At EU level, Territorial Cooperation is now a Structural Funds objective in its own right. An element of interregional cooperation is expected in Structural Funds delivery for the period 2007-2013, especially to build capacity for spending available EU funds well, improving outcomes ‘on the ground’ in the areas targeted for the greatest support. Looking to the future, territorial cooperation may become the only activity for which Structural Funds are available.
Many sub-regional organisations – especially local authorities – are experienced in networking with organisations like themselves.
The value of cooperation with near neighbours is well recognised, and they have often used EU funds to support this. However, not all are convinced of the added value that international cooperation can bring.
Territorial cooperation funds (especially INTERREG) have already been extensively used to boost local and regional development. In some places the funds are being used towards local implementation. Elsewhere these budgets are used at a very strategic level, to support cooperation in large transnational regions in different parts of the EU.
In addition, there are already direct links between interregional cooperation and the delivery of mainstream Structural Funds budgets. This is not always well-appreciated by national and regional governments and agencies.
Moreover, involvement in INTERREG IIIC has not only enabled sub-regional partners to share their experience, as in this SRN project. Through INTERREG IIIC Regional Framework Operations (RFOs) some sub-regional organisations have gained direct experience in the management and delivery of ERDF funds.
Earlier sections of this Guide have touched upon territorial cooperation within a region or sub-region, in which sub-regional organisations and different stakeholders from different localities are brought together in pursuit of common objectives. Examples are:
EU funds have supported these efforts. In some places, the opportunity to access a particular budget has been a driver for improved internal cooperation within a region.
First steps towards cooperation between the adjacent but very different counties of Klaipeda and Taurage were made in 1999 with a successful bid for targeted support from the European Commission. Joining forces enabled these counties to overcome competition for the funds from other regions. Timely preparation of the bid capitalised on work undertaken previously through the PHARE programme and on positive contacts with the Commission. The new programme supported a Business Development Fund and Human Resources Development Fund. This cooperation ended in 2002, but Klaipeda still benefits from a consultancy resource dating from this time.
The experience of Lille, described in Chapter 4, shows that some sub-regional organisations are making very strategic use of programmes like INTERREG in conjunction with other EU or domestic funding streams.
Other SRN partners may not have such long experience, but they are still being creative in the way they use the funds.
Details of Santa Cruz de Tenerife projects
The Sociedad de Desarrollo de Santa Cruz de Tenerife is involved in a range of cooperation projects, all of which complement the main functions of the organisation - boosting local economic development, improving social cohesion and stimulating urban development. The projects include the IIIC Knowledge Network (KN), seeking to promote citizen involvement in local policy development and decision-making; URBE VIVA and CITY PARKING IN EUROPE respectively addressing urban regeneration and parking problems; two projects to promote tourism training – SMITA in INTERREG IIIB and TYC-PYME, both with an information/communications technology focus; and the IIIC Regional Framework Operation (RFO) MO.DE.LE, concerned with the development of new financial and other tools to support SMEs.
SITMUN also illustrates the added value of EU-funded transnational cooperation for local delivery. It was funded under Priority 4 of the IIIB programme for South West Europe, SUDOE, which covers the whole of Spain and Portugal, 6 regions of France and Gibraltar.
SITMUN is short for Sistema territorial d’informació municipal (Municipal Territorial Information Systems). The project, which ran from 2003 to 2004, with a total budget of about EURO 882,000, had 7 partners and a further 15 collaborators from Spain, France and Portugal. The main activity was development of a centralised system of digital cartography and GIS support for groups of small municipalities – both urban and rural - lacking the technical knowledge and resources to implement their own systems. The GIS system is now in day-to-day use in the Barcelona area, especially supporting town councils in their town planning functions. It is clearly transferable to other localities. Moreover, the groundwork done in the INTERREG project enabled wider roll-out of GIS in the region using the larger resources of Objective 2.
Further information about SITMUN is available on www.sitmun.org and on the SUDOE programme on www.interreg-sudoe.org.
