1. Newsletter 3
Fall 2010
Inter-municipal cooperation for strategic steering
of SME-oriented location development in the Alps
T he City of Sonthofen hosted
the third COMUNIS-Meeting.
Besides intensive project work,
implementing inter-municipal CLD
were discussed with view to the
situation and development objec-
Contents
the project team was able to gain tives in the individual pilot regions Project meeting in Sonthofen 1
insights into the specific situation of the project partners. For Alpsee- Location Analysis: Tarare, FR
in the German COMUNIS pilot re- Grünten, a field trip to various re- Inter-municipal commercial location 2
gion Alpsee-Grünten. gional commercial areas revealed development: strategic approaches
From 7-9 June 2010, the German the strengths and weaknesses of
the pilot area. This analysis of the Vorarlberg - The PLA-model 3
project partners City of Sonthofen
business location highlighted the Industrial Ecology in Sierre/CH
and Bosch & Partner GmbH wel-
comed the COMUNIS-partnership major importance of an inter-mu- Launch of work package 7 4
in the upper Allgäu. The German nicipal strategy on CLD with a fo- COMUNIS - Forschungsmarkt regiosuisse
Alpine Space Contact Point, Mr. cus on land use development and Upcoming events
Florian Ballnus, as well as Mr. marketing for the Alpsee-Grünten
Claus Hensold of the Bavarian En- region.
vironment Agency (Landesamt für At Sonthofen, work package (WP)
Umwelt, LfU) as project observer 6 was officially launched. WP 6 is
took part in the meeting. The three based on the results of the Bal-
meeting days were filled with dis- ance Score Card (BSC) and the
cussions and intensive exchange general strategy development of
of information on current tasks the previous WPs 4 and 5 (Exami-
among all pro-ject partners. nation and Development). It aims
The meeting focused in particular at the implementation of suitable
on the debate about the different CLD joint actions and their testing
models of Commercial Location in the pilot regions.
Development (CLD). On the basis Sandra Feuerstein
of theoretical models and studied Stadt Sonthofen
best practice examples, options for Project partners in Sonthofen. © MW2010
Location analysis in the French pilot area Tarare
In spring 2010, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was imple- According to the partners feedbacks on their experiences
mented in all pilot regions. To gather relevant data about with the implementation, this diagnosis tool has proven
the current situation in the pilot region and its specific de- its value in highlighting common challenges and opportu-
velopment perspective, the project partners interviewed nities to be addressed in the upcoming strategy develop-
local stakeholders. ment (WP 5) and implementation phase (WP 6) (see fig. 1).
The flexibility in the application of the method - that means
the combination of quantitative and qualitative data - or
the optional extension of the tool by additional fields of
research, offered a further advantage in implementing the
BSC. At large, the BSC appears to be a satisfying method
to collect the different perceptions of stakeholders and to
compare regions on the regional and transnational levels
in terms of economic development.
Fig. 1: Four steps to analyse and evaluate the Balanced Scorecard.
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2. www.comunis.eu
However, due to differences in the administrative and legal impact the entire pilot region. Such action should include,
framework conditions across borders, it seems difficult to amongst others, a common marketing strategy to enhance
gather comparable indicators that would allow a satisfying the partnership of the CCIL Delegation de Tarare, the three
comparison at the international level. communautés de communes, and ADERLY, Lyon’s econo-
The CCIL Délégation de Tarare implemented the BSC tool mic development agency.
in three Communautés de Communes (Association of Florine Goncet
municipalities) which are in charge of the local economic Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Lyon
development. The study revealed the need to focus on
issues related to commercial land use development (fig. 2). Actual situation
Short-, medium-, long-
It is recommended Target situation term land availability
100
• to install a unit (e.g. an agency) for economic develop- Transparency &
Ownership 80
ment and flexibility of procedure
60
• to elaborate a tool to identify short-, medium-, and
long-term availability of commercial sites (e.g. a com- 40
mercial property database). Price level 20 Quality of land &
premises
The above-mentioned instruments would allow the 0
municipalities to monitor land availability, to pool resourc-
es, to highlight regional characteristics (i.e. its unique sell-
ing proposition) and to attract a specific kind of business Availability of
Specifications of
upper level planning
and/or types of economic activities. tools for CLD
document
Promoting an entire region in need of revitalization and
dynamism will be increasingly important. Joint approaches Land use conflicts
Competences &
influences
are required to handle common challenges such as the
development of new business parks and incubators or the Fig. 2: The BSC for the Tarare area in the field of “Commercial
construction of a new highway (A89) in 2012, which will land use development”.
