

LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health focuses on physically active life. We conduct and publish research, provide expert information for decision-making, and coordinate development projects and large national action programmes.
Our research and development projects offer scientific and practical information for promoting physical activity and health in society as well as everyday life.

Regional Council of Central Finland is a joint municipal authority in charge of regional development. In our work, regional development goes hand in hand with regional land use planning. As a region, Central Finland is specialized in preventive, evidence-based wellbeing. We combine health, sport, rehabilitation, education and psychology with technology, research, volunteerism, professionalism and cooperation across branches. Central Finland is certainly a region of wellbeing and that’s why health and wellbeing are also part of our regional development’s strategic choices.


Business Jyväskylä is the business services unit of the City of Jyväskylä. Our mission is to reinforce the networks of Jyväskylä’s trade and commerce sector and to help companies to grow. To your business, we’re a reliable partner focused on solutions. We know the local networks and work swiftly to enable growth, no matter what situation your business finds itself in. Our mission also includes encouraging domestic and international businesses to establish themselves in Jyväskylä and developing a concept for doing so, as well as creating an attractive ecosystem, especially on the designated urban development platforms.


Central Finland Sport Federation (KesLi) is a non-governmental and non-political sports federation located in Jyväskylä, Finland. KesLi was founded in November 1993 and it has app. 150 member organizations.
KesLi’s target is
- to promote the quality and quantity of sports in Central Finland.
- to provide services for local sport organizations
- to promote and support voluntary non-profit work in sports through sports politics, education and communication
- to make voluntarism in sport a target of conscious politics
- to ensure that sport is ethically sustainable: equal, transparent, environmentally friendly, multicultural and fair.
KesLi promotes four areas of sport activities: 1) children, adapted and youth sport 2) sport for all 3) elite sport 4) promotion of intrests in sports.

Metsähallitus’ operations are based on responsibility and continuous improvement of activities. The goal of Metsähallitus’ activities is to safeguard biodiversity, create opportunities sustainable business and strengthen the vitality of the regions, promote natural wellbeing services and make a contribution to state revenue. Metsähallitus’ activities also respond to global challenges, such as mitigating climate change and adapting to it.
Metsähallitus is an unincorporated state enterprise, which uses, manages and protects state-owned land and water areas under its responsibility in a sustainable manner and reconciles the expectations and goals that its owner, stakeholders and customers have for these areas.

The Center of Excellence on Social Welfare in Central Finland (Koske) is an organization that develops services and know-how on social welfare in Central Finland. Koske provides and coordinates networks for professionals, municipal agents, and everyone interested in developing social welfare and wellbeing.
Koske’s main objective is to establish a regional, flexible and acknowledged community for professionals in social affairs and others to develop social welfare by
1) supporting the long-term development work of social welfare in the Central Finland region;
2) collecting, combining and forwarding current academical knowledge and practical know-how of social welfare;
3) consolidating the professional competence in the field of social welfare. Koske also provides expert services for municipalities.

KIHU promotes Finnish top-level sport through advanced, innovative and ethically responsible expertise and RDI activities. KIHU is responsible for leading the Research and Development Programme of the Finnish Olympic Committee.
Expertise activities for coaching process aim to create, develop and share information and know-how with athletes, coaches, national sports federations and local sports associations. Our research activities cover the entire athlete’s path: from the study of physical activity in childhood to the development of training methods of top athletes and evaluating sport organizations.
Training room project (2018-2021) is KIHU’s largest development initiative at the moment. It’s aiming to develop an ecosystem for athlete’s well-being and preventive health care in Jyväskylä area. In pilot phase almost 200 athletes from nine sports participate in training room activities.

At KYT we believe that each and everyone of us should have the opportunity to be part of a meaningful community and have the opportunity to participate purposefully. Enabling participation and involvement is at the heart of what KYT is all about.
Our goal is to support and strengthen the NGO sector and civil society in Central Finland, and we further this goal in various ways. Our NGO Services team (KYT-järjestöpalvelut) offers free-of-charge guidance, counselling and training for associations and other non-profits in the region. We coordinate and manage projects related to, for instance, the prevention of social exclusion, furthering of employment and enhancing multiculturalism. We connect organizations, coordinate networks, and actively communicate and speak out on issues related to the NGO sector and the civil society.
We believe that people need places to meet and to connect, as well as opportunities to participate. This is why we run two community centers Kansalaistoiminnankeskus Matara and Sepänkeskus in Jyväskylä that offer a home for many nonprofits and their activities.
We also provide a free-of-charge communications and information platform, Yhdistystori.fi, for associations and other non-profits in Central Finland.
KYT Accounting, a non-profit cooperative and social enterprise, is part of the KYT community. KYT Accounting provides accounting and financial management services for associations and other organizations.

Central Finland Entrepreneurs (Keski-Suomen Yrittäjät) is a a regional federation of Suomen Yrittäjät. We are an interest and service organization for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their owners.
Our task is to improve the position of entrepreneurs and the conditions for entrepreneurship.
Our member entrepreneurs share a passion and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, the freedom to do their work well, the willingness and ability to take risks and a sense of responsibility for themselves and others.The most important reasons to belong to our entrepreneur organization are lobbying and counselling services and a desire to be a part of the entrepreneur community and meet other entrepreneurs. We work every day to support free entrepreneurship and an entrepreneur-friendly society.
In its operations, Keski-Suomen Yrittäjät invests in promoting the well-being of entrepreneurs both through coaching and through communication.


A modern and versatile vocational college in Northern Central Finland. Students receive personal study guidance and we believe in learning by doing. The students individual needs are taken into consideration, and we also customize training for companies. Our graduates are in demand in the workplaces of Central Finland.
We educate professionals in the following fields:
- Business and administration
- Natural Sciences
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Service Industry
- Technology
- Health and Welfare
- Information and Communication Technologies
- We operate in 13 municipalities in Northern Central Finland.
We have facilities in Äänekoski, Saarijärvi, Viitasaari and Laukaa, and we provide instruction throughout the Northern Central Finland region.
