Kymenlaakso board plans 17,200-euro lobbying seminar

The Kymenlaakso wellbeing services county board plans to hold a two-day lobbying seminar in Helsinki costing an estimated 17,200 euros, Yle reports.

The seminar will take place on September 17 and 18 in cooperation with communications agency Miltton, which also helped prepare the board’s current advocacy plan with the Kymenlaakso wellbeing services county.

Expert services and meeting rooms are expected to cost about 7,200 euros. Travel, accommodation and meeting fees will account for up to 10,000 euros. The seminar can have a maximum of 22 participants.

The board decided to organise the seminar on Tuesday.

Meetings with members of parliament

Board chair Anne Heikkilä said the seminar will begin with training provided by Miltton. Representatives of different political parties will then explain how they can be contacted.

The programme also includes attending a parliamentary question time session, followed by meetings with members of parliament from the Southeast Finland electoral district.

In addition to board members, participants will include the chairs of the wellbeing services county council, the chief executive of the wellbeing services county and the director of rescue services.

Heikkilä expects about 15 people to attend. The final cost could therefore be lower than estimated.

“We have many board members who will attend for only one day, while some will not be able to attend at all. That will reduce some of the costs,” she said.

“Our voice must be heard by decision-makers”

The Kymenlaakso wellbeing services county is currently holding change negotiations involving all staff, and large-scale redundancies may be possible.

A state assessment group also began work on Tuesday to find ways to improve the county’s financial situation. The county’s deficit was more than 107 million euros at the end of last year.

Asked how the expensive training could be justified in this situation, Heikkilä said advocacy was the responsibility of both the chief executive and public officials, as well as elected representatives, under the county’s administrative rules.

“The board has a central role in this,” she said.

Parliamentary elections will also be held next spring. Heikkilä said it was important for the wellbeing services county to make its voice heard during the next government term, particularly on issues related to security and funding.

“We are the only wellbeing services county in Finland that, for example, shares both a land and a maritime border with Russia. In addition, we believe that the county’s funding is inappropriate because it does not take the region’s special characteristics into account. We have elderly people, intergenerational disadvantage and other problems,” she said.

According to Heikkilä, there is currently a perception in Parliament that the Kymenlaakso wellbeing services county has not been visible in the parliamentary corridors promoting its case.

“I understand that in this situation people may think money is being wasted on something like this. Personally, I believe that if we get our voice heard, it will bring us money in the future,” she said.

Growing importance of advocacy

Hyvil Oy, a company serving wellbeing services counties, provides lobbying services and other training for them. Its chief executive, Minna Korkiakoski-Västi, said the estimated cost of Kymenlaakso’s seminar sounded extremely high.

“It shows how important it is considered that the wellbeing services county should be heard and seen,” she said.

According to Korkiakoski-Västi, it is common in large wellbeing services counties for a separately hired employee to be responsible for public affairs or advocacy communications. She said this was also the case at the Pirkanmaa wellbeing services county and the City of Helsinki.

Korkiakoski-Västi predicted that advocacy would become more important for wellbeing services counties in the near future.

“The more difficult the times, the greater the importance of advocacy,” she said.

“The wellbeing services counties depend on the state’s purse. The need for advocacy arises because everyone wants to safeguard their own interests, and that does not happen without their own work.”