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 PILOT PROJECTS OF THE INNOVATIVE ACTIONS IN THE REGION OF EASTERN FINLAND:
NETWORK SERVICE FOR FOREST OWNERS Applicant: Forestry Centre of Kainuu (other implementers: Forestry Centres of South Savo, North Karelia and North Savo, Finnish Forest Research Institute, University of Joensuu and Union of forest owners of Kainuu) The project will create an independent forest resource and planning service in the Internet for forest owners in eastern Finland. The project will combine the know-how and skills of forest resource and forest management experts in an innovative way by creating co-operation between the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Joensuu, the Finnish Forest Research Institute, forest owners, forestry centres and enterprises offering geographic information services. The main objective is to increase and maintain forest owners’ economic activity by innovative means. Thanks to the new technology, distances between service providers, forest owners and forests do not cause problems in the production of high quality services. The project aims at helping new, innovative forest owners to take over the forestry regardless of their domicile, at contributing to an entrepreneurial way of thinking of the forest owners through learning through the Internet as well as at increasing cost efficiency of counselling services offered to forest owners. The project will improve the flow of information inside the forest cluster and thus increase economic activity. As a product the network service will open up a wide and independent service network, which is unique also on the global level. The East Finnish forest network environment to be created in the project will raise the level of business economic motivation and activity among the participating forest owners and thus increase the money flows in the remote rural districts. The means applied to achieve the set objectives comprise development of well-functioning, client-friendly Internet service products and their testing in the East Finnish network economy environment as well as intensification of learning among forest owners through the Internet. The project costs total 400 000 EUR. GEO INFORMATION CENTRE Applicant: Juuka Stone Museum and Stone Village Foundation (Other implementers: The Geological Survey of Finland) The project will create an innovation environment, GEO Information Centre, to be located in the Finnish Stone Centre. GEO Information Centre is a regional centre of expertise and innovation with national and international contacts. It will combine information society expertise, stone sector know-how and exchange of experiences based on research into a regional innovation structure. The project will contribute to the creation of a modern learning environment based on natural resource based economy, including also expertise, research and product development services of the stone sector as well as an information system concerning geological by-product materials of the natural stone industry. The learning environment will in an innovative way bring forward the culture of utilisation of stone and the stone industry as well as new opportunities relating to the development of the stone sector in the regional economy and the whole country. It will also offer citizens and training organisations an opportunity to familiarise themselves widely with the stone sector and its’ business activities and to participate in the sector’s development activities. The expert, research and product development service of the stone sector (GEOpro) will operate as a knot system combining natural stone material, development needs of the industry as well as know-how of the research and training organisations into concrete research and product development projects. The project aims at 1) bringing together research and educational know-how as well as development needs and ideas of enterprises by combining already existing information networks and creating new ones, as well as at 2) building product development and expertise services utilising the know-how and data resources of Finnish natural stone experts, which will at the same time serve as a channel to increase the sector’s know-how in Finland and to create international contacts. The subsequent project Information system of geological by-product materials in the natural stone industry (STOCLER) aims at offering centralised by-product information services and at removing present information-related obstacles in order to enable long-term creation of product development activities and product innovations in the utilisation of by-stone products generated in the natural stone production in an as wide and economic way as possible. The total cost estimate of the project is 400 000 EUR. PROPOWER PROJECT Applicant: Stone Museum and Stone Village Foundation of Juuka (Other implementers: The Geological Survey of Finland and Joensuu Science Park Ltd) The project will create facilities for creation of new small enterprises in the stone sector and its’ associate businesses. The project aims at finding new developable product innovations and enterprises at an early phase of operation, which need economic and expert support to develop their business activities. The objective is to develop the business activity concept of the enterprises concerned and to help them through the so called death valley phase. Another objective is that majority of the participants would be located in the premises of the Finnish Stone Centre, which are being built. The project aims at analysing fifteen different enterprises or business ideas, of which three are believed to lead to support