Finnish Rural Policy and Rural Policy Committee

Content of the presentation

1. Broad and narrow rural policy

2. Development of rural policy in Finland

3. Network, tasks and forms of work of the Rural Policy Committee (YTR)

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Broad and narrow rural policy

• Broad rural policy

• Methodology which aims to take the rural areas and people living in these into account in the activities of the

society in various administrative sectors.

• Narrow rural policy• Instruments of the society whose specific purpose is

rural development.

Rural Policy Committee reconciles broad and narrow rural policy, aiming at efficient utilisation of resources allocated to rural development.

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What is the Rural Policy Committee?• 36 members and alternates of the Committee from 30

organisations, 6th term 20132015

• Secretary General and Secretariat (20 members)

• Thematic networks and regional networks

• Implementers of national rural research and development projects

• In addition, the Finnish rural policy network comprises thousands of actors from the administration, research and education organisations and the private and third sectors from villages up to the international level.

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Tasks of the Rural Policy Committee 1/21. Implementation and follow-up of the Rural Policy Programme 2014-2020

and the Rural Policy Operational Programme 2012-2015 cooperatively between different sectors of administration and external parties to the administration as well as preparation and implementation of the government's rural policies to assist the government.

2. Development of structures and practices in the development of rural policies and rural areas to be based on networked activity and partnership and to support place based policies.

3. Theme-focused development work, especially in the thematic priority fields defined in the Rural Policy Programme.

4. Strengthening of rural research and know-how, e.g., with national rural research and development projects.

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Tasks of the Rural Policy Committee 2/25. Promotion, by rural actors, of national and international networking and

exchange of experiences

6. Development of rural proofing and promotion and monitoring of its implementation.

7. Influencing, e.g., by participating and issuing statements about important rural policy related projects that are under discussion in several administrative sectors.

8. Strengthening of the structures and practices of local development.

9. Improvement of conditions for interaction and cooperation among the countryside, islands and city carried out together with the Urban Policy Committee, the Island Committee and with other parties.

10. Participation in the coordination of national and the EU regional and rural policies.

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Forms of work

• Rural Policy Programme is the action programme of the Rural Policy Committee

• 6th Rural Policy Programme 20142020

• Government outlines for rural policy

• Reports, special programmes, resolutions

• Rural Policy Committee prepares the programmes, participates in their implementation and follows their realisation

• Negotiations, development projects, studies, work of theme networks and implementation reports

1. Programmes

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Forms of work

• Seven networks:

1. Civic activity

2. Quality of life

3. Infrastructure and land use

4. Livelihood and skills

5. Ecosystem services

6. Sparsely populated rural areas

7. Identitetsbaserat nätverk (Identity Based Network)

2. Thematic networks

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Reinforcing civic action• Theme group on civic action at the national level

1. To promote possibilities of the third sector

2. To raise good practices

3. To create discussion on how associations can participate in service delivery beside of public and private sectors

4. To foster different forms of local democracy and citizens’ participation

• State aid for National Village Action Association

• There are almost 3000 local village associations and 2200 village plans in Finland

• Leader method as an important tool in activating civic action and the local rural development work

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Forms of work

• Rural Policy Committee finances projects with the Ministry of Employment and the Economy’s and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s funding

• About 1.5 million euros/year (declined in recent years)

• 25–30 projects funded/year (earlier about 50–70 projects)

• Projects implementing the Rural Policy Programme

• Co-financing of doctoral theses (max. 35 000 euros)• Establishment of nine Rural Professor's posts and their

co-financing• Financing of the rural policy thematic networks

3. National rural research and development projects

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Forms of work

• Approach to take into consideration rural perspective in different sectoral policies in the decision-making processes

• Support for rural proofing from the government (report on rural policy) and the parliament (not mandatory)

• YTR has created a checklist for rural proofing to be used by the central and regional administration

• YTR makes the proofing widely known, promotes its use at all levels and follow-up of the application of proofing and reports on this

4. Rural proofing

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Forms of work

• Producing value added through interaction• Disseminating information on good practices• Utilisation of information and expertise from other

countries in Finnish rural policy

• Objective• Improving the visibility of rural issues and effectiveness

of rural policy in national and international contexts• Internationalisation of rural areas• Establishment of rural policy as an independent policy

sector in different countries

5. International cooperation

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Forms of work

• About 10 publications/year in MEE Publications

• www.ruralpolicy.fi website

• www.tem.fi/rural website

• Survey of the rural areas

• Seminars, fairs

• Newspaper articles, supplements to newspapers and magazines

• Publications, news, statements and press releases of the theme networks

6. Communication

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Further information:

• www.ruralpolicy.fi• www.tem.fi/rural

• Jaana Husu-KallioPermanent Secretary,Chair of the Rural Policy Committee, MAF

• Christell ÅströmRural CounsellorSecretary General of the Rural Policy Committee, MEE