EIRP Proceedings, Vol 14, No 1 (2019)

Abstract

The local development potential of the Galati-Braila urban agglomeration is bigger than if we were thinking about the socio-economic development at each city level. A renewed design of spatial development strategies are required in order to overcome the local limiting factors and to create the necessary local consensus for policies targeting institutional reforms mainly on labour market, capital mobility and some basic infrastructure and accessibility policies. This research paper is an inventory of needs and resources of Galati-Braila urban agglomeration from the perspective of HEIs which provide a creative environment able to foster cooperation and collective action of a wide range of actors, from public sector institutions to civil society, incorporating private sector actors and moreover research institution from abroad, ensuring in this way that the knowledge is decisively transferred from the scientific literature into institutional work-frame. The paper concludes that territorial development policies should first and foremost help Galati-Braila urban agglomeration to develop its territorial capital, the role of HEIs being fundamental, especially because superior education aims to increase competences and human capital endowment.