No abstract

No abstract

a b s t r a c tIn the framework of the INTERREG IVC RENERGY project an innovative methodology was devised to exploit stakeholder involvement on energy and environmental decisions at community level and to increase community acceptance. It is based on the "Living Lab" paradigm applied to policy making as a powerful instrument to encourage and coordinate stakeholder engagement. The paper describes the preliminary stakeholder analysis performed and the application of "Energy Lab" concept to eleven different EU communities (Kaunas e LT, Torre Vedras e PT, Potenza e IT, Slagelse e DK, Durham and Sheffield e UK, Tulln e AT, Szentes e Hu, Jaslo e PL and Avrig e RO) with the purpose of identifying gaps and needs at regional level, share the knowledge through the discussion of exemplar case studies, maximize the transfer of good practices for the regional implementation plans and derive effective policy recommendations. The results show that the Energy Labs can give a sound basis for a future dialogue and a long lasting co-operation among the different parties and can be therefore considered an investment in the future at community level. At interregional level the comparison of the experiences among different countries helps to highlight the different motivations and aspirations of the various communities as well as the main common barriers in the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies.

This paper describes the methodology and the definition of the regional innovation strategy, based on the Information Technology, Communications and Electronics (ITCE) clusters, for the North of Portugal under the project NORTINOV 2015, which was promoted by the commission for the coordination and regional development of the north of Portugal (CCDR-N) under the NORTINOV programme. Three strategic lines were proposed to achieve a regional innovation strategy for the ICTE cluster for the year 2015: the strategic line, in order to create conditions for the development of innovative clusters, the sustainability line, in order to facilitate the interaction with other clusters, and the structural line, in order to position the North region as a world-class region.

selada c., cunha i. & tomaz e., 2012. Creative-based strategies in small and medium-sized cities: Key dimensions of analysis.abstract. The present article intends to contribute to the literature and research agenda regarding the importance of the creative economy as a driver for the revitalisation and development of small and medium-sized cities in Europe. Several studies argue that these territorial areas are necessarily doomed to failure and decline due to the lack of critical mass and density in terms of economic and institutional resources. However, some small towns are changing their development path towards a new 'urban' paradigm. The present research aims to identify and analyse a set of dimensions that have to be taken into consideration in the implementation of creative-based strategies in small and medium-sized cities, namely: governance factors, endogenous factors, and territorial embeddedness. key words: small and medium-sized cities, creative economy, creative-based strategies, local development Catarina Selada, INTELI, Av.