Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012‐2020 Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 2

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 3

Review: From outline policy document to strategic agenda1

The BrabantStad steering committee finalised the ‘Outline of the Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012‐ 2020’ policy document in March 2011. In the period that followed, the outline policy document was presented to the councils of the B5 cities2 and the provincial council. The document was also discussed with the four regions of Brabant and partners from non‐government organisations. The following central themes were distilled from these consultations and discussions:

Content

- Define a broad‐based strategy, but focus on main points in the implementation - Create and develop an alluring and distinctive region to attract and retain knowledge workers as part of a BrabantStad‐wide approach - Develop a cohesive knowledge strategy

Process

- BrabantStad connects different levels, connects the regions and provides direction when necessary - BrabantStad focuses from ”the outside in”, and forges crucial coalitions with public and private parties - BrabantStad is a strong lobbyist - BrabantStad inspires, experiments and drives developments

Financing

- BrabantStad develops new funding models

The above points were taken into consideration when defining and compiling the strategic agenda. This agenda will serve as a compass for the 2012–2020 period. However, the world around us changes constantly. Current developments of relevance will determine the priorities adopted in the implementation programme and will from time to time result in adjustments to the agenda.

Finally, in order to arrive at a new level of cooperative zeal in the forthcoming period, we believe we will be facing challenges relating to content, governance, organisation and funding. By viewing these challenges in relation to one another, and approaching them on the basis of the strength of our network of cities, we will be able to achieve progress. In addition to development goals, this agenda therefore also outlines goals relating to governance and organisation. Attention has also been paid to funding models that can be utilised in the implementation programme.

1This Strategic Agenda BrabantStad is a translation of the “Strategische Agenda BrabantStad”, as adopted by the BrabantStad Steering Committee. Footnotes have been added for clarification and as updates. Appendix 1 from the original agenda has been deleted as part of this update.

2B5 cities: the 5 largest cities in the Dutch province Brabant: , , , ’s‐Hertogenbosch and

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 4

Content Review: From outline policy document to strategic agenda ...... 3

Content...... 4

Introduction...... 5

1 The emergence of the metropolitan area...... 8

2 BrabantStad en route to joining the top five European regions for knowledge and innovation: Development Goals ...... …. 11

2.1 Strengthen economic resilience through knowledge, innovation and valorisation 11

2.2 Increase international allure...... 15

2.3 Increase (international) accessibility ...... 16

2.4 Strengthen the spatial structure of the urban network ………………….. 17

3 BrabantStad as an urban governance network: the art of cooperating and shared governing...... 19

4 Financial engineering ...... 22

Appendix 1 A selection of financing structures...... 24

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 5

Introduction

The ‘Outline of the Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012‐2020’ policy document, which was finalised in March 2011, forms the basis of this Strategic Agenda BrabantStad. As BrabantStad partners, we compiled the outline document to include a broad analysis of the surrounding area and an outline of the ambitions and efforts needed in the years ahead. The consultation rounds with the councils and regions, and the discussions with our partners shows that there is broad‐based support for the outline document. All of the partners endorse the importance of cooperation within the BrabantStad network. Cooperation is based on trust. BrabantStad focuses on meeting, sharing, connecting and achieving goals together.

This agenda is a combined agenda for BrabantStad and our partners, which will guide our cooperation in the 2012‐2020 period. This agenda is also a strategic agenda. We define and provide direction for the most important goals for BrabantStad, but obviously remain open to adaptation. We will be keeping our eyes open for developments of relevance for the region of Brabant. While this means that we may include promising projects in the coming years, we may similarly revise our ambitions if they appear to be less opportune. Finally, this is to be considered a long‐term agenda. In order to achieve focus and rigorous implementation, we will periodically compile implementation programmes in cooperation with our partners. The implementation programmes will consist of concrete projects, coupled with an accompanying funding or financing strategy.

Within the context of BrabantStad, we see BrabantStad as an administrative network challenges in the years ahead which, as a network of cities, we wish and must undertake BrabantStad is not an extra administrative layer; it is in cooperation with other partners. a governance network of an informal nature; the BrabantStad is expressly not a new respective cities and province retain their own administrative layer. The initiatives in autonomy. Interaction is based on equality between BrabantStad are driven largely by the cities partners. In short, a loose network without the and their region or the province and, in some power to persevere on its own. For this reason, cases, by way of a joint project. BrabantStad BrabantStad is investing in mobilising commitment. connects the city with the region. The regions BrabantStad develops, stimulates, initiates, connects become involved through the B5 cities. and cooperates. The dynamism this generates is to BrabantStad is especially suited to initiatives the benefit of the entire region of Brabant. and challenges that cannot be picked up at an urban or regional level, but that are important to the (further) development of the greater Brabant region. This relates specifically to initiatives and challenges of an economic, cultural or spatial nature.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 6

Some social challenges such as the demand for care and sufficient training opportunities, and matters related to safety, also form a part of this picture. Developments such as various decentralisations of power (youth care, the Exceptional Medical Expenses Act (AWBZ), the Work & Income According to Labour Capacity Act (WIA)) facing the cities, mainly require an approach at a local or regional level. Information exchange, knowledge sharing, coordination and joint action in this respect between the BrabantStad partners also have added value. The cities wish to offer everyone living in Brabant the prospect of participating meaningfully in society.

