I NTERREGIONAL COOPERATION PROJECTS : MAIN FEATURES

What is an interregional cooperation project?

An interregional cooperation project is a project in which partners from at least three different countries work together on a shared regional policy issue by exchanging their experiences and practices in order to integrate the lessons learnt from this cooperation into their policies. It builds on the experience of the participating regions and focuses on the identification, analysis and transfer of good practices and policy experiences among these regions.

To reinforce the focus on results and give the learning process a better chance of leading towards tangible results, an interregional cooperation project is designed in two phases:

 ‘Phase 1’ is dedicated to interregional learning and to preparing the exploitation of the lessons learnt from the cooperation through the development of action plans.

 ‘Phase 2’ is dedicated to monitoring the implementation of each action plan. When relevant, pilot actions⁹ may also be tested during this phase.

Further details on the activities of projects are provided in section 4.2.

A good practice is defined as an initiative (e.g. project, project, process, technique) undertaken in one of the programme’s priority axes which has proved to be successful in a region and which is of potential interest to other regions. Proved successful is where the good practice has already provided tangible and measurable results in achieving a specific objective. Although the Interreg Europe programme primarily refers to good practices, valuable learning also derives from bad practices where lessons learnt can be taken into consideration in the exchange of experience process.

What is the rationale for interregional cooperation projects?

The objective of an interregional cooperation project is to improve through exchange of experience the performance of the regional development policy instruments of the participating regions, in particular the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal programmes, and, where relevant, their European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) programmes. If a region decides not to focus on Structural Funds programmes, the project should still contribute to a better performance of the region’s own specific policy instrument.

The required focus on cohesion policy means that at least half of the policy instruments addressed by the EU partners (excluding partners from areas outside the EU) in a project must be Structural Funds programmes.

Whilst Interreg Europe actively encourages and promotes project linkages to Growth and Jobs policy instruments, it is recognised that some regional Structural Funds programmes are limited in scope and demonstrate a narrower focus on investment priorities. Provided that at least half of the policy instruments are Structural Funds programmes, and that partners fully explain the regional context for

9 In the framework of the COVID-19 measures taken in 2020, projects mainly from 4^th call can exceptionally request pilot actions to be implemented under Phase 1. Further information can be found in section 4.2.2.

addressing any non-Structural Fund policy instruments, the final number of Structural Funds programmes addressed in the project will not have any influence on the assessment of applications.

Projects and the Platform are also interrelated. Projects are both beneficiaries of, and contributors to, the Platform. As explained in section 3.2, projects are therefore expected to participate in the content activities of the Policy Learning Platform.

A policy instrument is a means for public intervention. It refers to any policy, strategy, or law developed by public authorities and applied on the ground in order to improve a specific territorial situation. In most cases, financial resources are associated with a policy instrument. However, an instrument can also sometimes refer to a strategy or legislative framework with no specific funding.

In the context of Interreg Europe, operational programmes for Investment for Growth and Jobs as well as Cooperation Programmes from European Territorial Cooperation are considered to be policy instruments. Beyond EU cohesion policy, local, regional or national public authorities also develop their own policy instruments.

When relevant, projects should also aim at developing aligned or even joint initiatives between the various partners. This is obviously the case when the policy instruments addressed by the projects are cross-border or transnational cooperation programmes, where regions have to address together a shared cross-border or transnational territorial need. This can also be the case for projects addressing cluster policies and more generally innovation and economic development policies. Beyond the improvement of each regional policy instrument, the development of interregional synergies between the economic sectors of the participating regions and in particular between the clusters is also encouraged. Finally, the development of joint initiatives may also be relevant for projects where the participating regions use the article 70.2 of the Common Provision Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 (i.e.

possibility to support operations outside the programme area).

What is the duration of a project?

In total, a project can last between 3 and 5 years:

Phase 1 lasts from one to three years. Each project proposes a duration that matches its needs and reflects its characteristics. The time needed for this core phase depends on several factors (e.g. number of partners, experience of the partners in cooperation, specific features of the issue addressed, etc.). It is expected that the vast majority of projects would need a minimum of two years for phase 1. A one-year duration may be exceptionally considered for more experienced partnerships (e.g. partners who have already worked together) in duly justified cases. In these cases, the interregional learning could be mainly dedicated to adapting lessons learnt from previous cooperation to the relevant policy framework and in particular to the 2014-2020 Structural Funds programmes.

