Interreg Europe Training Days 2023

The Interreg Europe programme is one of the initiatives of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy. The programme strengthens regional development by interregional cooperation and knowledge exchange between European regions to improve regional policies. (Interreg Europe 2023b.)

Interreg Europe provides funding for projects focusing on six thematic areas: Smart, Green, Connected, Social, Citizens, and Governance. For instance, the Green theme covers topics from energy efficiency and renewable energy over to climate change, circular economy, and mobility. For the new programming period of 2021-2027, the programme has a budget of 379 million euros. (Interreg Europe 2023b.)

A group of people sitting indoors around tables and listening to someone who is not visible. — Image 1. The training days gathered over 200 participants from across Europe. (Interreg Europe 2023e)

For the first call-approved projects, an intensive 3-day training and networking event was organized by Interreg Europe in Lille, France in September. Over 200 lead partners, finance and communication managers as well as controllers participated in the event. (Interreg Europe 2023c.) LAB University of Applied Sciences participated in the training days on behalf of the CITISYSTEM – Supporting cities in sustainable biobased systemic change project belonging to the Green theme, more specifically focusing on circular economy. CITISYSTEM advocates for the advancement of a circular bioeconomy, with a primary emphasis on enhancing the circulation of materials, nutrients, and energy within urban environments. (Interreg Europe 2023a.)

Link to the website of CITISYSTEM.

Three Intensive Days of Training

The first day was dedicated to financial issues, reporting procedures, eligibility principles of expenditures, and management. As a brand-new monitoring system is in use, the control procedures and requirements were on the agenda of the day. Every session included practical group exercises to deepen the knowledge in the spirit of learning by doing. After that, the results were collectively discussed, and doubts were explained and clarified. Consistency, justification, and coherence were emphasised as the general principles of sound financial management and eligibility of expenditures. Having the controllers on board helped to reinforce mutual learning. A special focus was also given to audits and anti-fraud policy.

The second day was in the light of reporting activities, good practices, and results. These activities are necessary for the follow-up of the project, demonstrating the success and usefulness of both the project and the whole programme, as well as a base for the eligibility of expenditures.

Good practices identified in the Interreg Europe projects are fundamental to the success of the programme, as they facilitate the mutual exchange of knowledge and inspire policy development. A good practice is a good example with tangible and measurable results, and most importantly, has a potential for learning to other regions. (Interreg Europe 2023d.)

In the middle, there is a roll-up with a text saying Interreg Europe – Co-funded by the European Union. Under it, there is written Sharing solutions for better regional policies with some icons underneath. Next to the roll-up, there are two smiling women standing, each on one side of the roll-up. — Image 2. The CITISYSTEM lead partner team from LAB. (Photo: Maria Jäppinen)

The third day focused on communication along with useful advice and insights for optimizing the effectiveness and appeal of project communication activities. For instance, it takes about 7-10 seconds to an average website user to glance at a website. To keep the user engaged longer, the content should be visual, using effective voice and tone, divided in short paragraphs or bullet points. Highlighting the core messages, dividing content with headings and subheading, and using images encourages the website visitors to spend more time on the site.

Participants actively engaged in honing their project storytelling skills through hands-on exercises and interactive discussions. Stories are more impactful and make it easier for the audience to understand and remember the main points. (Interreg Europe 2023f.)

During the training days, valuable tips were generously exchanged in a truly interregional collaboration and cooperation, strengthening the future synergies and networking among the projects.

A glass wall on which there are colourful post-it notes with tips on communication activities/ campaigns on the left, and on highlights on the right. — Image 3. During the collaborative “world café” setting, participants shared their experiences from previous projects. This session was especially beneficial for newcomers and the friendly open atmosphere enabled the sharing of insights and experiences. (Photo: Katerina Medkova)

Author

Katerina Medkova works as an RDI Specialist at LAB University of Applied Sciences and is CITISYSTEM Project Manager.

References

Interreg Europe. 2023a. CITISYSTEM – Supporting cities in sustainable biobased systemic change. Cited 29 Oct 2023. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/citisystem

Interreg Europe. 2023b. What is Interreg Europe? Cited 29 Oct 2023. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/what-is-interreg-europe

Interreg Europe. 2023c. Project training days 2023. Cited 29 Oct 2023. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/event/project-training-days-2023

Interreg Europe. 2023d. Good practices Submission & validation process. Presentation given at the Lead partner training days on 27 September 2023. Cited 29 Oct 2023. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/sites/default/files/2023-10/TrainingDays2023_Day2_GP_submission_and_validation.pdf

Interreg Europe. 2023e. ProjectTrainingDays2023-03. Conclusions and materials. Cited 29 Oct 2023. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/event/project-training-days-2023/conclusions

Interreg Europe. 2023f. ProjectTrainingDays2023-03. Communication. Cited 26 Nov 2023. Available at https://www.interregeurope.eu/sites/default/files/2023-10/TrainingDays2023_Day3_Communication_FULL.pdf