Transnational rural and urban regions in Europe are currently facing a mix of socio-economic and environmental challenges, including unprecedented cross-border migration, climate change related phenomena such as floods and droughts, and significant changes in the urban-rural landscapes. Addressing these problems requires transnational cooperation and coordination. This paper evaluates different forms of transnational cooperation, with particular emphasis on projects in alpine border region. There are two objectives: to gain a better insight in the suitability of cooperation types in relation to thematic and spatial context; and, to determine if one specific type seems particularly appropriate for the transnational cooperation in the Alpine region and how far the recent Interreg program supports this cooperation type.
The typology of de Vries (2013) theorizes the differences of four primary cooperation forms (LOCUS, EVENTUS, MODUS, CAUSUS), which each have an effect on cooperation instruments and on anticipated results. This typology is useful to classify current cross-border projects in the investigation area and to compare their anticipated and actual process and outcomes based on their cooperation aims. The specific cases which are compared are retrieved from existing online databases (Interreg IV-A: Austria – Germany/Bavaria) and project reports from Austria and Germany. Statistical and qualitative data on those projects are collected using the empirical operationalization indicators from the cooperation typology. These include both basic conditions of the projects (such as funding requirements, initiators and participants) as well as relevant economic, social or environmental aspects.
The number of projects in the Interreg IV-A database alone indicates how dependent the region is on transnational cooperation. We found that these projects primarily rely on EVENTUS and CAUSUS type of cooperation, i.e. cooperation projects with clear outputs (products or services) and with implementation strategies emphasizing societal relevance respectively. In contrast, a LOCUS type, which relies on implementation of strategies with prescribed hierarchically implemented (inter)national standard indicators is hardly present in the Interreg program. With these findings we could also identify certain cooperation deficits and improvement potentials for the Interreg V-A program, such as stronger cross-border project participation of private actors and municipal authorities.
The findings are significant for coordinating future cross-border projects (especially in the field of climate change, globalization and demography). Recognizing that a variety in cooperation styles exist and that these have different effects on anticipated outcomes enables better formulation of funding and incentive strategies for regions.
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Transnational rural and urban regions in Europe are currently facing a mix of socio-economic and environmental challenges, including unprecedented cross-border migration, climate change related phenomena such as floods and droughts, and significant changes in the urban-rural landscapes. Addressing these problems requires transnational cooperation and coordination. This paper evaluates different forms of transnational cooperation, with particular emphasis on projects in alpine border region. Ther...
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