Partners on excursion in the pilot area Alpsee-Grünten. © MW2010
Strategic approaches to inter-municipal
commercial location development
COMUNIS was launched with the aim to offer Alpine com- location development. Three models of action (tab. 1) were
munities guidelines and concrete tools that may help them identified:
design and implement an appropriate strategy for inter-
• Land Use Development: Since land is an essential re-
municipal commercial location development (CLD). The di-
source for any commercial site development, this
verse regional conditions and needs call for differentiated
model of action covers different approaches to make
strategies focusing on different aspects.
land available and re-develop it in a focused and coordi-
Therefore, in a first step of work package (WP) 5 a num- nated way and manage the use of land for commercial
ber of possible strategic approaches were identified on the purposes in an optimal way.
basis of best pracices examples for CLD compiled in WP 4,
• Promotion and Communication: The focus is either
complemented the results of a literature search concerning
on the joint marketing of individual commercial sites
the specific fields of action of (inter-)municipal economic
Handlungs- Business
Land use development Promotion & communication
modell development
Comprehen- Individual
Handlungs- Inter-municipal Commercial Commercial Location
sive urban business
kategorie business park site policy site marketing marketing
development support
Tab. 1: Overview of strategic approaches to inter-municipal CLD.
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3. www.comunis.eu
(Commercial Site Marketing) or on the development of For some areas a combination of different approaches could
a concerted profile for the site under consideration (Lo- prove more appropriate than focusing on just one category
cation Marketing). of action.
• Business development: Targeted, individual support is Based on regional needs and objectives, the task for the
provided to businesses already present in the area or pilot areas is now to define appropriate strategies, while
willing to settle. For example, assistance is provided to considering the related organizational, financial, planning,
start up a business, select the site or deal with adminis- and legal issues. Specific management structures can be
trative obstacles. In this case the promotion of business discussed against this backdrop.
networks plays an important role since it can help es-
tablish and strengthen regional flows and value chains. Stefan v. Andrian-Werburg
Bosch und Partner GmbH
The PLA-Model as Structure for Active Land Policy in Vorarlberg
The agency Regional Development pal liquidity. The land will be bought, • land acquisition;
Vorarlberg supports two regions in developed (spatial planning, design,
• clarification of finances;
building a structure for business site designation, development), and then
development. With the newly estab- offered to particular businesses for • deliberation of planning for the de-
lished structure Project and Location sale. velopment of the land;
Association (PLA), regional municipal • decision-making for specialinitiati-
With the planned foundation of the
associations will be in the position to ves (marketing measures);
PLA in the Great Walser Valley in
implement strategies for commercial
2010, a running operation will be in- • organization of expert planners as
location development and active land
stitutionalised which will make pos- well as in leading the association
policies.
sible the implementation of the CLD- itself.
Concretely, the new structure will strategies on an inter-municipal level.
allow professional land acquisitions Peter Steurer
The operation includes counseling the
without an excessive strain on munici- Regionalentwicklung Vorarlberg
mayors regarding:
Industrial Ecology in Sierre
Following an internal meeting with
local partners and observers, the pro-
ject partner University of Applied Sci-
ences Western Switzerland/Institute
for Economy and Tourism decided
Raw material + Final Product
to focus the project’s next tasks on
Energy
Sierre’s main issue in the frame of a
cooperation at an integrated develop-
ment: “Agglo Sierre/Crans-Montana” – Valorization of
industrial ecology. waste and Waste
The motivation therefore is that only residual energy
the city of Sierre with its concern of in-
dustrial ecology can reasonably enter
in the issue of inter-municipality and
fit to one of the developed strategies
in work package 5. Fig. 3: The principle of industrial ecology.
The pilot region would be “Sierre in in-
terrelation with municipalities in Cen- Industrial ecology deals with the shar- ciple is illustrated in figure 3. Taking
tral Valais” with the aim of an agreed ing of economic services between as a starting point the natural ecosys-
administration of resources between and among two or more industries or tems, the principle of industrial ecol-
municipalities by means of an eco- companies in order to prevent from ogy is to regard flows of matter and
industrial symbiosis. disturbing effects on nature. The prin- energy as closed circuits. The waste of
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4. www.comunis.eu
one company becomes the raw materi- dating their economic competitiveness
als of another; the after-heat produced in order to set up an innovating man-
by the activities of a company can be agement of flows of raw materials and UPCOMING EVENT
developed for the activities of another. energy.
