INTERSTRAT: ESPON in Integrated Territorial Strategies

The aim of the ESPON INTERSTRAT was transnational learning about using ESPON research in integrated policies for urban and rural development. Its focus was active learning, using ESPON analysis and related data in the development of integrated territorial development strategies at all levels of decision-making. The project brought together 9 partners from across the EU, incorporating very different institutional capacities and approaches to territorial policymaking, many different languages and representing a broad cross-section of territorial specificities. This diversity and breadth of experience was an important driver of the project design, with its focus on combining territorial responsiveness with transferability and effective learning. The approach was therefore to share tools, materials and processes that can be adapted to national circumstances while maintaining comparability and transferability across the project partners.