We work specifically towards creating a good balance between the ecological, economic and socio‐cultural domains. We invest in sustainable solutions for economic, infrastructural and spatial matters. Through this, we pursue an approach that utilises opportunities to strengthen the ecological and socio‐cultural domain, and resolves social issues.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 7

BrabantStad development goals in a nutshell

Strengthen economic resilience through knowledge, innovation and valorisation

ƒ Connect leading economic sectors ƒ Strengthen BrabantStad‐wide knowledge infrastructure - Excellent education at all levels - Attract and retain (international) knowledge workers - Strengthen and attract research centres - Campuses as a breeding ground for open innovation

Increase international allure

ƒ Become European Capital of Cultural 2018 ƒ Host international and national sports events and upgrade the level of accommodation

Increase (international) accessibility

BrabantStad is the link in the chain that enables further connections

ƒ The north‐south connection of Rotterdam‐Drechtsteden‐Breda / West‐Brabant‐ Antwerp – Brussels by rail and road ƒ The north‐south connection of Amsterdam‐Utrecht‐Den Bosch‐Eindhoven‐Maastricht (Aachen –Luik) by rail and road ƒ The east‐west connection of Rotterdam via Breda‐Tilburg‐Eindhoven‐Venlo to Germany (Ruhr area, Dusseldorf) by rail and road ƒ Expand Eindhoven Airport and the accessibility of Eindhoven Airport ƒ Establish a high‐frequency rail link between the five cities of Brabant

Strengthen the spatial structure of the urban network

ƒ Develop multipurpose zones around the central railway stations ƒ Maintain and strengthen the character of BrabantStad as a multifaceted metropolis. BrabantStad – recognisable cities and towns with excellent green areas in the immediate vicinity of the city

The art of cooperation, adapted to the dynamism of today

ƒ Continue to develop BrabantStad to arrive at efficient and effective cooperation with both public and private partners ƒ Find ‘customised’ funding and financing models, in keeping with the character of and manner in which cooperation takes place between public and private partners for each development goal

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 8

1 The emergence of the metropolitan area

The world economy is changing fast. Increasing globalisation and computerisation are leading to greater dependency between governments, financial institutions, the business community, and educational and social groups to name but a few. Decisions taken ‘far beyond our control’ regularly have an impact on our region. Developments affecting MSD (previously Organon) and Wartsilä are prime examples of this. Being able to respond swiftly and adequately to developments around us is key to becoming and remaining a strong region.

Within the ‘new economy’, cities and regions are even more important. They are gaining ground in relation to the nation‐state. Statistics bear this out. At present, around 60% of all economic performance takes place in the cities and 90% of all innovations are developed in the cities. Some 50% of the world population live in cities and this percentage is only expected to rise in the coming decades. The Dutch Central Planning Office (Dutch acronym CPB) expects that by 2040 the Dutch economy will be largely driven by ‘smart people in strong cities’.3

The character of the cities is changing too; whereas BrabantStad as a metropolitan area residents previous focused on their own city for their daily activities, greater mobility is increasingly expanding their As a metropolitan area, BrabantStad living environment and further shaping the metropolitan consists of five cities and their area. This also applies to the cities within BrabantStad. surroundings. An area counting around Together, our five cities offer high‐quality urban 1.8 million inhabitants, focusing standards, are complimentary in many respects and are strongly on public facilities and job more competitive as a united front than separately opportunities in the five cities. (conurbation benefits). In our opinion, cooperation within Investors and visitors list BrabantStad BrabantStad is a prerequisite in order to stay competitive as a prime target location. as a metropolitan area in an international perspective; even the biggest cities in the are relatively small on a European scale and therefore have a hard time competing (when it comes to attracting investment and knowledge workers, for example). It is explicitly not our intention for BrabantStad to become one big city. It is precisely the concentration of urbanity in the cities, the unique qualities of each cities, and the presence of high‐quality green areas in the direct vicinity of the cities that make the area more attractive as a potential location to establish a business or settle. The value of our region’s strategic location within the Euro delta should not be underestimated in this respect either (see also text box on page 9).

At present, BrabantStad is already an attractive option for businesses considering establishing themselves on Dutch soil. However, this does not mean we can afford to sit back and relax. Retaining and further strengthening Brabant’s attractiveness in this respect demands our ongoing attention. For this reason, we are focusing on reinforcing our economic clout, which benefits the welfare and well being of society across Brabant.

3 B. ter Weel, A. Peter van der Horst Gelauff, 2010: The Netherlands in 2040 (CPB The Hague)

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 9

BrabantStad economically strong We work specifically towards creating a good balance between the ecological, CPB estimates that economic growth over the past 25 economic and socio‐cultural domains. years has peaked around Amsterdam and BrabantStad, especially around Eindhoven. CPB expects that the Strengthening the region’s spatial, differences in the price of land between these two infrastructural and cultural structure also regions and the rest of the Netherlands will increase in serves to support our goals for economic the future; the defining factors being the presence of development. It is not without reason that many highly educated people and numerous economic we also take account of the value of culture opportunities. The Randstad and BrabantStad within our region. Various publications conurbations will essentially drive the Dutch economy (including the 2011 Atlas voor Gemeenten4), in the forthcoming decades. show that culture is the fundamental element for an attractive city: the presence of a varied range of cultural activities is an important factor making the area more attractive as a potential location for creative and highly‐educated people to establish themselves. These residents make an important contribution towards the local economy and attract new employment opportunities at all levels. Our ambition of becoming the European Capital of Culture in 2018 (with Eindhoven as the candidate city) will serve to increase the range of cultural activities and give the region an economic boost.

