Message from the ESPON Coordination Unit

First ESPON 2013 Scientific Report:
“Scientific Dialogue on Cities, Rural Areas and Rising Energy Prices”
and substantial interest for current ESPON Call

One of ESPON’s objectives since the start in 2002 has been to support the establishment of a European wide research community in the field of European territorial science. The aim being to increase the academic interest and competences in research on European territorial structures, trends, perspectives and impacts of EU sector policy.

ESPON has promoted this scientific component through conferences and workshops, cooperation with European organisations in the fields of regional science, geography and spatial planning, as well as with a dedicated series of reports mainly targeting the scientific community.

During the former ESPON 2006 Programme, two reports on scientific progress were published. Now the recently published, first ESPON 2013 Scientific Report continues and further develops this tradition. Scientific dialogue on the research findings is crucial through academic papers and presentations at academic conferences. This new as well as the planned additional ESPON Scientific Reports should substantially contribute to the scientific dialogue at European level among researchers and experts aiming at contributing to a scientific base for future policy development related to territorial development and cohesion.

The interest for taking part in ESPON projects is high. At the recent ESPON Info day in Brussels related to the current open calls, several hundred participants registered and were informed. This is a promising indication for ESPON which will hopefully result in many applications and teams of expertise competing in this round of call.

We hope you will enjoy reading the First ESPON 2013 Scientific Report Please and its collection of 20 maps. And please alert potential ESPON applicants and other interested parties on the actual Call for Proposals and Expressions of Interest that will all close with the deadline of 21 March 2011. This would support the building of the pan-European comparative evidence on territorial dynamics that ESPON stands for.

Peter Mehlbye
Director ESPON Coordination Unit
 

Please find below the Newsletter