Regions on their way to sustainability: the role of institutions in fostering sustainable development at the regional level

Sustainable regional development as a politically requested concept challenges regions within the European Union since the Amsterdam Treaty 1997. A growing body of literature identifies cooperation between stakeholder groups as one of the limiting factors for implementing sustainable regional strategies. This leads to the question, how cooperation within a region could be organised. How can institutions support the implementation process of sustainable development on the regional level? Regional institutions are both supporters of cooperation between regional stakeholders and key players in regional development processes. Their connections strengthen the importance of networks in the sustainable regional development process.