Self-assessment tool
Before proceeding with your application or seeking assistance from us, make sure to check the relevance of your project. If you can answer ‘yes’ to all the questions, you're on the right track.
The self-assessment is for information purposes only.
1 Issue definition
Is the issue addressed by the project clear and specific enough? Does it clearly fit within the priorities of the cohesion policy?
The programme covers the following policy objectives:
1. Smarter Europe
2. Greener Europe
3. More connected Europe
4. More social Europe
5. Europe closer to citizens
6. Better governance
For more information please see the sections ‘Programme scope’ and ‘What is an interregional cooperation project?’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. The issue addressed by the project needs to be clearly defined, well focused, and correspond to a shared need of all project partners.
Pay attention:
The issue addressed by the project needs to be clearly defined, well focused, and correspond to a shared need of all project partners. If this is not the case, please review this issue and/or the selection of partners. Projects that do not clearly address one of the Cohesion policy objectives are not relevant to the Interreg Europe programme.
2 Policy instrument
Are the policy instruments that you and your partners want to improve identified and clearly related to the overall issue addressed by the project?
All projects share the same overall objective which is to improve the policy instruments they address through exchange and transfer of experiences among the participating regions.
For more information please see the sections ‘Interregional cooperation projects: main features’ and ‘Monitoring projects’ performance’ of the programme manual.
What is a policy instrument?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 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 Jobs and Growth are policy instruments. Beyond EU cohesion policy, local, regional or national public authorities also develop their own policy instruments.
For your information:
You are on the right track. The identification of the policy instruments to be improved is the starting point to ensure that the project contributes to the programme’s objective of “improving regional development policies”.
Pay attention:
The identification of the policy instruments to be improved is the starting point to ensure that the project contributes to the programme’s objective of “improving regional development policies”. In case you did not identify them yet, please get back to your potential partners to elaborate on the common needs and identify, for each partner region, the most appropriate policy instrument that partners will address within the project.
3 Jobs and growth programme
Is at least one of the policy instruments addressed by your project an investment for jobs and growth goal programme?
Interreg Europe aims at improving “the performance of the regional development policy instruments including investment for jobs and growth goal programmes”. This particular focus on cohesion policy means that, at application stage, at least one of the regional policy instruments addressed by the project must be an investment for jobs and growth goal programme.
For more information please see the sections ‘Interregional cooperation projects: main features’ and ‘Monitoring projects’ performance’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. At least one of the policy instruments addressed by the project must be an investment for jobs and growth programme.
Pay attention:
In case this minimum requirement is not met (at least one of the policy instruments addressed is an investment for jobs and growth programme), the project will not be eligible. You should therefore revise the policy instruments or involve additional partner regions to address at least one investment for jobs and growth goal programme.
4 Partner status
Are all partners either public authorities, bodies governed by public law or private non-profit bodies?
Only public authorities, bodies governed by public law or private non-profit bodies are eligible to receive ERDF within Interreg Europe. Private for-profit partners are not eligible. Please note that private non-profit bodies cannot take on the role of a lead partner.
For more information please see the section ‘Eligibility and funding’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. Please note that you can always check the legal status of an organisation with the point of contact of the respective partner state whose details are available on the programme website.
Pay attention:
Organisations with other legal status are not eligible to Interreg Europe project’s funding. In case of doubts on the legal status of an organisation, please get in touch with the point of contact of the respective partner state whose details are available on the programme website.
5 Responsible authorities
Are the authorities responsible of the respective policy instruments involved in the project?
The involvement of the policy responsible authority as partner is compulsory for at least 50% of the policy instruments addressed in a project application. For the remaining policies, this authority must be involved as an ‘associated policy authority’.
For more information please see the sections ‘Types of participation’ and ‘Quality of partnership’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. The involvement of the policy responsible authorities is a pre-requisite in Interreg Europe.
Pay attention:
The involvement of the policy responsible authorities is a pre-requisite in Interreg Europe. Projects where their involvement is not ensured will not be eligible to the programme.
6 Interregional cooperation
Does the partnership go beyond transnational cooperation areas?
Interreg Europe is the only Interreg programme that covers the whole European Union, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine. To be eligible, the partnerships should therefore go beyond transnational cooperation areas, as this configuration allows partners to broaden their experience and to confront their practices with very different cultures and contexts.
For more information please see the section ‘Quality of partnership' and ‘Eligibility assessment’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. The broad geographical coverage of the partnership is a pre-requisite in Interreg Europe.
Pay attention:
If the geographical coverage of your partnership is not wide enough, the project will not be eligible to Interreg Europe. In order to find partners from different parts of Europe, you can search for profiles interested in joining a partnership.
7 Exchange of experience
Is interregional exchange of experience at the heart of the project?
Interreg Europe is a capacity building programme. It primarily supports activities related to exchange of experience among policymakers from different countries.
For more information please see the sections ‘Interregional cooperation projects: main features’ and ‘What activities may take place under each phase?’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. Interreg Europe primarily supports capacity building activities among policy responsible authorities.
Pay attention:
If your project primarily focuses on investments, research or implementation-related activities, it will not be relevant to Interreg Europe which supports capacity building activities among policy responsible authorities. Please check other EU programmes that may be more appropriate to finance these kinds of activities.
8 Innovative character
Is the innovative character of the project clear?
Projects need to demonstrate their innovative character. Interreg Europe cannot finance the simple continuation of past projects. The issue of innovative character is therefore particularly important for partnerships that were already supported under previous EU programmes and that would like to develop a follow-up proposal.
For more information please see the section ‘Innovative character of projects and their results’ of the programme manual.
For your information:
You are on the right track. The innovative character of the project idea is an important criterion for the proposal to be successful.
Pay attention:
The innovative character of the project idea is an important criterion for the proposal to be successful. Additional efforts should be made when a project idea focuses on an issue that was already tackled within an Interreg Europe project. We recommend that you consult on the programme website the projects already supported by Interreg Europe to ensure as much as possible that your own idea is of added value compared to these past or existing initiatives.
Your project idea seems to have potential for the Interreg Europe programme.
By joining our community, you can look for more help from us to prepare your application before you submit it. All the information you need to apply is in the programme manual.
You need to improve your project idea to make it relevant to the Interreg Europe programme.
All the information needed for applicants is available in the programme manual.