¿Qué es Interreg Europe?

¿Qué es Interreg Europe?
Interreg Europe ayuda a los gobiernos regionales y locales de toda Europa a desarrollar y aplicar mejores políticas. Al crear un entorno y oportunidades para compartir soluciones, nuestro objetivo es garantizar que la inversión gubernamental, la innovación y los esfuerzos de implementación conduzcan a un impacto integrado y sostenible para las personas y el lugar.

Sabemos que un mejor rendimiento conduce a mejores resultados. A partir de su precursor, INTERREG IVC (2007-2013), Interreg Europe pretende obtener el máximo rendimiento de los 359 millones de euros financiados por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) para 2014-2020. Esta vez, todavía se trata de hacer el bien, ¡pero hacerlo mejor!

Existen soluciones que pueden ayudar a nuestras regiones a convertirse en lo mejor que pueden ser. Hoy en día, el énfasis de la UE se centra en allanar el camino para que las regiones desarrollen todo su potencial, al ayudarlas a capitalizar sus fortalezas innatas mientras aprovechan las oportunidades que ofrecen posibilidades de progreso económico, social y ambiental.

Para lograr este objetivo, Interreg Europa ofrece oportunidades para que las autoridades públicas regionales y locales de toda Europa compartan ideas y experiencias sobre políticas públicas en la práctica, y por lo tanto mejoren las estrategias para sus ciudadanos y comunidades.
Who do we help?
Interreg Europe exists to assist three types of beneficiaries:
Public authorities – local, regional and national
Managing authorities/intermediate bodies - in charge of the Investment for Growth and Jobs programmes or European Territorial Cooperation
Agencies, research institutes, thematic and non-profit organisations – although not our main target group, these types of organisations can also work with Interreg Europe by first engaging with their local policymakers in order to identify options for collaboration with Interreg Europe
Organisations that work with Interreg Europe must also be based in one the 28 EU Member States, Switzerland or Norway.
What do we support?
Any actions developed with financial support from Interreg Europe must fall into one of the following four categories:
1. Research and innovation
2. SME competitiveness
3. Low-carbon economy
4. Environment and resource efficiency
As there is pressure these days to ‘do more with less’, we’ve taken a streamlined approach this time round to create actions which are much more focused and therefore offer greater chance for success.
How can Interreg Europe help you?
Cooperation, collaboration and community engagement are at the heart of Interreg Europe. These ‘3 C’s’ are incorporated into our two main support services with the aim to aid understanding and critical thinking by creating space for new ideas, different perspectives and collective learning.
1. Interregional Cooperation Projects
Interreg Europe will co-finance up to 85% of project activities that you carry out in partnership with other policy organisations based in different countries in Europe.
Through interregional cooperation projects, you and your partners must identify a common interest and then work together for 3-5 years.
Initially, partners will share experience, ideas and know-how about how best to deal with the issue at hand. Each partner region must:
Produce an action plan
Set up a stakeholder group
Participate in the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform
After this stage, each partner must monitor progress of the implementation of their action plan and report to the lead partner. Pilot actions may be supported during this period.
Depending on the number of partners involved, duration of interregional learning etc., the average total ERDF budget of a project is expected to be EUR 1-2 million. Interreg Europe will launch calls for proposals throughout the programming period so keep an eye out for the next call!
2. Policy Learning Platform
Our Policy Learning Platform is a new feature to Interreg Europe to open up the programme’s knowledge for the benefit of all the project partners and the whole community of regional policy stakeholders. It aims to facilitate continuous learning among organisations dealing with regional development policies in Europe in order to improve the way they design and implement their public policies in the areas we support – 1) research and innovation, 2) SME competitiveness, 3) low-carbon economy, 4) the environment and resource efficiency.
Expert services, such as peer reviews, thematic workshops, capacity building events, learning activities are available for registered members. Read more about the proposed services and register now to access the full range of services.
How we help - at a glance
Many regions are reviewing their European activity in the context of budget pressures. Interreg Europe can help your city and/or region in the following ways:
1. Financial support – funding is available for interregional cooperation projects, which have the potential to lead to longer term collaborations and partnerships
2. Peer learning – gain insights and experience from a range of exchange and learning opportunities with your peers across Europe
3. Expert advice and skills – these can be solicited through policy platform personnel and your country representatives
4. Policy into practice – make a tangible difference by translating EU policy into on the ground action
5. Bottom-up policy development – by using the results and positive impact of your successful projects to serve as evidence for feeding into EU and national policies
6. Save time – rather than reinventing the wheel, find out what solutions to sustainable development challenges already exist in other parts of Europe. A problem shared, is a problem solved!
7. Organisational and professional development – bring collaborative learnings back home for the benefit of you, your organisation and those you serve
8. Expand your network – meet new like-minded partners, stakeholders and business friends across Europe
9. Build an international profile – among your project peers and with the EU institutions
10. Make people happy! Your citizens and communities are relying on you to make their city/region a place of economic, social and environmental progress and possibility. Interreg Europe can help make this happen.