Voluntary
Organisations (alliances, advisory boards) established by regional councils within the same major region for the implementation of EU programmes are tools of cooperation. They are a means of handling matters that concern more than one region only. While the tasks vary from statutory regional development and land use planning to lobbying for the member local authorities and for employment and subsistence of local residents, the key principle is that all this takes place in an area larger than a region.
Other important tasks include joint research, plans, programmes and projects that have an impact on regional development. They are co-financed either partly or fully by the regions. The third form of cooperation covers networking in all fields and at all levels: trade and industry, employment, education, elected representatives, staff training, and so on.
Statutory
The regional development act which entered into force at the start of 2010 requires that regional councils form partnership areas to perform some of their statutory functions (Section 11). There are now nine such partnership areas and their regional division corresponds to the nine Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (i.e. those centres which address all three areas of responsibility). With but one exception, the partnership areas have not established a separate decision-making organisation; instead, they have agreed that decisions are taken together. The exception is the partnership area formed by the regional councils of South Carelia and Kymenlaakso, which nominated an eight-member joint organ which may also vote.