| At national and European level regions are gaining influence
as actors for sustainable development. But how can regions contribute, and
what is the scale of their potential influence? Can self-supporting
networks between economic actors be set up, which enable a more efficient
resource use and a decrease of material flows? Can sustainable enterprises
withstand the pressure of global competition? What is the future of labour
in a regional context? Will new markets and sustainable consumption
patterns be a result of close producer-consumer relationships? Which
effect has the strengthening of regional identity on social networks?
The research initiative " model projects for sustainable
economies", initiated and supported by the German Federal Ministry
for Education and Research (BMBF)
attempts to answer those and other open questions. Since 1998,
"pioneers" like innovative business, regional networks or local
communities, model projects who work in interdisciplinary workgroups of
scientific and practical experts try to establish new innovative
processes. Implementing fundamental principles to promote regional
economies and regions themselves, are funded with appr. 15 Mio. DM (~7,5
Mill. EURO). The main topics of these network projects are based on three
subject areas "Agriculture and regional marketing",
"Regional Material Flow Management" and "Strengthening
regional potentials".
In order to ensure an efficient co-operation of the project groups and
to transfer common scientific issues the BMBF has established a
cross-cutting working group. This is assembled by an interdisciplinary
group of experts in the " Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE)"
in Frankfurt and the local government agency "International Council
for Local Environmental Initiatives"(ICLEI).
The project was started early 2000 and will continue until 2002.
The working group will form a interregional network of researchers and
practical experts, extending the scope of the model project by including
future interest groups at a early project stage in the result defining
process. Therefore as a first task, all results are gathered in an
interdisciplinary process. Additional attention is being paid to all
topic-related, conceptional and methodical problems of the model projects,
as far as they could be interesting for the parallel projects. The results
of the inventory and analyses are mirrored into the model projects; they
form at the same time the foundation for the further cross cutting
activities, which serve to optimise the research initiative.
A newsletter and a strong presence of the
model projects in the Internet will promote the research initiative.
Scientific Joint Workshops will be organised, as a starting point for
continuous topical and methodological networking between the projects,
where also foreign country are considered. Several scientific discussions
serve the targeted transfer of the model projects results into economic
and political decision making. Beside brochures and scientific anthologies
a popular book will report about the project results. |
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