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About: Working Group on Regional Development & Inter-regional Cooperation

 
The Working Group throughout its existence since 2015 has discussed the basic principles of Regional Development & Inter-regional Cooperation.
 

I. Field of Research.

The problems of regionalization and inter-regional cooperation have been concentrated recently on issues of territorial governance, sustainable development of territories, and intra- and extra-territorial connections both for EU members and non-EU countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. To identify best practices and models of regional development and to discover how it is possible to apply the best practices for different cases, can be seen as a significant part of the solution for the problems of regional development and inter-regional cooperation.

This field of research will provide an excellent focus for discussion of the diverse needs of the varied regions of Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

A possible title of WG could be be "Regional development and Inter-regional Cooperation”

 
 

 

II. Background Information about the Working Group

 

Great interest to participate in the researching of theoretical and practical problems in the area of regional development was shown by colleagues from Central and Eastern Europe during the last two annual NISPACee conferences. The great success of the Belgrade conference was its concentration on the problem of Regionalization and Inter-regional Cooperation. This led to the initial establishment of our working group "Governance of Territories and Regional Development: Best Concepts and Practices” during the Budapest NISPA conference at May 2014, which collected over 15 abstracts, 8 of which were reported during the conference. Among the researchers were representatives of UK, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Poland. Papers presented tackled a wide range of issues, including the methodologies of measurement of regional development, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of development strategies and plans. Institutional frameworks, including governance arrangements were also a focus of study, with cases examining the impact of different forms of decentralization and devolution on regional development. Papers with a comparative focus examined variations in regional development policies across and between different EU member states. These and other themes themes are likely to be of continued wide appeal and relevance to NISPACee members.

 

A further attractive feature of the papers presented was the combination of disciplines offered by the researchers, including papers by economists, political scientists and public administration experts.

 

On the base of positive results of last two years, we would like to propose the establishment of this Working Group and that we should continue to explore the topic of regional development during the next years.

 
 

 

III. Goals and Objectives

 

Goals of the WG activity is to research both in theoretical way and in best practices the problems of governance and development on the regional level. The problems of inter-regional cooperation are vital for recent economic, political, cultural reality of Eastern Europe, and to find the best theoretical and practical decisions for elimination of the tensions between different regions, to establish the cooperation of regions can be recognized as the top priorities for Public Administration and Public Policy nowadays.

Possible topics for discussion , that are based on present objective conditions of regional development, are:

• Regionalism and regionalization in the context of globalization: driving forces, differences, background;

• Best practices and mechanisms for sustainable regional development;

• The models of regional governance;

• Inter-regional networks;

• Regional identities;

• Strategy for successful economic development of regions: cooperation, or autonomy?

• Territorial differences and regional heterogeneity: EU and EU neighbors;

• Possibilities and different schemes of cooperation between heterogeneous regions, out of EU, and EU regions with non-EU regions.

The benefits for practice and scholarship that can be achieved through WG activity, include but are not limited by the description of the best practices of inter-regional cooperation and development, and by exploring new models of territorial governance. Such a theme is highly significant for NISPACee countries, especially given the current levels of political and socio-cultural diversity of its regions.