Sierre’s goal within this cooperation is COMUNIS Project workshop,
to increase the environmental perfor- Nathalie Stumm
University of Applied 13-15 December 2010,
mance of the companies while consoli- in Vorarlberg (AT)
Sciences Western Switzerland
INFO BOX: COMUNIS aims at developing
The Constitution of the urban area Sierre/Crans-Montana is subordinated to the cooperative strategies for inter-
cantonal implementation strategy of the New Regional Policy (NRP). Through municipal Commercial Location
the NRP, the Confederation supports the mountain areas of Switzerland to help Development (CLD). By foster-
them control the structural change. The NRP must make it possible to improve ing intra-territorial coopera-
the framework conditions for the economic activities, to promote innovations, tion, COMUNIS wants to over-
to generate added value, and to encourage competitiveness in the eligible areas. come individualistic attempts of
problem solution on the level of
single municipalities. COMUNIS
will provide broadly adaptable
Launch of Work Package 7: Evaluation and Adaptation guidelines to apply such strate-
gies and offer practical instru-
In October 2010, by coordination of the Project partners are going to systema- ments for assessing local and
Società Consortile Langhe Monferrato tically analyse the experiences in the regional demand for the steering
Roero, the activities of WP 7 “Evalua- pilot regions, further define and adapt of CLD. The project will result in
tion & Adaptation” were launched. the steering instruments, and create a transnational knowledge man-
WP 7 is the logical step after the deve- conditions for transforming the know- agement and establish sustain-
lopment (WP 5) and implementation ledge management. able structures for managing
(WP 6) of the CLD-strategies that were This WP, setting the basis for the capi- CLD in the COMUNIS pilot areas.
identified by each partner in the pilot talisation of project results and the add- COMUNIS runs from July 2009 to
areas. ed value produced by the project imple- June 2012.
The activities in this framework aim at mentation, is an essential element for
critically evaluating the project deve- the viability and sustainability of the PROJECT PARTNERS
lopment and its implementation in the project results and instruments beyond
Lead partner:
pilot areas, as well as the consecutive the official project end in June 2012.
University of Applied Sciences
adaptation of the CLD-strategy and Western Switzerland, Institut
instruments based on the experiences Maria Crea Economie et Tourisme (CH).
made and lessons learnt on site. S. C. Langhe Monferrato Roero ERDF-Lead partner:
Chambre de Commerce et
d’Industrie de Lyon (F).
COMUNIS @ Forschungsmarkt regiosuisse 2010 Other partners:
Stadt Sonthofen (DE), Eurac-
The event “Forschungsmarkt regio- peripheral areas and mountain areas.
Research, Institute for Regional
suisse & Tagung Regionalentwicklung
Eurac staff member Miriam Weiß re- Development and Location Man-
2010” was held on 1 September in Lu-
ported on the topic of inter-municipal agement (IT), Canton du Val-
cerne, CH. It offered opportunities to
commercial site development in South ais Service du développement
gain some insight into the interdisciplin-
Tyrol and on the preliminary research économique (CH), Ministero
ary practice of the New Swiss Regional
results of the COMUNIS-project. dell’Ambiente e delle Tutela del
Policy (NRP) and its development.
In addition, participants were involved Territorio e del Mare (IT), Bosch
Representatives from the research, aca- Partner GmbH (DE), Regionalent-
in 15 round tables devoted to issues rel-
demic and business communities de- wicklung Vorarlberg (AT), Società
evant for regional development to iden-
livered lectures and presented project Consortile Langhe Monferrato
tify research gaps from the perspective
posters on the topic of “Effective spatial Roero, settore progetti europei
of the NRP implementation practice.
policies: synergies and conflicts”, in- (IT), BSC Poslovno podporni cen-
terdisciplinary and practical approach- ter, d.o.o., Kranj (SI), Association
es for dealing with socio-economic, Miriam L. Weiß Suisse pour le Service aux Régions
economic and cultural challenges in Eurac-Research et Communes (CH).
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