Since its outset, PEMB has been characterised by its desire to establish links with other cities and metropolitan areas which believe in strategic planning as an essential tool to face the future. With this aim, it has participated and continues to participate in diverse international programmes and networks, as we have briefly described below.

CIDEU

The Ibero-American Centre for Urban Strategic Development (CIDEU) was constituted in Barcelona in 1993, based on the Barcelona Strategic Plan. Its objective is to promote and share the benefits with other cities derived from the application of urban strategic planning such as the continuity of strategic lines and projects over time, major participation from social and economic agents, and the interchange of knowledge and experiences. The Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMBE) is a founder member of CIDEU and forms part of its Governing Council.

CIDEU’s goal is to promote a strategic way of thinking in the design and management processes of urban projects and achieve sustainable growth for Ibero-American cities by means of strategic planning.

CIDEU develops activities focused on stimulating strategic planning in cities and the interchange of know-how among the network of cities that comprise it. Among these actions, we highlight the virtual courses in which members of the Plan’s Coordination Office participate as teaching staff.
You may consult the CIDEU webpage:http://www.cideu.org

Compete Project (2004-2007). The key competitiveness factors of cities

At the end of 2007, PEMB concluded its participation in the Compete Network, financed by the European Union’s Interrec IIIc Programme, whose objective was the interchange of good practices to improve the competitiveness of cities.

The following cities have participated in this network: Dortmund, Helsinki, Lyon, Munich, Rotterdam, Sheffield, and Barcelona.

Each city organised a workday about a key topic concerning urban and regional competitiveness. Since the project’s start in September 2004, they have held seven workdays:

• Sheffield (11-13 of May 2005): «The Role of Public-Private Partnerships»
• Dortmund (28-30 of September 2005): «Training policies for Human Resources»
• Barcelona (15-17 of March 2006): «Creative Industries»
• Helsinki (7-9 of June 2006): «Innovation Policies»
• Munich (4-6 of October 2006): «The Role of Knowledge Networks»
• Rotterdam (29 of November – 1 of December 2006): «Connectivity»
• Lyon (8-9 of February 2007): «Cluster Strategies»

The conclusions reached by this work team during three years of collaboration have been compiled in a report titled “Messages for Competitive European Cities” which can be found in the Publications section of our Webpage. You may also consult the project’s webpage by means of the following URL site: www.compete-eu.org.