Regions for economic change : sharing excellence.
Date: 2008-04-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy
Subjects: EU initiative, EU regional policy, economic development, regional development, regional economy

Regions for 
economic change

EN

Sharing 
excellence

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February 2008

European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional Policy

Unit B1 – Information and communication

Ana-Paula Laissy

41, avenue de Tervueren, B-1040 Brussels

Fax: +32 2 29-66003

regio-info@ec.europa.eu

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy 

© European Communities, 2008

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Printed in Belgium

The texts of this publication do not bind the Commission.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and 

do not necessarily reﬂ ect the views of the European Commission.

Photos: © EC - DG REGIO

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Regions For Economic Change: Sharing Excellence

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Contents

Foreword   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5

Regions For Economic Change in 2007: 
working together to lay the foundations for success   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6

The programming context: building the two-way bridge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Transparent procedures: how will the ‘fast track’ work?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

 Enhanced communication: two Regions For Economic Change 
conferences and the Regions For Economic Change website  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Regions For Economic Change in 2007: piloting fast track  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

‘Clusters Linked Over Europe’ (CLOE) – A European Network of Excellence for 
Cluster Management, Matching and Promotion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

MILE: Managing Migration and Integration at Local Level – Cities and Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

URBAMECO: Creating Competitiveness & Social Cohesion in Deprived Urban Areas  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

RegioStar Awards 2008  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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Regions For Economic Change: Sharing Excellence

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Foreword

European regions and cities are home to world leaders and 

trend-setters  across  all  the  themes  of  the  Lisbon  Growth 

and Jobs Agenda: in relation to innovation, research, exploi-

tation of renewable energies, sustainable transport, health 

- to name but a few. One of the main objectives of Cohesion 

Policy is to encourage the sharing of the excellence present 

in those regions and cities throughout Europe.

The ‘Regions For Economic Change’ initiative, launched on 

8 November 2006, brings together key tools to achieve this 

objective. Its aim is to ensure that the wealth of experience 

and good practice which exists in Europe’s regions in a wide 

range of policy areas is shared as widely as possible and ex-

ploited  fully  to  promote  competitiveness,  growth  and  job 

creation. This conference - ‘Regions For Economic Change: 

Sharing Excellence’ - is the second annual spring conference 

to  be  organised  jointly  between  the  Commission  and  the 

Committee of the Regions. It marks just over a year of im-

plementation and will provide us with the ﬁ rst opportunity 

to recognise good practice in the regions through the pres-

entation of the 2008 RegioStars awards.

A major achievement of this ﬁ rst year of implementation has been the adoption of the two programmes through which the network-

ing  activities  of  Regions  For  Economic  Change  will  be  supported  (INTERREG  IVC  and  URBACT  II)  and  of  the  Convergence,  Regional 

Competitiveness and Employment and Territorial Cooperation programmes.  It is through those latter programmes that the mainstream-

ing of the good ideas and practices emanating from the networking programmes will take place. 2007 also saw the INTERREG IIIC and 

URBACT I programmes take the initiative, in partnership with the Commission, to test out certain aspects of the ‘fast track’ approach 

with remaining funds, thus providing a valuable learning experience for the implementation of the ‘fast track’ through the 2007-2013 

programmes. And, last but not least, the Commission has been making internal preparations so as to be ready to oﬀ er its support to a 

number of ‘fast track’ networks which will start their work during 2008.

The ﬁ rst calls for projects for the INTERREG IVC and URBACT II programmes are now closed and the programmes’ selection procedures 

are underway. The ﬁ rst ‘Regions For Economic Change’ projects will start work under INTERREG IVC in early summer and under URBACT II 

by this autumn. At this conference our main aim is to provide a forum to help us prepare for this work and particularly the work that will 

take place in ‘fast track’ projects: to demonstrate how good ideas from networking can be translated into programmes and policy. We 

wish to highlight the positive synergies that can be created between participants in networks and managers responsible for deciding 

on investment projects in the context of cohesion policy. Our objective is that you will leave the conference having learned more about 

sharing excellence and convinced of the value of making that extra eﬀ ort to translate good ideas into action.

Member of the European Commission responsible for Regional Policy

Danuta Hübner

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Regions For Economic Change: Sharing Excellence

6

Regions For Economic Change in 2007: working together 
to lay the foundations for success

Regions For Economic Change: 
Partnership in Action

On 8 November 2006, the Commission adopted the Communication 

on Regions For Economic Change1 which aims to address together 

some of the core issues that Europe is facing and make a stronger 

link  between  the  exchange  of  good  practices  developed  in  the 

interregional  cooperation 

(INTERREG 

IVC)/urban  development 

network (URBACT II) programmes and the main body of funding in 

the Convergence, Regional Competitiveness and Employment and 

European Territorial Cooperation operational programmes.

2007 was the ﬁ rst full year of implementation of the Regions For 

Economic  Change  initiative.  A  major  objective  of  this  ﬁ rst  year 

has  been  to  ensure  optimal  conditions  for  the  initiative’s  im-

plementation through the 2007-2013 regional policy programmes. 

