Chapter 7. Collaborative Regional Leadership – Conclusions

Drivers of Collaborative Regional Leadership

• Exogenous shocks: Exogenous shocks caused by both natural (e.g. climate change, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, landslides, flooding, forest fires) and human phenomena (e.g. pandemics, financial crashes, geopolitical tensions, new technology, terrorism) can act as facilitators for collaboration. The Finnish case study shows how rapid technological progress in green tech industries provided a platform for the Greenreality Network. In addition, the closure of the Russian border with Finland due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, has proven a catalyst for further collaboration within the Greenreality Network, as the need for energy self-sufficiency and sustainability has become more acute. One survey respondent from Åland noted that the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for collaboration, pointing out that ‘in handling the Corona pandemic, the collaboration between actors worked very well. The common, extensive challenge strengthened the bonds.’ This perspective was also confirmed in the Åland case study where the rise in digitalisation and home working during the pandemic provided a platform for the development of online computer courses as part of the Grit:lab initiative. These observations confirm recent research from Bourdin et al. (2024) that exogenous shocks, like the pandemic, can present a “window of opportunity” for regional actors to instigate new collaborative governance processes and policy changes. 
  
• Changes in the political, policy and funding climate: Changes in the political climate driven by elections, referendums, and new directions for EU and national policy and funding can present opportunities for developing collaborations at the regional level. Here, the Danish case is a good example, where the EU-level commitment to delivering climate and environmental goals in the EU Green Deal served as a spark for the C2C CC project, which provided a forum for municipalities and other actors to share knowledge and ideas on developing climate strategies and policies. The metaphor ‘window of opportunity’, popularised by the political scientist John Kingdon (1984), describes whether conditions for a particular policy or policy change are favourable or not. When problems, politics and policies align, ‘policy entrepreneurs can actively try to induce policy change (Kingdon 1984). The “window of opportunity” metaphor highlights the importance of having individuals within regional public and private institutions and organisations who are attuned to political change and policy and funding developments and the opportunities they present for building new collaborations. In this regard, the Grit:lab initiative took advantage of growing political support for greater digitalisation throughout Åland and finding digital solutions to local challenges. 
  
• Shared challenges/opportunities: All of the case studies highlight the identification of common challenges and opportunities as a key driver of regional collaboration. The need to identify solutions to a broad range of local climate and energy challenges was the catalyst for the C2C CC project and Greenreality Network; whereas the two other cases were driven by single local issues related to the need for adult computer learning in Åland and telemedicine healthcare provision for pregnant women in Iceland. This indicates the importance of providing regional institutions and stakeholders with discussion platforms focused on identifying shared challenges and opportunities as a first step in facilitating stakeholder dialogue and building collaborations. 
  
• Entrepreneurial ideas: Innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, often stimulated by exogenous shocks, political change, or new challenges and opportunities, is an essential driver of regional collaboration. The case studies have shown that entrepreneurial ideas can come from both top down and from the bottom up sources. The idea for promoting climate-based policy collaboration between Danish municipalities was a top-down initiative. The project concept came from actors working at the Central Denmark EU Office, responding to the EU Commissioner for the Environment’s request for large-scale strategic projects to deliver EU climate goals and targets. In contrast, the Greenreality Network was the brainchild of a group of local entrepreneurs working in the Lappeenranta energy sector. Similarly, the Grit:lab initiative was the vision of tech companies who recognised their crucial role in providing computer skills and education to people in Åland. The Icelandic case also shows that collaborative regional leadership can be driven by the vision of one person bringing together regional actors to support the idea of using telemedicine to provide midwife screening services to pregnant women in isolated locations. The cases reveal that it is not important whether entrepreneurial ideas for collaboration come from the top or bottom; what is more significant is that regional institutions and stakeholders are supportive of the idea and collaboration and that they engaged fully in the development and implementation of the policy, project, strategy, or plan. 

Collaborative Regional Leadership Challenges

• Institutional lack of capacities and resources: Regional and local authorities often play a key role in facilitating collaboration between stakeholders. A lack of capacities and resources at regional and municipal level authorities can, therefore, present significant obstacles for collaborative regional leadership initiatives, including: 1) limited mandate or responsibility in a specific policy sphere; 2) a lack of experience and competences in managing large-scale multi-actor collaborations; 3) limited knowledge and understanding of specific policy topics and the political climate; and 4) insufficient time and funding. Taking a broad perspective, one survey respondent from Örebro Region in Sweden argued that municipalities lack knowledge and understanding of the role and impact of developments in national and international policy on municipalities: ‘Municipalities are deeply preoccupied with day-to-day tasks. There is also a limited understanding within municipal administration and policymaking of the strategic implications to municipal affairs of global and national developments.’ Other survey respondents took a narrower viewpoint, suggesting authorities often lack knowledge and competences in specific policy fields, with the climate and environment regularly highlighted as areas where capacities are limited. One survey respondent from Viken region noted that ‘authorities, politicians and bureaucrats do not have sufficient knowledge and education to understand more complicated issues, like the environment.’ This point was supported by another respondent from Oulu municipality in Finland, who argued that ‘there seems to be a huge lack of understanding among local politicians about the urgency and means of tackling climate change, nature loss, etc.’ Regional and municipal authorities often play a key leadership role in facilitating collaborations, so limited capacities, knowledge, and resources can have a negative impact on their capacity to cope with a leadership position. A lack of knowledge can be easily overcome by bringing relevant expert stakeholders into a collaboration. This was evident in the Åland case, where computer tech companies were needed to plan and execute Grit:lab computer coding courses. Similarly, telemedicine experts were required to develop the technology needed to implement telemedicine consultations for pregnant women in Iceland. Limited management competences can have more serious implications for the overall collaborative process, as smooth cooperation requires good facilitators who understand the participants’ interests. Lack of time and funding also have negative effects on the long-term sustainability of collaborations. 
  
