Achievements
1. Raising awareness at all levels, sharing and improving knowledge and building a common understanding on the project's issues. It includes:
- a. structured exchanges of information and monitoring among partners as far as their respective territories are concerned, with the help of the Scientific Committee (SC), contacts in other regions/provinces/towns;
- b. effective and widespread communication of the project's objectives (general public and target groups) via the publications, a powerful web site, a purposely-designed exhibition to be circulated in different countries. The observation activity had already started and highlighted the variety of local situations and the impact of external variables (national/regional political and economic policies, administrative approaches) that will have to be further investigated. The Scientific Steering Committee collect and present existing research and indicators within the project's framework. results: reports and publications, research reviews, web site, exhibition, press conferences and local communication events.
AlpCity candidatures for awards.
2. Promoting and supporting local innovative actions and approaches. The project actively promoted the design and implementation of 21 pilot activities (project-cases) at the local level,
that are potential Best Practices and models in local endogenous development and urban development in struggling small alpine communities.
These activities were mainly strategic and feasibility studies on relevant issues in the 4 fields identified by AlpCity:
- a. economic development;
- b. services/quality of life;
- c. urban environment;
- d. cooperation among towns.
They were scattered throughout the Alps, to cover different contexts and representative situations. The activities
were bottom-up, i.e. promoted and realised as much as possible by Local Authorities and inhabitants, if needed with the help of consultants and experts.
They were always of transnational interest
, both in the issues faced (diffuse problems) and methodology (analysis in different regions/countries, trans-national meetings and exchanges). Participatory and integrated approach
were promoted. Expected results: 21 new best practices in a coherent overall framework.
3. Promoting and developing general practice and policy guidance. First, a best practice collection
a best pratice collection has been designed and undertaken, to illustrate examples of strategic activities undertaken by small local authorities in the Alps that have significantly improved the local economic, urban and environmental conditions (indicators). Secondly, a common activity on designing practice and policy guidance (addressed to local authorities, regions and the EC) has been realised, under the scientific direction of one partner but with the help of all the others and the SC. Results: a multilingual database of 15 best practice cases throughout the Alps (publication, web site, exhibition); a report of policy guidance and future scenarios.
4. Promoting long and short networks and new forms of co-operations. Across all project's activities vertical (especially between regions and towns) and horizontal cooperation (between regions themselves, towns, universities)
were sought
for. Expected results: the establishment of new local and European networks on the project's issues, where alpine
small towns are the main beneficiaries of new programmes, actions and technical assistance.