July Interregional Cooperation Projects First collection. European Union European Regional Development Fund

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1 July 2009 Interregional Cooperation Projects First collection European Union European Regional Development Fund

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3 Foreword Europe is cooperation! Interregional cooperation has developed hand in hand with European integration, providing concrete tools and measures to identify what works, and what doesn t, in terms of regional development policy. Interregional cooperation in Europe is unique in its ability to allow diverse Regions of Europe to work together, at a distance and on a large scale, to share experience and find solutions to common problems. It also has an objective to allow more and less advanced Regions to work together. This brochure provides an insight into the first series of 41 projects funded under the INTERREG IVC programme, and how they aim to improve one particular aspect of their region through exchanging good practice beyond their borders. From developing policies to assist small businesses, to tackling the challenges of demographic change; from improving the coordination of public transport services to developing common responses to natural disasters these projects show how interregional cooperation has an obvious impact on the quality of life of citizens in each region. The INTERREG IVC programme, running from , focuses on two clear priorities: Innovation and the knowledge economy, and Environment and risk prevention. Following the approval of the first round of projects, almost 25% of the programme budget has been allocated. Consider, however, that the programme received almost 500 applications in the first call, requesting over three times the total available programme budget and it is clear that only the most relevant projects could be selected. As President of the Nord-Pas de Calais Region, Managing Authority of the programme, I am encouraged by the high interest shown by the Regions for this kind of cooperation. With over 400 partners currently involved Local authorities, City councils, Regional governments or Regional development agencies the benefits of cooperation will be available for all. This brochure is designed not only to showcase current projects, but also to help Regional and Local authorities across Europe capitalise on already-existing exchanges of good practice. At this time of economic uncertainty, it is clear that interregional cooperation has an important and intelligent role to play in boosting the economic competitiveness of Regions and may alleviate the impact of the crisis. The projects in this brochure are the first steps in cooperation for success. Enjoy your read! Daniel Percheron President of the Nord-Pas de Calais Region Managing Authority of the INTERREG IVC programme 1

4 Overview Welcome to the first collection of interregional cooperation projects, part-financed by the INTERREG IVC programme and the European Regional Development Fund. This brochure is the first global vision of the forty-one projects approved following the first call for proposals. It includes all the most relevant data concerning project funding and partnership, along with a summary of what the project aims to achieve. More details on the content of this brochure can be found on the following pages. How this publication is organised This brochure is divided into three main parts. The first section provides an overview of the programme characteristics, and some key statistics following the first round of funding for cooperation projects. The following two sections are separated by programme priorities: Innovation & the knowledge economy and Environment & risk prevention, and detail by theme the first collection of forty-one projects approved following the first call for projects in You will find a description of each of these priorities on the appropriately-tabbed page. In addition, the themes within each priority have been colour-coded, as explained below, so that you can easily identify them. You can identify the different themes in Priority 1: Innovation and the knowledge economy using the following colour code: Innovation, research and technology development Employment, human capital and education Entrepreneurship and SMEs Information Society The different themes of Priority 2: Environment and risk prevention can be identified as follows: Biodiversity and preservation of natural heritage; air quality Cultural heritage and landscape Energy and sustainable transport Natural and technological risks; climate change Waste prevention and management Water management 2