measures described in this project. The project will create facilities for creation of new small enterprises in the stone sector and its’ associate businesses such as ceramics. The project will promote the growth of the enterprises concerned by creating new operation models e.g. in the utilisation of information technology and newest research data. Supportive measures will contribute particularly to marketing efforts of the enterprises by offering them expertise help and new financing models for the development of new and beginning business activities. The expertise of Stone Pole Oy operating in the Finnish Stone Centre and of Joensuu Science Park will be utilised the development of marketing and business activities. When possible, the project will co-operate with the international networks of Tulikivi Plc and Kiantastone Ltd. New possibilities offered by the information technology will be utilised e.g. by making the logistic chain of subcontracting and installation network more efficient and by creating logistically more efficient solutions. Utilisation of the latest research data will be tested to promote the use of by-product stone originating from quarrying and of fine soil originating from sawing. The project is a natural continuation to the subsequent project Stocler of the GEO Information Centre project of the Stone Village Foundation, which will collect information about the opportunities offered by by-materials and create unified data bases and material standards contributing to the creation of new business activities promoting the use of by-products. The project will be carried out in co-operation with the Geological Survey of Finland. The total cost estimate of the project is 280 000 EUR. DYNAMIC, INTEGRATED DESKTOP (“DIT PROJECT) Applicant: Joint municipal authority of the hospital district of North Savo (Other implementers: hospital districts of South Savo, East Savo and North Karelia as well as special care and hospital district of Kainuu) The project aims at creating an electric desktop, a so called dynamic integrated desktop (DIT) to support the work of professionals in the social and health care sector. The dynamic integrated desktop should be safely utilisable in all necessary work places. The DIT is destined to the use of all professionals in the social and health care. It will offer its’ users all necessary client information as well as decision-supporting information at one log-in. Citizens’ interactive participation in their care and service chain will be studied during the project and will probably be implemented at a lager stage. The most central actions in the project include:
The project costs total 300 000 EUR. SERVICE MODELS Applicant: Joint municipal authority of the hospital district of South Savo (Other implementers: hospital districts of East Savo, North Savo and North Karelia) The project aims at developing and realising new digital radiological service models in the hospital districts of South Savo, East Savo, North Savo and North Karelia by utilising the regional information network. Realisation of new consulting, meeting and emergency duty models requires research based information about digitising of health centres as well as about alternative operation models. The project will acquire research based information about different operation models and develop new regional consulting, meeting and emergency duty service models inside and between the hospital districts. The Service models project consists of the following parts:
The project costs total 508 500 EUR. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY Applicant: Mindcom Oy and QuestionMark Multimedia The Digital accessibility project will realise a model for DfA (Design for All) implementation of network services destined to special groups. The project will realise pilots of communication and information management technologies destined to special groups in the Internet. The model will be developed through the following viewpoints: 1. Accessibility and usability - in one’s own language - through one’s own user interface - with one’s own technique and in one’s own way of presentation 2. Enabling of interaction in the network - participation - communication - learning - management of affairs 3. New producers of information - producers of information to special groups, a new sector of contents production - representatives of special groups as producers of information 4. Instructions and definitions - instructions and definitions will be made of the obtained models - instructions and definitions can be transferred to other network services - information can be utilised in different digital communication instruments The pilots will include practical models of how different special groups can operate in the same network operation environment by using interfaces and information management techniques typical for each special group. Produced information can be utilised also in the development of mobile and digital television services. The project will co-operate closely with the DfA expertise network co-ordinated by Stakes as well as with the European Committee for Standardization CEN. The CEN co-operation will take place in the Workshop in relation to Design-for-All and Assistive Technologies for ICT. The project costs total 160 000 EUR. TEAM WORK IN SOCIAL SECTOR (SOTI PROJECT) Applicant: Joint municipal authority of special care and hospital district of Kainuu (Other implementers: joint municipal authority of the hospital district of South Savo, hospital districts of East Savo, North Savo and North Karelia as well as East Finland social sector centre of expertise) The SoTi project will develop a new working method for the staff working with elderly people and in child welfare in the social sector. The project will pilot a new operation model among the staff working in the social care in the regions of Kainuu and Kuopio with the help of the Team Management tool. The social sector team work project includes the following:
