Socio-economic and Political Responses to Regional Polarisation in Central and Eastern Europe RegPol²

Project background New patterns of regional disparities in CEE on multiple scales Strong socio-economic spatial polarisation between metropolised core regions and remaining parts of CEE countries High demand throughout EU for professionals dealing with these issues

Aim of the project Research on … Training of young researchers in … socio-economic forms of regional polarisation their wider impacts on society the responses conveyed by social, economic and political actors Training of young researchers in … better understanding of regional polarisation and interrelated policymaking processes in different contexts communicating relevant information for decision making academic and private sector

Network Partners from 7 different countries 8 full and 5 associated partners 8 academic and 5 private partners 13 PhD students and 3 PostDocs with 11 different nationalities Individual interlinked research projects Joint research and training programme Countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Finland Full partners: IfL (Leibniz-Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig), STU (Slovak University of Technology – SPECTRA Centre of Excellence in Bratislava), CERS-HAS (Centre for Economic and Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Békéscsaba), UT (University of Tartu), UBB (University Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca), Social Impact (Potsdam), Geomedia (Tartu), MEPCO (International Advisory Centre for Municipalities in Prague) Associated Partners: Eurofutures (Karis/Finland), UEP (University of Economics in Prague), USZ (University of Szeged), NW-RDA (North-West Regional Development Agency in Comuna Baciu, Cluj), VdG (Verband deutscher Gründungsinitiativen – Association of German Start-up initiatives, Berlin) Nationalities of fellows: Austrian, Canadian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Latvian, Moldovan, Romanian, Swedish

Work packages Work Package Work Package Title Type of Activity WP1 Evolution, Reproduction and Persistence of Centrality and Peripherality Research WP2 Governance of Core-Periphery Relations WP3 Adaptation, Strategies and Potentials WP4 Research Training Programme Training WP5 External Communication Outreach WP6 Project Management Management

Work packages WP1: Evolution, Reproduction and Persistence of Centrality and Peripherality Territorial mobility and socio-spatial polarisation in Romania and Hungary Fuzziness and softness in spatial patterns of regional policies. The example of the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Germany European and national regional and innovation policies reproducing peripheries? – A critical analysis Production of core-periphery relations through the social nexuses of economic agents settled in backward regions Development perspectives of village communities in rural Estonia The formation and (re-)production of spatial social and economic polarisation

Work packages WP 2: Governance of Core-Periphery Relations Leadership and institutional change in peripheralised municipalities Path-contingency and path-innovation of regional policies in old and new economy locations. The examples of Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia The role of policy paradigms for the governance of core-periphery relations in Germany and Romania Multilevel governance for balanced development between core and peripheral spaces. A regional comparison between the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany Theoretical foundations for transnational comparative research on the governance of core-periphery relations

Work packages WP 3: Adaptation, Strategies and Potentials Everyday practices of adaption and resistance to peripheralisation at household scale The role of social innovation, social entrepreneurship and social business in regional development. A comparative study between Germany and Hungary The role of business innovation in the development of “peripheral” and “backward” regions” in East Germany and peripheral Estonia The role of renewable energy in the development of peripheral rural areas in North-West Romania Theoretical and conceptual thoughts around the ways of adaptation, the formation of strategies and the potentials for new developments

WPs and cross-cutting themes as theoretical framework

Secondments Secondments as key elements of training programme Intersectoral and transnational secondments Support collaboration along cross-cutting theoretical themes Fig. 3: Location, order and duration of secondments

Network-wide training events Date Main Training Events & Conferences Place 11/2014 RegPol² Introductory Event “Basic Understanding on core-periphery relations in Central and Eastern Europe: Implications for research and methodology” Bratislava 02/2015 1st RegPol² School “Scientific concepts of and policy approaches towards polarisation processes in Central and Eastern Europe” Tartu 05/2015 Training event for complementary methodological skills Leipzig 10/2015 2nd RegPol² School “Empirical perspectives on Central and Eastern European polarisation processes and their analysis” (Mid-Term Review) 09/2016 3rd RegPol² School “Beyond disparities: strategies towards a balanced spatial development” 12/2016 RegPol² Work Package Meeting Cluj-Napoca 06/2017 RegPol² Final Training “Policy implications and communication of research results” Békéscsaba 08/2017 International Conference “Socio-economic and Political Responses to Regional Polarisation in CEE”

Supervisory Board (SB) Project Management Group (PMG) Quality Manager Organisation – RegPol² flow Equal Opportunity Commissioner Ethics Commissioner Research Executive Agency (REA) Supervisory Board (SB) 1 representative per full and associated partner + Junior Coordinator Project Coordinator Project Office Project Management Assistant, Financial Management Assistant Project Management Group (PMG) Work Package Leaders (WPL) WP 1 WPL: CERSHAS ESR 1-5, ER 1 WP 2 WPL: UT ESR 6-9, ER 2 WP 3 WPL: IfL ESR 10-13, ER 3 WP 4 WPL: STU WP 5 WPL: MEPCO WP 6 WPL: IfL

ITN in Horizon 2020 Innovative Training Networks are part of Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions Training of PhD students with a full-time employment contract according to MSC rules Fellows can be of any nationality but must follow the mobility rule (≤ 12 months during the last 3 years in country of recruitment) Involvement of academic and private partners Secondments are integral part of projects Job advertisements e.g. on EURAXESS http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/

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