5 Overview About the programme The main objective of interregional cooperation is to contribute to the improvement of regional policies through the exchange of experience and good practices. overview This objective will, we hope, be achieved through the exchange, sharing and transfer of policy experience, knowledge and good practices that arise from the projects funded under the programme. The programme enables cooperation between regional and local authorities from all EU countries, Norway and Switzerland, as shown on the map below. INTERREG IVC is especially dedicated to the exchange of experience at policy level, rather than implementation or experimentation. This makes a key difference between INTERREG IVC and INTERREG IVA (cross-border) and INTERREG IVB (transnational) programmes. The programme, like this brochure, is organised around two thematic priorities, namely: Innovation and the knowledge economy (Lisbon Strategy) Environment and risk prevention (Gothenburg Strategy) Michel Lamblin Programme Director Iceland Réunion Martinique Guadeloupe EU Member States Associated INTERREG IVC Countries Managing Authority Région Nord Pas de Calais Joint Technical Secretariat Information Point Guyane Açores Madeira Canarias Portugal Ireland Spain VALENCIA Norway Sweden Denmark Estonia United ROSTOCK Kingdom Poland Netherlands Germany KATOWICE Belgium Czech LILLE Luxembourg Republic Slovakia France Finland Latvia Lithuania Russia Austria Hungary Switzerland Slovenia Romania Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia 1 Bulgaria Italy Montenegro FYROM 2 Albania Greece Belarus Ukraine Moldova Russia Turkey Cyprus Malta The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by INTERREG IVC. 1. Serbia: Including Kosovo, under the auspices of the United Nations, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June FYROM: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 3

6 Overview overview Project types INTERREG IVC can be considered as a capitalisation programme as it focuses on activities related to the identification, analysis, dissemination and, under certain conditions, transfer of good practices related to regional development policies. Alongside the two main priorities, projects can fall into two different types: Regional Initiative projects and Capitalisation projects. Out of the 41 projects approved in this first collection, 35 are Regional Initiative projects, 6 are Capitalisation projects. Regional Initiative projects, initiated by regional actors aiming at exchange of experience in a specific policy field, are the classic interregional cooperation projects. They allow partners from the different EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and even from non-eu countries to work together on a shared regional policy issue. They contribute directly to achieving the programme s overall objective of improving the effectiveness of regional policies. Capitalisation projects have a main, very specific objective to transfer the practices identified into the Structural Funds programme of each Region involved. Capitalisation projects therefore must build on existing good practices that have been identified through previous programmes (e.g. INTERREG III programmes, regional operational programmes, research programmes). The duration of these projects is shorter (2 years instead of 3 years) as the project does not need to begin with identifying good practices, but can immediately start the preparation for transferring these good practices. These projects aim to have a direct impact on regional policy therefore it is important that the appropriate regional authority for policy-making is involved. Each participating Region in a Capitalisation project will produce an action plan detailing how the processes exchanged during the project will be implemented by the Region. Fast Track Fast Track projects are Capitalisation projects which benefit from additional expertise from the European Commission in order to contribute to its Regions for Economic Change initiative. This initiative seeks to make a stronger direct link between the good practices identified in the INTERREG IVC programme and the main body of regional development funding. The EC has identified a series of 30 themes, 23 of which are relevant to the INTERREG IVC programme. The other themes are covered by the URBACT II programme for urban development. Fast track projects identifiable by a special logo receive additional assistance from the European Commission s thematic units in implementing the project activities and communicating the results. Five out of the six Capitalisation projects approved so far under INTERREG IVC have been selected by the EC to be labelled Fast Track. 4

7 Overview Facts and figures The projects detailed in this publication were approved following the first call for proposals of the INTERREG IVC programme in April and September The high level of interest in this programme was evident through the 491 applications received, requesting over three times the budget available for the whole programme! Forty-one high-quality applications were approved for funding, whose results will certainly be of benefit to all European regions. Projects approved by subtheme (1 st call)* 17% 12% 5% 5% 10% 15% 7% 29% Priority 1: Innovation and the knowledge economy Innovation, research and technology development Employment, human capital and education Entrepreneurship and SMEs Information Society Priority 2: Environment and risk prevention Biodiversity and preservation of natural heritage; air quality Cultural heritage and landscape Energy and sustainable transport Natural and technological risks; climate change 443 = number of regional partners involved in projects s and partners of approved projects per country (1 st call) 60 Number of partners Number of s Italy Spain Greece United Kingdom Poland Sweden France Romania Bulgaria Germany Hungary Netherlands Percentage of programme funds allocated to each priority Austria Portugal Czech Republic Finland Slovenia Slovakia Lithuania Belgium Estonia Ireland Denmark Latvia Cyprus Malta Switzerland Norway Luxembourg Eur 302 million = funds available for the programme % Innovation and the knowledge economy 55% Environment and risk prevention 23% = percentage of funds allocated after first call * No projects were approved under the theme of waste management or water management in the first call. 5