As BrabantStad, we have ‘gold’ in our hands to respond to the changes taking place around us. A prerequisite in this respect is that we succeed in developing further as a network, ensuring that we stay in a position to organise things smartly and innovatively.

4The “Atlas voor Gemeenten” is a Dutch bureau which carries out economic geographic analysis. The bureau also publishes the “Atlas voor Gemeenten” each year which provides a comparison of the 50 largest municipalities on about 40 topics. The 2011 publication focused on culture.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 10

BrabantStad: Strategically located in the euro delta

Within the context of northwest Europe, the region of Brabant is strategically positioned between three large metropolitan areas: the Randstad conurbation, the Flemish ‘diamond’ and the Ruhr area (together forming the Euro delta). BrabantStad is economically oriented towards these three urban networks and is interconnected with them through various modes of transport (road, water, rail, air, pipelines and cables). To a great extent, the location and connections structure and stimulate economic development. Brabant is in a position to excel internationally with diverse economic clusters: high‐tech systems & materials, creative industry, maintenance & logistics, and food & pharma. The location and connections offer opportunities for new clusters such as those directed at the sustainable availability of energy in the form of a biobased economy or social innovation. The location and connections also present obstacles. For example, much can be improved in terms of the quality of accessibility.

Different initiatives and cross‐border challenges and projects spring from the international orientation and interconnectedness of our region with the surrounding urban networks and key economic areas. To the west of BrabantStad, this relates to cooperation within the scope of the RijnScheldeDelta and the Deltri platform,5 for example. To the east, this includes strengthening the relationship between the Brainport region Eindhoven – Greenport Venlo – and the Ruhr area. With respect to both initiatives, shaping the strategic alliances that BrabantStad has forged with the Drechtsteden and Venlo is essential, as is the interface between these two alliances. Additionally, BrabantStad participates in all kinds of international cooperative ventures.

For the Brainport Region Eindhoven, the cooperation within the technological triangle encompassing Eindhoven‐Leuven‐Aachen (ELAT) is important. The cooperation is directed at organising a network of networks in order to gain sufficient critical mass to compete effectively in the globalising economy.

5 Rotterdam Urban Region, Drechtsteden Region, Region of West Brabant. The Drechtsteden Region is a cooperation in the region around the city of

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 11

2 BrabantStad en route to joining the top five European regions for knowledge and innovation: Development Goals

Our ambition is to develop the BrabantStad metropolitan area as an urban network which is internationally competitive and grows sustainably with a lasting position in the top five European regions for knowledge and innovation. To this end, we will be focusing on strengthening the region’s economic resilience, striving to achieve a healthy balance between people, plant and profit (Telos approach6).

We are highly ambitious and our approach is smart. We have translated our ambition in development goals, and will take on projects with the potential to boost quality in Brabant and BrabantStad, in such a way as to generate a multiplier effect. The development goals are not only important for us as a metropolitan area, they tie in with the European strategy for the forthcoming years and the policy priorities of the national government. This also enables us to forge connections with existing and new partners, and we can launch international alliances.

Against this backdrop, we have selected the following development goals for BrabantStad in the coming period:

1 Strengthen economic resilience through knowledge, innovation and valorisation

2 Increase international allure

3 Increase (international) accessibility

4 Strengthen the spatial structure of the urban network

These development goals will be elaborated further. And an implementation programme will be drafted for them. Within the context of concrete projects we will work together with our partners to achieve our goals.

2.1 Strengthen economic resilience through knowledge, innovation and valorisation As mentioned, we want to stay amongst the top five European regions for knowledge and innovation. This means that we must further strengthen the innovative potential of BrabantStad. BrabantStad already has a strong position with its highly qualified and skilled population, knowledge infrastructure of trade schools (VMBO), secondary vocational education (MBO), universities for applied sciences (HBO), universities of Eindhoven and Tilburg, and the presence of a strong small and medium‐sized enterprise sector , as well as several multinationals. For many of these companies, innovation plays a key role. With the Eindhoven Brainport region as one of the three leading national regions and awarded the title of the smartest knowledge region in the world in 2011, we have a winning hand and

6 This Tilburg‐based institute has developed an approach to sustainability based on the three Ps (i.e. people, planet and profit).

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 12

Brabant excels in the field of high‐tech materials & systems. Additionally, Brabant excels in the fields of maintenance, logistics and food, health & pharma. There are also opportunities to excel in relation to social challenges including the sustainable availability of energy (biobased, solar), the growing demand for care (especially homecare), less taxing mobility solutions (smart mobility), industrial design and social innovation.

The power of Brabant(Stad) lies in its ability to connect these knowledge clusters; a high level of innovation takes place on the cutting edge of these clusters. Our efforts will extend beyond connecting the clusters alone. After all, a knowledge‐driven economy is powered by knowledge workers at every level. This places demands on the region’s attractiveness for newcomers considering establishing themselves, as it does on the knowledge infrastructure and job market. BrabantStad can and must play a meaningful role.

In concrete terms, we envisage the following initiatives for the 2012‐2020 period:

ƒ Connect leading economic sectors A number of leading clusters converge in BrabantStad, concerning high‐tech systems & materials, industrial design & maintenance, logistics, and food, health & pharma. These clusters have enormous earning capacities and form an important pillar of the Dutch economy. Cooperation between the business community, knowledge institutes and government is unique and especially strong within some clusters. One of the most important initiatives is to further strengthen cooperation within the other clusters as well. This will include looking for connections to create new clusters. Examples here include clusters evolving around solar energy, smart mobility, food & technology, biobased economy and maintenance.

