Project Description
The research project "TransferMetroPlant", funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), focuses the knowledge transfer between research, industry and the general public – building on basic scientific research concerning regional facility location planning and development that was conducted in the preceding project "MetroPlant" (01/2018 to 01/2020). The aim in TransferMetroPlant is to develop an application-oriented planning tool for economic development organizations, which shall serve as a demand-oriented support for companies in the location selection and development within metropolitan regions. To achieve this aim, the Institute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production (AIP) and the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics (IFA) of the Leibniz Universität Hannover are continuing their long-standing successful cooperation. Within TransferMetroPlant, the two affiliated partners are collaborating with non-scientific application partners – the business promotion service of the state capital Hannover and the Hannover Region – in order to jointly develop main results derived from basic scientific research in MetroPlant in a pre-competitive stage and make them usable.
Responsible
- David Kik
Project Partners
Application partners:
- Business promotion service of the state capital Hannover and the Hannover Region
Cooperation partners:
- Industrial companies, municipalities and other business promotion services
Affiliated partners:
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute for Automotive Industry and Industrial Production
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute for Factory Facilities and Logistics
Initial Situation and Problem
As a result of the preceding project MetroPlant, the two affiliated partners developed an adequate decision supporting tool for companies in the facility location and development planning within metropolitan regions. It is a quantitative instrument intended to support companies that are willing to settle or relocate, by means of an integrated evaluation, selection and target-oriented over-time development of locations. The methodological novelty of the developed planning tool is the opportunity given to companies to anticipate location dynamics and to plan the implementation of own development measures for shaping locational conditions in a strategic, target-oriented manner in an early-stage decision-making process. In addition, location development measures whose realization are planned by municipalities as well as economic development organizations are taken into account as well.
A major challenge for companies seeking for locations is the acquisition of a vast amount of decision-relevant data. Given this background, particularly business development organizations play a central role in the establishment of a sound data basis for a company’s location decisions. Subsequently, they are the key contacts for a company’s issues relating their settlement and relocation intentions within metropolitan regions. Economic development organizations are pursuing the vital aim of providing the best possible conditions to location-seeking companies. However, they are frequently facing obstacles in terms of estimating concrete, individual needs of companies already located or intend to settle within economic development’s area of responsibility. To ensure a long-term successful binding of companies at own locations, such knowledge is indispensable for economic development organizations.
In practice, both economic development organizations and municipalities are usually lacking an application-oriented planning tool for the systematic, large-scale assessment of own locational structures in order to identify concrete needs for action and to implement suitable measures in a target-oriented manner – while considering individual needs of companies.
Objective and Approach
Against this background, the core aim of TransferMetroPlant is to further develop the planning tool for the regional facility location planning and development within metropolitan regions which was developed by the affiliated partners in the preceding project MetroPlant. Specifically, the existing tool is to be extended by the planning perspective of economic development organizations. So far, the tool is tailored to main requirements from the perspective of location-seeking companies. The further development of the planning tool is carried out in collaboration between the affiliated and application partners and is intended to make a major positive contribution towards shaping and developing the Hannover Region in a future-oriented way as well as creating proeconomic locational conditions for companies located and willing to settle.