The experience of Lithuania demonstrates the benefits that cooperation across national borders can bring.
Before EU accession, Lithuania’s external territorial cooperation was mainly with individual countries in the Baltic Sea Region using PHARE and TACIS. From 1995 to1999 one agency managed cross-border cooperation in the region. Projects were mainly led by partners from the existing EU Member States. However, since 2000 Lithuania has managed its own cross-border programme; local participation, especially by sub-regional entities like the Klaipeda Development Agency, has greatly increased.
INTERREG IIIB has made a significant contribution to the development of a coordinated strategy for the Euroregion Baltic (ERB), the biggest Euroregion in Europe, with a population of 5.9 million.
ERB is an example of a well- established national/regional network that provides a basis for longer-term territorial cooperation. It was established in 1998 on the initiative of Poland, based on previous successful cross-border work with Germany and a strong political commitment, with economic development being an early driver for cooperation. However, practical exchanges were relatively small-scale until 2002. In 2002 the ERB partners decided to consolidate programme initiatives through a single large scale INTERREG IIIB project to prepare a Development Strategy for the whole region.
Euroregion Baltic now functions as a single region in which partners cooperate on various topics. This cooperation extends across six countries and ten regions and the joint strategy provides a framework for Structural Funds programmes from 2007, demonstrating the value of a joint strategy in securing financial commitments from the EU, national and regional governments.
Cooperation in the Baltic has in some ways been a model for development of a European region around the Adriatic Sea.
Cooperation with the Balkans and creation of a broader Adriatic EuroRegion have been priorities for Marche Region since the 1990s. The Adriatic currently has a lower level of cohesion than the Baltic Sea region, partly because the eastern partners are not within the EU, so that it is difficult to integrate the different funds available, and partly because cooperation was until recently not well coordinated and undertaken in the absence of a strategic plan.
Marche Region launched an initiative (SE.A) to establish a Technical Secretariat for the Adriatic area in 2003 and an Action Plan was prepared in 2004. The regional government is committed to the involvement of different actors in the SE.A initiative, aiming to build a permanent coordination structure. Sub-regional bodies are represented on the management committees of SE.A through networks like the Adriatic and Ionian Cities Forum and Uniadrion, which brings together universities and research centres in the Adriatic region.
Since 2005, the SE.A initiative has been financed mainly through the INTERREG IIIA Adriatic Cross Border programme and a specific Italian national law for cooperation with the Balkans, 84/2001 - the Inter-Adriatic Network Project. The two measures together result in a substantial financial resource for cooperation. Further efforts are now needed to develop and implement an effective coordination strategy and well-organised delivery mechanisms. The 2007-2013 programming period should provide opportunities for further integration.
Regional Framework Operations (RFOs) were designed to be 'mini Structural Funds programmes' delivered inter-regionally, with calls for sub-projects jointly managed by the regional partners. Each has typically commanded a budget of around EURO 5 million.
The partners in RFOs were expected to be at regional level, especially regional governments. However, in IIIC, responsible regional governments or agencies have been able to authorise competent sub-regional organisations to deliver RFOs on their behalf.
Where this has occurred, sub-regional partners have, jointly with their partner regions, established new structures and procedures for managing and steering delivery of these ERDF funds, drawn up new collaborative strategies, organised and assessed calls for proposals for sub-projects, made decisions on funding, supported the implementation of sub-projects, monitored their progress and finally assessed their outcomes in relation to the programme objectives and broader strategies within the regions.
Three SRN partners – Cumbria County Council, Hranice, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife - have this delegated responsibility. They are partners in, respectively, TOWER, INNOREF and MODELE.
On behalf of the North West of England Region, Cumbria County Council is a partner in the RFO TOWER led by Länsstyrelsen Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden. The other partners are South Great Plain RDA, Szeged, Hungary, the East Netherlands Development Agency, Gelderland, and Lyon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rhone-Alpes, France.
