The Czech government aims to support the coal mining regions of Usti, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary with an integrated strategy for economic development. A governance structure has been devised that matches national institutions with regional counterparts, acknowledging each region’s specific needs and potential.
APPROACH
- Governance structure bringing together national decision makers and regional expertise to implement a just transition in Czech coal mining regions.
- Continuous process of strategy development and adaptation, information gathering, consultation and advice, as well as concrete implementation.
ENABLING CONDITIONS
- Support by stakeholders from the regions, combined with desire from the national government to address the issue.
- Long-term structures and financing framework.
- EU support – including financial and technical assistance.
CHALLENGES
- Limited absorption / implementation capacity in the regions.
- Sustaining long-term political support for the Strategy is key to its success – but this could be challenged from various ends, including competition for funds by other regions.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Annually reviewed Action Plans with tasks and actions for each year.
- Development of an evaluation system.
- Mix of immediate projects and longer term plans
The Czech RE:START Strategy builds on a governance structure which combines integrated national strategic planning with expert knowledge and advice from regions, acknowledging the diverse needs of regions even within the same country.
The key success factors of the project have been the consideration of the transition process over the long-term, balanced by periodic evaluation efforts resulting in annually updated Action Plans, the options for technical assistance under the EU structural funds (ESIF) as well as getting political und public support by providing information to and securing the participation of various stakeholders.
Interested to learn more about the Czech RE:START Strategy? Find more Information here.