The goal of the project was to gather current background information from Russia, particularly in the Republic of Karelia, in order to develop an Intelligent Energy Services -concept (Virtual Village), which could be used to design and develop an entire heat supply chain of a community and real estates. The concept could be used to ensure the functionality and sufficient service level of community and real estate heating and to direct and select investments in maintenance and repairs. The concept was planned to contain support material and tools for developing the heating energy management in communities. The model was to be created in a simplified format on the Internet, where Russian residents and future cooperation partners could review the energy management solutions for their respective areas. The project also intended to assemble information regarding Finnish guides/instructions, procedures and tools, which could be used in the projects in Russia. The villages of Olonets, Kostomuksha, Pudos and Prääsä were selected as the pilot villages for the project. The benchmarks in Finland were Kuhmo, Suomussalmi and Oulu. Achievements: The material was gathered in accordance with the project plan, giving a good understanding of the heating management systems in Northwest Russia, including their level, operational capacity and needs and opportunities for repair work. A virtual village concept, which supports and directs the development of heating management in the targeted area, was created. It can be used to target heating management development procedures in the most efficient way possible and to ensure long-term benefit from the procedures. Clear progress models of how the systems were to be developed within the framework of limited resources were designed for the pilot sites. A significant increase in well-being in the Republic of Karelia and elsewhere in Russia can be established through the use of the developed operational model, tools and forms of cooperation. The project also increased the cross-border cooperation in the industry as well as its operational preparedness, and promoted the networked operational approach in Finnish companies when doing business with Russia. For example, extensive background material was gathered for Finnish companies, which can be used to increase and deepen their knowledge of their respective target areas and to improve their opportunities for activity. Developing the level of Karelian heating management to meet, for example, the Finnish level, would require decades of extensive, welldirected and effective investments. Cooperation is also needed in the future; this means such activities as maintaining the network and being present on-site in one way or another. Designing and initiating a training programme for Russian entities in the heating industry was proposed as a follow-up procedure. The preparation work has continued in cooperation with different counterparts following the project. Monitoring of the heating management industry market has actively continued after the project in the internal operations of companies, and results are gradually being generated. One joint venture has also been established after the project. Additional information is available at: www.planora.fi /sivu/fi /energiahuolto.