ƒ Strengthen ‘BrabantStad‐wide’ knowledge infrastructure (also attracting leading institutes)

Excellent education at all levels

Education and the job market must be more closely aligned. The educational resources of Brabant’s education and research institutes must correspond with demands from businesses within our region, large and small. This is important with a view towards reinforcing the knowledge infrastructure and regional economy. It is also vital from a social perspective for the residents of Brabant, young and old. After all, it is largely through participation in the labour market that they remain connected and can keep up to speed with a swiftly changing society. In addition to matching supply and demand, the quality of education at all levels is crucial within this context.

In order to strengthen the regional knowledge infrastructure, companies are required to play a different role, as is the case in developing and setting up advanced (occupational) education and setting up trade schools and centres of expertise. Additionally, cooperation and coordination between the (higher) educational institutes in BrabantStad are important in regard to arriving at focal points, establishing several leading (interdisciplinary) institutes and carrying out cutting edge research. As far as (technical) education at a VMBO and MBO level is concerned, not only are steps required in the area of recruitment, occupational orientation, dropping out and career development, but consideration should be given to forms of education, where technical talent is stimulated as early as possible to excel on a technical level.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 13

Attract and retain (international) knowledge workers

Talent is the key to safeguarding success in our knowledge region. In both the short and long term, a glaring shortage is expected in terms of skills and knowledge workers. As a result, it will be difficult for companies and institutions to respond to opportunities for growth in the market. Our goal therefore also focuses on recruiting talented (technical) manpower from near and far. This requires an attractive (international) establishment climate, so that international students and knowledge workers choose for Brabant. Such a climate manifests itself in the quality of student cities, by supporting programmes for establishment and settlement within BrabantStad. Creating an attractive climate for settlement also includes supporting companies and knowledge institutions in terms of promotion and acquisition.

Strengthen and attract research centres

Strengthening existing leading institutes and attracting new ones is of great importance to increasing BrabantStad’s economic clout. Leading institutes of this order, including the Holst Centre and Dinalog, are important for stimulating innovation, cooperation and knowledge transfer. These serve as intersections in the existing innovation ecosystem. Multinationals, small and medium‐sized businesses and knowledge institutes know where to find one another by way of these intersections, and access can be gained to international networks. Existing research centres and networks or cooperative ventures fulfil a similar role, too, such as in healthcare. Leading institutes therefore make an important contribution towards the competitive power of the leading sectors operating in BrabantStad. The significance of such institutes will only increase in the years ahead. Larger companies focus more on their core business and short‐term research. This is a consequence of an ever shortening time‐to‐market. Partly as a result of this, small and medium‐ sized businesses are becoming relatively more important in the field of private research.

Across the board, small, medium‐sized and large companies have a desire to cooperate on (pre‐ competitive) research projects. Given their size and focus, smaller companies cannot function as intersections. The leading institutes can fill this gap in the open innovation ecosystem. It is important that lasting, long‐term investments are made in the system. After all, public financing is at the root of canvassing private contributions and European resources, and therefore of safeguarding (international) private cooperative relationships. BrabantStad therefore aims to continue to attract these public resources. This not only enables us to guarantee the retention of existing businesses, but it also makes us attractive as a potential base for foreign companies, because clusters are optimally supported in the field of research and technological transfer. The power of attraction wielded by these new and/or strengthened institutes over knowledge workers will serve to reduce the prevalent shortage of knowledge workers.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 14

New leading institutes can ideally be found amongst the already strong clusters present in BrabantStad, such as those for solar and energy (Solliance / Netherlands Energy Research Centre), smart mobility, industrial design, food, health & pharma, and on the cutting edge of medical technology and life sciences, where opportunities exist for establishing a KIC7 with a co‐location in the leading technological region of Eindhoven‐Leuven‐Aachen (Dutch acronym TTR ELAt). Opportunities also exist in the field of biobased economics with a specialised Centre of Excellence and Maintenance with the Dutch Institute of World Class Maintenance. The latter serves as a connecting link between the various educational institutes in this field (“the educational chain”) and the national and international business community. For the leading logistics sector, Dinalog must expand into a heavyweight international knowledge institute. Finally, TISIL (Tilburg Social Innovation Lab) must become the knowledge institute in the field of social innovation.

Campuses as a breeding ground for open innovation: strengthening innovation campuses

BrabantStad encompasses several campuses.8 Because of the concentration of research infrastructure and knowledge activities for knowledge workers, knowledge institutes and companies, campuses form an important junction for open innovation and public‐private partnership (PPP). As such, campuses are an attractive establishment site for innovative start‐ups with growth potential. Campuses are therefore of key importance to a successful cluster policy within BrabantStad. Examples of campuses include the High‐Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the TU/e Science Park, the Automotive Campus NL in Helmond, Fhealinc in ‘s‐Hertogenbosch and the Gate2 Maintenance Aerospace Campus in Central Brabant, the Green Chemistry Campus in and the Supply Chain Dinalog Campus in Breda. The focus is on making sure that the innovation campuses can keep upgrading their own buildings and facilities to state‐of‐the‐art levels, therefore transforming their locations into innovation campuses capable of continuing to compete internationally. This means that the existing research infrastructure must be reinforced to retain the existing knowledge institutes while attracting new ones, as well as providing for start‐ up and accelerator buildings and financing options for fledgling companies, fast growers and foreign companies to be attracted. And, no less important, this initiative will require the international accessibility of the campuses to be upgraded and monitoring their special qualities.