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9 Innovation and the knowledge economy The renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs in the European Union places a strong emphasis on further developing the knowledge society. This is based on the notion that Europe s potential for future economic development is directly linked to its ability to create and promote high-value, innovative and research-based economic sectors, that are capable of competing with the best in the world. The general purpose of this priority is to enable regional and local authorities, and other stakeholders at the regional level, to improve their policies, methods and capacities in the field of innovation and knowledge economy. More specifically, this priority contributes to reducing regional disparities throughout Europe by strengthening regional innovation potential. The ambition is also to pool expertise in order to increase the overall level of regions competitiveness in Europe. In this field, the EU invests for instance in R&D infrastructures, the entrepreneurial climate and business innovation, as well as the use of ICT s. Projects approved in this priority cover policies to improve and support the promotion of creative and cultural industries, for example, as a new sector for growth; to improve the effectiveness of cluster support policies; to examine the role of regional authorities in driving innovation, and more... Innovation, research and technology development CLIQ...8 I4W...9 MINI EUROPE...10 NANO4M...11 ERIK ACTION...12 RAPIDE...13 innovation Employment, human capital and education ESF6CIA...14 IES...15 PEOPLE...16 Entrepreneurship and SMEs GENDER4GROWTH...17 Creative Growth...18 CLUSNET...19 CASTLE...20 NEEBOR...21 CITIES...22 EuroPROC...23 SEE...24 PASE...25 CREATIVE METROPOLES ICHNOS PLUS...27 MITKE...28 Information Society EVITA...29 B3 Regions...30 DC...31 PIKE

10 Innovation, research and technology development CLIQ Creating Local Innovation through a Quadruple Helix CLIQ focuses on the role of local authorities in medium-sized cities (populations of 50, ,000) in driving innovation to support the Lisbon goals for jobs and growth. Developed by the Eurotowns network, it builds on previous research evidence highlighting the importance of local quadruple helix partnerships i.e. universities, business, civil society and local authorities. CLIQ has 17 partners from 11 countries, all representing or based in medium-sized cities. The CLIQ partnership includes 9 local and regional authorities as well as representatives of other innovation stakeholders such as chambers of commerce, research institutes and incubators, to reflect the different roles, competencies and perspectives within the quadruple helix. innovation The objectives of CLIQ are: to research and exchange good practice between regions on supporting SMEs to innovate, to define and benchmark medium-sized city authorities roles in driving innovation, to create a set of transferable tools to improve local authorities innovation policies, to integrate innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalisation processes to improve competitiveness, to develop close links between quadruple helix partners at local level, to exchange models of civil society engagement in innovation, to disseminate findings and results. CLIQ interregional exchange will include study visits, master classes, round tables, network meetings and a micro pilot. Each partner region will engage local stakeholders through consultation events and develop case studies for print publication and dynamic use online. Existing research will be built upon to create an innovation benchmarking methodology and an Innovating Medium Sized Cities Toolkit for local authorities. The CLIQ network will operate as a live open innovation system and disseminate processes and results throughout the lifetime of the project at relevant events and through its website, using innovative multimedia tools. Findings will be presented within and outside partner regions on an ongoing basis. City of Jyväskylä (FI) Laura Ahonen laura.ahonen@jkl.fi / /2011 1,951, ,492, City of Jyväskylä (FI) Manresa City Council (ES) Girona City Council (ES) Eskilstuna Municipality (SE) Municipality of Leeuwarden (NL) Municipality of Gävle (SE) Business- and Innovation-Center Lippe-Detmold (DE) City of Ulm (DE) Beira Atlantic Park Incubator Association BIC Beira Atlantic (PT) Centre for Technological Research Crete (EL) Sussex Innovation Centre (UK) Government of Catalonia (ES) Klaipeda Regional Development Agency (LT) Pau Chamber of Commerce (FR) City of Mikkeli (FI) Chamber of Commerce of Cremona (IT) BIC Bay of Cadiz (Bay of Cadiz Foundation for Economical Development) (ES) 8

