidance Plan for Services Client: Posintra MDI draws guidance plan for Porvoo-Loviisa-Lapinjärvi region in Eastern Uusimaa region. The work includes inventorying the signposts of existing services, prioritize the renewal of existing signposts and evaluating the need and urgency of new signposts. The work is based on developing the year-round tourism in Eastern Uusimaa region, so the project has a strong developing point of view. The plan is made in a tight cooperation with municipalities and entrepreneurs. Specialty of the assignment is an Amazing Eastern Uusimaa region race in which teams test functionality of the signposts and services. MDI carries out the study with SITO Ltd and the plan will be ready in early autumn Gathering information about national programmatic development Client: Tillväxtanalys (Sweden) and Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (Norway) The Nordic countries follow actively what happens in the field of Finnish regional development. In spring 2013 MDI gathered the basic information about the national programs of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy for the Swedish Institute for growth policy (Tillväxtanalys) and the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (KRD). The neighbouring countries were especially interested in the discontinued COCO (Cohesion and Competitiveness) Program. In addition to COCO, MDI collected information about the Innovative Cities Program (INKA) and Growth Policy. Sweden and Norway were interested in the contents and implementation of programmatic development work. 14

16 Facilitating the council seminar Client: Municipality of Kirkkonummi MDI carried out workshops for the municipality of Kirkkonummi in MDI built a bridge between keynote speeches and workshops by adding a commenting wall and electronic voting sessions. The aim was to discuss the balancing of economy and the future of Kirkkonummi. The council seminar attracted around 50 delegates and 20 civil servants. Regional workshop of the CREATOR miniprogram Client: Regional Council of Häme MDI carried out a regional workshop of the CREATOR miniprogram for the Regional Council of Häme in Hämeenlinna in 20 th March The aim of the workshop was to create ideas, formulate, concretize and prioritize the development recommendations from the point of view of the Häme region. Some 15 people from the projects and other stakeholders took part of the workshop. Evaluation of the Regional Development Programme of Southern Savo Client: Regional Council of Southern Savo The evaluation was made of the Regional Development Programme of Southern Savo and it was carried out in an intensive and communicative process where it is extremely important to bind the current and upcoming actors of the Regional Programme together. The evaluation looked forward. It reviewed the development program work as a tool for holistic development in the region and evaluated the actual steering impact for the regional development. The work was due in July Evaluation of the project Central Finland anticipates Client: Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences There has been made local anticipation work through projects in Central Finland for decades. Instead of the projects, the anticipation is wanted to be a part of the everyday work of different organizations. MDI evaluated the project Central Finland anticipates for the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. The evaluation consisted of qualifications of the local actors for anticipating. The work included also evaluating the actors commitment and comparing the model of Central Finland to models in other regions. The work was due in June Municipal restructuring of Seinäjoki, Jalasjärvi and Kurikka Clients: Municipalities of Seinäjoki, Jalasjärvi, Kurikka Janne Antikainen carried out the municipal restructuring of Seinäjoki, Jalasjärvi and Kurikka in He proposed the merger of Seinäjoki and Jalasjärvi in the beginning of 2015 and Kurikka later. The merger would give more manageability to the municipalities and resources for developing the public services. This would result in better and more accessible services. Managing and developing would become more efficient a successful region is more capable of taking care of its inhabitants. A growing cake has more to share. Future workshops Client: Regional Council of Ostrobothnia MDI carried out two sparring workshops for the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia aiming to create discussion around the future trends and their impact on the development of the province of Ostrobothnia. The first workshop focused on outlining the future trends and the other on outlining the possible paths i.e. how to react to the change. The workshops were carried out in February

17 Scenario work of the Regional Strategy of Southern Ostrobothnia Client: Regional Council of Southern Ostrobothnia MDI supported the Regional Council of Southern Ostrobothnia in creating the scenario work needed for the Regional Strategy. The scenario work included building alternative scenarios and target states for the development of the region, evaluated the existing and upcoming strengths and identified the critical success factors. As a part of the scenario work, five intensive and thematic workshops were held to assess the future of the region. The work was due in February Evaluation of the Regional Development Program of the Southern Finland co-operation area Client: Regional Council of Päijät-Häme MDI carries out an evaluation of the regional development programs of the Southern Finland co-operation area - Kanta-Häme, Päijät-Häme and Uusimaa regions. The evaluation focuses on how significant role the regional development programmes have played in steering resources and development actions in the regions. Important viewpoints are also how the regional development programmes have strengthened the shared development vision and co-operation, commitment and roles of the actors in the co-operation area. The evaluation was due in March Ex-post evaluation of the Regional Development Programmes of Northern Finland Client: Regional Council of Central Ostrobothnia MDI carried out an evaluation of the regional development programs of the Northern Finland regions (Kainuu, Central Ostrobothnia, Lapland and Northern Ostrobothnia). The evaluation focused on how the regional development program work has functioned as a tool for holistic development in mentioned regions. The work was carried out in two steps: the first focused on environmental changes and on implementation of the regional development programs and the second on deepening the information and on comparing the regions. Strategic openings for mapping out the arctic operation Client: Tekes the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation Tekes the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation - has launched strategic openings for mapping out the arctic operation environment and its possibilities in Finland. The objective is to design a vision and a road map for the concrete activities for the development and utilization of arctic excellence. The project focuses on analysing the sectors of arctic excellence in Finland and it seeks to point out the areas where both research excellence and businesses are interlinked to form a harmonic and competitive value chain. MDI takes part in the work as a subcontractor to the University of Oulu (SMARTIC Roadmap to a smart Arctic specialization) and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (ArctiComp, road map for arctic excellence strategic openings of Finland). The project is due in Study on municipal restructuring in the municipalities of Jalasjärvi, Kurikka and Seinäjoki Client: City of Seinäjoki Janne Antikainen has been chosen to study the municipal restructuring in the municipalities of Jalasjärvi, Kurikka and Seinäjoki that began in January His task is to coordinate and steer the study and participate in the meetings of the study committee. Antikainen acts also as a contact person to the state level and other stakeholders. The conclusions and a proposal of the structure were due in the end of