• Institutional Fragmentation: Institutional fragmentation, both internally and between public bodies, can make it challenging to build regional collaborations. One survey respondent from Iceland Norðurþing (Húsavík) region noted that collaboration exists between regions in Iceland, but there is a lack of cohesion: ‘there is interaction but lack of coordination of strategies.’ Similarly, one respondent from Åland pointed out that a ‘fragmented administrative structure with many small municipalities’ is an obstacle to collaboration in Åland. This fragmentation highlights a lack of a systemic and holistic approach to collaboration both within and between public authorities at regional and local level. There is a need to establish where it is feasible to coordinate strategies and policies between departments and across authorities by providing platforms to identify common challenges and opportunities. Enhanced cooperation and coordination can potentially lead to greater policy cohesion and make the overall use of capacities and resources more efficient. 
  
• Policy and regulatory frameworks: Policies and regulations provide a mandate and legal framework which includes formal and informal rules that can hamper cooperation and stakeholder participation in collaborative activities. In the Icelandic case study, a significant challenge was the absence of comprehensive legislation and regulations governing the use of telemedicine equipment. At the time the initiative started, there were no specific regulations addressing the use of telemedicine, which led to uncertainties regarding the legal and ethical aspects of remote medical consultations. In the Åland case, vital support and assistance was also needed from the ministries for education and economic affairs to ensure that the Grit:lab initiative format would fit into Åland’s policy and regulatory frameworks. In both these cases, support at the political level led to changes to the regulatory framework that enabled the collaborations to move forward. 
  
• Institutions and actors with different priorities: While actors are driven to collaborate by shared challenges and opportunities, differences in ideas, opinions, priorities, and values can potentially create tension and obstacles within a collaboration. In the Finnish case study, some participants argued that there was too great a focus on energy issues as many members came from the energy sector. The City of Lappeenranta, therefore, took a close look at each member’s interests to establish where there were commonalities and overlaps in priorities. A shared vision and sense of direction are important elements of collaboration which help to build trust and social capital between participants. An environment of consensus is difficult to create and maintain if stakeholder priorities and interests are too divergent. Place leaders may need to play a conciliatory role if disagreements arise, showing patience and empathy to help build connections between actors and find solutions that participants can support and implement even if differences in opinions remain. For example, in the Danish case, Region Midtjylland would step in to address challenges or disagreements as and when they arose. As the Danish and Finnish cases both indicate, ensuring open and inclusive communication channels from the outset of the collaboration can reduce the potential for disputes between participants.
  
• Weak collaboration culture: Recent academic studies have shown that collaboration culture is often weaker in larger cities and urban areas, which makes it harder to initiate collaborative activities; for example, developing a collaborative multi-actor smart specialisation strategy in the Stockholm Region has proved difficult (Giacometti & Wøien Meijer 2021). This challenge was also reflected in the Danish case study, where Aarhus municipality, the largest municipality in the Midtjylland Region, declined to play a full part in the C2C CC project, choosing only to participate in an advisory and observational role. Case study interviewees speculated that collaboration is not a necessity for Aarhus municipality in the same way it is for smaller municipalities in the region, as public and private actors in Aarhus have the resources and capacities to work alone. A weak collaboration culture also has ramifications for building trust and social capital between regional actors. One survey respondent from the Finnish South Ostrobothnia Region noted that ‘there are tensions and problems in collaboration between the region centre and other municipalities creating a lack of trust and common understanding.’ Another respondent from Östergötland Region in Sweden pointed out that building trust takes time and requires long-term collaboration: ‘Planning is long-term and requires long-term collaboration. We try to build trust and social capital by step-by-step deepening and broadening of the area in which we collaborate.’
  
• Political Involvement: Ensuring the direct involvement of regional and local politicians in collaborations is a common challenge. A lack of political engagement often stems from politicians’ limited awareness of collaborative activities and their capacities or knowledge in relation to the policy topic concerned. Efforts should be made to engage politicians at the outset of the collaboration because political-level involvement can lead to high levels of support, visibility and credibility for the policy/project, while also potentially adding important local knowledge to the process. At the same time, however, too much political involvement can be an unwanted hindrance and obstacle. In the Danish case, some politicians were pressured by local businesses and farmers to halt or delay the implementation of the C2C CC project. In any collaboration, the power relationships between participants can be asymmetric. It is vital that place leaders are aware of these power dynamics and ensure all voices are heard equally to prevent certain actors from exerting undue dominance or influence over the process. 
  
• Limited stakeholder engagement: Limited stakeholder engagement can be a challenge in two different ways: 1) key stakeholders are not involved in the collaboration; and 2) those actors that are involved are not fully engaged and committed to the process. On point one, successful collaborations require a mix of actors from different backgrounds, but participation is often restricted for certain groups due to a lack of time, capacity and financial resources. As the Finnish case study shows, universities and civil society groups did not feel they could participate in the C2C CC project as funding was limited, and they could not allocate internal funds to cover the additional costs involved. University involvement was also a challenge in the Åland case as Åland University was not interested in participating until Ålands Yrkesgymnasium joined the collaboration, the latter being Åland’s main institution for vocational training. Regarding point two, participating actors might not be fully engaged or deliver on tasks assigned to them. In these circumstances, place leaders have an important role to play in inspiring partners and maintaining their enthusiasm for the collaboration. This situation can also be avoided by ensuring that all partners are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities in relation to specific tasks at the outset of the collaboration. 
  
