Monday, January 12, 2009

Spicycles Final Report on Local Partnerships

Partnership-building has clearly formed an important element of the implementation of the
measures realised during the project. The key findings are quite varied, reflecting the specific context of each city’s actions. Nevertheless, it is possible to define a “win-win” scenario: Making cycling visible by practical actions helps to develop the stakeholder platform. The SPICYCLES experience suggests that this is better done in a step-by-step manner than in trying to develop an all-encompassing Master Plan in one go. As the partnership-building progresses, the ambition and the level of integration can be increased. Once the platform is functioning for key actions such as infrastructures planning and communication, then the Master Plan can help to improve the level of integration of the specific actions. There is evidence to suggest that cities with an active stakeholder framework are able to achieve a more intensive implementation of actions. Hence, it is recommended that partnership-building form a key element of any city’s cycling action plan – whatever stage of development the city finds itself with regard to cycling promotion. Read more in their comprehensive final report here.