News in the field of regional development
Aquaculture Expert Floor for Circular Economy Practice
For over 30 years, the European Interreg program for the southern Baltic Sea region has been strengthening cross-border cooperation in order to shape a liveable and sustainable future locally. With AquaLoop, the funding program supports a project that further develops...
The mobile future in the district of Miesbach
With the help of the LEADER funding program, the Bavarian district of Miesbach is developing an integrated mobility concept that promotes sustainable and future-proof local transport development. Two workshops for local authority representatives and citizens from the...
FTTH Conference 2025: aconium Panel – Join now!
The FTTH Conference 2025, Europe's leading platform for exchange on digital infrastructures and fiber deployment, will take place in Amsterdam from 25 to 27 March. The event brings together high-ranking representatives from politics, business and technology to discuss...
Regional development
Regions compete with each other – for inhabitants and businesses, for investors and tourists.
A well-functioning infrastructure is one of the essential location factors for the development of regions. Concepts for digitisation, education, mobility and the supply of energy are an essential factor for regional development not only in conurbations but also in rural areas. Questions relating to these topics must not only be considered in isolation, in terms of their efficiency, but also politically, geographically and socially, in terms of their areas of application and target groups.
aconium has sound knowledge in all these areas and specialises in rural regions and inter-municipal cooperation. We look after well-known companies and authorities at federal and state level and ensure concrete implementation in individual municipalities and municipal associations.
Whether feasibility studies or the implementation of complex projects on a local or international scale are required – we support you in every phase and with every question!
Regional profiles – more than marketing
What is important is the image of a region, its profile and concentration on individual focal points which, at best, generate unique selling points. It is often easier to develop such a profile with an objective view of the potentials and problems. It is important to involve all actors – participative approaches such as those pursued by aconium are therefore the most promising.
Every region needs a profile – a subject and competence area that makes the region special, makes it stand out and makes it interesting for companies, investors and the population. We help you to build up such a profile. We develop a regional strategy with you and accompany the implementation from overall coordination to personnel and financial planning. This also includes:
- Innovation development (preparing your region for the future through targeted communication processes)
- Personnel development (education and training, recruitment of qualified workers and their adequate and profitable deployment in the region)
- Regional marketing (national attention for your profile/field of competence)
- Campaign management (offensive, targeted and customer-oriented advertising for your ideas and goals in order to find and retain sponsors and investors)
Holistic participation
Major projects, usually construction measures, do not always find the support of the population. Misunderstandings and communication problems can occur not only between citizens and companies, but also between administration and contractors. These obstacles can be identified and eliminated at an early stage through strategic support. Monitoring and professional communication are essential influencing factors which contribute to the success of a project.
The early involvement of different groups of actors and a good information policy can lead projects to success and help to avoid conflicts. aconium accompanies and coordinates participation processes, uses them in a targeted manner and acts as a negotiating partner, moderator or mediator. Through systemic analyses, high-quality preparation and follow-up and strategic actions, we are in a position to steer and bring diverging interests together. aconium is committed to research and teaching in the development of new participation methods. New approaches can be developed through the participation of different actors and interest groups. Especially in regional development, future-oriented citizen participation is very helpful even for small projects.
A successful example is the development of a new Internet presence for the city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck within the framework of the Smart Cities project involving young people in workshops. The participants were able to discuss the already implemented and still planned innovations of the city’s Internet presence. The main focus was on measures to address young adults in a better and more targeted way. In particular, usability and the use of social networks (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) were important topics addressed in the workshops.
aconium led the EU-project Smart Cities on behalf of the German partnership. The city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck and the Jade University in Oldenburg were two out of 13 partners in the participatory E-Government project. The project was supported by the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB).
