Experts at arm's lenght of public policy-makers : a case study on Utrecht

In the practice of spatial economic planning for the near and far future, regional planners in most cases are confronted with often conflicting interests of stakeholders in a region. In this paper we will apply the ‘spider model’ as an expert approach to the process of building consensus between stakeholders of different interest groups: government, employers, trade unions, environmental and other pressure groups. In these spiders the actual, expected and desired developments of regional key variables are shown as a consistent set of mutual dependent relations of which a change in the position of one of the variables leads to feedback effects in all other variables. By means ofthese spiders the interests of stakeholders can be shown to other players in the field, resulting in an improved understanding of interests and arguments of countervailing stakeholders. Mutual respect for and understanding of each others interests enhances the possibility to reach a regional spatial economic development pathway based on a common consensus.