Results and Effects
Expected Results
Process of inter-municipal or intra-territorial cooperation and CLD (commercial local development) started in at least 3 pilot regions, including for instance cost and revenue sharing mechanisms for inter-municipal or intra-territorial CLD based or charter of development. Location branding: Some of the pilot regions will be well known for their CLD initiatives on a national or even alpine-wide level and be considered as best practice example which should be followed by other less experienced regions.
The approved guidelines of the CLD have already been applied including concrete inter-municipal or intra-territorial instruments (e.g. pool of commercial areas), results of cost benefit and environmental assessment analyses, specifications for inter-municipal or intra-territorial organisations (considering the specific legal and organisational requirements in the respective countries). Establishment of a knowledge management system providing different intensities of exchange and common learning on a transnational level with all partners, municipalities and other involved actors (already during the project execution);on bilateral level by establishing intensive partnerships between municipalities; at least 2 tandems/tridems have been formed cultivating a close mutual exchange and consulting for at least the next 2 years. The communication strategy of COMUNIS has established a real awareness of Alpine municipalities for the necessity of inter-municipal or intra-territorial cooperation for CLD.
Use of Results
Administrations in the pilot regions will use the instruments for an efficient pooling of resources, e.g. by relieving existing structures for business development (by establishing inter-municipal / intra-territorial and professional service structures), establishing and maintaining of partnerships especially with SMEs, better management of scarce land resources, reducing costs for provision of infrastructure, systematically improving the regional image.
Other municipalities in the Alps will be motivated to use the guidelines, platforms, experiences and best practices generated by COMUNIS. SMEs will use common inter-municipal, intra-territorial or cross-border infrastructures and services to reduce costs and increase their innovation capacities. In addition the COMUNIS results will be used by public decision makers, politicians, the administrative bodies and practitioners in the fields of spatial planning, rural development, economic development and cross-sector cooperation.
Sustainability of Results and longlasting Effect
Use of the developed methods in SME-oriented CLD will have positive, long lasting, long term evaluable impacts, especially in terms of local job creation. The use of the approaches/tools and the creation of optimal framework conditions are the basic requirements to attract new companies and to strengthen the key economic sectors thus leveraging the existing endogenous potentials. The structures and instruments developed and tested will be used in different domains well after the end of the project. The most concrete impact is linked to the creation of sustainable CLD structures in pilot regions. Besides activities related to the profiling and branding of regions, these structures will be actively involved in the inter-municipal/intra-territorial exchange and supply of land resources and the roll out of practice-oriented and pro-active CLD policy. The inter-municipal aspect of these structures will foster long-term regional collaboration encompassing boundaries of single municipalities.