ENECON - ESPON Evidence in a North European Context

Aim

The project ENECON addresses challenges and opportunities facing territorial development and spatial planning policies and practices, particular to the vast territory of the northern part of Europe.

By actively facilitating the use and capitalisation of ESPON-evidence the overall aim is to contribute to make clear the significance of the European perspective on territorial development and cohesion, and especially the crucial need for a transnational cooperation approach to territorial analysis, policies and planning, in a macro-regional context and perspective. The project’s interactions will also help building a Nordic-Baltic community around territorial development and spatial planning.

The project ENECON addresses the North European macro-regional perspective by primarily focusing on the Nordic and Baltic area, consisting of the eight countries Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, and particularly the spatial development and planning issues emanating from their common northern location and external northern neighbouring relations.

Main results in terms of capitalisation

Different target groups in the Nordic-Baltic countries will be involved in the project’s activities: e.g. policy-makers, professional planners and practitioners, scientists and young academics, students. The project’s interactions among these different groups will help building a solid Nordic-Baltic community around territorial development and spatial planning. This will result on:

• Top-down transfer of European concepts and perspectives and ESPON-evidence and insights (i.e. “downloading”).
• Bottom-up transfer of national and regional concepts and perspectives, and evidence/insights, including ideas and interests (i.e. “uploading”).
• Horizontal transmission of concepts and perspectives and evidence/insights among nations/regions in the Nordic-Baltic Macro-Region (i.e. cross-loading).

Main activities envisaged

• Nordic-Baltic macro-regional conference to be held at the end of the project implementation period (April 2014).
• “ESPON meets the Arctic” conference in cooperation with Northern Research Forum (August 2013).
• Small-scale workshops series addressing selected thematic issues (2012-2014).
• Teaching & training activities, including development of teaching material targeted at universities and academic community (September 2012- June 2013).
• Publications series based on each main event/activity and a final publication compiling and editing results.
• Project’s website to facilitate the dissemination of information. http://www.rha.is/enecon/forsida/

Lead Partner

Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, NO

Detailed information on the contracted project team can be found under Transnational Project Groups.

Budget: € 297.210, 00

Project’s lifetime: February 2012 – May 2014

Delivery of Reports

Draft Final Report: 28 February 2014

Final Report: 31 May 2014

More information

Please contact the Project Expert at the ESPON Coordination Unit:
Pierina PETRUZZI, email: [email protected]