Strategic advice to the province of Groningen in reaching agreement with German authorities such as Lower Saxony and Bremen on the Wunderline, a high-speed rail connection between Groningen and Bremen.

Senior consultant Eric van Vliet advises the province of Groningen on reaching an agreement with German authorities, such as Lower Saxony and Bremen, regarding the socioeconomic strengthening of the northern border region. This serves as the broader framework for substantial investments in a high-speed rail link between Groningen and Bremen, the Wunderline.

When developing infrastructure projects, many issues often arise, and a large number of stakeholders are involved. The complexity increases when this development takes place in a border region with significant differences in political decision-making, governmental structure, and culture. The Province of Groningen wants to invest in the quality of the rail connection to Bremen, but for this, it also requires investment decisions from German authorities such as the state of Lower Saxony and the Hanseatic city of Bremen. This situation is well-suited for an SSE approach, which examines the task and the context in which it must be realized.

For the Wunderline project, the performed stakeholder analysis concluded that there is insufficient support for solely investing in a rail project. This resulted in a strategy focused on "expanding the pie." Central to this are the socio-economic strengthening of the northern border region and broadening the project scope. To achieve this, improvements to chain mobility in the municipalities along the route have been implemented, and cross-border collaboration has focused on removing labor market barriers. Examples include the recognition of diplomas and qualifications, and leveraging opportunities in tourism and education. Thanks to this approach, the project's added value is increasing, and support is growing among German partners, the Dutch government, and the European Commission. The investment decision has now been made based on a bid book.