Informed decision making is gaining in importance in collaborative planning, governance and programming processes. National and regional authorities working together in the Danube region acknowledge the need for empirical evidence when setting policy priorities, parameters and perimeters of cooperation formats and laud the merits of monitoring instruments and indicators when assessing the impact of public policy interventions. 

On 4 April 2019, ESPON gathers key stakeholders involved in cooperation formats such as the EU Strategy for the Danube Region,  Interreg Danube and Central Europe. The seminar will provide a wide range of data, indicators and tools that help to monitor territorial trends, compare regional social, economic and environmental performance and identify functional linkages beyond national borders. These insights can support the iterative process of strategy development, monitoring and evaluation. ESPON is also examining the consequences of territorialism, the cost of borders and discontinuity of cooperation, projecting the territorial developments in mid-term and long-term policy scenarios. The role of cooperation amidst the new challenges that ESPON’s European Territorial Reference Framework refers to as the ‘crisis of territorialism’ is projected to be at its greatest height over the next decade. The increasing problems of efficiency and legitimacy of governance compounded by future technological, economic, social and environmental trends necessitates common understanding and a common territorial vision. Insights from ESPON on the territorial future can help to reconcile various interests and serve as an inspiration to shape a common vision for the Danube region.

Please register here before March 29 on espon.eu/danube.