Partner Testimonial - Hamburg Municipality
The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is one of the 16 States of Germany and the motor of the Metropolitan Region Hamburg, a region of more than 5, 2 million inhabitants. Hamburgs ties with Scandinavia and large parts of northern Europe are strong.
Already back in 1997 Hamburg has started setting up powerful triple helix clusters ranging from media and IT to civil aviation, life science, logistics and maritime industry as well as renewable energy today. In addition, the city has organized its transregional collaboration in networks like STRING (cooperation along the axis Hamburg Copenhagen-Skane), European Aerospace Cluster Partnership (EACP). As Ministry of Economics, Transport and Innovation, representing Hamburg in Northern Connections, we especially foster strengthening our ties throughout the Jutland Corridor as another axis for cooperation with Scandinavia.
A part of Northern Connections
We are taking part in Northern Connection, because we want to understand the barriers to a better cooperation of clusters and policy wise. Policy wise, we have to learn that we are quite depending on elections and following political decisions like it is taking place in Denmark at the time being. The collaboration of the Energy Clusters on the other hand can serve as an example to follow in other areas than the renewable energy field.
For Hamburg it is important to be well connected in one of the richest areas in the world. This is why our declared aim is to stimulate the international competitiveness of the whole region and to further increase the transnational cooperation among the regions and extend the economic collaboration between clusters in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland. This task needs our transnational cooperation. The result should be taking over ownership at political level.
Spill offs
We are experiencing a growing network on this issue as well as several spill offs. We enjoy for example more intensive relations with Gothenburg and beyond, politicians get interested in including each other in their activities – like modern mobility. Also we started an exchange on several OECD findings as well in Western Scandinavia as in Hamburg Metropolitan Region.
Practical Findings
Taking part in the Living-Labs experience opened our eyes to look beyond the national boarders when it comes to find innovative solutions for any energy-challenge. In Hamburg we will be part of that in connection with the next transnational working days of Northern Connection on 12– 14 June 2019.