Focus

Political decentralizing processes, the concern for the sustainability of economic growth models in a globalized world, and the emergence of the knowledge society bring along a new way of focusing on the problems relating to development.

On the one hand, the concern for life quality in the present and future generations, brings into focus the territorial (vs. global) dimension of development, since there is growing awareness of the fact that not only are benefits generated in global markets, but also that it is on the local scale that the social and environmental costs of the models based on economic profitability are determined, thus affecting directly the unbalanced distribution of the population’s “welfare” and “better life”. On the other hand, focus on the territory allows a better perception of the multidi-mensionality and complexity of problems, highlighting two important issues. Firstly, the need for solutions to be tackled comprehensively and co-ordinately by all the actors involved in the territory (participation and the creation of tools to in-stitutionalise this participation emerge here as a democratic demand, but also, to the same extent, as an indispensable factor to guarantee the efficiency of decentralizing processes). Secondly, the lack of pluridisciplinary knowledge and learning available to tackle these complex problems comprehensively, and also the lack of project prospecting, design and evaluation tool kits really adapted or adaptable to the needs of the territory.

The caENTI (Coordination Action of the European Network of Territorial Intelligence) has progressively defined territorial intelligence as the science having for object the sustainable development of territories and having for subject territorial community.

• It puts in relation multidisciplinary knowledge on territories and their dynamics
• It strengthens territorial communities abilities to take part in their development in a fair and sustainable way
• It improves territorial information sharing and spreads its analysis methods and tools thanks to Information and Communication Technologies
• It promotes governance, decision making processes and practices valuing participation and partnership and research-action that contribute to fair and sustainable development of the territorial community

ENTI (Territorial European Network of Intelligence), the European network of territorial intelligence, developed in Europe from 1989 with the spreading of the method Catalyse. This method suggests the partnerships of development of the tools of scientific conception to realize diagnoses of territory, to estimate their actions and to observe the impact of these actions to elaborate projects of sustainable development in a participative way.

In 2003, the involved researchers and actors established the European Network of Territorial Intelligence. From March, 2006 till February, 2009, the caENTI, the action of coordination of the European Network of Territorial Intelligence, was supported by the 6th program of research and technological development of the European Union.

ENTI has for objective to assure the continuity of the actions of the caENTI and to spread collaborations on an international scale..

The caENTI is a consortium of eigth universities and seven territorial actors. As a general objective, it aims to integrate present research projects on territorial intelligence tools, so as to give them a European dimension.

To do so, it works out three activities of comparative research coordination:

• Tools for and by actors
• Fundamental methods
• Governance principles

It includes two dissemination activities: the Internet portal http://www.territorial-intelligence.eu and annual international conference.

caENTI, as a general objective, aims at integrating present research projects on territorial intelligence tools, so as to give them a European dimension.

To do so, it works out three activities of comparative research coordination:

• Tools for actors
• Fundamental methods
• Governance principles

It includes two activities of dissemination: the Internet portal http://www.territorial-intelligence.eu and an annual international conference.

Several years ago, the EU introduced the need for project management and evaluation. Since GÖTEBORG (2001) the sustainable development rules have established the principles of good governance: participation, well-balanced approach and partnership. Scientific methods that are adapted to these principles are available for the experts, but the territorial actors rarely benefit from simple and cheap tools to elaborate, manage, observe, valuate and transfer participative projects to a multi-sector partnership.

The caENTI project, as a general objective, aims at integrating present research projects on tools of territorial intelligence using information and communication technologies whilst respecting the sustainable development ethic.

Since March 2006, the date when the CAENTI action began, the coordination of the research activities of the caENTI participants, eight universities and seven territorial actors, converge to:

• Design and coordinate the implementation and documentation of friendly tools, which will be accessible to the the end actors of sustainable development, in the WP6 “Tools for actors”.
• Survey the spreading within Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) of the research procedures in territorial information analysis, the fundamental methods and the generic tools, which can provide technologies and tools accessible for a professional use, in the WP4 “Fundamental methods”
• Valuate the practices of the scientific production that inspire territorial governance and the ethic principles, standards and protocols the territorial research-action and the territorial intelligence tools should fulfil, in the WP5 “Governance principles”.

Implemented in 2001, the Institute of Humanities, social and environmental sciences (Maison des sciences de l'homme et de l'environnement Ledoux - MSHE) Ledoux develops a perennial and innovating project.

Its objective is answering the social demand and dealing with the new thematics that emerge in the research field, implementing a crossroad of international exchanges to favour the researchers insertion in the European and world research space and into increase the cooperation with socio-economic partners.

Since the 1990s, VALDOCCO participates to partnership actions linked to poverty and social exclusion. Within the European programme Poverty III, it participates with the University of Huelva, more precisely with the Local Observatory of Employment to territorial actions.

On this basis, a cooperation action was initiated on the training, research-action, strategies development and propositions linked to territorial development issues.After this partnership is initiated, VALDOCCO had the opportunity to work with the University of Besançon and with other European actors with which it initiated the European Network of Territorial Intelligence.

Le Centre de ressources, né de la réflexion du partenariat d’Optim@ sur la précarité de certains quartiers de Seraing, tente depuis 2003 de revaloriser les compétences des habitants pour contribuer au développement de leur quartier. Après trois ans d'existence, les habitants-animateurs et les partenaires du Centre de Ressources ont organisé son inauguration officielle le 24 juin 2006.

The ACCEM is aware of the need to make research activities on reality in a continuous way to improve the quality of its actions so as they always correspond to the society real needs.

The reality of the refugees’ and immigrants’ life is dynamic and changing, and requires a continuous effort as regards the study and the creation of tools proper to research-action.

The Catalyse method offers tools of diagnosis, evaluation and observation that are accessible to the local actors of the sustainable territorial development. These tools are useful to draft relevant development projects, to efficiently manage these projects, then to valuate them and to estimate their impact.

These tools that are intended for the actors of the sustainable development respect and favour the principles of participation, global approach and partnership. They facilitate the mobilization of development partnerships that are composed of professionals who work in public services, private organizations and active voluntaries in associations. They guarantee a participative animation of the partnership.

The integration of research teams and territorial actors to provide a European dimension to the tools of territorial intelligence questions the use of tools, methodologies, research procedures, data sets as well as the practices of participation, partnership and a global approach. What is the updated state-of-the-art in this field that requires a multi-disciplinary approach of territorial knowledge, territorial governance and territorial engineering?