7 KIC: Knowledge and Innovation Community

8 Source: BCI Report 2010, ‘Op weg naar een Brainport Campussenstrategie’ (Heading towards a Brainport Campus Strategy). ‘A campus constitutes a location offering top‐quality options for establishment and facilities for knowledge intensive operations and for a (jointly available) laboratory, clean room and test facilities, has a strong focus on knowledge intensive activities and/or R&D, has a large, manifest knowledge carrier serving as the anchor tenant, and has disposal over an open innovation organisation that structurally promotes knowledge exchange’.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 15

Valorisation and the role of the small and medium‐sized enterprise sector

Valorisation involves the concrete utilisation of knowledge in the form of commercially viable products and processes, in such a way that investments in knowledge and innovation can be earned back. To a large extent, this takes shape within small and medium‐sized companies. They are indispensable links as suppliers and customers. About 50% of employment available in Brabant is offered by small and medium‐sized businesses. Valorisation is an inherent aspect of the initiative to strengthen the innovative power of BrabantStad. In the elaboration of our goals, integral consideration is given to the role of small and medium‐sized businesses.

2.2 Increase international allure We have international aspirations; our ambition is to be a leading international force. In order to achieve such aspirations, our establishment climate must have international allure. After all, this distinguishes a metropolitan area from ‘normal big cities’ and the position it occupies in international networks. International allure can be expressed in the extent to which cities welcome international visitors for a city trip, a museum visit, a special event or conference, the extent to which foreign students and knowledge workers base themselves here temporarily or permanently, the performance of global players in the economy, and the establishment of head offices and/or R&D centres.

Within the scope of this development goal, we presently especially see opportunities for large‐scale cultural and sports events. Events such as these strengthen the economic development of the organising city and the region of Brabant as a whole. By focusing mainly on events of a large‐scale, European scale or even of global , we bolster the international image of the Brabant region, promoting its attractive climate for living, working and establishing a base. What’s more, these events also contribute towards social cohesion in the city and the region.

In the forthcoming period, we will be focusing on the following events:

ƒ European Capital of Capital 2018. We will be submitting a bid book to this end in the autumn of 20129. This will include the ‘Art of living together’ as a unique distinguishing profile for Brabant as the main theme.

9The city of Eindhoven announced its candidacy on October 25, 2012. The motto of the bid is Imagination designs Europe. The bid is based on a program developed and funded by the BrabantStad partners. The theme of living together has been further developed into two programs: We make the city and We connect people

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 16

ƒ As a province with a strong sports profile we hope to host international sports events such as the World Cup10 and European Cup football competitions. This naturally requires suitable facilities, but also requires upgrades of surroundings to a high level of spatial and infrastructural quality.

The national government is cutting back sharply on culture. These cutbacks have not left our region unscathed. Given the importance of culture to our region, we will be displaying the art of cooperation here. Together with the cultural arena, we are therefore working towards retaining the cultural infrastructure in BrabantStad by way of the BrabantBid.

In order to create an international establishment climate and exude hospitality, we do have to satisfy a number of pre‐conditions. Amongst other things, this relates to having sufficient (hotel) accommodation and facilities, along with offering good international accessibility. The importance of a high level of safety can not to be underestimated in this light either.

2.3 Increase (international) accessibility Accessibility is an important pre‐condition to be competitive internationally. In a world in which distances are becoming shorter and where everything revolves around speed, it is of crucial importance to have a properly functioning infrastructure. However, increased mobility should not be achieved at the expense of the living environment of our cities and urban centres.

The BrabantStad Bereikbaar network programme outlines infrastructural priorities for both internal and external accessibility in the 2012–2020 period. These priorities remain in place and serve as a foundation for discussions with national government within the scope of MIRT11.

Amongst other goals, this includes:

1. Establish a cohesive network of high ways and an underlying road network in Brabant by utilising and reconstructing the existing infrastructure and by constructing new infrastructure (such as the Eindhoven / Helmond 'by‐pass'). This will require changes to a number of high way and main road corridors (A2, A27, A58, A59, A67, N65, N69, N261, N279) in order to guarantee accessibility in the long term. It will also require changes close to the connections between the main road network and the underlying urban road network. 2. Establish a cohesive public transport system both within Brabant and in high‐quality connections between Brabant and the rest of the Netherlands and neighbouring countries, consisting of rail‐ connections (connecting to international (HSL) connections, intercities and sprinters), excellent public transport (bus) and intersections to facilitate switching modes of transport. This public transport network is connected to a spatial programme and the development of high‐quality urban zones, including high density zones around stations. 3. Opting for multimodal goods transport, i.e. less transport by road and more transport by water, rail and pipeline, linked to the development of multimodal goods terminals, multimodal industrial

10BrabantStad supported the joint bid by the Dutch and soccer associations to host the 2018 World Cup.