11 Innovation, research and technology development I4W Innovation for Welfare The objective of Innovation4Welfare (I4W) is to improve, through interregional cooperation, the effectiveness of regional development policies that stimulate technology-driven innovation in the field of health and safety ( welfare ). Across Europe, economic and demographic developments pose new challenges in public health: a general tendency to prioritise health and safety, the strong increase in welfare-related diseases and the increased need for home and health care for an ageing population is causing health care costs to increase rapidly. Innovative solutions are necessary to meet these challenges to avoid health care becoming unaffordable. These challenges are also an opportunity: because of the scope of the public health issue, and the increasing need for products and services in this area, it is an attractive target area for developing innovative new technologies and applications. Through one integrated (cross-cutting) approach, I4W aims to achieve three main goals: to stimulate regional economic activity by better use of innovative processes and technologies in the field of health and safety, especially by SME s and start-ups as important drivers for economic growth and jobs, to contribute to welfare as a societal objective through the uptake of these innovations, to forge new (inter)regional coalitions between business (principally entrepreneurs and SME s), knowledge institutes and public welfare organisations that currently do not work together sufficiently, to stimulate the uptake of these innovations. I4W is a mini-programme involving partners representing regional authorities from 6 regions across Europe. It focuses on the analysis, development and transfer of good practices in a limited number of carefully selected subprojects. In this way the project will not only capitalise on the general knowledge of the regional authorities, but on the extensive and in-depth expertise of the specific actors that implement policies and strategies to technology-based innovation in health and safety, such as universities, technology centres, hospitals and incubators. The partners will ensure that the good practices identified and developed in I4W will have a strong impact in the regional innovation and health-related policy through active involvement of, and intensive dissemination to policy-makers across Europe. CIDEM Centre for Innovation and Business Development (ES) Mariona Sanz msanza@cidem.gencat.cat / /2012 4,804, ,732, CIDEM Centre for Innovation and Business Development (ES) Centre for the Technological Development, Energy and Competitiveness of the Lombard Small- and medium-sized enterprises (IT) Province of Noord-Brabant (NL) Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia RERA, j.s.c. (CZ) Austrian Technology and Marketing Company (AT) Tartu Science park (EE) 9

12 Innovation, research and technology development MINI EUROPE Mainstreaming INnovative Instruments for SME development in Europe Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) make an important contribution to regional economic performance by creating jobs, supporting innovation and delivering economic growth. MINI EUROPE aims to exchange and develop regional policies in SME development, focusing on providing a transparent infrastructure for innovation to SMEs. Partners in the project will improve existing mechanisms and import new ones that will strengthen regional infrastructures to support SMEs in innovation. The project will specifically deal with enhancing cooperation and knowledge exchange between SMEs and knowledge institutes and getting more people involved in entrepreneurship, in particular underrepresented groups. The MINI EUROPE partnership combines the experience of 8 regions from all parts of Europe: Flevoland (NL, lead), Tameside (UK), Észak-Alföld (HU), Maramures (RO), Almi Företagspartner Mitt AB (SE), Valencia/IMPIVA (ES), Georama (Western Greece) and Veneto (IT). MINI EUROPE will document existing good practice in SME development in the partner regions and from relevant INTERREG projects in a catalogue of experience. The partners will then engage in bilateral experience transfers, matching a partner exporting a specific good practice with a partner importing it. Each partner will both export and import two tools. At the end of the project each region will develop an action plan to implement the lessons of this project, including policy recommendations and actions to be implemented in regional competitiveness and convergence programmes and other EU programmes. Province of Flevoland (NL) Bob Pels bob.pels@flevoland.nl / /2011 1,991, ,556, Province of Flevoland (NL) Tameside MBC (UK) Észak-Alföld Regional Development Agency (HU) Maramures County Council (RO) Almi Företagspartner Mitt AB (SE) Institute for Small & Medium Sized Industrial Firms of the Valencian Government (ES) GEORAMA (EL) Veneto Region (IT) 10

