News » New Action Plan in place - Interreg Baltic Sea Region ready for support
01.07.2015
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The 6th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegion (EUSBSR) on 15-17 June in Jurmala attracted thematic experts,public officials, business, NGO, students, university lecturers andother stakeholders, in total more than 500 participants. The ManagingAuthority/Joint Secretariat (MA/JS) of the Interreg Baltic Sea Regionused this occasion for consultations, seminars, info activities, meetingthe stakeholders and enjoying the cooperation spirit.
EUSBSR Action Plan revised
Following an extensive consultation with MemberStates concerned and stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region, a revisedAction Plan of the EUSBSR was agreed with Member States. The revisedAction Plan, more streamlined and focused, consists of 13 policy areasand 4 horizontal actions, in total 17 thematic areas of macro-regionalsignificance. It also includes a new chapter on the role of regionalorganisations/networks and their added-value within the EUSBSR. Therevised Action Plan was presented at the Forum and is available at www.balticsea-region-strategy.eu.
Match-making of PAC/HAC and projects during the EUSBSR Annual Forum
Interreg Baltic Sea Region arranged consultationsfor projects applying for funds and the Priority AreaCoordinators/Horizontal Action Coordinators (PAC/HAC) of the EUSBSR: 11projects from six PA/HA (Agri, Nutri, Hazards, Energy, Innovation &Climate Change) participated.
The projects and PAC/HAC appreciated the opportunityto meet during the Forum. PAC/HAC provided projects with advice forfurther development (reaching out to target groups, introducingdeveloped tools into practice, using already existing networks),supported them in identifying new partners and bridged projectsaddressing similar issues. For projects, the match-making was a learningexperience about the EUSBSR and reaching out to the policy level.
Info seminar for PAC/HAC supported by the Programme funding
The MA/JS organised a back-to-back info seminarfor PAC/HAC that receive Interreg Baltic Sea Region funding to explainthe programme rules and requirements. Budget lines, documentation,control, reporting procedures and other essential issues were on theagenda. The PAC/HAC raised questions on e.g. visibility, first levelcontrol, staff costs calculation and documentation. Once the reportingtools are ready, the MA/JS will invite PAC/HAC and First LevelControllers (FLC) to a follow up seminar.
EUSBSR National Coordinators were informed about the funding opportunities
Interreg Baltic Sea Region has funds earmarkedfor ?Support to EUSBSR PACs & HACs? and ?Targeted support andcommunication activities?. During the meeting of the NationalCoordinators (NC), the MA/JS colleagues explained the outcome of thefirst call for PAC/HAC support as well as plans for future calls, andthe available funds. Poland has taken over the chairmanship of the NCgroup for one year, until mid-2016.
Funding common priorities
Erik Gloersen (Spatial Foresight Consultants)presented the findings of the study on ?Cooperation and tools of theEuropean Structural and Investment Funds programmes 2014-2020 to supportthe implementation of the EUSBSR?. Main conclusions of the study pointout that the Managing Authorities (MA) of national/regional ESIF(European Structural & Investment Funds) programmes consider thatthe systems are not in place to align funding to the EUSBSR projects,yet the Commission is urging the programmes to take action. Gloersenrecommended that Member States should show more commitment to encourageMAs to change habits. The MAs would need more support (e.g. fromPAC/HAC). Interreg programmes should be turned into a capacity buildingfacility to support MAs and other stakeholders in supporting theimplementation of the EUSBSR. The following speakers were discussing thefindings of the study, partly agreeing, partly disagreeing.
True integration of science and knowledge
During the session organised by the BONUSprogramme the participants discussed the role of science and scientistsin bridging the science-to-policy gap, particularly with the objectiveto achieve sustainable blue growth. The main messages from the InterregBaltic Sea Region were: set clear aims, know your target groups, enterinto a dialogue with the people whose behaviour you want to change andlink to ongoing processes. Communication across fields of science andwith policy makers was taken up by all panellists. The main conclusionof the event was that scientists should enter into a dialogue withpolicy makers and practitioners in order to get the scientific knowledgebetter in use for sustainable blue growth.
Organisations and programmes from the Baltic SeaRegion were hosting stands at the networking village of the Forum.Visitors of Interreg Baltic Sea Region were interested in the upcomingcalls for seed money and the next (second) call for project funding.Achievements of the successful projects and a brief info about the callsfor project applications were on stage at the speaker?s corner.More about the event
You will find for more details about the event (agenda, list of participants and video from the opening session) at www.balticsea-region.eu/forum2015.