How City-Region Cooperation Crafts Sustainable Innovative Ecosystems: a Capacity Building workshop

Each case study demonstrated the importance, opportunities and difficulties of adopting a multi-level governance model, and integrating it into the core of their strategic territorial development and innovation ecosystem to address complex challenges.

Key learnings from the workshop:
A shared vision is important, but shared leadership and ownership are key: it is important to know when to step back to let others take the lead.
Trust-based contracts or pledges signed by all actors, including politicians and business owners, are useful tools to ensure commitment from all.
In multi-level governance, as in any territorial development matter, one size/ one model does not fit all. Leveraging the local strengths and collaborating to address weaknesses is key.
Multi-level governance should not be superficial or an additional administrative burden and should clearly add value to all and at all levels. It does not always need to be formalised and it can happen organically within a territory or an ecosystem
Collaboration, coordination and stakeholder diversity are the fundamentals of efficient multi-level governance.
Despite many challenges to the implementation of multi-level governance in diverse contexts, participants agreed that when managed effectively, multi-level governance is crucial in promoting more inclusive, innovative, and effective policy making across Europe.

Participants also agreed that when addressing a complex topic, hearing and learning first hand from those who have tried it, and having the opportunity to reflect together, is where you generate the most added value.