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Cross-border
economic
development
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Cross-cutting themes in cross-border economic development
Cross-border economic governance
Cross-border economic development spans the actions of a multitude
of different public, semi-public and private players – collective and
individual entities operating at the national, cross-border and international
level. These include businesses, competitiveness clusters, employer
organisations, research centres, universities, territorial authorities,
chambers of commerce and industry and development agencies and
vary widely in terms of their functions, interests, operating methods,
etc. The interaction between them also varies, notably on account
of the administrative and territorial arrangements of the different
countries, which are themselves fluid as a result of reforms (transfers
of competences, establishment/merger/disbanding of entities, etc.).
Identifying relevant players
Cooperation between economic players is not necessarily natural
behaviour – especially in the presence of a border. The absence of
harmonised cross-border statistics and the lack of understanding of
the economic development ecosystems on the other side of the border
constitute a major obstacle to cooperation.
The asymmetry that exists between states that are organised
centrally (such as France) and those with federal structures (such
as Germany, Belgium and Switzerland) in terms of competences
and decision-making – as well as cultural differences more generally
(administrative, legal and technical cultures, etc.) – requires players
to get to know one another and identify the competent entities that
they consider key to the implementation of cross-border economic
development actions.
In other words, players need to identify their counterparts in the
neighbouring economic system. This initial mapping of players and
functions, which is combined with a process of getting to know each
other’s practices and methods, is thus a precursor to the establishment
of any cross-border economic partnership and a continuous learning
process in the presence of institutional and territorial reforms. The
operational recommendations set out in the guide to economic
development partnerships address this issue.
Cooperation is a process; it is a decision that corresponds to an evolving
construction, first at national and then at cross-border level.
InnovARC project, in the French-Swiss Jura Arc