11MIRT – Meerjarenprogramma Infrastructure Ruimte en Transport – Long term program for Infrastructure, Spatial development and Transport

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 17

estates and safeguarding excellent accessibility to the cities by adopting measures in the area of urban distribution. 4. Establish a goods orbital rail link between Rotterdam, Antwerp and the Ruhr valley to the benefit of passenger transport by rail in Brabant

In order to stay competitive internationally, bottlenecks must be identified in the (road and rail) infrastructure at the level of Rhine‐Schelde‐Maasdelta (Amsterdam, Ruhr area, Aachen, Liege, Lille) and brought into the relevant circuits. BrabantStad's connections with neighbouring economic regions and corridors must be strengthened: the Flemish diamond, Ruhr Area and Randstad conurbation. Specific goals can be outlined for the forthcoming period:

ƒ The north‐south (road and rail) connection of Rotterdam‐Drechtsteden‐Breda / West‐Brabant‐ Antwerp – Brussels ƒ The north‐south (road and rail) connection of Amsterdam‐Utrecht‐’s‐Hertogenbosch‐Eindhoven‐ Maastricht (Aachen / Liege) ƒ The east‐west connection of Rotterdam via Breda‐Tilburg‐Eindhoven‐ Venlo to Germany(Ruhr Area, Dusseldorf) by rail and road ƒ Space to expand Eindhoven Airport and the accessibility by road and rail of Eindhoven Airport ƒ Establish a high‐frequency rail link between the five cities of Brabant

2.4 Strengthen the spatial structure of the urban network Safeguarding good spatial quality in Brabant is one of the most important preconditions to establishing a leading economic region and associated establishment climate. For this reason, we want to create high‐quality urban allure at strategic, prime locations in the cities and retain – and where possible reinforce – the green character of the region in BrabantStad. The decentralisation of powers to the province and municipalities in the area of spatial planning presents new challenges and opportunities. For ourselves, we can create space to experiment with new solutions geared to increasing the spatial quality of Brabant. For example by utilising vacated locations such as military bases, monasteries, industrial and agricultural buildings for more creative ends. And examine and possibly facilitate high density projects in the cities. A useful tool in this respect would be to cluster investments made by private parties, government bodies and non government organisations. BrabantStad can essentially play a role in coordinating activities, knowledge development and knowledge sharing. Within the scope of this development initiative, we currently perceive numerous opportunities for projects related to the following two themes:

ƒ Development of multipurpose zones around the central railway stations Station locations generate new energy. People gather here and new connections are made in society. The zones around the stations offer an opportunity to create attractive areas. It is not without reason that these zones have been assigned an important role within the context of the bid for the European Capital of Culture in 2018. The development of the Paleiskwartier in ‘s‐ Hertogenbosch, Strijp‐S in Eindhoven, of the rail zones in Tilburg and Breda, as well as the development of the canal zone in Helmond, are all examples of areas where living, working and

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 18

relaxing converge and where there is a great deal of potential for (cultural) development. The added value of cooperating within BrabantStad is that the network can function as a forum for knowledge development and knowledge sharing. In this respect, the five cities of Brabant can profit from each other's strengths, by seeing their differences as an enrichment rather than a shortcoming. But also by supporting one another and working together. We aim to create varied, complimentary and mutually strengthening high‐quality urban environments. Additionally, working together offers the opportunity of taking joint action – possibly with other public and/or private partners – to resolve matters currently hindering the development of rail zones within the cities. For example targeting legislation and regulations, or the level of (insufficient) attention in terms of policy and finance from the national government for the urbanisation challenges in our cities (transformation and urban centre construction).

ƒ Recognisable cities and towns A characteristic feature of BrabantStad as a metropolitan region is that it does not consist of a connected conglomerate of urban areas, but of separate recognizable cities and towns located in a green, countryside environment. This creates a picture of contrast comparable to the pattern of a mosaic. The mosaic metropolis is an ideal location for internationally oriented companies and knowledge workers to establish a base. In recent decades, however, the colours that make up this mosaic have faded because the differences between the city and countryside have diminished. The cities have new residential neighbourhoods in green areas and the towns have expanded with an urbanised shell around their original centre. Outlying areas have also become more built up, now featuring structures including agricultural business premises. We want to see the cities become more urbanised, the villages more village‐like and the green areas in between free of urbanisation. We want to apply the dynamism of the city to revitalise the countryside and to reinforce the role of the city centre in taking care of the surrounding countryside. The cities' attractiveness is largely determined by the corridors within the urban area, consisting of streams, green zones and city parks, and the green and blue connections with the larger natural and coutryside areas.

The Brabantse Wal, Groene Woud and Maashorst will come better into their own if they are connected with one another by robust green and wet structures. An implementation programme will be drafted specifying how the concept of the mosaic metropolis could play more of a leading role in terms of the choices made within BrabantStad.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 19

3 BrabantStad as an urban governance network: the art of cooperating and shared governing

Brabant understands the art of cooperation. We take on the challenges and aim to achieve our goals with the strength of BrabantStad behind us; a tradition of cooperation within and between the social and government arenas, of connecting technology and craftsmanship, of strong cities and attractive cities, linked to an attractive landscape of villages. The high level of interaction between the cities and the province also provides evidence of the art of cooperation. The five cities encourage each other's success based on the conviction that this will improve the entire region of Brabant. We have achieved a great deal in recent years and plan to continue to do so in the future.