18 INKA (Innovative Cities) preparation for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Client: Culminatum Innovation Ltd MDI supported Culminatum in the first phase of the INKA preparation for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in autumn The kick off phase aimed at mapping the knowledge potential in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, different states of preparation and national and regional preparedness for the innovative clusters. The kick off also aimed at getting the developers excited about the preparation. The work consisted of document analysis, interviews, survey and the actual kick off. In January 2013 MDI organized an INKA camp in the Finlandia House. During the three-day camp over 250 researchers, developers and representatives of companies and municipalities took part of the camp. The result of the camp was a crystallization of the chosen themes for the INKA program. Developing the innovation environments in rural areas Client: Frami Ltd, Innovation network MDI consulted Frami Ltd in developing rural innovation environments in The first part was to help Kaustinen region and the Southern Ostrobothnia to see their strengths and sharpen the spears of development. The second part consisted of building hubs to rural areas. The aim was to create a unique hub concept to smaller cities in order to create an entity that would interest people on the national level. Ex ante evaluation of Structural Fund Programme Client: Ministry of Employment and the Economy MDI carries out the ex-ante evaluation of the Structural Fund Programme by the order of Ministry of Employment and the Economy. The evaluation focuses on the cohesion policy instrument, Structural Fund Programme for Mainland Finland , partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund. The evaluator carries out research-based evaluation of the program and also gives consultative support for the program preparation. The evaluator provides national and regional stakeholders with information to support the preparation work, undertakes critical evaluation on the proposed priorities and activities, and gives suggestions to the program writers. The ex-ante evaluation is due in summer Ex ante evaluation of the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland Client: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry MDI carries out the ex-ante evaluation of the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland The evaluation concerns the process of developing a policy program the evaluation process allows refinements and improvements to the program drafts in a way that the program objectives will be achieved in a cost-effective manner. The ex-ante evaluation project applies a developmental approach and is therefore performed before the program s implementation. MDI focuses on improving the program as a whole, including its design, its contents, the quality of its implementation, and its effectiveness. With the evaluation, MDI is also producing concrete and instantly accessible / exploitable knowledge for the ministry and different national stakeholders and for supporting the work of local action groups. The ex-ante evaluation is due in late spring The Future of the Larger Metropolitan Area Client: Regional Council of Uusimaa MDI was responsible for organizing six future-oriented workshops in the larger metropolitan region of Helsinki-Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme and Häme regions. MDI was appointed by the Uusimaa Regional Council. The main objectives for the workshop process included describing the common future of the three regions, identifying common development topics and themes, producing insights on joint possibilities and also opening paths for closer co-operation in the future between the regions. The work utilized scorecards that were further worked on in each workshop. Scorecards are also provided in the blog (in Finnish). 17

19 Evaluation of the Regional Development Programme of Northern Savo Client: Regional Council of Northern Savo The Regional Council of the Northern Savo has ordered the mid-term evaluation of their Regional Development Programme for from MDI. The most central goal is to find out the impact of the program to regional development in Northern Savo. Renewal of local economy is the most central issue in the evaluation. Results of the mid-term evaluation are utilized in steering the development measures in the current program period as well as in designing forthcoming program for The evaluation started in summer 2012 and was finalized by the end of the year. Sparring of the Southern and Western Finland program Client: Regional Councils of Päijät-Häme and Central Finland MDI helped the regional councils of Päijät-Häme and Central Finland in preparing of the new structural fund period. The Southern and Western Finland produced the common part of the structural fund program. MDI organized three interactive workshops to enhance the cooperation in and between the regions. The workshops focused on SWOT analysis of the region, defining a common intent for the program and made choices regarding the programs contents according to the regions and national and Baltic Sea Strategy guidelines. Apart from the workshops MDI carried out a document analysis and a survey and interviewed a bunch of experts. The work was done between June and September Evaluation of the axis 5 of the Southern Finland ERDF program Client: Regional Council of Päijät-Häme, EU Office MDI carried out the evaluation of the axis 5 of the Southern Finland ERDF program for the regional council of Päijät-Häme. The aim of the work was to find out in what way the interregional projects have strengthened the knowledge clusters in Southern Finland. The evaluation produced also information for the preparation of the new programming period. MDI cooperated with the Baltic Sea Institute in Finland. The work was due in the end of Planning of the regional development programme for Eastern and Northern Finland Client: Ministry of Employment and the Economy MDI played a central role in designing strategic guidelines for regional development of Eastern and Northern Finland, announced by the Finnish Government in June. Regional Development Programme for Eastern and Northern Finland is the most important regional development initiative of this governmental period. MDI supported the preparation of the program document and background memo, and organized a workshop for a group of experts to gather ideas for the program. Further development of the ideas takes place in the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. Promoting entrepreneurship friendliness in Päijät-Häme region Client: Lahti Region Development Ltd - LAKES Lahti region wants to be the most entrepreneur friendly growth centre in Finland by MDI wrote action plans for the municipalities to promote entrepreneurship friendliness in Päijät-Häme region. Being entrepreneurship friendly means that every public action that affects the business life takes into account the conditions for growth and competitiveness. It concerns preparation, decision-making, development and services directed to entrepreneurs. During the process MDI visited every municipality and interviewed central policy makers and entrepreneurs. The process was due in the end of