Phase 2 lasts two years, as the impacts of the measures on the territories can usually be assessed within this time. It may be the case that projects approved at a later stage of the programme may have a second phase of only one year.

It should be highlighted that the time dedicated to phase 2 also includes the time needed for closing the project (usually estimated at three months).

What is the amount of ERDF contribution?

The total budget and ERDF contribution to projects depends on different factors (e.g. number of partners involved, duration of phase 1). Based on the INTERREG IVC experience, the average total ERDF budget of a project is expected to be between EUR 1 and 2 million.

What are the project phases?

Phase 1 – ‘interregional learning’

Phase 1 is solely dedicated to the exchange of experience among project partners and preparing the implementation of the lessons learnt from the cooperation.

In order to optimise the chance that the findings from interregional policy learning are transformed into actions, an action plan must be prepared at the end of Phase 1 for each policy instrument indicated in the application form.

Action plan

Produced by each region, the action plan is a document providing details on how the lessons learnt from the cooperation will be implemented in order to improve the policy instrument addressed within their region. It specifies the nature of the actions to be implemented, their timeframe, the stakeholders involved, the costs and funding sources as well as the way the action derives from the project. If the same policy instrument is addressed by several partners (see the example of the Italian region in section 4.6), only one action plan is required.

A template for the action plan is provided in annex 1 of the programme manual. This template includes all the core features that need to be described in the document. The action plans have to be submitted to the programme as soon as available, and in any case before the end of phase 1. The final version has also to be published on the project website. In order to facilitate the checks carried out at programme level, a comprehensive summary in English highlighting the core features of each action (see annex 1) should also be made available to the programme. This is particularly important for lengthy action plans or in case the action plan is written in a national language other than English.

Examples of action plans can be found on line under the project’s websites (e.g. ERUDITE, OSIRIS, NICHE, iEER or CLUSTERS3).

The following recommendations can also be taken into consideration when elaborating the action plans:

 The action plan template needs to be adapted to the regions’ needs.

Annex 1 of the present manual is just a plain template that needs to be adapted to the context of each project and partner. It should be clear from the design of the document which project and which partner organisation are concerned (e.g. through the project and organisation’s logo). Beyond the design, the core objective remains that the action plan is useful and brings real added value to the region and stakeholders concerned.

 A minimum level of information is required for each action.

The action plan does not need to be a long document but, as reflected in the template, the minimum is to described the core features for each action (i.e. relevance to the project, nature of the activities, stakeholders involved, timeframe, costs and funding sources). The document can include a very limited number of actions as long as these actions are sufficiently clear and detailed. It is also important to specify how far the action plan is endorsed by the relevant policy responsible organisation(s) in the region.

 Each action should be clearly related to the project.

Each action included in an action plan should clearly derive from the project’s learning and in particular from the interregional exchange of experience (e.g. which good practice from one of the partner regions or which learning from a project activity inspired the action?). This is a basic requirement to ensure that

phase 2 monitors the implementation of actions that can be directly attributed to Interreg Europe. If an action cannot be clearly related to the activities of the project, then it should not be included in the action plan.

 Each action needs to be precisely defined, going beyond phase 1 activities.

The actions to be implemented represent the backbone of any action plan and are the basis for phase 2 monitoring. It is therefore crucial that these actions are clearly defined. Since the action plan specifies how the learning from the project will be transformed into actions, the actions included in each action plans should in principle have a clear implementation related character. In other words, a continuation of the learning is no longer possible in phase 2.

Phase 2 – monitoring the implementation of the action plan

In order to better assess the results of interregional cooperation, phase 2 is dedicated to monitoring the implementation of the action plans. Each partner is responsible for monitoring the progress of the implementation of their action plan and for reporting to the lead partner. It should be highlighted that Interreg Europe supports the costs incurred for the monitoring only; the costs related to the implementation itself of the actions should be funded from local, regional or national sources. In case several partners from the same region draw up a single action plan, these partners share the responsibility for monitoring the implementation of their action plan.

The activities to be carried out within the projects depend on the phases. They are further defined below.