BrabantStad is a network organisation in the purest sense of the word. We work together on the basis of equality; no single partner has the authority to go it alone. This form of cooperation has proved its worth in recent years. A total investment of approximately € 1.4 billion is linked to the long‐term programme for 2008–2012 entitled ‘Investing Together in BrabantStad’. However, further development of the network is necessary to make BrabantStad more than just an administrative platform and lobbyist. This means that we need to be able to challenge one another more to make use of the strengths offered by the network. Only in this manner will we be able to effectively anticipate the (increasing) dynamism in our environment and genuinely join the lead at a national and European level.

Content steers the action; this also applies to us as BrabantStad. The challenges facing us are complex and often transcend beyond regional barriers. In order to act effectively for the citizens, companies and institutions of Brabant, we have entered into alliances with practically all the surrounding regions.12 This enables us to work together to overcome ‘supraregional’ issues on our agenda. As long as the current ‘House of Thorbecke13’ remains unchanged, forging alliances in this manner is essential. In order to achieve our development goals, existing alliances must be better utilised and new alliances formed.

12 We're already looking at alliances with Venlo and the Drechtsteden, along with DelTri relations with Rijnmond and the Drechtsteden, the Seaport consultations with Vlaanderen, RijnScheldeDelta,, Eindhoven ‐ Leuven ‐ Aachen, and the A2 consultations involving Amsterdam ‐ Utrecht ‐ ‘s‐ Hertogenbosch ‐ Eindhoven ‐ Maastricht.

13Thorbecke drafted a Constitution in 1848 which confirmed the powers of the municipal, provincial and national government. This three tier system of government is still in place.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 20

It is essential to bundle our strengths in almost all respects to achieve our goals, not only with public parties, but especially with private parties too. And, there is no ideal economy of scale to be reached in effectively dealing with all the issues facing our region. This means that various cooperative relationships must be formed to achieve our goals, at different levels of scale and reflecting a diverse array of social partners. As a province and cities, we continually operate in different arenas. We see that BrabantStad possesses the qualities needed to switch between different levels seeking to cooperate with partners beyond our network. This in order to join interests and generate synergies for our agendas. In this respect, BrabantStad is already a strong party in relation to Europe and the national government. The decentralisation of powers to a provincial and municipal level offers new challenges and opportunities.

In order to effectively meet challenges, governments need each other, along with social and private partners. Today's network economy / society does not require formal structures; instead it needs a flexible network, capable of working 'from the outside in'. After all, with government deciding less these days, it is more about what a large group of parties want to achieve. We therefore need to organise cooperation – insofar as this has not already been done – in changing coalitions, addressing themes and opportunities. BrabantStad is capable of swiftly mobilising a large number of public and private partners to address particular issues. It is therefore our intention to work on the challenges outlined in this agenda with our partners and to implement them through different forms of cooperation within the context of our networks.

Purely in terms cooperation between governments in BrabantStad, our cities serve as portals for the regions and take care of coordination with their respective regions. In recent years, the B5 cities have begun to function more as driving forces in cooperation within their respective regions. In doing so, the cities place their role as centre cities in a BrabantStad‐wide context. Coordination with the regions is not a matter of course; in our opinion, Brabant's strength stems from the cities and regions together. The five cities and surrounding regions each have their own area of 'specialisation’. The strength of BrabantStad is also determined by the ties the individual cities have with their regions. The five cities represent the regional interests. BrabantStad faces the challenge of promoting interaction between the different areas where necessary. One way to achieve this is on the basis of crossovers between business relations in different cities and regions. We firmly believe that this will generate added value for the entire region of Brabant.

Our cooperative spirit also places us in a position to respond better to the many developments confronting us than if we were to operate solely as individual parties. Instruments including information transfer, knowledge exchange and joint lobbying are of great importance in this context.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 21

We wish to emphasise that this not only applies to the topics and goals mentioned in this Strategic Agenda. Recent years have shown that this cooperation represents an important source of added value for BrabantStad. An example are consultations within our network about the transition of youth care. Issues regarding safety and security are increasingly demanding a ‘supralocal’ and ‘supraregional’ approach, in which context Brabant's proximity to the border plays a role. A high level of cooperation between the municipalities, police force and Ministry of Justice is essential. A safe environment is also an important part of the residential and business climate, and therefore the establishment climate. A start was made in recent years with this integral and supraregional approach, in dealing with organised crime by deploying a special task force for example. We intend to continue with this unabated in the years ahead. Concrete matters include the regional imbedding of police units, further cooperation between regional partnerships around safety and security (“veiligheidshuis”), a combined Regional Information & Expertise Centre and the joint financing of cross‐border municipal safety and security projects.

The further development of BrabantStad places demands on the way in which we organise cooperation. In this respect, we face more than a number of challenges and development goals alone. The challenge for the forthcoming period is also one of governance, which will also have an organisational impact. It is imperative to further develop our governance and organisational concept in order to genuinely arrive at efficient and effective network formation with public and private partners. We also aim to intensify the involvement of our councils to increase broad‐based political support. In continuing to develop BrabantStad, we look beyond the borders of BrabantStad. We will present BrabantStad internationally as a metropolitan region and an urban governance network. Where relevant, we will participate in spatial and economic research into urban networks and into models of urban governance.

Finally, an obvious, but no less true, observation: it is the individual people that (have to) make the difference. This certainly applies to a network such as ours. The success of BrabantStad will to a large extent be determined by the degree to which the key actors within our network are capable being committed to working together.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 22

4 Financial engineering

Nowadays, government’s role keeps changing. Sometimes it is the first or only anchor in the face of important social challenges; sometimes it acts as one of the participants within initiatives taken by third parties which contribute directly or indirectly to the policy objectives of government. In short, the classic vertically organised system of government must be relinquished in todays’ (horizontally oriented) society.

