RegioStars 2021: call for applications

News

17 February 2021

By Joint secretariat

The call is open for RegioStars Awards 2021 nominations! Every year, the European Commission gives recognition to innovative and inspiring regional development projects. Is this your year to shine in the RegioStars Awards?

The competition is open for projects working on one of these categories:

SMART Europe: Increasing the competitiveness of local businesses in a digital world
GREEN Europe: Green and resilient communities in urban and rural setting
FAIR Europe: Fostering inclusion and anti-discrimination
URBAN Europe: Promoting green, sustainable and circular food systems in functional urban areas
TOPIC OF THE YEAR: Enhancing green mobility in the regions: European Year of Rail 2021

To be eligible, the project needs to be fully implemented or sufficiently advanced with demonstrated results.

Pre-selection of Interreg Europe projects

If you see RegioStars potential in your Interreg Europe project, act now and express interest to participate.

We can support the nomination of up to 5 Interreg Europe projects. Our managing authority will make the final decision on which project(s) to submit for the RegioStars 2021 awards.

The path towards RegioStars advances through a series of steps:

Interreg Europe projects express interest in RegioStars nomination by 18 March
The joint secretariat and the managing authority review the applications and select projects to enter in the competition (end of March-early April)
The selected project(s) continue to work on their applications and receive a support letter from the managing authority (in April)
The lead partners of the selected project(s) submit the final application through the RegioStars platform by 9 May

Note: the steps above apply only to Interreg Europe projects. If your project is funded through another programme or other type of funding, please contact the respective secretariat or managing authority for further details.

The journey ahead

The winners of the RegioStars Awards will be selected by an independent jury. The public will also be able to vote for their favourite.

After eligibility screening and initial assessment, the 25 finalists will be announced in early September. The finalists will prepare a promotional video and get training on communication in a dedicated session during the European Week of Regions and Cities in October. The finalists will also be added in the InfoRegio project database feeding to broader EU-level communication (such as interviews, press articles, or communication campaigns).

The official RegioStars award ceremony will take place in Dubrovnik (Croatia) in December 2021. In addition to the award, the winners of each category will receive a paid media partnership worth EUR 5 000.

In 2020, no less than 206 projects enrolled in the competition (including five Interreg Europe projects). Among the 25 finalists of last year, iEER held the Interreg Europe flag up high. How far will your project get this year?