Interreg Europe Training Days 2023
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Image 2. 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)