C2C Network – Lessons Learned
An evaluation always has the risk to focus on all the possible improvements, while taking for grant- ed the strengths and positive elements of a given project. However, the quality of the Cradle to Cradle Network (C2CN) and its results has been confirmed in public statements at several occa sions underway and at the closing event of the project. The C2CN project has been praised by the European Commission and by the INTERREG secretariat for its strong vision, its profound work on the content of the Cradle to Cradle concept and the applications in industry and product design, built environment, area spatial development, and governance mechanisms and for its dynamic exchanges among and within the different partner regions. At the final event in Maastricht and in Brussels the positive results of the C2CN project were stressed by several speakers.
INTERREG IVC capitalization projects are set up in a certain way, with in this case of the C2C Network an extra focus on speed and a profound approach with practical results which comes with a Fast Track Label. In this respect the ambitions for this project have been met.
This report then is meant as a constructive analysis of how the C2C network has operated and learned and what lessons we can take away from that for future projects. A lot depends on what one is comparing with. Is the frame of reference the decision making power and implementation capa- city of a company, or processes of policy making in one’s own regional administration? Depending on where one is working, different interpretations will be made of the use of procedures, customs of communication or exchange, management cultures, and proven ways to reach results.
A project with 10 different partner regions about an innovative concept such as C2C is not a rou- tine job. It cannot simply be managed in a traditional way as it is a collective undertaking of self- conscious and independent organizations and regions who search for common ground. It aims for mutual understanding of each other and of the topic at hand, in the hope to come to informed action.
