RSE: Thinking about tomorrow today
For 15 years, RSE regional and location development projects have been providing new impetus in the Canton of Schaffhausen. During this time, over 100 projects have been supported for the region and numerous changes have been brought about.
Whether robotics, space travel or programming - technical topics are explained and taught in a child-friendly way at Schaffhausen's go-tec! For almost ten years, go-tec! Schaffhausen has been accompanying over 250 school classes and many interested children on their way through the STEM world every year. The clear aim is to bring technical professions closer to both children and parents in order to create easy access to the respective professions and their topics. go-tec! is a pioneering initiative and flagship project to strengthen the availability of skilled workers throughout Switzerland. "Regional and location development has provided substantial support for go-tec! both in the development and implementation phases, making this unique initiative possible in the first place," explains Managing Director Martin Sengel, referring to the creation of gotec!
Schaffhausen as a model Canton
Since 2008, the canton of Schaffhausen has been promoting regional and location development as a supplement to the federal government's New Regional Policy (NRP). Time to take stock of the RSE and NRP. "In 15 years, we have been able to attract 22 million francs of federal funding to Schaffhausen and trigger project investments totaling over 130 million here," says Leandro Robustelli, Head of the RSE office, providing an impressive figure. "We are almost considered a model canton for the national framework program. There are two reasons for this: The projects arise bottom-up from practical needs in the region. In addition, the project sponsors' own contributions are far higher than elsewhere."
On average, over two thirds of the project costs are borne by the project sponsors. This implies that the project idea is already well advanced and that the initiators are convinced of its success and are passionate about it. This increases the chances of success compared to projects that are planned at a higher level and largely financed by the public sector.
Many institutions that are now taken for granted were initially supported in some form by RSE funds: the International School (ISSH), the Schaffhausen University of Applied Sciences, the Puuremärkt, Ticiland, Stars in Town and the Swiss Handball Academy. "We could name many more examples. In total, we have supported 109 projects in the areas of tourism, innovation and knowledge transfer," explains Leandro Robustelli.
Where it makes sense, people also work together across cantonal borders. For example, INOS, the innovation network of the eastern Swiss cantons. And under the heading of RhineWorlds, cyclists are invited to discover a total of 15 adventure worlds from the headwaters to Basel.
Clear funding criteria
However, despite all goodwill towards regional innovative strength, clear criteria must be adhered to: The projects should promise economic benefits for the canton, improve the framework conditions in competition with other regions, increase the attractiveness of the location and help to overcome outdated structures.
Do you have a project idea? Get in touch with the RSE office.
