1. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 Juan D Olabarri Networks and Co-operation Manager SPRI / Basque Country Realising Best Practices in Europe The role and working methods of regional networks in the European Union The experience of EURBEST project

2. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 The EURBEST project in brief ¿What were the aims? We hope that Eurbest will serve as an operative tool that will allow us to design and implement better action programmes in our regions. It should also be a source of knowledge and exchange of experiences that will allow us to learn from each other and to adapt these lessons to the reality of our regions. Eurbest will encourage networking amongst the development agencies with common interests. as expressed during Kick Off Meeting (Brussels 9 October 2003)

3. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 The EURBEST project in brief European Regions Benchmarking Economic Strategy & Transfer Partners : 22 public authority partners from 10 countries EU support : INTERREG IIIC. 1st call on April 2003. EUR 1,100,000 granted from the ERDF Timetable: 3 years Description of Operation: Components to be carried out were 1)Management and Coordination 2)Quantitative Analysis 3)Qualitative Analysis 4)Exchange and Transfer and 5)Knowledge Dissemination. Website : www.eurbest.comwww.eurbest.com

4. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 Working methods of the partners 1. Quantitative Analysis Collection and comparison of socio-economic indicators of the participant regions Identification of best performers and documentation of practices and policies 2. Qualitative Analysis (Study Tours ) Workshops focused on policy areas of interest Group Visit to partner hosting WS (small network) Documentation of practices and policies presented in WS 3. Presentations in Common Meetings Presentation of Best Practices and Experiences from 1 & 2 Networking and transfer workshop 4. Knowledge Transfer Visits Bilateral meetings/visit to exemplar region in deep-study of selected practice Follow up, impact assesment 5. Website data collection & repository Online data collection and basic process Access to the Knowledge Base of Best Practices and experiences 6. Community of Practice **** the challenge of sustainability ****

5. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 Working Methods Identification of Successful Practices. Multicriteria selection (Interest of the practice, Agency compatibility, Transfer vehicle) Subjective vs Objective The Best or de Good one. Matching the Regional expertise. SPRI acted as a broker involving other regional bodies or actors in activities of the project when necessary: Due to the diversity of competences among the RDAs involved Interest in areas not directly covered by our organisation

6. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 Motivate participation The experience of SPRI What we were searching for? The aim of getting something real out of the project. Changes, actions, new things done, but not only “papers” Regional Strategy under revision / update process. Renewed programs and measures design What do we found? “GENERATION TURNOVER” by ASTER catch up our attention. “We realized that we put a lot of attention on new businesses creation from zero, but a few in transfer businesses and generation renewal”. A double way track. 2 transfer visits received interested in Clusters, Innovation and Venture Capital

7. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 Motivate participation

8. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 Future Prospect & Sustainability Community of Practice Support Tools via web Support of EURADA Open Initiatives Services & activities Focused Benchmarking Workshops Forum & Meetings on line A big challenge to do it without european funding and out of the project scope Time to verify feasibility may be a EURBEST plus project coming soon !!

9. Interregional Network Summit. House of the Regions. Brussels, 11th October 2006 What to do and what not to do in European networking. Necessary means for interregional networking Success factors for interregional co-operation Some Lessons learnt The key role of European Commission with Initiatives like INTERREG CEO involvement is a key facilitator Involvement of different Departments and regional actors may be necessary Take care of the contact people profile Be aware of potential language and cultural barriers A few but clearly defined and focused outputs Be prepared to deal with a % of uncertainty Management and financing of common expenses procedures Leadership model and sharing responsibility Social capital building facilitates exchanges Size of the network and the depth of relationships Learning is possible from the best and from others If you find a “How To” manual follow it Anyway it is very much Learning by Doing