• Sustainability: Regional strategy planning involving regional stakeholders is legislated for and enacted in all of the Nordic countries and regions. In most cases, however, this planning is ad hoc and temporary. Permanent regional collaborative leadership platforms that meet after the preparatory planning phase are the exception rather than the norm; consequently, there is very little long-term sustainable collaboration between regional-level actors. Many regional collaborations are ad hoc and built around projects with temporary funding, which means the collaboration is often discontinued at the end of a project. As one survey respondent from the Swedish Strömstad Region commented, ‘there is collaboration, but it is project-driven, and not sustainable after the project is finished.’ The long-term sustainability of a collaboration needs to be considered and evaluated at both the start and the end of the initial period. Of course, each collaboration must be judged on its own merits, achievements, and future potential. If participants think a collaboration has achieved its aim and objectives, then there might be little value in continuation, but if further collaboration brings added value, then continuation might be desirable. In the latter scenario, participants can: 1) explore the possibilities of setting up a permanent regional-level collaboration platform; 2) extend the initial period of the collaboration by finding additional financial resources from funding bodies, or consider a small membership fee like the Greenreality Network in the Finnish case study; 3) persuade members to continue collaborative activities by advertising and accentuating the benefits and added value; and 4) assess whether the work and members of the collaboration can be integrated into existing networks in the region. 

Collaborative Regional Leadership Enablers

• Place leaders: The academic literature on regional leadership emphasises the vital role that “place leaders” – both formal (i.e. public authorities) and informal (i.e. industries, businesses, universities, NGOs, and societal groups) – play in fostering collaborations (Sotarauta and Beer 2021). In all of the case studies, formal and informal place leaders have emerged in the form of public authorities, businesses, universities, and individuals. The case studies support the academic literature in revealing that place leaders possess certain characteristics that enable them to effectively assist collaborative initiatives, including: 1) strong local network connections; 2) management experience; 3) empathy and the ability to facilitate dialogue between different stakeholders; 4) they are politically savvy; 5) boldness, with high levels of enthusiasm and inspiration; 6) they have a mandate to make things happen; 7) they possess knowledge and expertise in the field (Broadhurst et al. 2021). One individual or organisation might not possess all these qualities, so collaborations may require multiple place leaders, or a leadership group with roles moving between organisations and individuals at different stages of the collaboration. For example, the Icelandic case required technical telemedicine experts and healthcare professionals to work closely in the development and implementation of telemedicine consultations. Similarly, computer tech companies and education institutions were both needed to effectively implement computer courses as part of the Grit:lab initiative in Åland. The Finnish case is a good example of place leadership shifting throughout the collaborative process, with energy organisations showing leadership with the initial idea and during the set-up phase of the Greenreality Network before organisational leadership moved to the City of Lappeenranta to grow the network and facilitate interaction and the administration. In all of the cases, place leaders were highlighted as essential for the development and implementation of effective collaboration. The importance of place leaders was also confirmed by one survey respondent from the Swedish Örebro Region, who noted that ‘trusted individuals with a high degree of personal capacity are instrumental to further development and cooperation.’ (Survey Respondent 2023) This was clear in the Danish case, where Region Midtjylland was made the lead partner due to its experience in managing large-scale EU projects and its extensive networks throughout the region. 
  
• Strategic Planning: Academic literature on regional leadership argues that the development of a joint regional strategy or plan helps to build stakeholder collaboration around a common vision (Broadhurst et al. 2021). Stakeholder survey results indicate that widespread stakeholder involvement in the preparation of a regional strategy or plan is an important foundation for building collaborations. In other words, collaboration is not just a potential outcome of a regional strategy and vision but is cultivated through direct stakeholder involvement in the process of preparing a regional strategy or plan. A survey respondent from South-West Finland Region noted that ‘our cooperation based on the regional strategy is quite successful in building trust and connections between people and organisations.’ Another from Oulu municipality in Finland pointed out that ‘collaboration with big businesses, public authorities and society groups is extensive, for example, during land-use planning. The larger the plan, the more collaboration and discussion.’ These points indicate that proactive stakeholder engagement during the overall regional strategy and planning phase is essential for effective collaborative regional leadership. This suggests that long-term structured multi-actor planning platforms are needed that provide a forum for stakeholders to identify regional challenges and opportunities within the framework of a strategic regional vision. 
  
• Targeted Thematic Focus: The case studies and survey results suggest that collaborations are most effective if they are built around policy themes or key issues outlined within the framework of overall regional strategies or targeted regional plans. Several survey respondents highlighted the importance of a policy-sectoral or thematic approach to building collaborations. One survey respondent from South-West Finland Region noted that they ‘have several working groups and networks discussing and implementing joint objectives (for example, based on the regional strategy).’ Another survey respondent from the Finnish North Karelia Region highlighted the role of the regional authority in creating partnerships around key thematic areas: ‘the Regional Council facilitates several cooperation forums, some dedicated to cooperation between municipalities, some drafting, implementing and evaluating regional strategic programmes, some specific theme forums (like climate change, lifelong inclusion, etc.) and also forums for projects working on the same theme no matter what the funding source is.’ A thematic approach was also advocated by a respondent from the Swedish Örebro Region, who noted that ‘collaborations are established in various sectors.’ Other survey respondents pointed to specific thematic platforms as best practice examples of regional collaboration, such as the Krafttak for Grønn Vekst collaboration between private businesses and the public sector to speed up green transition for SMEs in the Gudbrandsdalen Region in Norway, or the network platform Bärkraft in Åland, which promotes inter-sectoral collaboration on issues concerning sustainable development. A respondent gave the example from the Swedish Darlana Region where they are trying to create a collaborative dialogue around key regional policy topics and issues: ‘As a regional public authority, we try to have stakeholder dialogue on all important issues. Examples include dialogue on energy-efficient housing (Byggdialog Dalarna), on public procurement (Upphandlingsdialog Dalarna), on wildlife management (Rådjursförvaltningen), on producing sustainable wind power (Vindkraftsdialogen).’ Building up thematic working groups that include relevant and interested stakeholders is vital for drawing up targeted knowledge-based policies and projects around the key themes in overarching regional strategies and plans. 
  
