Latest News
Final Report
The Final Report - relating to the Interreg IIIC financing and activities of this network - has now been submitted to the INTERREG IIIC WEST ZONE Social Technical Secretariat.
To see a copy please click here: Final Report
SRN Europe Network's Findings presented in Brussels
Open Days - European Week of Cities in Regions - took place in Brussels in October 2007, with a record number of participants. Highlighting the work done by the SRN Europe Network at the Local Authorities in the programming and implementation of Structural Funds workshop was Heather Harries, Bristol City Council's Neighbourhood Renewal Manager. Heather delivered a presentation on Bristol City Councils experience of managing devolved Structural Fund programmes as a part of the The Knowledge and Innovation Network, led by the Diputacio de Barcelona, on 9 October 2007.
Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner said, "Why [is Open Days] such a success? Because this event is focused on what participants need to know and, to put it simply, because it's all about delivery. Interest in the event has now even gone beyond our borders and will facilitate mutual learning on the subject of regional development. Last not least, the Open Days will again go local to inform citizens and potential beneficiaries all over Europe about the opportunities for funding in 2007-2013."
Further information on Open Days can be found here: www.opendays.europa.eu.
The Greening Regional Development Programmes Toolkit
The "Greening Regional Development Programmes' network has launched a new publication called 'Beyond compliance: how regions can help build a sustainable Europe', a guide designed to assist organisations to integrate green issues and the environment into regional development.
This 40-page toolkit, complete with a CD-Rom of case studies, shows there are a number of compelling reasons to integrate environmental objectives with socio-economic aims, or to "green" projects.
GRDP partners came together in the belief that the environment should be viewed both as an opportunity and an asset, and that long-term management is vital to sustainable economic growth. The project aims to encourage regional stakeholders and organisations to integrate the environment into their development policies and plans.
The toolkit provides people involved in regional development with a collection of fact sheets, guidance and good practices on topics crucial for environmental integration.
It is available from the GRDP website : www.grdp.org.
SVIM SpA Event in Ancona, Italy 8 - 9 March 2007
The SRN Network partners met in Ancona, Italy this March and made good progress on the production of their Good Practice Guide. Discussions also took place on the 2007 - 2013 programming period, the final conference and budgets for the network.
For more details of this, and other events, see the Network Activities section.
Langhe Monferrato Roero Event 23 - 24 November 2006
The SRN Network met in Alba, Italy and workshops were held on the theme of 'The Quality Dimension'. For more details of this event, see the Network Activities section.
Finnish Partners' Events 6-8 September 2006
SRN Partners met in the cities of Turku and Tampere in Finland where there were workshops on the theme of 'The Partnership Dimension' and a Steering Group Meeting was conducted. For more details of this event, see the Network Activities section.
June 2006 Position Statement published
The Position Statement sets out some the work done so far in the SRN Europe project and is now available on The Project Idea page. Proposals of how regional funding should be delivered are given with an outline of the background to this work. Also see the Good Practice Working Report, which is a draft document, for an idea of how our work is progressing towards the final report.
Klaipeda Event 15 - 16 June 2006
The SRN Network held workshops in Klaipeda, Lithuania in June and discussions were held on the theme of 'The Territorial Dimension'. For more details of this event, see the Network Activities section.
SRN Network Mid-Term Seminar
The Mid-Term Seminar was held on the 1st and 2nd of December 2005 and was hosted by Sociedad de Dessarrollo de Santa Cruz in Tenerife. The event started off with the 4th Network Steering Group Meeting and was followed by the Seminar, which summarised the findings of the Network Partners on the management and delivery of regeneration and structural fund programmes at regional and sub-regional level. Some of the presentations given focused on the economic competitiveness in Europe's cities and sub-regional areas, European commission's thinking on the delivery of the structural funds 2007-2013 and INTERREG IIIC Project.
INTERREG IIIC Forum lead Partner Day, 28th and 29th November 2005-Brussels
Over 400 people representing regions and municipalities from all over Europe gathered on the 28th and 29th November to appreciate some of the achievements of the INTERREG IIIC programme and its benefits. The forum aimed to provide a platform for debate on the future programming period. It also aimed at helping lead partners and partners of the IINTERREG IIIC operations to use their results to the full bringing lasting improvements to Regional development both within and outside the Partnership. They also had a chance to meet people sharing specialised interests to discuss future projects.
Appointment of Network Expert
Liz Mills Associates were appointed as the network expert in November 2005. The work required by the SRN Interreg IIIC was to be delivered, jointly by Dr Liz Mills and Freelance public policy and regeneration specialist Mr Richard Essex. Liz and Richard have collaborated for the last 8 years. To open a 7Word document containing more information on the network expert click here.
Network Expert's Key tasks:
- Provide guidance templates for each project workshop to ensure relevance and comparability of findings and to develop a coherent programme.
- Write up workshop reports and findings for sharing amongst partners, (including easy-to-read summaries for placement on the network web site).
- Present an Early Findings Report at the mid-term conference in December 2005, summarising the network's initial programme of activity and outlining the next phase of work.
- Provide on-going support and guidance for partners where required, for example, in the writing of workshop presentations.
- Summarise findings for 6-monthly progress reports in collaboration with the Network Co-ordinator.
- Draft a Good Practice Guide.
- Present the Good Practice Guide at the Final Conference in June 2007.