Cooperating within the scope of open networks is the future. Our urban governance network BrabantStad offers excellent opportunities for putting this new working method to the test in practice. This places demands on the organisation of BrabantStad and the way in which cooperation takes place with social partners.

In terms of content and finances, we have to deal with one another on the basis of equality. This also has an impact on the way in which we finance the agreed projects and activities.

It is no longer possible to work on the basis of a single uniform investment programme. Financing models based solely on ‘traditional’ subsidy relations offer insufficient opportunities. The challenges in the strategic agenda require 'customised' financing arrangements. In some cases this could be a revolving fund, while in other cases it could be a formalised public‐private partnership in the form of a development company if appropriate.

The challenges in our society are often simply too big and too complex to be taken on by us alone as cooperating governments. Other parties need to contribute as well. In this light, innovative financing models could even be attractive to the business community. For this reason, BrabantStad is an urban governance network capable of utilising different forms of funding and financing, in keeping with the nature of the contents of the challenge and composition of the alliance in question. Appendix 1 contains details of the different financing models.

As BrabantStad, we also look to other layers of government for financing our initiatives. As the second most important powerhouse of the Dutch economy, the region of Brabant contributes significantly towards the goals of national government. Certainly in these financially challenging times, it is important that what is strong stays strong. This therefore requires that national government pays ongoing attention to the Brabant region.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 23

European subsidy programmes such as EFRO, ESF and JEREMIE and financing arrangements such as the JESSICA revolving fund are expected to offer various options for (co) financing our (supraregional) initiatives. After all, with the goals we have defined, BrabantStad will be making an important contribution towards (achieving) a range of European objectives, such as those recently formulated in the EU2020 strategy. Based on this strategy for the forthcoming years, the European Commission will be working on goals such as:

• strengthening the innovative power of cities and regions • the efficient use of natural resources and reduction of CO2 emissions • improving the investment climate • strengthening the performance of the labour market and social inclusion • improving education. It is up to BrabantStad and its partners to utilise opportunities offered in this respect by ‘Europe’.

For many of the goals outlined in the strategic agenda, the counter will not be starting at zero. These topics have already for several years received a great deal of attention BrabantStad‐wide , both in terms of content and financial terms. With respect to some projects within the scope of broader goals, the BrabantStad partners have already earmarked financial resources, for example as part of the ‘Investing Together in BrabantStad’ programme that runs until December 2013. In the implementation programmes drawn up for each goal, we will specify aspects such as the required resources, which financing arrangement would be appropriate, how third‐party flows of funds could be attracted, and the extent to which there is already some form of financial coverage.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 24

Appendix 1 A selection of financing structures

Examples of financing structures of a public‐public character

JESSICA Revolving fund of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank. New procedures have been set up offering EU member states the option of using part of the subsidies awarded from the Structural Funds for reclaimable and subsequently reusable (revolving) investment support for projects forming part of an integrated plan for sustainable urban developments. The JESSICA approach is already being applied successfully in various European countries.

Regional development Multiple municipalities and other government bodies can companies participate in development initiatives through regional development companies. These development companies are ideally suited to achieve and coordinate supralocal objectives and therefore prevent oversupply. Projects that are difficult to repeat can also be more easily repeated through cooperation.

Risk‐bearing participation Under this arrangement, governments join a cooperative initiative to make a development possible. They participate as a risk‐bearer in the financial arrangements14 for a spatial development. This makes the scale of the risks involved acceptable for the participants.

Source: Ecorys (2010). Inventory of financing structures. Think and act differently.

14Dutch law allows governments to acquire (either voluntary or by resumption), develop and sell land as if it were a developer. Thus governments can be proactive in making developments happen. An example of a risk bearing participation could be that a government joins land it has acquired into a development with land owned by other parties, rather than trying to acquire those lands first.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 25

Examples of financing structures of a public‐private nature

Bonds Projects are financed by issuing bonds to private parties and individuals. Experience is being gained in Utrecht with this new working method in developing the Muziekpaleis near the Central Station.

PPP based on equality All parties participate equally and therefore share the same burdens (risks) and benefits (earnings). PPP structures offer advantages togovernmentsin the form of financing projects relatively competitively, along with certain tax advantages. What's more, government makes use of the knowledge and expertise of the developing party.

Portfolio formation of urban Portfolio formation is a fund in which a series of urban restructuring projects restructuring projects can be brought together, in order to streamline both capital requirements and yields. In this manner, gaps emerging in one project under the fund structure can be filled by earnings generated in another project.

Value capturing Value capturing is a method of steering the cash flow from projects. Current shortcomings can be covered by capturing future earnings in this cash flow. This structure can be applied broadly and has, for example, proved to be successful in laying and developing a metro line in Copenhagen.

Source: Ecorys (2010). Inventory of financing structures. Think and act differently.

Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012-2020 26

Colophon

The Strategic Agenda BrabantStad 2012‐2020 was produced by the BrabantStad Programme Office

Compilation

BrabantStad Coordination Group

Contact address

Province of BrabantStad Programme Office PO Box 90151, 5200 MC Den Bosch E‐mail: [email protected] Website: www.brabantstad.nl Twitter: @BrabantStad LinkedIn: Netwerk BrabantStad