• Clear roles and responsibilities: The Danish case study attributed the smooth functioning of the C2C CC collaboration to the clear allocation of roles and responsibilities between partners at the outset of the project. The roles and responsibilities of participants need to be carefully considered in relation to 1) the collaboration’s governance and administrative structures; and 2) the implementation stage of a policy, plan, strategy, or project being conducted in a collaborative framework. The Danish case emphasised that assigning structured roles in relation to specific tasks at the outset of the project created an environment that provided participants with clear instructions and expectations regarding their positions in the collaboration. This served to reduce the potential for disputes between partners during the implementation phase. 
  
• Proactive stakeholder engagement: The proactive engagement and full commitment of collaborative partners are crucial elements of effective collaborations. Here, the role of place leaders is vital in inspiring and encouraging active partner involvement throughout the duration of the collaboration and showing diplomacy skills and empathy to address potential disputes and challenges as they arise. The Finnish case study highlighted the important role that business leaders and universities played in driving activities in the Greenreality Network. Public and private sector actors provided crucial funding for the telemedicine scheme in the Icelandic case study. The proactive engagement and commitment of stakeholders are, however, often largely determined by actors seeing the potential for positive results and benefits of participation. The Åland and Iceland cases also highlighted the importance of having political-level involvement and support for the collaboration, which in both cases helped to overcome regulatory challenges. 
  
• Culture of collaboration: An existing culture of collaboration between regional institutions and stakeholders can form an essential foundation for building and implementing collaborative activities. Several survey respondents indicated that there tends to be a stronger collaboration culture in rural areas and smaller regions and municipalities. One survey respondent from the Finnish South Karelia Region noted that ‘we are a relatively small region and the various parties are familiar with each other.’ Another respondent noted that Blekinge Region in Sweden is a ‘small region, with few stakeholders, so it is easy to know people.’ One respondent from the Swedish Island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea pointed out that Gotland is ‘a small region where people, companies and organisations are close together, which facilitates cooperation. The fact that we are an island underlines the need to cooperate.’ This notion of collaboration as a necessity was confirmed by one survey respondent from North Karelia Region in Finland, who argued that they are a ‘small region in number of population (land area large), with good existing cooperation structures. There is a real need to cooperate or famish.’ Many respondents from cross-border committees also highlighted a long tradition of collaboration in cross-border areas. A respondent from the Swedish Norrbotten Region noted that ‘the region has a long history of inter-regional cooperation also across national borders. The cooperation includes authorities, industries and business.’ These insights support the academic literature on regional leadership, which argues that new collaborations will arise more easily where there is a strong culture of collaboration, as high levels of trust and social capital already exist between actors (Broadhurst et al. 2021). Collaboration is more of a necessity in smaller regions and island contexts where actors must pool resources to get things done. 
  
• Knowledge/Expertise: Survey respondents noted that regional and municipal authorities often lack knowledge and expertise in various policy themes, especially areas related to climate and environmental policies (Survey Respondents 2023). For collaborations to function effectively, it is important that they are based on expert knowledge by including stakeholders with relevant knowledge and expertise of both the policy area and the local context. Technical expertise was essential in the Åland and Iceland cases, where computer and telemedicine experts were needed to provide technical support in the implementation of telemedicine consultations (Iceland) and online computer courses (Åland). An understanding of the local circumstances is also crucial for ensuring that collaborative activities are focused on addressing regional and local challenges and opportunities that meet citizen needs. Expertise is needed throughout collaborative processes, at both the policymaking and implementation stages. The challenge, however, is to ensure that all information and expertise is considered without one individual or group dominating the discussion. 
  
• Regular and varied interactions and communication: Regular and varied interaction and communication between partners is an important collaboration enabler. Here, place leaders play a pivotal role in bringing stakeholders together regularly enough to facilitate dialogue and the sharing of information while at the same time being careful not to trigger collaboration fatigue through meeting overload. In the Danish case study, the lead partner experimented with different interactive tools and methods, including online and physical meetings, workshops, masterclasses, seminars, and conferences, which were viewed as essential for coordinating project activities. It is crucial that collaboration leaders find and apply the most relevant and effective communication depending on the aims and objectives of the meeting. The Finnish case noted that the Greenreality Network was effective at using digital communication tools to share information both internally between network partners and externally to enhance the network’s visibility locally, nationally, and internationally. These findings indicate that regular interactions and communication based on equality and openness facilitate networking and the sharing of knowledge and information, which helps to build trust and social capital between collaborative partners. 

Benefits of Collaborative Regional Leadership

• Increased collaboration and networking: Working together enhances collaboration both internally and between organisations and actors at regional level, including increased interdepartmental, inter-institutional, and public-private cooperation. Collaborative activities provide a platform for more networking between different types of stakeholders. Interviewees noted that an important outcome of the C2C CC project (Danish case study) was closer connections between public authorities and sectors working in the climate and energy industries. The Greenreality Network in the Finnish case study built stronger connections between the industries and businesses in the energy sector and the worlds of academia and research. In this case, the local university worked closely with industries and businesses to ensure that climate and energy research courses and training focused on the needs and requirements of local industries and businesses. In the Icelandic case, links between telemedicine experts and healthcare professionals were strengthened, whereas the Grit:Lab initiative in the Åland case enhanced cooperation between computer experts and education institutions. In all of these case studies, public authorities played an important role in facilitating enhanced collaboration between a range of public-private actors. 
  
• Influencing policy: The role and influence of regional-level actors is largely constrained in multi-level governance policymaking processes dominated by national and/or EU levels. Policy frameworks predetermined at the EU/national level often do not adequately address regional challenges and the needs of local people. In response, it is essential that sub-national actors build strong collaborations on policy themes vital to regional interests. Large-scale collaborations involving key regional and local actors can potentially build a critical mass of stakeholders capable of influencing EU and national governance levels to integrate sub-national priorities and needs into new policy frameworks. For example, interviewees in the Danish case study noted that the results of the C2C CC project influenced the 2021 revision of the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy. The Greenreality Network in the Finnish case-study region has also been influential in developing the regional innovation ecosystem in South Karelia Region, contributing significantly to the regional development plans for green technologies. The network can use its sub-national level strength and influence to try and impact the direction of national policies for green technology and sustainable development. The Åland and Iceland cases also show the potential of regional stakeholders to induce policy-regulatory change when the ideas behind collaborative initiatives align with or influence the thinking of politicians and policymakers. 
  
