ORGANISATION AND WORK METHOD

The Rural Policy Committee convenes 6 to 7 times a year. The Ministerial Group on Rural Policy functions as the steering group of the Committee.

The matters are prepared by the Secretariat of the Rural Policy Committee. The Secretariat consists of about 60 officials and representatives specialised in rural affairs from several ministries and expert organisations. The members of the Secretariat function as liaison officers in their own organisations and they are responsible for preparing matters concerning their own specific sectors.

The Rural Policy Committee may use experts from different organisations in the projects and other temporary operations. Specialists or representatives from different administrative sectors or expert organisations may be invited as members of the fixed-term, cross-sectoral theme or working groups appointed by the Committee. The members of the Secretariat also function in the theme or working groups as chairpersons, secretaries or members.

The Rural Policy Committee contributed to the establishment of the Rural Network of the Finnish Parliament and has managed its secretarial tasks.