These regions typically suffer from low entrepreneurship and a poor record in innovation and technology transfer to SMEs. The overall aim of TOWER has been to create or improve strategies, methodologies and tools for sustainable economic growth and to establish a platform for a long-term exchange of experiences and best practices between the regions involved.
The 12 sub-projects implemented under TOWER contribute to sustainable economic growth in the participating regions by developing, improving and testing regional development strategies and tools. Some of them directly address Lisbon and Gothenburg goals. For example, they are exploring different ways to support knowledge-based business clusters. They support ‘equalities mainstreaming’ and are helping to strengthen technology infrastructure and technology transfer to SMEs.
More information: www.towerprogramme.com
SRN partner the City of Hranice participates in INNOREF through its membership of the Association of Municipalities ‘Mikroregion Hranicko’. Led by the Regione Friuli Venezia, Udine, Italy, the other partners in INNOREF are the Region of Umbria, Italy and the Region of Western Greece.
This RFO has been designed to bring added value to the delivery of mainstream Structural Funds. All the partner regions are seeking to redirect their regional economies so as to get away from strong dependences on individual economic sectors such as agriculture or out-dated heavy industries. One source for change is the development of strategies enabling the regions to capitalize upon their natural resources and local products, finding better ways to promote these resources and to integrate them into sustainable development and tourism strategies. Up to now these opportunities have been little exploited, and the involvement of regional stakeholders has been weak.
The partners have been working to build the capacities of local and regional communities to improve framework conditions for businesses and to create a culture of learning among stakeholders. The 8 INNOREF subprojects, completed mid-2007, have provided back-up for these activities in social, economic and environmental sectors.
Key actions have included setting up a Professional Services Centre in each of the four partner regions and a Pioneer Network composed of several stakeholders representing the 3 pillars of sustainable development. Their role has been to raise awareness of regional needs, opportunities and strengths with a wide range of stakeholders and thus to establish regional priorities and generate proposals for sub-projects.
More information: www.innoref.net
Details of Santa Cruz de Tenerife projects
Led by the Region Basilicata, Italy, Mo.de.le brings together Inova Slovakia, the government of Navarre, Spain, the Prefecture de Amathia of Macedonia in Greece, the Regional Development Agency of Central Hungary and the Sociedad de Desarrollo de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The RFO mainly tackles the lack of competitiveness amongst SMEs and micro-enterprises in the partner regions. Lack of capital, difficulties of obtaining credit and the inability to undertaken innovative investments are amongst the main problems experienced by these small enterprises. Mo.De.Le supports the development of innovative ways to improve credit access for SMEs, an increased ability to attract investments compatible with local production systems, and the improved efficiency of Public Administration in the programming and management of local development policies and instruments.
Outputs include, for example, models for fund guarantees and venture capital for SMEs compatible with European law, financial mechanisms to provide funds for investment and, for public authorities, possible new management approaches to the delivery of financial support systems for SMEs.
More information: www.interreg-modele.com
Up to now, sub-regional involvement in territorial cooperation projects like those funded through INTERREG has often been opportunistic or a short term expediency. Now more and more local authorities and other sub-regional organizations are coming to see the benefits of nurturing longer-term collaborative working with their counterparts elsewhere in the EU.
SRN partners report that their experience in territorial cooperation has improved their capacity for implementation of both domestic and Structural Funds programmes. Collaborative working on issues of common concern especially helps to spread good practice in the creative and effective use of regeneration funds.
Involvement of SRN partners in INTERREG IIIC Regional Framework Operations shows not only that sub-regional organizations are capable of managing ERDF funds but also that they can be trusted to work on behalf of their regions.
The mainstreaming of territorial cooperation in the Structural Funds programmes for 2007-2013 provides many opportunities for sub-regional organizations committed to this activity, especially in developing more positive partnerships with their regions. For example, relatively generous cross-border programmes will now operate in parts of the EU territory not previously involved in this kind of cooperation. The extensive experience of sub-regional organizations in developing collaborative work now needs to be harnessed in implementing these expanded initiatives.
