The Centre of Excellence for Comprehensive Security brings together sector-specific expertise and knowledge, strengthening cooperation between authorities, businesses, and civil society organizations. The Centre advances the development of comprehensive security and crisis preparedness and enables the creation of large-scale, integrated project initiatives. Its operations are based on resource-wise, efficient collaboration for the benefit of society as a whole.
Why a Centre of Excellence for Comprehensive Security?
Our operating environment has changed significantly. We are living in a global era of polycrises. Cities & municipalities are facing new needs in developing and managing preparedness in their own regions, as well as in responding to global security challenges.
Businesses must also be able to maintain continuity during disruptions. In addition, continuous research and development related to comprehensive security is needed to enable companies to effectively seize new business opportunities.
The Finnish government has also identified comprehensive security as a central new theme in regional development objectives. Comprehensive security is a key theme in the Security Strategy for Society published by the Finnish Security Committee in January 2025. There is a clear need to integrate the perspectives of comprehensive security and security of supply into regional development and into strengthening regional vitality.
What Finland currently lacks is a national, practical, operational actor that brings together and refines the country’s strengths — an entity that centrally compiles the latest knowledge and solutions related to comprehensive security in one place.
The Centre of Excellence for Comprehensive Security is being developed through a collaboration between Savonia University of Applied Sciences and the City of Kuopio. Its aim is to strengthen the crisis resilience of citizens, organisations, and civil society through a broad base of research, development and business expertise.
The launch of the centre will proceed in phases:
The preparatory work is supported by the Regional Council of Pohjois-Savo with funding from the European Regional Development Fund the total budget being €700,000. The preparation phase will continue until the end of the year 2026. The next phase will focus on launching the national Centre.
The City of Kuopio and Savonia UAS have applied for funding for a follow-up project covering the years 2027–2029, with the aim of launching the operations of the Centre. The aim of the follow-up project is to launch the centre’s operations and establish it in Kuopio. This will be achieved by consolidating the operating model and networks developed during the preparation project. The networks will be strengthened, with a particular focus on international cooperation.
The follow-up project will also support the development of the centre’s service portfolio and create a database to support communications, service provision and network cooperation, enabling actors in the field of comprehensive security to find information about one another.
For further information, please contact:
Project Leader,
Dr. Pia Viklund
+358 44 785 6132
pia.viklund@savonia.fi
