MARA PARTNERS

The Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization is responsible for making important decisions on behalf of the people in our state, decisions which will shape their present and future lives. The range of responsibilities encompasses a broad field of topics:

The ministry handles fundamental and practical issues of energy policy, climate protection and energy efficiency. It conceives the state's spatial development programme and supports the regional development authorities in developing regional spatial development plans. It is accountable for different modes of transportation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, like public transportation, and covers the production and maintenance of transportation routes. The ministry works on issues concerning the building trade and urban development. It is also responsible for matters of digitalization. Apart from coordinating broadband expansion in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, this also includes establishing the state's e-government strategy.

Contact person/Project Coordinator:

The Chair of Tourism Economy at the Faculty of Engineering Management of the Bialystok University of Technology is a partner in MARA. The Bialystok University of Technology is the biggest technical university in north-eastern Poland, with over 1100 employees and approximately 10,000 students.

Vidzeme Planning Region (189 thousand inhabitants) is one of the five planning regions in Latvia, representing 25 municipalities and the city of national significance Valmiera at national and international levels. VPR organises and implements regional spatial development planning, as well as aiding regional and local representation in the development of business, employment and social policy. VPR’s mission is to promote sustainable and well-balanced development of the Vidzeme Region and to provide effective services to regional governments, businesses, NGOs and citizens for the achievement of the jointly defined development targets.

Contact persons:

Setesdal Regional Council is an intermunicipal public body consisting of the four municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, and Evje and Hornnes. The Council is facilitating political meetings, cooperation and coordination in common regional cases, focusing on business and social development.

Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) is an innovative Lithuanian University. VGTU is the leader among the institutions of technological science education, ensuring modern studies oriented towards the labour market. Three research centres, 13 institutes and 29 research laboratories perform scientific research and experimental development. VGTU research has always been focused on the European Research Area. Now the main research areas integrate electronics, IT, transport and social sciences.

Trafikverket is a government agency responsible for the maintenance and development of road and rail infrastructure in Sweden. 

Petrozavodsk City Administration is the executive body of the city of Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Republic of Karelia. The city administration works with different topics of city life and management.

Hajnówka County is located in the south-eastern part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship in Poland. The county is divided into nine communes. The capital of the county is the city of Hajnówka. It is part of the area of the "Green Lungs of Poland". The forests occupy 50.6% of this touristic region, and Białowieza Forest, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers 48% of the county area.

The Centre for Tourism and Leisure Research (CeTLeR) of the Dalarna University is a partner of MARA. It is the collaborative centre of excellence that works with public authorities, regional businesses and the tourism industry to increase knowledge and understanding in order to meet industry needs while developing its potential.

State budgetary institution the “Information Tourist Center of the Republic of Karelia” has been active since 2001. The key areas of activities are providing information and services for tourists coming to Karelia, the promotion of Karelian tourist and cultural events, and providing services through the Internet (ticrk.ru). The TIC RK also coordinates the activities of different stakeholders in the field of tourism in Karelia.

Finnish Environment Institute SYKE is a multidisciplinary research and expert institute. Its primary task is to solve society's most burning questions that have an impact on the environment. SYKE provides necessary information, multidisciplinary expertise and expert services for public and private decision-making.

The Mobility Lab at the Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia, is a centre for innovative research applying contemporary digital technologies to exploring human spatial behaviour. Its researchers and students focus on a broad range of research directions in this field such as mobility and time use, socio-spatial segregation, urban geography and spatial planning, smart cities and infrastructure, environmental impacts and carbon footprint, tourism geography, and social networks. It has close to 15 years of experience on working with mobile phone positioning data and research methodology.