13 Innovation, research and technology development NANO4M Nanotechnology for Market NANO4M aims to improve strategies and build networks to design nanotechnology for market. The project tackles some of the challenges identified in relation to the functioning of the regional innovation systems with the following objectives: to improve the regions capacity to shorten the gap between R&D and market testing new Research-to-Market processes, to strengthen the interregional collaboration by identifying and developing specific research and business opportunities of common interest in the emerging field of nano/microtechnology, to increase competitiveness of innovation infrastructure at regional, national and European level, to improve the efficiency of regional innovation policies by drawing up recommendations and implementing best practices. NANO4M involves four regions and twelve partners. The different profiles of the regional R+D+I strategies of these four regions as well as their common interest in several markets/technologies are the best basis for the project to reach its objectives. Each region is represented by a Regional or Local Authority and one or two research and technology centres. The implementation of new knowledge obtained through interdisciplinary collaboration will be used for the development of feasibility studies concerning the market opportunities of new products in the nano/micro areas and identifying success and failure factors for Research-to-Market process in each region. Furthermore, the expertise obtained in the expert groups will also be embedded in the elaboration of strategic plans for the participating research and technology centres. NANO4M will contribute to the INTERREG IVC goal of improving the efficiency of regional policies by drawing up recommendations for Regional Innovation Policies. IDEPA Regional Development Agency of Asturias (ES) Jason Martinez Garcia jasonmg@idepa.es / /2011 1,845, ,384, IDEPA Regional Development Agency of Asturias (ES) Center for Research on Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology CINN-CSIC (ES) Foundation PRODINTEC (ES) City of Dortmund, Wirtschaftsförderung Dortmund (DE) Dortmund Technology Center Management Ltd. (DE) Technology Development Agency Münster (DE) CeNTech Center for Nanotechnology (DE) Empolese Valdelsa Circondario (IT) ASEV Development Agency of Empoli Valdelsa (IT) Regional Council of Lorraine (FR) UMI GeorgiaTech-CNRS (FR) Institute Jean Lamour (FR) 11

14 Innovation, research and technology development Capitalisation Project ERIK ACTION Upgrading the innovation capacity of existing firms ERIK ACTION is a Capitalisation project born from 4 years of networking experience within the ERIK network. ERIK ACTION builds on a consolidated experience of exchange by moving towards concrete transfer of identified good practices (already available in the ERIK database) into mainstream Structural Funds programmes in regions wishing to improve policies. ERIK ACTION s overall objective is to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies in the field of innovation and the knowledge economy and, specifically, in upgrading the innovation capacity of existing enterprises. This project aims to create additional value for firms by improving regional innovation support services and infrastructure. The good practices transferred, in the form of regional action plans, should have a quantifiable and measurable impact on the statistics of the participating regions. The project consortium is composed of 11 regions from 10 European countries, all involving (through direct participation or guaranteed support) ROP Managing Authorities. All partners have identified innovation as a key priority in regional development and have confirmed the importance of the project theme in their current environment. Partners differ in development levels in this field. In some, policies on innovation are not yet at an advanced stage. Others have established a comprehensive innovation support system but still look to improve services. ERIK ACTION will go some way to bridging these gaps through intensive cooperation with a view to mutual learning and benefits. The project will produce 11 regional action plans for transfer. It will also produce a mainstreaming guide which will be widely distributed, above all during the final conference. 11 European regions will see their regional policies, instruments and staff capacities being improved as a result of intensive cooperation and concrete transfer actions. 12 Regional Government of Tuscany (IT) Simone Sorbi simone.sorbi@regione.toscana.it / /2010 1,893, ,464, Regional Government of Tuscany (IT) Lower Austrian Government, Dept. Economic Affairs, Tourism and Technology (AT) Emilia Romagna Region, Department for Industry, Unit for Local Development (IT) ADRAL Alentejo Regional Development Agency (PT) Agency for Innovation and Development of Andalusia (IDEA) (ES) Banska Bystrica Self-governing Region (SK) Bretagne Innovation (FR) Flemish government Agency for Economy (BE) The South-East Regional Development Agency (RO) LTC AB (SE) University of West Macedonia, Research Committee (EL)

