On January 26, the Brandenburg Land parliament took stock of the structural change process in Lusatia region. The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) was invited to the meeting of the Special Committee on Structural Development in Lusatia for an expert statement. Dr. Sebastian Heer from the IOER reported to the committee in particular on the workshop process (Werkstatt-Prozess) and evaluated the process from an expert perspective.
Interim balance in the Lusatian transformation process - IOER advises the Landtag Brandenburg
The thematic workshops (Werkstätten) working under the umbrella of the Wirtschaftsregion Lausitz (WRL, Lausitz Economic Region) are centrally concerned with the allocation of structural change funds for projects. They thus represent the heart of Brandenburg's procedure for awarding funding in accordance with the Structural Strengthening Act.
For about a year, Dr. Sebastian Heer from the IOER has been observing the workshop sessions in the course of the research project “Scientific support of the transformation in Lusatia Region” funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The scientist has summarized an analysis of these sessions in IZS Policy Brief No. 7. In the technical input for the Members of Parliament, Heer focused in particular on the process of the workshops' working procedure. He explained how the workshops were embedded in the structural policy decision-making processes of the state of Brandenburg, as well as their functional role, their degree of formalization and their transparency.
Overall, the IOER's assessment of the workshop process is positive. In his statement, Sebastian Heer praised the demanding activity profile of the workshops. In accordance with its purpose, the procedure focuses on exchange, participation and securing acceptance through communication. He also emphasized the willingness to understand the workshops as a learning process and to grant corresponding opportunities for further development and also readjustment.
The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development will continue to provide scientific support for Brandenburg's transformation process in the future and contribute constructively to the further development of the process.
The session of the Brandenburg Land parliament was reported on by various German media, including ZEIT ONLINE.
Contakt at the IOER/IZS
Dr. Sebastian Heer, E-Mail: S.Heer@ioer.de
Further information
- Series "Practical Handouts" on structural change in Lusatia (document language: German)
- Series "IZS Policy Briefs" on structural change in Lusatia (document language: German)
Background
In the project “Scientific support of the transformation process in Lusatia Region”, the IOER, represented by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Transformative Urban Regeneration (IZS) in Görlitz, is investigating the challenges and potentials of transformation process for the future of the region. In the process, proposals for the organisation of a successful transformation are being developed on a scientific basis. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) until September 2022.
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