Strategic Priorities of the NWE INTERREG IVB Programme Harry Knottley, UK representative in the International Working Party Lille, 5th March 2007

INTERREG IIIB North West Europe Produced 500 project ideas 99 Transnational Projects successfully developed involving over 900 partners across the NWE Territory to a value of €323M ERDF

Value of Transnational Working (1) Higher Level Benefits Territorial Development Investment Decisions are being based on a deeper analysis of the needs of people who live and work in the regions across Europe Negotiating common purpose with international partners is adding value to the implementation of the European Territorial agenda

Value of Transnational Working (2) Benefits to regions and countries Helps to spread best practice through maximum use of relevant expertise Develops models which are transferable across different countries Helps to influence and develop governmental policy at regional and national level help develop solutions to larger scale problems with well targeted small scale investment.

Value of Transnational Working (3) Benefits to Organisations the IIIB programmes have helped to build capacity for staff and organisations to understand and successfully engage in transnational working to access European networks and markets to add value, a ‘European dimension’, to tackling common problems keep up to date with policy developments across Europe

Priority 1: Developing the NWE knowledge-based economy by capitalising on our capacity for innovation The overall aim of the priority is to strengthen the attractiveness and performance of cities, towns, rural areas and regions through joint actions that will encourage sustainable economic activity and social stability

Priority 1: Developing the NWE knowledge-based economy by capitalising on our capacity for innovation Objective 1.1: to promote greater entrepreneurship and facilitate the translation of innovations and knowledge into (marketable) products, processes and services that strengthen the competitiveness of NWE Objective 1.2: to develop new and strengthen existing growth clusters and SME networks by building on the endogenous potentials of NWE cities and regions Objective 1.3: to use and improve territorial co- operation in order to strengthen the institutional and territorial framework for innovation and the transfer of knowledge within NWE

Priority 2: Sustainable management of natural resources and of natural and technological risks The overall aim of the priority is to promote an innovative and sustainable approach to natural resource management, risk management and the enhancement of the natural environment through transnational cooperation..

Priority 2: Sustainable management of natural resources and of natural and technological risks Objective 2.1: To promote an innovative and sustainable approach to natural resource management, including water, landscapes, biodiversity and energy, and waste management Objective 2.2: To promote an innovative approach to risk management and prevention, in particular water management in the context of climate change Objective 2.3: To promote a transnational and spatial approach to improving the quality of soil, water and air, to minimising greenhouse gas emissions and to reducing noise pollution

Priority 3: Improving connectivity in NWE by promoting intelligent and sustainable transport and ICT solutions The overall aim of the priority is to improve the functional integration of NWE through improved connectivity and accessibility by promoting sustainable transport connections for both passengers and freight on rail, waterways, sea and air, and to develop innovative approaches to the use of ICT, for the transnational territory and beyond.

Priority 3: Improving connectivity in NWE by promoting intelligent and sustainable transport and ICT solutions Objective 3.1: to manage transport growth through optimisation of the capacity of existing (uni-modal) transport infrastructure for both passenger and freight transport Objective 3.2: to support effective and innovative multi- modal strategic actions and efficient inter-operable systems on land, water and air Objective 3.3: to develop innovative approaches to the use of ICT in order to improve connectivity, including approaches aimed at reducing the need to travel and replacing physical mobility through virtual activity for both passenger mobility and freight transport

Priority 4: Promoting strong and prosperous communities at transnational level The overall aim of this priority is to strengthen the attractiveness and performance of cities, towns, rural areas and regions through joint actions that will encourage sustainable economic activity and social stability

Priority 4: Promoting strong and prosperous communities at transnational level Objective 4.1: to promote transnational actions that will enhance the economic and social performance of cities, towns and rural areas; including the economic potential of local and regional assets Objective 4.2: to identify and develop collective actions that will improve the environmental quality and attraction of towns and cities including the sustainable use of the cultural heritage, tourism, the creative economy and sustainable and innovative energy practices Objective 4.3: to promote transnational responses to the impacts of demographic change and migration on the NWE territory

1: Developing the NWE knowledge-based economy by capitalising on our capacity for innovation 2: Sustainable management of natural resources and of natural and technological risks 3: Improving connectivity in NWE by promoting intelligent and sustainable transport and ICT solutions 4: Promoting strong and prosperous communities at transnational level The 4 Strategic Priorities of the New IVB Programme

Besides these four funding priorities, the draft programme also encourages strategic initiatives in areas of key transnational relevance to the territorial development of North West Europe. The 4 Strategic Priorities of the New IVB Programme

make a significant contribution to achieving the programme aim by promoting an integrated territorial approach that addresses several of the priority objectives; focus on providing a joint strategy, or concepts with relevance for the whole of NWE or large contiguous parts of the transnational cooperation area; promote a cross-sectoral approach and involve a wide strategic partnership, to make practical use of the results of the initiative; Strategic Initiatives (1)

have a long-lasting effect beyond the lifetime of the project funding; have the potential to attract follow-up investments funded by other external sources; clearly demonstrate that they strongly influence and help to better coordinate the territorial impact of other relevant EU funding by creating a momentum for change; draw on ESPON and ESPON 2013 material wherever appropriate. Strategic Initiatives (2)

Step 1: The Programme will invite experts from EU, national and regional levels to a joint working seminar to further refine the identified issues for strategic initiatives and to identify the relevant actors. Step 2: The Programme will invite the relevant actors to a further working seminar. This will identify and specify the kind of actions and projects which have the potential to deliver a significant strategic impact. Step 3: The Programme will launch targeted calls to enable relevant integrated cross sector and cross- national partnerships to submit projects based on the outputs of the second seminar. Strategic Initiatives – Three steps

INTERREG IVB North West Europe Strategic Priorities of the NWE INTERREG IVB Programme Conclusions