META COURSE – A WAY TOWARDS A GOOD MENTAL AND PHYSICAL LIFE Applicant: City of Kajaani/business services (Other implementers: city of Joensuu / basic service office and Glocal Oy) The Meta Course project consists of three pilots: the Wellnet pilot of Nurmes, the Senior Seam pilot of Joensuu and the Course of Life and Path of Life pilots of Kainuu. The project will produce and pilot new operation models for psychic and physic rehabilitation and create tools for nursing work. At the same time it will give additional value to the existing information technological applications. The Wellnet pilot will bring the viewpoint of citizen network system into the Meta Course project. The pilot will take into consideration the final user. The citizen network will also be an instrument to produce rehabilitation services for professionals in health care. It will serve as an operation platform for the combination of two levels: it works both on the professional level and among the final clients. The Senior Seam pilot will produce seamless entities to the electric referral and feedback system of home care. It will be connected to the rehabilitation system. The Life Course pilot will produce information about the influence of recollection software on psychic rehabilitation. At the same time it will provide information about the usability of the software as a support both to the caring/nursing person and to the person being nursed. The Life Path pilot will produce information about the impacts of the geographic information system in facilitating the everyday life of nursing work. The project aims at producing new services in accordance with the strategic objectives to the regional networks. This will both promote independent activation of citizens in using the services of the information society and create a positive innovative spirit in the environment by producing new best practices. The project aims at creating service models destined to the aged and to other special groups. The models will be supported by new products to be developed. The products do not represent new technology but rather combine the already existing technology with new concept models. The project will develop at least several different service products. Evaluation and development of the operation model, connecting of the development activities to general strategic rehabilitation-political lines as well as bringing of the scientific research level into the development of service and operation models represent the Meta level. Several iteration rounds will be made in the evaluation of both rehabilitation and usability. The project also aims at finding rehabilitation models based on the new technology and at making them usable and accessible and culturally suitable both for the aged and ageing people and for other special groups. This will lower the threshold of taking into use new technology both among the nursed and among nurses. The project will also study adoption of information technology and difficulties relating to it. Also the influence of these aspects on the efficiency of rehabilitation will be analysed. Indirectly the project aims at decreasing the need for institutional care in the region, at supporting independent managing and at activating the aged and other special groups to independent social interaction as well as at improving their life management and physical and mental capabilities. The project costs total 260 000 EUR. PILOT OF COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL NETWORKING Applicant: city of Nurmes (Other implementers: Polvijärvi, Kuhmo, Paltamo, Joroinen, Suonenjoki and Vesanto) The system is based on a system realised with the FirstClass software and consists of the users’ personal e-mails and a many-sided discussion and communication system built around them. From a functional point of view the central aspect is that citizens are present in this “virtual local community” in the same way as in their non-virtual local community – normally by their own names. In the pilot regions of North Karelia and Kainuu the pilot is based on the already existing citizen networks. The aim is to construct corresponding systems in a somewhat different way to North and South Savo during this project. The project has as its’ central challenge to pilot the total system, in which the created citizen network system would form the basis for the whole local networking. An entity combining citizens, administration, decision-makers, SMEs, schools and educational institutions as well as the third sector would be created in the most suitable way from the viewpoint of each pilot area. Level of citizens Meeting place open to all, in which citizens have the opportunity to send messages (e-mail) and communicate (chat, voice mail) with each other according to the principle of one to another or one to many or many to many. The meeting place could have for example the following themes: political discussions and local influence, discussion forforums of different hobbies, flee markets, opinion surveys, notice boards etc. They can be either open to everybody or destined to more restricted groups. Level of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) The system will enable networking of enterprises on three different levels: 1) It will offer network marketing opportunities 2) Construction of e-trade systems within the