The Botnia-Atlantica Institute is a transnational institute set up to promote development in the Botnia Atlantica Region. The institute relates to Ostrobothnia in Finland, Västerbotten (West Bothnia) in Sweden and Nordland in Norway. Our research is undertaken by researchers employed in the universities of Vasa and Åbo Academy in Finland, Umeå in Sweden and Nordland in Norway. The institute secretariat and the institute leader is located at the University of Vaasa. Through the LUBAT project coordinated by the University of Umeå we are financed by the universities, the regions and the EU Botnia-Atlantica Interreg program.

We facilitate long term cooperation on transnational research between our university partners. This research is used as input to processes where we experimentally identify, develop and test in practice new ideas, policies and models of regional development. This is done through seminars, conferences, and publications which enable dialogues with active participation of researchers, politicians and experts from the three countries. Through reflection upon the results of these experiments, we develop methods of transnational learning. Our ambition is that these new methods will be useful in order to make European Union investments in the Structural Funds and other policy instruments more efficient and useful for regional actors throughout Europe.

The operation of the institute is explained more in detail below in ACTIVITY 1.

Research and policy making 2011 – 2013 is organized in the following activities

ACTIVITY 2 Nordic municipalities learning from each other

ACTIVITY 3 Plant closures in industrial towns

ACTIVITY 4 Tourism: developing destinations

ACTIVITY 5 Green energy: planning for wind mill parks