ESPON REGICO TOOL
Access ESPON REGICO TOOL

Version October 2021

developed by developed by OIR and Laurentia

What is the ESPON REGICO tool?

The ESPON REGICO tool is an interactive web application that can be used to compare regions in multiple contexts. The tool is meant to help regional and national policy makers but also supra-national institutions to understand a region's position compared to its neighbours, within a country, a specific regional setting or within Europe. ESPON REGICO can be used as a tool for benchmarking or as a means to decide on the distribution of investments in the context of regional development. 

The ESPON REGICO tool has been developed within the context of the HyperAtlas 3.0 activity.

How does the ESPON REGICO tool work?

ESPON REGICO is an interactive tool, designed to analyse regions based on a large set of indicators. It allows to set the regions in comparison with three different regional contexts:

LP - Large-scale perspective (e.g. ESPON Space, Macro-region, Interreg Programme region)

MP - Meso perspective (e.g. NUTS-0/national context)

NP - Neighbourhood perspective (e.g. surrounding regions)

The user can switch between different indicators and time horizons as well as different regional contexts. After making the desired selections regarding for example the area of interest, regional data level and indicators, the tool provides a set of maps, graphs and statistical information. These outputs can be used for quick spatial analysis as well as profound spatial investigations.

When to use the ESPON REGICO tool?

Regional authorities and regional planners can use the tool to look at a region from different perspectives and territorial contexts in order to establish and adapt measures tailor-made to the region’s needs. National authorities, mostly evaluating indicators for policy making in relative terms, can use the tool to compare their “own” regions in different regional settings, e.g. compared to the European Union, the national scale or administrative levels.

A model report illustrates how the REGICO tool can be used by different users to find answers to specific, typical questions using two different storylines. One storyline is about a regional authority wanting to investigate which regions in Europe are likewise densely forested and have a low share of the population at working age. The second storyline is about a national authority, co-responsible for the coordination of the EU-strategy of the Danube Region, wanting to investigate if the overall goal of cohesion has been achieved.

Who can access the ESPON REGICO tool?

Everyone can access the tool using the “START” button on the home page of the ESPON REGICO tool. A video, accessible from the tools home page, explains all functionalities of the tool. A help button (?) inside the tool gives access to a user manual, a glossary, the model report, the video and a document explaining in a nutshell the methodology used.