Kainuu East Project Centre is a support project, which will help actors in project activities. The project is based on the idea, that the opportunities offered by the EU programmes have until now been utilised only to a small extent, and that with expertise the degree of utilisation can be significantly improved through proficient support measures. The project will organise familiarisation training liable to charge, which will enable the participants to become experts in the EU programme project application and management. In addition to theoretical information the training will also include drawing up of real project applications and after positive project decisions management of real projects. Achievements: The project was used to create a cooperation network through, for example, training trips to Russian Karelia (Kostomuksha, Segheza, Petrozavodsk), where Finnish and Russian actors were given an opportunity to get to know each other and formulate cooperation plans. Contacts were made, and a more extensive understanding of EU project activity was obtained through trips to St. Petersburg and Brussels. The project was also responsible for arranging East Project Centre seminars in Kajaani and an East Project Afternoon in Petrozavodsk. Actors from Kainuu were able to establish new connections to their counterparts in Russian Karelia and realise new partnerships. The project provided training and assistance to participants in planning and completing project applications. Actors were also directed to apply for projects and new project applications were prepared with project partners. The participants in the training ultimately differed from the planned target group and passivity affected attendance. According to the applicant, this was affected in part by the preparation work starting for the regional self-government experiment in Kainuu during the project. Due to the lack of attendance, the third training section had to be cancelled. In contrast, customized advisory services were in high demand. As a result of the project, interest toward Russia and projects to be implemented in Russia has increased in Kainuu. The activities have not been continued in the same form after the project. However, Kainuun Etu Oy continues to support the development of the industry structure and assist the companies in key industries (ICT, electronics, metal, adventure tourism services, food, wood and the natural stone and mining industry) in developing their business expertise, competitiveness, growth and cooperation. In addition, it provides assistance in developing key clusters and their operational prerequisites.