Joint action of Baltic metropolises towards the development of coordinated investment approach in the Baltic sea region

Objective

The overall objective of the project is to promote balanced economic development of the Baltic Sea Region thereby increasing its competitiveness on the European and global area. The specific project objective encompasses the promotion of sustainable development of the Baltic metropolises through creating a coordinated approach to investment planning and management in the metropolitan areas. Creating an implementing investment strategies that respect the individual strengths and competitive advantages of each the metropolis within the framework of the development perspectives of the Baltic Sea Region will create a greater impact on the reduction of the East-West divide than chaotic and uncoordinated attraction of incidental investments, which fail to generate the desirable long-term effect.

Description:

The Project is partly financed by the EU Initiative program and co-financed by 4 project partners — Riga City Council, Vilnius City Municipality, Tallinn City Government and Baltic International Centre of Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS).

The specific project activities will be implemented in the three Baltic States- Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In particular it will take place in the metropolian areas of the Baltic States.

Project Background

As the European Union embarks the ten new member states a number of challenges arise. The risk persists that limited capacities of the new member states and rigid practices of the old ones may lead to strategic decisions that would lack innovative approaches. Along with under-utilisation of the available funds and instruments this might put the new member states in a situation where they are not capable in gaining sufficient speed for cohesion consequently causing unpredictable distortion of the enlarged single market. The upcoming enlargement will have an inevitable impact to various spheres of life around the Baltic Sea.

Metropolises, the ones on the eastern side of the sea, in particular, are playing an increasing role in the forming regional market. Unless a co-ordinated intervention is in place the process might lead to increased development disparities among the Baltic Sea Region countries. The Baltic metropolises are well on the way to join the bunch of the larger urban regions like Berlin that are the drivers behind Baltic Sea Region’s economic development. Too often the locally focused approaches to various development issues are not coordinated on the regional level and thus fail to bring the desirable effect. The project aims at promotion of sustainable development of the Baltic metropolises through creating a coordinated approach to investment planning and management in the metropolitan areas.

The project deals both with designing the strategies, improving the investment management processess, working with the different stakeholders whose cooperative attitude is crucial to the goals of the project, as well as increasing availbality and accessibility of information to support the implementation of the developed approach.

Strategic focus

Use a common approach to coordinating investment management in Baltic metropolises based on their competitive advantages within Baltic Sea region.

• Improve investment environment by increasing the availability of investment- related information in comparable and common format across Baltic Sea region.
• Involvement of stakeholders in process of definition, elaboration and enforcement of investment strategies to ensure their sustainability.
• Process analysis to ensuere continuity of project results. Raising- of-awareness about the implemented project and the achieved results.

Planned Results

Coordinated investment strategies of the BALTMET INVEST metropolises that are based on the competitive advantages of each metropolis in the framework of developing the Baltic Sea region into an important economic force.

• Common internet portal with on- line connection and data exchange with the individual local websites providing investment information in Baltic Sea region. On- line database (in the portal) with at least 150 investment objects in the Baltic metropolises.
• Political approval of the prepared investment strategies, created cooperation networks locally and across the Baltic Sea region
• Created best practice for coordinating investment management across baltic Sea Region, information about project disseminated to stakeholders and the general public, strategy for expansion of the BALTMET INVEST cluster prepared.

Work Packages

All project activities are divided into four Work Packages:

• Work Package 1— Development of coordinated investment strategies;
• Work Package 2— Increasing of the availability and accesibility of investment- related information;
• Work Package 3— Networking;
• Work Package 4— Dissemination of results;