citizen network or on the web pages 3) Integration of sub-intranet systems of different levels as a part of the activities and data management of enterprises. This will enable both internal networking and data storing in enterprises and different networking solutions between enterprises and between enterprises and their clients In each pilot area special attention will be paid to promotion of information society facilities among small natural resource based enterprises and artisans through guidance and training. Level of municipalities The objective is to integrate the levels of administration, employees’ representatives and citizens as a central part of the local “virtual community” through a multi-level municipal intranet (areas of administration, areas of employees’ representatives, joint areas of administration and representatives, areas open to everybody). The project has as its’ central aims to deepen the “triangle” of citizens-employees’ representatives-civil servants and to bring administration and decision-making closer to the citizens. Level of educational institutions The objective is to integrate the region’s schools and educational institutions as a comprehensive part of the whole system. The citizen network includes already in its’ present form many-sided instruments for e-learning at the same time as the joint network creates quite new opportunities of co-operation between schools and educational institutions. Also new e-learning tools will be created and implemented during the project. Level of civil organisations (the third sector) Internal and external communication of organisations can be organised easily through different sub-intranet systems to be built inside the system. Local associations and organisations will be one of the targeted areas in the project’s training and education activities. The project costs total 440 000 EUR. TIKKA MULTICAST Applicant: Tikka Networks Oy The project will study e.g. the definitions and requirements to be set to the regional networks for realisation of Multicast activities. Particular attention will be paid to analysis of the needs of health care and to new services to be offered to citizens and enterprises beyond the regional limits. Based on the studies, the project will develop a platform and a definition model for service providers. By utilising Mulicast the platform and the definition model will enable cost efficient service production to local and regional networks and even nationally. One practical application is a solution model utilising Multicast to realise distant consulting from one operating room to other operating rooms, from a central hospital to health centres and other university or central hospitals. The same principle can be utilised also for educational purposes, not only in the health care sector, but also in other sectors. The project will result in a solution model for controlled and safe use of Multicast technology in the regional health care networks, as well as in models related to the realisation of new Multicast services and products in the health care sector to the needs of both enterprises and all end users. The project can benefit all regions in eastern Finland, enterprises and associations working in them as well as naturally all citizens. The project does not compete with other projects (e.g. Sonetti); on the contrary, it will strongly support their objectives. The project costs total 200 000 EUR. LOCAL FOOD MARKET Applicant: Kainuun Etu Oy The Local food market project will develop an electric market place for local food producers. The electric market place will consist of a market place system operating in the Internet, a network of producers and a logistic centre. Also an administrative system guiding the money flows will be included in the system. The service will be open for all registered wholesale buyers. Primary customers of the local food market will include supermarkets of daily consumer goods and institutional kitchens, such as garrisons, day care centres and canteens. The system will be based on the newest available technology. The actual technological innovation of the project is that it will utilise technology in an innovative way and combine different techniques. This will be enabled by the already existing Internet network, GPRS technology and GPS technology. Problems related to the logistics are the most central challenge of the whole local food market and the solutions of the whole logistic chain will be the most important innovation in this project. The project costs total 179 400 € RENDERING THE NATURE PRODUCT SECTOR MORE EFFICIENT BY UTILISING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Applicant: Centre for Development and Information in Central Karelia (KETI) The project aims at co-ordination of the nature product sector’s production as well as at more efficient business activities through utilisation of information technology and information networks. The project will create networks for primary production and processing of nature products. The most central measures include establishment of a data bank and production of electric material as well as development of software for control of logistics and production. The objective is to get enterprises, communities and pickers involved in the network from producers to consumers and to organise the network activities as well as distribute information concerning the opportunities offered by the network and software. The project’s target groups include pickers, producers of nature products and cultivated mushrooms, nature product processors and dealers as well as restaurants and institutional kitchens. The project costs total 117 580 € |