• Achieving results: Many of today’s regional socio-economic challenges require a collaborative response, and recent research has shown that cooperation between public and private stakeholders in Nordic regions can lead to positive solutions and results (Lundgren et 2022). The four cases at the heart of this study support these findings as each collaboration achieved positive practical outcomes and their main aims and objectives. The telemedicine scheme in Iceland improved public healthcare access for people in remote rural areas and increased the overall number of pregnancy screenings. The Grit:Lab initiative in Åland raised education levels among the students on the online courses, which improved their chances of finding employment. The Greenreality Network (Finland) and C2C CC project (Denmark) both enhanced the participants’ networks and learning while also increasing the visibility of regions at national and EU levels. Of course, not all collaborative activities will yield successful results and outcomes, and there is much to be learned from the different factors that contribute to unsuccessful ones. Positive results are, however, imperative for the longevity of collaborations, making it more likely that participants will continue their involvement and participate in future partnerships if they see the benefits of working together. 
  
• Collaborative mindset: Collaborations can help foster a holistic mindset at both an individual and organisational level. Regular participation in collaborative activities influences stakeholders to start thinking about regional policy challenges and opportunities from a collaborative perspective rather than from a position of individual interests. For example, the Greenreality Network at the centre of the Finnish case study has helped cultivate an innovation ecosystem that focuses on identifying shared regional challenges and opportunities related to green technologies and sustainable development. Cultivating holistic thinking underlines the complementarity and interdependence of policy areas and actors at regional level. 
  
• Building policy coherence: Collaborations help identify common regional challenges and opportunities, which forms an important basis for creating synergies and coherence across strategies and policies at regional level. For example, the collaborative work conducted within the Greenreality Network (Finnish case study) has contributed directly to the content of the regional development strategy. Similarly, the C2C CC project (Danish case study) has enhanced policy coherence in the region as different municipalities have added to their knowledge and understanding of their interests in relation to regional climate and environmental issues. The premise behind and structure of the C2C CC project will also be upscaled to become a national-level platform and create opportunities for greater multi-level policy coherence. 
  
• Place-based policy solutions: The local knowledge and expertise provided by collaboration partners are integral to ensuring that collaborative policies/projects are carefully tailored to meet the needs of stakeholders and people in the region. Collaborations provide a platform for identifying shared local challenges and opportunities, which can inform the development and implementation of effective place-based solutions. The Iceland case is a prime example of this, as different stakeholders came together to find a place-based solution to problems related to a lack of access to healthcare facilities in remote rural areas of the country. Low levels of computer literacy in Åland also led to the Grit:Lab initiative, which provided a place-based solution to this territorial-specific challenge. 
  
• Capacity building: Collaborations can build the capacities of participants in several different ways, including: 1) increased awareness, understanding, and learning; 2) improved management skills; 3) enhanced knowledge of funding processes. The collaborative framework creates the conditions for actors to learn about the policy interests and priorities of the other participants, which promotes awareness and understanding. This was evident in the Danish case, where participants increased their knowledge and understanding of different regional and local climate and environment policies. The Danish case study also highlights that collaborative partners can improve their own management skills by learning from place leaders how to effectively structure and manage collaborations. Finally, involvement in the EU project-application process for the C2C CC project has significantly increased participants’ capacities, knowledge and understanding of EU funding processes. 
  
• Social capital and trust: Participation in collaborative activities helps to enhance social capital and trust between different stakeholders, which strengthens the collaboration culture at regional level. Interviewees participating in the Greenreality Network (Finnish case study) pointed out that regular interactions promote trust, which creates a firm foundation for long-term sustainable collaboration between partners, which is reflected in the longevity of the Network. 
  
• Visibility: The effective communication of collaborative regional leadership activities can help enhance the visibility of the region and collaboration partners at regional, national and international levels. The Greenreality Network (Finnish case study) has been very effective at enhancing the network’s visibility via various communication channels. Actively communicating and showcasing collaborative activities and achievements has led to securing new partnerships across Europe and enhanced the participation of regional actors in other EU-level projects. The C2C CC project also gained national visibility and was subsequently upscaled to a nationwide initiative involving regions across the whole of Denmark. The telemedicine scheme developed in the Icelandic case was also upscaled to the national level after the successful pilot at the regional level. 
  
• New knowledge and practical tools: New knowledge and practical tools will emerge through collaborative discussions and activities. While collaborative networks may dissolve, new knowledge and tools have longevity and sustainability, potentially contributing to the development and implementation of future policies. The C2C CC project developed a wide range of practical tools, including a climate-adaptation lexicon and a tool for assessing climate-protection levels, which have continued to be used at regional and national level after the completion of the project. The Icelandic case introduced a new way of delivering health services through telemedicine in one region that has now been transferred to other regions throughout the country, and the Åland case introduced new online teaching tools and courses, which have now become a permanent feature in the Åland education system. This highlights the importance of effectively communicating and showcasing the results, outcomes, and achievements of collaborations. Only through effective dissemination can collaboration outputs gain visibility and be used by others. 
  
• Finances: The pooling of financial resources is an important potential benefit of collaboration, especially during challenging economic periods when regional budgets are being cut. Sharing financial resources and spreading funding can help reduce the overall costs in the development and implementation of policies, projects and joint future applications for funding. The C2C CC project in the Danish case study would not have emerged without EU funding, which is often an important resource for initiating collaborative activities. In the Finnish case, members of the Greenreality Network are willing to pay a small membership fee to finance network activities as they see the benefits of participation. The Icelandic case also reveals that private and public organisations are prepared to invest in and share the costs of collaboration when they see that the proposed activities address important regional socio-economic challenges. 
  
