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Cross-border
economic
development
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Territory portraits: economic development on different borders
Sectors of economic cooperation
The life sciences and energy sectors are at the heart of the Upper
Rhine’s regional economy.
Ì
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The BioValley and TRION networks
, which bring together
French, German and Swiss clusters in the sectors, facilitate the
exchange of knowledge across borders not only though the
organisation of joint events (conferences, seminars, etc.) but
also by encouraging partnerships and joint projects between
companies. Interclustering by sectoral grouping should involve
other clusters within the Upper Rhine region in future.
Forms of cooperation are also developing at more local levels:
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The Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict
is home to a number of
concrete initiatives to help entrepreneurs on both sides of the
Rhine and foster their networking. The cross-border “Project
Cafés”
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, a project implemented by the Urban Community of
Strasbourg and the Eurodistrict and launched in 2013, consists
of thematic workshops aimed at supporting people with business
projects in their administrative procedures on the other side of
the border and orienting them according to their specific needs
(financing tools, premises, etc.). These meetings continued in
2014 and should ultimately make possible the establishment of a
permanent support structure. As regards premises for businesses,
two business incubators have been set up (in Hautepierre, an area
of Strasbourg, and in Offenburg) and the Urban Community of
Strasbourg is working on setting up a French-German structure
which will enable the availability of property on the French side
of the border to be linked with the attractiveness of the market
on the German side.
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For more information, see the Project Factsheet.
The KiosK Office, Strasbourg-Ortenau
© Start Hop