15 Capitalisation Project Innovation, research and technology development RAPIDE Regional Action Plans for Innovation Development and Enterprise RAPIDE is a capitalisation network involving 13 partners from 11 Member States. Its aim is to implement new ideas relating to the role of the public sector in stimulating innovation in partner regions, in particular helping businesses (primarily SMEs) to bring innovative products and services to market more quickly. The long term objective of the project is to stimulate innovation in partner regions, increase economic growth and therefore to contribute directly to the Lisbon agenda. Three factors critical to stimulating innovation managing risk, financing innovation and effective partnerships have become the three themes that form the primary emphasis of the RAPIDE network. The project works through 2 main phases. Phase 1 involves three Beyond Best Practice working summits at which host regions will share experiences in relation to good practice initiatives/projects that have successfully addressed one or more of the key themes (risk, finance, partnership), overcoming these barriers to bringing innovation to market. The second phase of the project involves regions developing action plans for innovation in partnership with their Managing Authorities and the European Commission based on evidence from phase 1. They will be developed in an environment of peer review with bilateral and informal working groups of RAPIDE partners and EC experts. These will be applied and implemented through mainstream Competitiveness and Convergence Programmes. The project will also ensure a wider audience for the mainstreaming of good practice and will be influential in relation to regional and EU policy. South West of England Regional Development Agency (UK) Benjamin Kuscher bkuscher-rapide@southwestuk.be / /2010 1,810, ,430, South West of England Regional Development Agency (UK) Galician Ministry of Innovation and Industry (ES) Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (PL) Örebro Regional Development Council (SE) Region Western Greece (EL) Ministry of Economy and Labour Saxony-Anhalt (DE) Tartu Science Park (EE) Welsh Assembly Government (UK) Presov Self-Governing Region (SK) South Bohemian Agency for Support to Innovative Enterprising (CZ) Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences (KTUAS) (FI) Észak-Alföld Regional Development Agency (HU) Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences (RAMK) (FI) 13

16 Employment, human capital and education Capitalisation Project ESF6 CIA Capitalising Innovative Approaches towards Demographic Change ESF6 CIA aims to transfer the best practices from projects funded under the European Social Fund Article 6 programme (ESF 6) to, especially, new member states. Demographic change is a subject which affects our society as elderly people become a more important and outstanding group in our daily lives. A great potential of knowledge is available for transfer to younger generations, and best practices that have been identified will be allocated and transferred to regions facing the same issue of demographic change. The partnership matches less experienced with more advanced regions. Providers, meaning advanced partners in the development and improvement of best practices, form the basis of the partner structure as they guarantee and offer their experiences through the development of best practices. The receivers on the other side are in the position to take over well proven best practices, and to be, at the end, at the same level as the providers. practices analysed and formulated in action plans. Following the first step, the development and improvement of best practices in ESF Art. 6 projects, the second logical step is the capitalisation and transfer of identified best practices to other regions with the need to address demographic change. Through the involvement of managing authorities and other relevant stakeholders, the third step will be the implementation of the best With a running time of two years, the main outcome of ESF6 CIA will be the formulation of action plans for each region of best practices. The action plans form the end result of an intensive interregional exchange between the partners through sensitising workshops and joint thematic seminars during the project lifetime. The successful realisation of the project lies firstly in the cooperation and experience exchange between the partners, and secondly in the involvement and sensitising of relevant stakeholders of each region within the field of demographic change. Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH (DE) Silvana Rückert rueckert@aufbauwerk-leipzig.com / /2010 1,445, ,124, Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH (DE) Working Lives Research Institute London Metropolitan University (UK) RESOC Mechelen (BE) University of L Aquila (IT) Region of Western Greece (RWG) (EL) AICCRE (IT) Roses City Council (ES) Institute of Sociology Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IS) (BG) Region Abruzzo (IT) South-Transdanubian Regional Development Financial & Servicing (HU) Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (BG) 14

