Innovation and distributed economies for sustainable development: The example of the Northern Netherlands

The issue that is discussed in this paper is: what strategy can regional policymakers adopt to revive their regional economies with regard to international competition? The province of Fryslân, a North Netherlands economically peripheral region, aims to revive its economic structure. For this purpose an investment program in energy saving and renewable energy was elaborated using the specific regional qualities. The program is framed by an agreement with the national government and the EU inter-regional co-operation program. The investment of \u80 2.6 billion is based on 29 activities that were derived from workshop interactions, and in which more than seventy businesses, experts and authorities are involved. The program may realize a reduction in fossil fuel use of roughly 21% compared with the present situation. The activities focus on energy saving and renewable energy in housing, mobility, wind energy on industrial parks and closed greenhouses, as well as the production of biofuels from biowaste. Business opportunities for the regional companies are assessed. The regional and local policy instruments are indicated for the program implementation. The efficiency of the regional and local instruments is assessed and found to be superior compared to the national output-subsidies. The implementation of far reaching energy saving and renewable energy programs is attractive and feasible at regional level, according to the models used. The findings are supported by similar developments in Scandinavia and Australia with the so-called Distributed Economy model.Industrial Design Engineerin