(MORECO, ACCESS; focus on commercial sites and intermunicipal cooperation: COMUNIS, InnoCité)

In MORECO and ACCESS regional analyses have been carried out to provide general information on settlement structure, transportation and demography in the pilot regions: - Regional analysis on pilot areas and their status quo with regard to connectivity, transportation, settlement structure, service supply and demography (ACCESS). - SWOT analyses show strengths and weaknesses of demography, settlement structure, infrastructure and transport in the pilot regions (MORECO). - Regional analysis is moreover described as a tool in order to make the instrument transferable (MORECO).

In searching synergies among projects COMUNIS and InnoCité the regional analysis with the focus on commercial sites and intermunicipal cooperation (COMUNIS) could be adequately used in SMESTOs (small and medium sized towns) as well, taking in mind that the concept of SMESTOs relates to SMESTO-MEGA relationship, which could include both – intermunicipal cooperation and bearing in mind the weakening of services in SMESTOs, common planning of commercial sites could be an answer to ever growing influences of MEGA. In particular, COMUNIS provides a very structured recipe for analysing this context, containing main development issues, like availability of land, image and perception of the region, framework conditions for business, transportation, and provides analytical tools for analysing the situation (i.e. Balanced Score Card). In addition, COMUNIS proposes concrete plan of action and provides examples of implementations in their pilot areas. Joining the COMUNIS approach and analytical perspective of InnoCité (InnoCité approach, volume 1) could represent useful tool also for analysing the problems of SMESTOs, addressed in the InnoCité. In analytical terms BSC could be combined with a InnoCité diagnosis tool, which is a form, helping SMESTOs to make the first diagnostical step in evaluation of SMESTO performance comparing to metropolis that influences its development. At the same time the form provides a framework for comparison between SMESTOs. In this regard SMESTO-MEGA comparison could be adapted to intermunicipal comparison, being a first step in further discussion on a common commercial site development.