REGIONAL EXPERT FORUM 2016
Our goal was to draw attention to the role and importance of social consultation processes in their practical application in everyday activities of local government – in the field of planning, conducting, and promoting activities.
On February 9, 2016, the first Regional Expert Forum took place under the name: of the originator and initiator of which is Pheno Horizon (OLP Sp.z o.o.). The conference gathered over 100 leaders of local governments from the Lodzkie Voivodship. The topics discussed concerned the most up-to-date and emotional issues related to the new regulations in the field of strategic and planning solutions.
The subject of the conference was divided into three thematic blocks:
Block 1: Social participation in carrying out revitalization and planning activities.
A particular need for such considerations results from the adopted new legal regulations, including:
- Act of 9 October 2015 on revitalization
- Act of 24 April 2015 Amending certain acts in relation to the strengthening of the landscape protection tools
It was important for us to develop a dynamic formula of the meeting, so we first took the method of substantive introduction in the form of short It was important for us to develop a dynamic formula for the meeting, so we first used the method of substantive introduction in the form of short speeches by specialists and co-authors of the acts. In this role, it was with great pleasure that we listened to the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Paweł Orłowski, and the Vice-President of the Association of Polish Cities, Marcin Pluta. The workshop part, during which the selection of participation techniques for the planned revitalization activities in the local governments of the Łódź Voivodeship was developed, was conducted by experts from Pheno Horizon.
Block 2: Social participation in city marketing.
City Marketing (in connection with the marketing of Regions) was the theme of the next part of the conference. Analysing examples of the pMarketing of cities (in connection with the marketing of regions) was the topic of the next part of the conference. Analyzing examples of promotional activities that have been carried out so far in the Łódź Voivodeship and examples from the country, during a conversation with experts, the impact of promotional activities on economic development and the inflow of new investments in the voivodeship was analyzed. The role of the involvement of local leaders and experts in increasing the effectiveness of processes was discussed. The possibilities of engaging local communities to actively participate in the implementation of long-term marketing activities concerning cities and rural environments were presented in detail. During the workshop part with the participation of experts on the promotion of the voivodeship from the Marshal’s Office of the Łódzkie Voivodeship, the effectiveness of the promotion methods used so far concerning the voivodeship and individual communes as well as investment zones emerging in the voivodeship was discussed.
Block 3: The most interesting techniques of social participation.
In this part of the meeting, more interesting consultation techniques were presented, some already used by local governments, others still new and arousing a lot of emotions and interest. The most extensive tool used in particular in the implementation of planning documents was presented – charrette workshops. In the panel led by Małgorzata Grodzicka-Kowalczyk, the substantive introduction was presented by Daniel Piotrowski, designer, and specialist in the design studio MAU Mycielski Architecture & Urbanism.
The next presentation allowed the participants to get to know a new tool enabling, on the one hand, an extremely committed attitude of participation among the local community, and, on the other hand, building a new channel of financing and promoting public tasks in a modern way. Bartosz Filip Malinowski from CROWDthinks introduced us to the subject, the best Polish crowdfunding artist, inspirer, and creator of such channels as http://wethecrowd.pl and www.facebook.com/WeTheCrowd.
Useful consultation tools of the online application were presented by the representative of ESRI in Poland (link: http://administracja.maps.arcgis.com/home) by our Industry Partner of the event.
Once again, thank you to all participants for coming and we invite you to the next editions of RFE!
