1. England October 22-26 2008

2. Joint action since 1993 Six Municipalities in the North of Sweden Bjurholm Nordmaling Robertsfors Umeå Vindeln Vännäs

3. An alliance for growth high quality of community services improve the efficiency of municipal activities offer services and facilities at lower cost

4. Agreement Positive development for one municipality is a positive development for all Establishment of new business enterprises should be done without conflict Job opportunities should be spread throughout the region Increased freedom of choice and better service to inhabitants

5. Aims Better efficiency in the public sector through co-ordination Work together for development of the region The organisation must be based upon democratic principles

6. Functional region One labour market region 142,000 inhabitants 5,000 people commute every day Maximum of 45 minutes by car from Umeå to the other municipal centres 16,000 business enterprises

7. Organisation Council of the Region- mayors and vice mayors Heads of Municipalities- operative steering committee Head of office- prepares the agenda, carries out decisions, finances and administration 20 Thematic Committees - 100 representatives from all six municipalities

8. Committees Commercial and industrial life Education Technique Planning Tourism Staff IT Environment Public transportation Purchase/procurement Information Waste management Elderly care

9. Examples of successful co-operation They all started as projects... Joint organisation of tourism Joint refugee reception Joint library system - United Nations Public Service Award in 2008 for “best innovation in the public sector”

10. www.minabibliotek.se Minabibliotek.se is the result of many years of developmental work Participatory Democracy Part of the European Capital of Culture venture A joint regional web site

11. Umeå Region Libraries Strategy for sustainable development The work of the libraries relate to all ten themes of the Aalborg Commitments and can be described from all three perspectives of a sustainable development, social, economic and ecological. Results Better work environment Innovative product development Competence development Improved professionality National and international recognition

12. Umeå Region Public libraries Strategy for sustainable development Social sustainability mission Spread culture Accessible source of information Accessible meeting place. Economic sustainability mission Increased productivity by sharing costs and resources. Create an infrastructure for common investments (servers, library data systems) Financial stability through joint procurements and implementation of Umeå region funding models and cost distribution Ecological sustainability mission Re-using resources by borrowing books Increasing digitalisation of services all contributes to a better environment From one tree up to 15000 A4 sheets or 100-150 books can be made

13. Sustainable Umeå Region Albert Edman, Project leader

14. Sustainable Umeå Region Project purpose Joint regional management system Sustainable urban-rural development in functional labour market region. Starting points Sustainable development is a leadership issue Regional growth/development is strengthened by broad sustainable development perspective Bottom-up perspective with strong local involvement. Process Based on Aalborg commitments process. Evaluate Aalborg process as a tool from a functional region perspective. Cooperation Umeå region and Västerbotten Regional Council

15. Aalborg Commitments? EU strategy for sustainable development (2006) ” Municipalities, cities and towns should be invited to sign and implement the Aalborg Commitments. Networks at different levels should support these activities.” European Urban Conference 2004 in Aalborg, Denmark More than 500 local and regional signatories in Europe

16. THE AALBORG COMMITMENTS 50 commitments in 10 thematic areas 1 GOVERNANCE 2 LOCAL MANAGEMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY 3 NATURAL COMMON GOODS 4 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND LIFESTYLE CHOICES 5 PLANNING AND DESIGN 6 BETTER MOBILITY, LESS TRAFFIC 7 LOCAL ACTION FOR HEALTH 8 VIBRANT AND SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMY 9 SOCIAL EQUITY AND JUSTICE 10 LOCAL TO GLOBAL

17. BETTER MOBILITY, LESS TRAFFIC We recognise the interdependence of transport, health and environment and are committed to strongly promoting sustainable mobility choices. We will therefore work to: 1. reduce the necessity for private motorised transport and promote attractive alternatives accessible to all. 2. increase the share of journeys made by public transport, on foot and by bicycle. 3. encourage transition to low-emission vehicles. 4. develop an integrated and sustainable urban mobility plan. 5.reduce the impact of transport on the environment and public health.

18. Expected results Local and regional baseline review Six local action plans Regional framework with monitoring review system Systematic approach to take strategy into targeted action, new thematic sustainable networks New thematic sustainable development projects, putting innovative ideas into practice

19. Local and regional baseline review Strengths 20 thematic committees in a stable network creating bottom-up approach developing the region Well established political co- operation in the region Examples Umeå region public libraries Wind power visualization-Google earth District heating (Cooling!) region BioFuel Region Gender equal and sustainable region Umeå European Capital of Culture 2014

20. Challenges How connect our functional region sustainably? Promoting health on equal terms Bench-marking with others Common vision for sustainable growth Procurement of local and regional products Climate and energy strategy for the region

21. Common wind energy plan for the Umeå Region Using Google Earth to visualize effects

22. District heating (cooling) region All six municipalities in the region have district heating systems More than 70 % of the total indoor area in Umeå Oil boilers replaced and the amount of electricity used for heating reduced. Dåva combined heat and power plant One of the world’s most energy effective and environmentally adapted waste-fuelled plants. Combination of innovative solutions recover almost entire energy value of the fuel. District cooling Absorption refrigerators produce district cooling, driven by district heating

23. A region that leads the world in biofuels The vision To be a world-leading region in sustainable transport based on biofuels and bioproducts from renewable rawmaterials. Therefore we focus on being in the forefront of societal change, industrial and regional development, and to increase the availability of renewable raw materials

24. Gender equal, sustainable region Develop common knowledge platform on gender equality in the region Develop management system to ensure gender equal service to citizens Cooperation and knowledge  gender equal, sustainable region Facts about the Umeå region: European Football Champions 2003, 2004, finalists 2002, 2007, 2008 Umeå University Center for Gender studies is National center of excellence Umeå region has highest % of paternal leave days in Sweden

25. Northern curiosity and passion – the art of Co-creation Mission: Co-creating sustainability (Stay cool!)

26. Thank You! Questions?