Home > Territorial Cooperation Contract (Rennes–Haute-Bretagne)
Objective
Organize joint action between public actors in a territory by defining shared objectives, the distribution of responsibilities, the methods of coordination and the resources mobilized for their implementation.
Description
The Rennes–Haute-Bretagne Territorial Cooperation Contract constitutes an interterritorial governance mechanism designed to address the economic, social and environmental interdependencies between Rennes Métropole and the communities of its wider catchment area.
Its origins date back to 2017, with an initial contract focused on smart mobility. In 2020, the president of Rennes Métropole initiated bilateral discussions with the presidents of the 15 other inter-municipal authorities (EPCIs). A seminar held on November 19, 2021, bringing together around one hundred elected officials, helped define the outlines of a new contract structured around four themes: mobility, planning and economic development, ecological transitions, and sustainable tourism. In 2022, technical and political working groups were established to develop roadmaps and organize the contract's governance for the 2022–2027 period. The initiative brings together 16 inter-municipal authorities, with the participation of the French State, the Brittany Region, and the Ille-et-Vilaine Department.
Country
France
Ladder
Local
Nature
Non-financial
In which law/program is this instrument included?
Territorial cooperation framework
Source of illustrations: Bodo, Gwénaël, Presentation of the cooperation contract, institutional presentation.
Its governance includes a plenary steering committee, a general coordination group and four thematic working groups:
These spaces allow elected officials, technical services, and institutional partners to define common priorities, share their expertise, and coordinate their actions. One of the main characteristics of this tool lies in the distribution of responsibilities between local authorities. Thus, Dinan Agglomération and Saint-Malo Agglomération jointly manage actions related to water, while Roche aux Fées Communauté oversees the hemp sector, and Vitré Communauté handles logistics.
In the area of ecological transitions, the actions presented include studies on biogas and wood energy, the structuring of the hemp sector, water conservation, and research conducted within the framework of the POPSU Transitions program. The contract mobilizes the human and technical resources of the participating local authorities as well as those of specialized partners. A budget of one million euros, provided by the State and the Region for the period 2022–2027, is also allocated to support these collaborations. The originality of this instrument lies in its ability to institutionalize cooperation between territories without imposing additional administrative structures or uniform participation requirements.
Main actors: Rennes Métropole, Prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine, SGAR, Brittany Region, Department of Ille-et-Vilaine, the 15 other public inter-municipal cooperation establishments (EPCI), AUDIAR, SDE35, BRUDED and POPSU.
Source of photographs: Gwénaël Bodo, “Presentation of cooperation contract”, institutional presentation, p. 11.
Photo credit: Maxime Pailler, during field visits.
A) Cooperation Agreement – Governance Timetable – Key Stages
Jan. 2024 – Jan. 2025 — Study led by SDE35 (with AILE, etc.) to build an operational plan for the development of biogas in Ille-et-Vilaine (knowledge base + resource assessment + tools for elected officials).
January 22, 2025 — Political exchanges: how to transform potential into projects and organize inter-EPCI cooperation around methanization.
2022 – 2026
Wood energy / Hedgerow wood sector (hedges, farms, rural landscape)
October 4, 2022.Political request to explore an operational tool to structure the wood-energy sector at the cooperation level (recalled later).
June 8, 2023. Political working group: decision to organize a seminar with volunteer inter-municipal bodies and the entire wood-energy ecosystem in order to define the expected scope of the study.
December 5, 2024. Wood-energy seminar (large-scale multi-stakeholder event: agricultural actors, elected officials, technicians and stakeholders in the sector).
Jan. 2025 – Jan. 2026.Launch of the study to define a Territorial Wood-Energy Supply Plan (PAT Wood-Energy): diagnosis (resources/actors/consumption), benchmark of governance models, workshops and operational conditions for implementation.
Oct.–Dec. 2025.Workshops and validation stages scheduled (elected officials/technicians in Oct.–Nov.; professionals in Dec.; subsequent political validation during the year)
2023 -2026
Hemp industry (crop diversification / pressure on water and inputs)
End of August 2023."Hemp Village" event and first mobilization of farmers around the structuring of the sector (local history + recovery dynamics).
2025 – March 2026.Opportunity and feasibility study of a hemp sector (RAFCOM + partners; multi-phase approach, from the situation assessment to the roadmap).
July 10, 2025.Multi-stakeholder technical workshop to discuss production and transformation scenarios and move towards an action plan.
November 2025."Hemp Day" planned + milestone of the Transitions group; followed by a collective roadmap.
September to December 2024
Water resources (strong link between agriculture, water, and land-use planning)
October 2022.Proposal (Dinan & Saint-Malo) to include water resource management within the framework of cooperation; action integrated into the Transitions axis.
From June 2023.Continuous working meetings between the three co-piloting EPCIs (political and technical aspects).
May 2024.Step 1: identification of "EPCI levers" (economic development; planning/urbanism/GEMAPI; water and sanitation; direct management).
March 11, 2025 (technical) and June 10, 2025 (political). New meetings resulting in proposals: consolidating water data (towards an observatory), sharing best practices in water conservation, launching a project on integrated stormwater management and scheduling a day dedicated to water in 2026.
B) "Transitions" axis – Calendar of measures related to agriculture
October 4, 2022
First Steering Committee of Presidents / COPIL (launching the cooperation dynamic and defining key orientations).
Early 2024
Reactivation of thematic technical working groups.
June 5, 2024
Plenary steering committee: progress update and discussion of prospects.
September to December 2024
Series of technical working groups, project groups and thematic seminars (including work related to methanization).
January 22, 2025
Political working group “Transitions” (major milestone: biogas feedback, review of the wood-energy seminar, framing of the launch of the wood-energy study, presentation of the hemp study; and relaunch of the water project group).
June 20, 2025
Plenary steering committee: annual review of progress on the various work areas and discussion of follow-up actions.
2022–2027
Funding allocated to finance the announced cooperation (€1 million State + Region) to support actions over the period.
