Launching new forms of territorial cooperation ULYSSES Using applied research results from ESPON as a yardstick for cross-border spatial development planning Gödollö, Hungary 21 June 2011

Ulysses - overall approach Ulysses is about combining already existing ESPON data -and to a limited extent some additional data provided by stakeholders- for producing six comprehensive territorial analyses and seven short data fact sheets on 13 cross-border areas across Europe. This analysis will cover the whole spectrum of multi-thematic topics and spatial scales identified for this project in coordination with the stakeholders, namely: + 4 themes illustrating the territorial state and dynamics of each area: Polycentric development; Urban/rural relationship; Accessibility and connectivity; Effects of demographic change. + 2 performance topics: Lisbon/Europe 2020 objectives; Gothenburg strategy; The former are the only themes to be included in the 7 short data fact sheets. The following research areas will be just included in the 6 comprehensive territorial analyses. These areas are: + The structural and activity dimensions of cross-border governance + An analysis of the six cross-border areas in the light of some qualitative scenarios developed by previous ESPON project 3.2 - Spatial Scenarios and Orientations. The empirical correlations between all the themes included in the comprehensive analyses will be analysed in an integrated framework that will eventually lead to produce methodological guidelines for future analysis and policy recommendations at national and EU (ESPON area) levels.

Ulysses - potential contribution Launching new forms of territorial cooperation: What evidence could support European territories in identifying priority areas of cooperation? Ulysses will show that these potential subjects are place-specific What could be best governance model or approach to ensure results of territorial cooperation? Ulysses will identify potential institutional drivers in each case study. In this context, how can Ulysses project contribute providing specific answers to the questions posed by ESPON within this policy-oriented panel: What evidence could support European territories in identifying priority areas of cooperation? + Most probably, no universally valid answer exists for this question, as these potential areas of cooperation appear to be place-specific. For that reason, Ulysses will contribute to identify those potential spheres of cooperation within each cross-border area and more generally those thematic topics –polycentrism, accessibility and connectivity, urban/rural relationship and demographic change- behaving as key issues that will deserve further analysis for future territorial cooperation strategies . What could be best governance model or approach to ensure results of territorial cooperation? + As we have shown in the previous slide, Ulysses will identify some potential institutional drivers for each cross-border area. Thus, our project will answer to what extent the institutional setting might allegedly impact cross-border cooperation. But again, Ulysses’ preliminary findings should be further validated with more case-specific analyses within each cross-border area. Ulysses will not propose governance models in any case.

Example - demographic behavior 2000-2009 This final slide shows an example of the types of output that Ulysses will generate aiming at defining the most relevant potential challenges within the 6 cross-border areas with regard to demographic change. Ulysses will provide enough evidence for: + Defining spatial outliers at different scales; + Defining clusters of homogeneous behaviour; + Empirically detect border effects for each theme under analysis. The final objective is to pinpoint specific subjects or spatial areas that will require in-depth analysis when developing comprehensive cross-border territorial cooperation strategies.