The new strategy of regionalisation seeks to increase the regional presence of the state

The reform of regionalisation legislation will be launched on the basis of the regionalisation reform strategy published today. In the future, the aim will turn from regionalising the location of government agencies to the regional presence of the state. According to the strategy, the presence in the future would be based on the need to organise the tasks of services and authorities, and the presence would be managed in a more long-term and planned way than in the past.

The preparation of the strategy focused on interactivity and dialogue. MDI was involved in supporting the interactive process of strategy preparation and compiled a statistical review to support the work. In January 2020, four regional events were held (Mikkeli, Hämeenlinna, Rovaniemi, Vaasa) to create a common understanding of location-independent and multi-local work and the snapshot of regionalisation, and one national event in March. It was also possible to participate in the preparation of the strategy in an online brainstorming session in February.

In the process of preparing the strategy, young people’s views on working in the state, as well as on multi-location and location-independent work were also heard in the university trainees’ think tank and in the youth municipal survey. The information base we have created has compiled a snapshot of the operating environment of each region, described the differences between and within the regions, as well as the challenges and opportunities they generate.