17 Employment, human capital and education IES Implementing Employment Service The Public Employment Service System, a system composed of several actors, is defined by the European Commission as a key element for combating unemployment and for favouring the access of job seekers to the labour market at local, national and European level. The IES project will contribute to improve the quality and the implementation of the partners regional policies on Public Employment Service. IES identifies five key issues: governance, choice orientations, labour demand-supply matching and job placement, participation of unprivileged people to the labour market and promotion of the individual employability. Through an intense exchange of experiences, the partnership, composed of actors coming from Italy, Spain, Romania, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, and Italy will gain valuable results for building a more efficient system and provide their local customers with more useful services. Ultimately, the project will result in improved efficacy in implementing employment policies at regional level, supporting the accomplishment of the local employment strategies and increasing the quality of the employment policies in Europe. Regional Labour Agency of Sardinia (IT) Luca Spissu lspissu@regione.sardegna.it / / /2011 1,955, ,499, Regional Labour Agency of Sardinia (IT) FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences (AT) Regional Direction Bavaria of the Federal Agency for Labour (DE) University Enterprise Training of The Region of Murcia (ES) Autonomous Administration depending of the Regional Government that directs and coordinates all the employment policies in La Rioja region (ES) Province of Oristano (IT) Province of Sassari Education-Training-Work Department (IT) County Agency for Employment ARAD (RO) Ilfov County Council (RO) Regional Labour Foundation of Podravje, institution for active labour policy measures implementation (SI) 15

18 Employment, human capital and education PEOPLE Innovation for Societal Change The PEOPLE partnership is engaged to explore the opportunities for new employment and ways of reinforcing cohesion and well-being in the context of demographic and societal changes faced by European regions. The nascent trends are the ageing population, new family structures, legal/illegal immigration and the emergence of new vulnerable groups, all of this impacting on the interrelation between people, generations and across countries. The PEOPLE partners are proposing to launch a joint regional PEOPLE Action Plan to deliver innovation on societal change at regional level. The PEOPLE project comprises six sub-objectives: 1. Reconciliation of work and private life 2. E-health & Independence 3. Silver economy 4. Social and e-inclusion 5. Social entrepreneurship 6. Civil society empowerment The proposed Action Plan is linked to the regional strategic planning and will raise awareness on the opportunity for employment and growth in the context of social cohesion amongst regional policy makers and other players of the civil society. PEOPLE will benchmark and support the creation of new schemes and policies to promote self-employment and home business start-up, e-health or e-inclusion, social enterprises and other advanced mechanisms to foster local and regional services for social service based companies. Through the transfer of good practices, the organisation of 6 international conferences and the exchange of regional experts, all PEOPLE partners are fully committed to tackling these common societal challenges. PEOPLE miniprogramme is also co-funding 10 interregional sub-projects, providing a suitable framework for developing and sharing innovative tools and methodologies and for influencing policy-makers and regional stakeholders. Government of Andalusia Ministry for the Equality and Social Wellfare (ES) Mercedes García Sáez mercedes.garcia.saez@juntadeandalucia.es / /2011 3,856, ,942, Government of Andalusia Ministry for the Equality and Social Wellfare (ES) South East England Development Agency (UK) Stockholm Region (SE) Province of Noord-Brabant (NL) Marshal Office of the Małopolska Region (PL) Province of Venice (IT) Timis County Council (RO) 16