• Spinoffs: Collaborative activities can lead to the development of new spinoff networks and policies. Two sub-activities within the larger C2C CC project (Danish case study) have developed into knowledge-sharing networks. The Aquaglobe has partnered with the national government to form a national-level cooperation in water technology and climate adaptation, and the Klimatorium has become a national forum that brings stakeholders together to discuss climate-related issues. In the Finnish case, the City of Lappeenranta has introduced policy initiatives that emerged from the Greenreality Network, such as a policy initiative to raise public awareness and encourage local people and businesses to commit to sustainable and climate-friendly choices and actions. In the Icelandic case, what began as a small idea by dedicated healthcare workers in Skaftárhreppur has grown into a national policy and one of the cornerstones of rural development in Iceland. The state, through its health authorities, has now taken over the development and expansion of digital and distance healthcare.

Collaborative Regional Leadership – The Model

• Formulation Phase: The first stage of the model is to establish a long-term Regional Forum for stakeholder engagement. The Regional Forum acts as a platform for bringing together essential regional public and private actors (i.e. regional authorities, municipal authorities, universities, industries, businesses, NGOs, civil society groups, etc.) in a dialogue to identify shared challenges and opportunities around the key policy themes most relevant to the region. The outputs of collaborative discussions within the Regional Forum act as a basis for the development of an overarching regional strategy/plan, which outlines key thematic focus areas for regional policy for a defined period of a regional policy programme. The public authorities responsible for developing overarching regional strategies and plans should set up and organise the Regional Forum. At this stage, place leaders in the public authorities play a crucial role in using their own regional networks to encourage and organise participation in the Regional Forum. This requires place leaders with a broad knowledge of the regional policy context, who also possess the ability to inspire participants and facilitate discussions between stakeholders with different ideas and interests. Most Regional Forum meetings will evolve around drawing up the regional strategy; however, annual or bi-annual meetings are recommended during the remainder of the regional-policy programme period as this will allow stakeholders to reassess and reevaluate the strategy’s core policy themes in light of newly emerging regional challenges and opportunities. The Regional Forum should serve as an open-access platform for stakeholder consultation and dialogue. The Forum provides regional public and private actors with a stake in policy formulation, which enhances their awareness and support for regional strategies. Early-stage stakeholder engagement and dialogue in the forum will also help build regional networks and social capital between actors, laying the foundations for effective collaboration at the strategy/plan and implementation stages.
  Following the initial stakeholder collaboration work conducted in the Regional Forum, the second stage of the model is the development of collaborative thematic working groups. Like the entrepreneurial discovery process used in smart specialisation processes, the thematic working groups are designed to facilitate focused collaborative stakeholder discussions about each theme in the overarching regional strategy/plan developed by the Regional Forum. The role of the thematic working groups is to develop detailed policies and projects for each key theme. Each thematic group is led by an appointed place leader with strong networks, knowledge, and expertise of the thematic area and local context. This could be a person from a relevant public authority department or an individual from another public-private organisation. Key actors involved in the Regional Forum should be invited to participate in the thematic working groups, as well as stakeholders with essential knowledge and expertise or interests in the topic who were not involved in Regional Forum activities or the development of the initial strategy. A collaborative stakeholder workshop format is recommended for the working groups, which will allow for a detailed exchange of knowledge, ideas, and interests before reaching agreement on focused policies and projects. This stage is an essential part of the process as broad themes in the strategy need to be broken down into implementable policies or projects. Stakeholder collaboration in the thematic working groups can initiate the process of identifying potential networks and partners that can work together during the policy/project implementation process. 
  It is important to note that while the model is built around a policy-cycle process, the model can also accommodate periods of crisis or the emergence of sudden challenges and opportunities that require an immediate collaborative response. A collaborative thematic working group can be established at short notice around any spontaneous and critical regional challenges or opportunities that emerge after the official strategy/plan has been finalised. Key public and private actors can be brought together quickly in a thematic working group setting when expert dialogue and speedy decisions are required.

• Implementation Phase: The implementation of the policy and project ideas developed by the thematic working groups will require coordinated collaboration between a range of regional public and private actors. Policy and project implementation can be structured around the collaborative networks of actors that participated in the Regional Forum and thematic working groups, in addition to other relevant and interested stakeholders. Place leaders with experience of multi-actor collaboration management should be placed in policy/project administration and organisation positions. They can use their experience to establish clear roles and responsibilities for different collaborative partners in the development of the policy/project plan, which will help ensure partner support and smooth implementation. At this stage, collaboration leaders play an essential role in facilitating dialogue between participants to help identify and overcome potential conflicts and ensure the proactive and committed engagement of actors throughout the whole of the implementation process. Holding regular interactive meetings is crucial for providing a forum for collaborative partners to share knowledge and ideas and build trust and social capital. Collaboration leaders can choose from a range of stakeholder interaction tools (e.g. physical/online meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, field visits, etc.) to create regular dialogue between partners, with the selection of different interactive collaboration tools determined on the basis of the meetings’ objectives. The regular use of internal and external communication tools is also important for raising awareness and strengthening connections between collaborative partners and other networks outside the collaboration.
  
