Is "Culture" Still Relevant to Regional Policy? Conclusions from DIAMONT, a European Union Research Project

The Alps, in the heart of Europe, are obviously an asset, but they also pose a serious challenge: some Alpine regions lag quite far behind economically, mainly because of the disadvantages of location. At the same time, their fragile ecological and cultural systems suffer from the unbalanced economic exploitation inherent in the "open access" policy formulated by the European Union's (EU) Lisbon Strategy. The Alpine Convention, a transnational treaty signed by all Alpine countries, is designed to guide progress in a sustainable way. Regional policy is a key tool for achieving this ambitious goal-a field of action to foster progress in a comprehensive way. Regional policy programs are run by all Alpine countries under the umbrella of the EU Cohesion Policy. In this context, the EU research project known as DIAMONT was designed to gain experience with benchmarking tools to support the Alpine Convention's efforts to monitor sustainable development. One research module focused on the question of the extent to which cultural factors still have an impact on regional policy and development at large. The results of this research are presented here, with a discussion of the influence of cultural factors, values, and attitudes about regional development.