Delivering Good Governance and Balanced Local Economy in Finland 

Contributing to the ongoing reform on establishing regional governance for provision of health, social welfare and rescue services in Finland, the project aims to ensure a higher quality and efficiency in the delivery of these public services, notably by assisting the Finnish authorities to: 

• Improve the relevant legislative framework pertaining to good democratic governance at the local and regional level, in accordance with the best European practice 
• Enhance the performance of municipalities and regions through improved awareness, knowledge and skills 

To improve awareness, knowledge and skills of relevant authorities, the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance of the Council of Europe with the support of the Regional Council of Central Finland, will devise a capacity-building programme as part of the larger project. The activities are based on Council of Europe standards and toolkits, in particular the Local Finance Benchmarking (LFB) tool for local authorities and the LFB-tool for central authorities.

What is expected from the municipalities involved? 

• The interest in influencing the future development of the municipal economy and gaining a broader, including international, perspective on one’s own work and the municipality’s economy 

• A committed contact person, who could use his experience to answer the survey about the challenges and the needs of the municipal economy 
• The participation of project event day during the year 2023 (in Central Finland and/or via Teams) 

• 2 workshops with the project experts
• the final seminar 
• An active approach and an open-minded, future-oriented thinking
  

Timeline of the activities

The Regional Council of Central Finland was coordinating the following activities:

Spring 2023  

• Informing and committing municipalities to take part in the project actions 
• Organizing the first workshop day with the project experts and the municipalities involved 

Fall 2023 

• Organizing the second workshop day with the project experts and the municipalities involved 
• Organizing the final seminar in Jyväskylä 
• Gathering of legal and policy recommendations 

Spring 2024 

• Submitting the technical report containing legal and policy recommendations on the fiscal decentralisation and fiscal autonomy of the regional and local governments, and the fiscal impact of the reform 

The project run from 13.2.2023–14.6.2024.  

Further information and signing up for the project activities: 

Kirsi Mukkala
Regional Development Specialist
Regional Council of Central Finland
p. +358 40 595 0002
kirsi.mukkala(at)keskisuomi.fi