• Evaluation Phase: The evaluation phase should focus on four main elements; firstly, an overall assessment of the key collaboration results and achievements that can be disseminated regionally, nationally, and at the EU level. Secondly, an evaluation of the workings of the collaboration to establish cooperation challenges and enablers. Thirdly, discuss and identify the main benefits of collaboration for participants to encourage them to participate in future partnerships. Fourthly, the evaluation phase should also include an assessment of the long-term sustainability of the collaboration, including potential means and mechanisms for its continuation. The four elements of this evaluation could lead to four potential outcomes: 1) end the collaboration 2); continue the existing collaboration; 3) new spin-off collaborations/networks; or 4) the integration of the collaboration into other existing regional networks. The results/outcomes of the evaluation phase and the continued activities of existing collaborative partnerships or new collaborations will feed back into the work of the Regional Forum and thematic working groups, creating a continuous collaboration cycle and contributing to the development of new collaborative regional strategies plans, policies and projects.

Collaborative Regional Leadership – Recommendations 

Collaborative Regional Leadership Drivers – Recommendations 

• Utilise exogenous shocks as a potential driver for new collaborations: Exogenous shocks can act as a catalyst for collaboration and present a window of opportunity to take regional policies in new directions. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened collaborations between regional and municipal authorities and, in some cases, led to the creation of new collaborative governance structures (Bourdin et al. 2023). The uncertainty generated by shocks can create conditions under which regional public and private stakeholders are more willing to work together. Place leaders can take advantage of a more cooperative environment to build new collaborations or improve existing networks. 
  
• Be reactive and proactive in using new EU-level and national-level policy and funding priorities as a catalyst for fostering regional-level collaborations: Multi-level governance and policymaking structures mean that regions must work within the confines and parameters of policy and funding frameworks developed at national and EU levels. Public authorities need to be alert to changes in the policy climate and the emergence of new EU and national policy directions; whenever possible, they should also attempt to influence the direction of EU and national policy changes (see strategic recommendation below). Being reactive and proactive to changes in the political and policy climate creates opportunities to establish collaborative networks around newly emerging policy and funding themes.
  
• Identify shared regional challenges and opportunities to overcome institutional and stakeholder fragmentation and promote holistic thinking: The identification of shared challenges and opportunities is a key driver of regional collaborative leadership activities. Creating a platform that brings together regional public and private actors is an important first step for developing a shared vision and regional strategy. Stakeholders will bring their own interests and priorities to the table, but in an open discussion, actors need to think holistically across departments, sectors, and individual interests to identify common regional challenges and opportunities around which to build collaborations. This process can help to reduce fragmentation between institutions and stakeholders, cultivating a holistic mindset amongst the participants so that they start to consider regional issues from a collective outlook rather than an individual perspective. 
  
• Be open to entrepreneurial ideas from a range of different actors: The case studies in this research have shown that entrepreneurial ideas are a key driver of collaborative regional leadership. Collaborative ideas can come from heterogeneous sources, including EU and national mandates, or ideas from industries, businesses and individuals. It is essential, therefore, that regional public authorities create an equal-access environment by using open platforms designed to receive and consider ideas about policy and collaboration from a range of stakeholders. It is not important whether the initial collaborative idea is top-down or bottom-up; what is more significant is that the idea addresses shared regional challenges and opportunities and that regional stakeholders are prepared to support the concept and collaborate in its implementation.

Collaborative Regional Leadership Structure - Recommendations

• Develop a formalised long-term regional collaboration platform to facilitate stakeholder involvement in the formulation of overall regional strategies/plans: Structured long-term regional collaboration platforms are needed to provide a forum for regional actors to openly discuss and identify shared regional collaborative policy and planning challenges and opportunities. Survey respondents highlight that it is essential to build collaboration around long-term policy and planning strategies developed through open dialogue in structured regional stakeholder platforms. Best-practice examples of these platforms include Cooperation Councils set up as part of national legislation in various Finnish regions, the Smart Specialisation Academy in Värmland Region in Sweden, Trøndelagsmøtet in the Norwegian Trøndelag Region, and the Bärkraft Network in Åland. Giving regional actors the opportunity to participate in such forums provides them with a stake in the formulation of overall regional strategies, which creates firm foundations for building future collaborations and enhancing stakeholder support and acceptance of policies. 
  
• Take a policy-thematic approach for building collaborations: Collaborative policy thematic working groups should be established that focus on the development of detailed policies and projects under each policy theme in the overarching regional strategy/plan. A thematic approach can also be taken in relation to emerging mission-orientated approaches in regional development and innovation policy. These thematic working groups will bring together relevant stakeholders who possess both expert and practical knowledge in the thematic policy area and a good understanding of the regional context, challenges, and opportunities. Relevant and interested stakeholder involvement in these thematic groups is essential for ensuring that policies and projects address regional needs and opportunities. The thematic groups can also form the foundational network of actors required to implement the targeted policies and projects proposed.

Collaborative Regional Leadership Process – Recommendations

• Appoint the right people in key leadership and facilitatory positions: Appointing place leaders in key facilitatory positions is crucial for ensuring smooth, collaborative regional leadership processes. Using the regional leadership model outlined above, place leaders have an important role in facilitating the activities of the regional platform/forum, the thematic groups, and leading the networks implementing policies and projects. Place leaders with different skill sets will be required for these different positions. It is important to appoint leaders with large regional networks who possess the skills to facilitate dialogue and cooperation between a range of different actors. Management experience is essential –perhaps more so than in-depth knowledge and expertise of the policy topic – but place leaders will also need a good understanding of the regional context, culture, and the different positions of the actors involved. One leader might not possess all the key place leader characteristics outlined above, so a leadership group might be required to ensure the smooth implementation of collaborative activities.
  
• Develop the aims and objectives of the collaborative activity together: Once the initial collaborative idea has been agreed, participants should work together to establish the main goals, objectives, activities, and outputs of the collaboration. Participant ownership, acceptance, and support for the collaboration depend on inclusive involvement in the preparation and implementation of activities. From the outset, a flat organisational structure can help foster a sense of openness, equality and inclusion in which all voices and ideas can be heard. A collective bottom-up approach is crucial to ensure that no single sector or individual dominates discussions and the direction of the collaborative activities. 
  
