Call for Small-Scale Governance Projects

The Alpine region has a long-standing tradition of cooperation at different levels and in different formats. Discussions and exchanges among Alpine organisations underline the need for greater coordination between different stakeholders and the alignment of resources and strategies to address challenges that know no borders. There is much unexplored potential for improving governance.

Transnational cooperation projects bring together project partners from the seven countries participating in the programme, to work on a shared challenge and achieve innovative solutions that can be applied transnationally, but also regionally or locally, strengthening the resilience of the Alpine region to the outlined challenges and dynamics.

Projects shall apply a result-oriented approach and deliver tangible results to the challenges identified in the programme, embedded in a broader strategic context, such as EUSALP, Territorial Agenda 2030 or other EU or pan-Alpine policies. All projects are expected to contribute with solutions to reach the objective of the programme, deepening and evolving cooperation and governance structures in the Alpine region through the involvement of the civil society. Particular attention should be given to measures aimed to support and improve local governance in times of crisis and transformation, share good practices and implement strategies originating from the needs of the territory.

The development of these joint solutions requires enthusiasm and commitment during project development and implementation. Transnational cooperation enables the establishment of strong and lasting ties with partners in other Alpine regions. The partnership composition is crucial to leverage respective knowledge and ensure the uptake of results. When choosing your partners, consider that the topics can be tackled from different angles and solutions developed should be also practically anchored.

As Priority 4 focuses on governance and differs from the other priorities of the programme in that it does not have a single thematic focus, project proposals on this small-scale call do not need to have a ‘roll-out’ or ‘setting-the-scene’ approach.

A non-exhaustive list of indicative governance related actions is provided below:

• Building connections:
  • Set-up or consolidate transnational networks and systems for effective governance;
  • Build cross-sectoral communities in different policy areas, to explore alpine-specific strengths.
• Fostering innovative solutions:
  • Run joint innovative pilot projects to design, create, test, scale-up solutions to support governance in key policy areas;
  • Develop and implement solutions to enhance cooperation and organisation processes within the EUSALP governance structure and other transnational structures, such as the Alpine Convention;
  • Develop solutions and pilot projects for effective communication and tools to support multi-level governance;
  • Capitalise, replicate or transfer innovative solutions from territories to increase their use and create impact.
• Empowering communities:
  • Support capacity building and trainings for public authorities and stakeholders in different policy areas and governance levels;
  • Implement measures to strengthen local governance in times of crisis and transformation, share good practices.
• Involving communities:
  • Engage civil society, youth, and vulnerable groups in governance processes;
  • Exploit digital collaboration tools for inclusive decision-making;
  • Design tailor-made strategies and solutions to integrate and communicate with stakeholders across policy and governance-levels, as well as with civil society;
  • Develop learning tools with innovative approaches for transnational cooperation.

Cross-Cutting Priorities

• Promoting Digitalisation for the Alps
• Accelerating the Energy Transition for a Carbon-Neutral Alpine Region
• Promoting a Joint Water Management Transition
• Boosting Circular Economy

Funding Information

• The indicative budget earmarked is EUR 4,7 million ERDF, depending on the quality of assessed received applications.
• Total budget per project: Between EUR 250.000 and 750.000
• Duration: Between 12 and 24 months.

Expectations 

• Improving coordination between stakeholders is central, among not only different public administrations and agencies in charge of government at different levels and across sectors.
• In order to make a meaningful contribution to the priority, the programme invites then applicants to develop project ideas dedicated to:
  • Improve coordination between organisations at all levels of government and governance, as well as different policy sectors to reinforce multi-level governance and cross-sectoral cooperation;
  • Develop and implement place-specific action responding to territorial needs to foster integrated place-based approaches;
  • Involve relevant stakeholders and citizens throughout the policy cycle to adopt bottom-up and participatory approaches, engaging with communities and ensuring sustainability and local ownership of results through co-creation processes;
  • Strengthen the skills, abilities and processes of stakeholders to develop capacities.

Which cornerstones require attention?

Applicants need to keep in mind the following cornerstones:

• Partners: The lead partner shall be a public or public equivalent institution. A good mix of project partners including implementation-oriented organisations, in particular from the local and regional levels, as well as multipliers, is expected.
• Transnationality: The partnership must involve 4 to 7 partners from at least three different countries of the programme area (including the lead partner).
• Co-funding: Eligible expenses from EU Members States are co-financed and reimbursed up to 75%.

For more information, visit Interreg Alpine Space.