Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE brings regions and cities together beyond borders to find fitting solutions for common challenges in innovation, low-carbon, the protection of natural and cultural resources as well as transport and mobility. With our funding, we support transnational cooperation like yeast supports baking. We are the small but important ingredient that helps innovative yet isolated ideas grow into jointly developed, tested and accepted solutions for a better central Europe.
In 2021, we launched the impact evaluation. In the first phase of the evaluation process, external experts looked at the effects of projects that started in 2016 and 2017. They found evidence of positive impacts on the territory of central Europe, proving that the programme plays an important role in helping to bridge socio-economic and competitiveness gaps between more and less developed cities and regions in central Europe.
The second phase of the evaluation is taking place until mid of 2023 and will be looking at all projects that started after 2017.
Finalised Projects
Outputs
outputs per
project on average
billion EUR
leveraged funds
KEY FACTORS FOR THE DELIVERY OF IMPACTFUL PROJECTS Were
The bottom-up approach tailored to local and regional needs, the combination of complementary skills within the partnerships, and target group engagement
The Projects created Strong synergetic and multiplication effects and THE RESULTS were transferred TO OTHER TERRITORIES, SECTORS, AND OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNANCE
The involvement in the interreg project often led to Change of practices at the individual and organisational level
Pilot actions have played a pivotal role as “living laboratories” in providing immediate, tangible results at low costs
The absence of pre-financing created a barrier for the involvement of partners with lower financing capacity
The projects had Positive unintended effects
the projects BROUGHT BENEFITS TO A LARGE AND DIVERSE NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDERS
take A More systematic approach both
to identify and enable possible synergies
Continue with targeted calls
Continue to support pilot actions
Identify and reach out to more isolated,
less active and smaller beneficiaries
Initiate a process for identifying and collecting
best practices from projects and support their dissemination
engage with relevant stakeholders and support
the use of project results IN informing policy decisions
ensure sufficient technical capacities in the project selection process for evaluating cutting-edge technology
Continue to focus on creating functional links between the different territories
Provide guidance to beneficiaries on how to select
the most suitable locations for pilots and investments
"The Programme has effectively supported cooperation beyond
borders in central Europe, as initially planned. It has also reached the target groups which it envisaged and
succeeded in achieving its objectives of improving the capacities of the public and private sector in the
region, enhancing policy frameworks and developing managerial systems, human resources and
institutional structures in all thematic areas."
- CIVITTA and wiiw (External Evaluators)
