Mapping and explaining the uneven economic resilience of industries and regions to the Covid-19 crisis

The project RegReSir provides insights into how regional economies are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. RegReSir explores processes of "bouncing back", i.e. a return to established innovation and economic practices that dominated before the crisis, and (also) "bouncing forward", i.e. an acceleration of transformative practices that reconcile economic and environmental goals. The project’s goal is to better understand under which conditions the crisis can be utilised as an opportunity for the emergence or acceleration of green industrial transitions. Further, it provides insights into which new policy approaches and forms of governance are particularly suitable for strengthening the resilience of regional economies, promoting innovations to solve grand societal challenges and driving transformational change.

Our research team is cooperating with ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria. With their support, we are exploring Lower Austria’s plastics and building material industries to gain insights into the impact of Covid-19 on producing industries and their greening pathways.

RegReSir is embedded in an international research project including Universities in Norway, Netherlands and UK. 

Project contact:
Dr. Sebastian Fastenrath, sebastian.fastenrath@univie.ac.at