Municipalities are facing ever-growing challenges, such as the energy transition, growing social inequality and migration. The traditional organisation of the public sector, however, is not set up for solving non-linear, multi-layered challenges. The ERASMUS+ project Public:START provides guidance for municipalities to navigate through their challenges. Speakers will demonstrate examples on how tough problems can be managed, and what competences are needed to do so.
- Rural | Local and regional | EU/ European | Sustainable | Governance and Public administration | Industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (enterprise/ startup/ business)
- Code: 10WS23334
Speakers
Moderator
Practical information
- When
-
Tue 10/10/2023, 16:30 - 17:30 CET
- Type of partnership
- NONE
- Format
- Workshop
- Theme
-
Regions in post-industrial transition
- Language
- English
Partners
Document
eu_week_speaker_poster
Reporting
Session summary
"The Role of Government in Solving Complex Socio-Economic Challenges" - how can the public sector contribute to solving complex challenges, such as climate change or migration, by means of new ways of thinking and working? This question was in the very center of a one-hour session at the European Week of Regions and Cities.
Iris-Rickhoff-Fischer (Domhan Vision) presented results of the ERASMUS+ project public:START, including in particular an on-the-job learning tool to support staff of public institutions in dealing with complex challenges. Stina Gottlieb (Sotenäs Municipality, Sweden) gave insights into her work as a Symbiosis developer, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with universities, politics, business and society in the sense of the quadruple helix model. Anu Manickam (Hanzehogeschool Groningen), on the other hand, highlighted a successful experiment in local cooperation between universities and municipalities exemplified by the Westerkwartier region (Netherlands). Arne Ortland (University of Vechta) guided the audience through the presentations and moderated a lively discussion afterwards.
The workshop session was attended by a diverse spectrum of public sector institutions, ranging from rural municipalities to major European cities. What is more, the questions that were asked during the discussion made it abundantly clear that there is an actual and pressing demand for new working models, as presented by the three speakers. Overall, the workshop underlined that discussions around the role of government in solving complex socio-economic challenges will likely further gain momentum in the near future.