19 Entrepreneurship and SMEs Gender4Growth Gender4Growth deals with two economic obligations: growth and gender equity. Gender4Growth addresses economic gender inequalities, in particular lower female employment rates, wages and positions; job market segmentation; and lack of conciliation between career and family life. As a matter of fact, gender inequality triggers two main problems: a structural obstacle against growth, because a significant share of the population (mainly women) is faced with restrictions to access job market and entrepreneurial opportunities, and a source of unacceptable inequality in democratic societies. This issue has been addressed by the Lisbon Strategy with the objective of reaching 60% of female employment in In this context, Gender4Growth aims to update partners economic policies so that gender issues are increasingly taken into consideration at policy level. Project activities are based around the identification of best practices upon methodological basis, exchange and review between partners, transfer sessions through European workshops and local trainings. Three European conferences, exchange about orientations and commitments between regional executives and social partners are also planned. During the 3 years, partners will grant Awards to local economic initiatives that most resolve gender issues; they will previously be offered technical support so as to ease emergence of such initiatives. Region Ile-de-France (FR) Vincent Callies vincent.callies@iledefrance.fr / /2011 1,689, ,317, Region Ile-de-France (FR) Catalan Women Institute (ES) Region of the Balearic Islands (ES) Veneto Region Department for International relations, International cooperation, Human rights and Equal opportunities (IT) Regional Social Welfare Resource Center Budapest (HU) County of Timis (RO) Research Center for Gender Equality (EL) Lidköping Municipality (SE) 17

20 Entrepreneurship and SMEs Creative Growth The Creative Growth project was initiated by the Östergötland region (SE). The aim of the project is to develop the creative sector as a new business sector and influence regional and local policy development by adopting new knowledge and good practices into the policy making process. More precisely, the project will achieve: Improved and more effective policies on regional and local level through evidence-based policy making Improved business support services and solutions for the creative sector Increased knowledge on how creativity can be a catalyst for increased regional competitiveness. The partnership consists of 11 partners from nine countries. The activities in the project are divided into 3 parts. Firstly, a limited mapping of the creative sector is carried out in each region using a joint set of standards followed by a joint interregional analysis comparing the regions based on the regional mapping. Secondly, the project benchmarks business support services and identifies solutions through exchange of experiences in thematic working groups on topics such as access to finance, support structures, cluster development, incubator facilities etc. Thirdly, interregional thematic seminars are hosted by different partner regions, focusing on creativity as a catalyst for increased regional competitiveness. Three pilot cases will test three different approaches to business support solutions by pooling joint experiences ( traditional business support services, virtual incubators and physical environments for SMEs). The main result of the project will be improved policy making processes on regional and local level by adopting evidence-based policy making (i.e. policy making based on new facts, knowledge and exchange of experiences), the creation of a European Network of Creative regions for long-term collaboration, and increased knowledge about the sector among key stakeholders. The project will also result in increased numbers of business support services and solutions tailor-made for SMEs in the creative sector and higher quality of the services provided by business support actors. Östsam Regional Development Council (SE) Anna Jacobson office@ostsam.se / /2011 1,921, ,479, Östsam Regional Development Council (SE) Regional Council of Southern Småland (SE) Edinburgh Napier University (UK) Észak-Alföld Regional Development Agency (HU) BIZ-Art Municipality of Vejle, Business Development dept. (DK) South Denmark European Office (SDEO) (DK) Kaunas County Governor s Administration (LT) Aster s.cons.p.a. (IT) Business and Innovation Centre of Asturias (BIC Asturias) (ES) Timis County Council (RO) Regional Association of Municipalities Central Stara Planina (BG) 18