The INSURED Project was a research project financed in the framework of the EU research programme 'Human dimensions of environmental change'. It was one of the EURES Institute's most influential projects. The INSURED project developed and tested instruments to promote sustainable regional development by integrating environmental, economic, and social objectives. Building on an initial framework, it used regional case studies to develop a toolbox for evaluating and managing regional development projects and tested its applicability. It focused on tools that enhance policy coherence, stakeholder participation, and adaptive management at the regional level. It could build on the partners' longstanding experience in regional development.

Main partners were: EURES Institute (coordination, Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser et al.), ÖAR - Regionalberatung GesmbH, Wien / Fehring (Robert Lukesch et al.), SICA Innovation Consultants Ltd., Dublin (Gerry Sweeney et al.), SIASR, University St. Gallen (Alain Thierstein et al.), SRS- StudioStudioRicerche, Firenze (Filippo Filippo Strati et al.).

The systematic approach for evaluating sustainability developed in this project was subsequently applied in many projects in several countries and by the EU. It seemed helpful in grasping the full complexity of the sustainability discussion. In the following years, however, more pragmatic simplifications, reflecting the changing emphasis of public debate, dominated evaluation efforts.

The EU project, involving teams from Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria, and Switzerland, coordinated by Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser, produced ten reports, available on the EURES project website

The most relevant are:

• Schleicher-Tappeser, R. et al. (1997): Sustainable Regional Development – A comprehensive approach. Freiburg, 1997. Publication
• Schleicher-Tappeser, R. et al. (1999): Instruments for Sustainable Regional Development. The INSURED Project – Final Report, Freiburg, 1999. Publication

The methods developed in the INSURED project were subsequently applied in a series of other projects, primarily in France, Germany, and Italy. Among them:

• A series of projects in Midi-Pyrénées. Overview for the EU Commission.
• Marckolsheim – Sasbach open space concept: Development concept for a cross-border micro-region / Concept for a European Rhine Centre (INTERREG II). Project.
• Structural Funds in Saxonia: Procedures for taking into account sustainability criteria. Final Report
• INNESTO – Sustainable District Logistics. EU research project.  Report. Project

The INSURED approach was further developed and translated into practical tools by Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser and Filippo Strati in the framework of SQM – Sustainable Quality Management®. This led to another series of applications. Project