The clue of the cooperation is the jointly prepared, approved Development Concept of June 2001, consisting of a concrete strategy and action plan including a number of different sub-projects. The strategy and action plan involve seven strategic fields, i.e. business development, mobility of people, infrastructure and transport, environment, nature and landscape, culture, knowledge exchange and learning society. The Development Concept will be implemented though STRING II (=South-Western Baltic Sea TransRegional Area – Implementing New Geography). The partners of the project are Schleswig-Holstein, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Danish regions of Storstrøm (lead partner) and West Zealand, the Danish partners of Greater Copenhagen Authority (HUR) and the South-Swedish region of Scania. In total, 50 partners and more than 150 persons in Denmark, Sweden and Germany participate in the STRING project.The objective of the project was to support the STRING area in becoming a leading European region by implementing and improving the STRING Development Concept jointly prepared and approved in June 2001 as well as Establishing and consolidating of transnational and professional networks. The focus of the project lay on political cooperation, environment and landscape, transport/infrastructure/settlement structures, compatible development of business and competencies and cultural integration.As a supplement, six professional trans-regional networks have been established and consolidated for further development and integration of the STRING Development Concept. The forums are the following:Planners' (GIS, networking for spatial planners), Transport (promoting a coherent and sustainable transport system), Metropolitan (Solution to urban sprawl), Medium cities (exchange of experience from being neighbour to an urban area), Business (promoting trans-regional networks), and Culture. The forums and projects involve cross-borders actors and actors across the regional and local level, dealing with issues related to each field of interest. Achievements: The project has succeeded in gathering 50 partners representing various actors and administrative levels in the STRING region who work for the same purpose – the implementation of the Development Concept through concrete activities. Furthermore, six forums: Planners' Forum, Transport Forum, Metropolitan Forum, Medium Cities' Forum, Business Forum and Cultural Forum have been established. The members are regional experts and the purpose is to solve specific problems, exchange experience and develop ideas and visions within the themes of the forums. In the field of environment and landscape the project partners have discussed and changed experiences especially on sustainable development in coastal areas. Concrete outputs are a marketing strategy on sustainable tourism, concept for a bicycle route, establishment of Nature Experience Ranges and several common spatial development visions (e.g. harbour development and cultural and natural route from Scania via Zealand to Schleswig-Holstein). In the field of transport infrastructure and settlement structures reports on transport issues, i.e. infrastructure planning processes, ports, public transport, IT, freight and logistics has been prepared. Furthermore a Medium Cities Portal has been launched and analyses of fields of cooperation between metropolitan areas have been made. In the field business and competencies the implementation of an e-strategy for SMEs has started and common fields for cooperation between Life Science Clusters through the Life Science Agencies (SH and HH) and Medicon Valley (Øresund) have been elaborated. In addition several concrete outputs and results have been reached: a brochure on business structure in the STRING region and responsible institutions for business development, a manual on the structure of an e-business model, 3 learning programmes (competence building on IT/e-business and e-learning for SMEs, assistance to SMEs regarding e-business, online-based multilingual learning and information module) as well as establishment of networks in three business sectors: New Media, Life Sciences and Food 2004. The outputs in the field of cultural integration are among other things a TV pilot broadcast show concerning trans-regional cooperation called TRIANGEL, an action plan for STRING Design 2002-2004, creation of a Virtual Design Centre and Exchange of working methods regarding excavations and research strategies (Vikings). A Common Agreement has been adopted within the STRING partnership and three political resolutions have been given. The six core partners have agreed that for the following three years (2004-2007) the trans-regional cooperation will take place at three levels 1) cooperation at the political and administrative level, 2) political discussions of cross border issues of common interest and 3) common endeavours to develop and implement strategic and focused trans-regional projects within the following themes: innovative interaction, competence building and lifelong learning and creative alliances.