Implementation of recommendations from the "City Lab Chemnitz"

At its meeting today, Chemnitz City Council decided to implement the recommendations of the Fraunhofer Society. These recommendations result from the city analysis "City Lab Chemnitz", which was carried out by the Morgenstadt Innovation Network.

With the resolution, the City Council instructed the administration to create a staff unit for strategy development. The staff unit will be provided with a project budget of 50,000 euros for 2017/18.

In addition, the annual contribution for membership of the "Morgenstadt: City Insights" innovation network totalling 7,500 euros each for 2017 and 2018 will be included in the budget. Furthermore, a joint concept for a programme to promote the cultural and creative industries is to be developed by Chemnitz City Council and Chemnitzer Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (CWE). The European Mobility Week will also be expanded. The EU office will be provided with 10,000 euros per year for this purpose.

City analysis "City Lab Chemnitz"

From September 2015 to September 2016, the city of Chemnitz was subjected to a comprehensive analysis by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. More than 80 fields of action of the Morgenstadt model were analysed and discussions and workshops were held with key Chemnitz stakeholders. Based on data and findings, the Fraunhofer researchers identified the city's strengths and weaknesses, determined the need for action and potential and made a series of recommendations for the sustainable development of the city of Chemnitz.

Among other things, the analysts showed that it is imperative for the city of Chemnitz to systematically deal with innovation processes and the development of long-term strategies and to establish appropriate working structures, for example in the form of a staff unit.

Staff unit for strategy development

The staff unit is initially responsible for the development and later for the ongoing review and adaptation of an overall urban strategy. It assumes the development and coordination function in a strategic network consisting of representatives of the various city departments and external Chemnitz stakeholders as well as stakeholder groups from science, culture and industry, among others, and also involves civil society stakeholders.

The staff unit can support the preparations for the Capital of Culture bid with initial short-term activities. The close mutual cooperation between the staff unit and the stakeholders of the "Capital of Culture 2025" project guarantees, on the one hand, that the strategic recommendations of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are incorporated into the application process. On the other hand, the cooperation will ensure that the application has a lasting positive impact on the overall urban strategy to be developed, as the project will initiate valuable development processes and set priorities that will remain valid beyond 2025.

In the medium term, the department will also identify further projects for the cultural and urban development of Chemnitz, evaluate these in terms of funding and feasibility and actively support the implementation of corresponding projects.

Due to its long-term strategic orientation, the staff unit will be directly linked to the Mayor's Office in order to develop a "Masterplan 2040" supported by the entire top management. This takes into account the various subject areas within the departments and outside the administration, such as Chemnitz University of Technology.

Membership of the "Morgenstadt: City Insights" innovation network

Among other things, membership offers the opportunity to find international strategic partners for sustainability projects. In addition, the City of Chemnitz receives support from the network when applying for publicly funded innovation projects. By participating in this network, the City of Chemnitz also strengthens national and international contacts.

Funding programme for the cultural and creative industries

With the planned support programme for the cultural and creative industries, the City of Chemnitz is implementing the Morgenstadt recommendation to use the resources available in the city and further develop Chemnitz as a centre of attraction for young people. As part of the programme, a prize is to be awarded for those involved in the cultural and creative industries and young companies are to be offered support in the start-up process. For example, the prizewinners will be provided with rent-free premises and advice from a network of experts.

The promotion of the cultural and creative industries will be of particular importance for the bid for the title of "European Capital of Culture 2025", as it will further strengthen the sector. The funding programme is being developed jointly by the city administration and Chemnitz Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (CWE).

Expansion of the European Mobility Week and Mobility Day

A short-term operational measure derived from the Morgenstadt recommendations is the expansion of the European Mobility Week and the Mobility Day. The action week is centred around the topic of sustainable mobility. It aims to raise awareness of this topic and promote innovative forms of mobility - such as the Chemnitz model.