Regional development fund for the airport region launched

Applications open February 9

February 9 marks the start of the Regional Development Fund of the Municipal Working Group Dialogue Forum Airport Berlin Brandenburg. Five Brandenburg municipalities and one Berlin district are paying over 100,000 euros into the fund. This entitles them to apply for funding for projects in the airport region that are of cross-regional and inter-municipal significance and cross administrative boundaries.

Further requirements for a grant:
The projects do not involve mandatory municipal tasks and contribute to regional development, in which they strive, if possible, several of the objectives of the Common Structural Concept (GSK). The GSK, which was jointly agreed upon by the members of the dialog forum, takes the entire region into consideration and specifies goals and measures in the subject areas of housing, business and industry, transportation, and green and open spaces. Finally, the projects should support the region's climate protection efforts or not contradict them.

Strengthening the airport region
Jörg Jenoch, chairman of the Dialogue Forum and head of the Reconciliation of Interests Working Group, says: "The fact that we have launched the fund is a great success for the Dialogue Forum. It allows us to actively shape the future of the airport region, together and, above all, across all countries."

The first members in the fund are the municipalities of Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Eichwalde, Schönefeld and Schulzendorf, the city of Königs Wusterhausen and the Treptow-Köpenick district of Berlin. They now have until April 6 to submit their applications to the Berlin-Brandenburg Area Development Company GmbH (BADC), which manages the fund on behalf of the Dialog Forum. Until then, other municipalities can become members of the fund and submit projects already this year. The amount of the contribution is based on the number of inhabitants of the municipality and a fixed amount.

After a preliminary review, the municipalities have the opportunity to submit documents until April 30. At the end of May, the jury, consisting of the paying members, will then meet and select one or more projects from the submitted applications. The winners are to be announced at the Great Dialogue Forum on June 7. In 2024, there should be the next call for projects for the Regional Development Fund.

About the Dialogue Forum Airport Berlin Brandenburg
Since 2006, the Municipal Working Group Dialogue Forum (KAG DF) has been a central communication and cooperation platform for the municipalities in the airport region and the three adjacent Berlin districts with the airport operator and BADC GmbH as the managing member. The states of Berlin and Brandenburg are supporting members. The central objective of the Dialogue Forum is to create a space for fair and transparent dialogue between the members, to build mutual trust between the stakeholders, to agree on development goals and to enable a balance of interests.