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities: Smooth-running collaborations are dependent on assigning clear roles for participants at the start of the process. It is vital that each actor knows and understands their responsibilities in relation to specific tasks. For this reason, it is worth taking time to establish a clear work and implementation plan at the start of the collaboration, assigning specific tasks to different actors. Preparation at the start reduces the potential for confusion and tension later in the process, as all participants know what is required of them. Sometimes, however, a degree of participant flexibility and adaptability is needed if complications arise and the initial plans and assignment of roles do not work out as planned. Under these circumstances, place leaders play an important role in re-assigning tasks or potentially bringing new actors in to help complete unfinished ones. 
  
• Ensure all relevant stakeholders are included: All relevant and interested stakeholders need to be included in collaborative activities. This is vital to ensure that different voices and perspectives are heard and that policies and projects are based on pertinent local knowledge and expertise. Place leaders play a significant role in making sure that no important stakeholder groups are underrepresented, particularly the least socially engaged communities. Special consideration should also be given to accommodating stakeholders who traditionally lack time and resources to participate, including SMEs, NGOs, and civil society groups.
  
• Engage local politicians at the outset: The early-stage involvement and engagement of regional and local politicians can add value to collaborations. Their involvement can strengthen the link between collaboration goals and political priorities, bring new knowledge and expertise to discussions, and increase awareness and visibility of collaboration activities. Regional and local politicians already play an active and positive role in existing regional collaborative structures, such as cross-border committees and the Finnish regional Cooperation Councils. At the same time, however, politicians should not dominate collaborations and use networks as a vehicle for pushing political agendas or for political cronyism. While certain policy themes have a strong political dimension, collaborations usually focus on practical and functional tasks, which depoliticises the process and reduces the potential for political manipulation.
  
• Use a range of the available interactive stakeholder engagement tools: The case studies highlight the importance of promoting proactive stakeholder engagement through the use of interactive tools, such as workshops, seminars, online and in-person meetings, and conferences. These tools bring participants together, promote stakeholder dialogue and help boost knowledge sharing and learning. Interactive engagement tools are vital for building social capital between actors; however, collaboration leaders also need to avoid too many meetings to reduce the chances of participation fatigue and of overloading the actors. 
  
• Use digital tools to promote effective internal and external communication: Regular internal communication is essential for exchanging information and building trust between partners. Collaboration leaders can make use of digital tools to create dialogue and connections between partners, while keeping participants updated on key collaborative activities and deadlines. Social media channels are also an important tool for disseminating information about collaboration activities and achievements to the outside world. The effective use of social media can help to enhance the visibility of the collaboration to other regional stakeholders and citizens, as well as other actors at the national and EU levels. 

Collaborative Regional Leadership Sustainability – Recommendations

• Evaluate the potential for continuing cooperation or establishing new spin-off collaborations: Many regional collaborations are ad hoc and fixed-term, dissolving when projects come end or the funding runs out. Evaluations should be built into collaboration tasks to establish whether continuation is necessary and feasible. Continuation could be required if: 1) the aims and objectives of the collaboration have not yet been achieved; 2) the ongoing focus and work of the collaboration are beneficial to the region and stakeholders; and 3) there are newly emerging policies or future regional needs towards which the collaboration can contribute. Sometimes, continuation in the current form is not possible, so the potential for spin-off collaborations should also be explored, whether or not they include different actors and/or focus on different regional policies and issues. 
  
• Accentuate the benefits and added value: Proactive involvement in collaborative activities takes up time and resources, so participants need an incentive to continue working together. It is, therefore, vital to market and advertise the main outcomes and achievements of the collaboration to participants in order to encourage continued engagement.
  
• Identify and secure additional funding: A lack of funding is the primary reason many collaborations dissolve, so it is important to keep track of EU, national, and regional funding opportunities to provide the financial base for continuing collaborations. Another possibility, as shown in the Finnish Greenreality Network case study, is to charge a small membership fee. Participants are potentially willing to pay membership fees if they see the benefits of their involvement. Public and private organisations might also be willing to provide financial backing, as shown in the Icelandic case.
  
• Create synergies with existing regional networks/clusters which can accommodate the ideas, tools, and stakeholders from new collaborations: Limited financial resources, time, and capacities can have an impact on the overall longevity of new collaborations, restricting cooperation to short periods of time. These restrictions make it crucial for new collaborations to identify and build synergies with existing regional networks and clusters that have similar focuses and interests. These links can become a source of sustainability and longevity when collaborations are discontinued, as the ideas, tools, and stakeholders from collaborations can potentially be integrated into existing networks and clusters where there are overlaps and potential benefits of merging together. 
  
• Recognise the potential dangers of upscaling to national or EU level: The success of the C2C CC project in the Danish case study has seen the collaboration upscaled to the national level to include regions and municipalities across the whole of Denmark. Some interviewees expressed concerns about upscaling the collaboration and the impact it would have on developing effective place-based climate policies. One consequence of upscaling to the national or EU level could be a loss of detailed focus on regional and local climate and environmental issues. It is, therefore, important to keep sustainable long-term regional collaborations going within the broader national/EU multi-level context. This is vital to ensure the delivery of detailed territorial policy data and information relevant to regional requirements and citizens’ needs. 

Collaborative Regional Leadership Strategic – Recommendations

• Influence the direction of national and EU policies by building large-scale stakeholder collaborations in areas of strategic regional importance: Regional institutions and actors should focus on building large-scale collaborations around policy areas of key strategic regional importance. This is essential for influencing multi-level governance policy processes in which the sub-national level is often constrained by dominant national and EU actors. Building a critical mass of key stakeholder support around a specific regional policy area or territorial challenge can help exert additional pressure on national and EU actors. This is an important step towards ensuring that regional actors are listened to and that regional needs are both addressed and integrated into the national and EU policy frameworks.

Collaborative Regional Leadership – Moving Forward

References