During the last 20 years regional governance has played an increasingly important role in most of the European countries, including Germany. The study “Cooperative regional development by regional management?” analyses recent developments in the German regions of Chemnitz-Zwickau, Magdeburg and Braunschweig. All regions have been affected more than average by transformation processes and structural change. Separate surveys in regions were conducted for the categories aim and strategy, institutionalisation and financing, organisation and process control, participation, marketing and public relation, as well as “learning” regions. Factors of success are discussed. The study thereby allows the transfer of good practice examples to other regions while also revealing obstacles to regional management processes.