The  Commission,  Member  States,  regions  and  other  partners, 

including  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  have  worked  together 

to  ensure  that  Regions  For  Economic  Change  is  fully  integrated 

into the programming context, that the Commission will be able 

to oﬀ er its support to those ‘fast track’ networks where it can add 

the most value, and that the initiative is widely publicised so that 

as  many  regions  as  possible  participate  and  bring  forward  high 

To  help  achieve  these  aims,  Regions  For  Economic  Change  intro-

quality proposals for networks to the INTERREG IVC and URBACT II 

duces the following four elements:

programmes. 

• 

 Identification  of  30

  themes  focused  on  economic  modern-

isation and the renewed Lisbon agenda. Regions will be asked 

to conceive and structure their networks around these themes, 

(but can still choose other themes if they prefer);

• 

 Emphasis  on  a

  two-way  bridge  between  thematic  net-

working  activities  and  the  mainstream  programmes  of  the 

Structural Funds (Convergence, Regional Competitiveness and 

Employment and European Territorial Cooperation);

The programming context: 
building the two-way bridge

The  networking  activities  of  Regions  For  Economic  Change  and 

its ‘fast  track’  option  will  be  delivered  through  the  INTERREG  IVC 

and  URBACT  II  programmes,  and  the  mainstreaming  activities  of 

Regions For Economic Change through the Convergence, Regional 

Competitiveness  and  Employment  and  Territorial  Cooperation 

• 

 An 

enhanced joint communication effort, including an an-

nual  conference,  annual  innovation  awards  (the  RegioStars) 

programmes. 

and case studies of good practice;

• 

 A 

fast track option, where the Commission will offer its expertise 

to  a  number  of  networks  funded  under  the  interregional 

cooperation (INTERREG IVC) and urban development network 

(URBACT  II)  programmes.  The  participation  of  mainstream 

programme  Managing  Authorities  in  the  networks  and  the 

demonstrated commitment of network partners to the ‘two-

way  bridge’  will  be  essential  requirements  of  the ‘fast  track 

option’ ensuring proactive introduction of best practice ideas 

into these mainstream programmes.

During  2007,  the  programming  context  for  Regions  For  Economic 

change was established. The INTERREG IVC programme was adopt-

ed on 11 September 2007 and the ﬁ rst call for projects opened on 

21  September  with  a  deadline  of  15  January  2008. The  URBACT  II 

programme  was  adopted  on  2  October  2007  and  the  ﬁ rst  call 

for  projects  opened  on  3  December  2007  with  a  deadline  of 

15  February  2008.  Both  INTERREG  IVC  and  URBACT  II  operational 

programmes  fully  integrate  the  Regions  For  Economic  Change 

priority themes – 23 in INTERREG IVC and 7 in URBACT II - and the 

possibility of funding ‘fast track’ networks. 

Cross-border cooperation in growing vegetables, Ravensburg, Germany.

1 COM (2006) 675 / SEC (2006) 1432 of 8 November 2006

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7

Tots After School Caring, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The majority of mainstream Convergence, Regional Competitiveness 

made  available  to  all  members  of  the  Monitoring  Committee,  in-

and  Employment  and  Territorial  Cooperation  programmes  were 

cluding the Commission.

adopted  by  the  end  of  2007.  Of  these  programmes,  130  include 

a  speciﬁ c  Regions  For  Economic  Change  clause,  while  many 

other  programmes,  given  their  scope,  can  facilitate  the  main-

streaming  of  networking  results.  This  means  that  there  is  willing-

ness and enormous potential for taking the good ideas emanating 

from the network programmes and translating them into concrete 

actions funded through the mainstream programmes.

Transparent procedures: how will the ‘fast track’ 
work?

In order to identify the ‘fast track’ projects to which it will ‘opt in’ and 

oﬀ er  its  support,  the  Commission  has  developed  some  assessment 

questions that we will use to guide us through the process. These have 

been posted on the Regions For Economic Change website and will be 

used ﬂ exibly in identifying projects as relevant for the ‘fast track’ option.

The two parallel strands – selecting projects for ﬁ nancing by the rel-

evant programme bodies, and the Commission considering which 

projects  it  will  oﬀ er  to  support  –  will  be  brought  together  when 

the  Monitoring  Committees  decide  on  projects.  The  Monitoring 

Committees  will  know  in  advance  whether  the  projects  it  selects 

The  Commission  has  listened  carefully  to  feedback  from  Member 

will be labelled as ‘fast track’ or not.

States, regions and other partners and worked hard in 2007 to en-

sure  that  Regions  For  Economic  Change  will  work  in  a  clear  and 

transparent way, and that the Commission will oﬀ er its support to 

those networks where it can add the most value.

One of the assessment questions to be used by the Commission to help 

guide its choice of networks it will oﬀ er support to concerns the theme 

under which the network application is submitted. The Commission is 

keen to ensure that it oﬀ ers its support to the themes and networks 

The  usual  programme  procedures  will  apply  for  the  selection  of 

where it can best add value. During 2007, and taking into account the 

projects  for  funding  under  the  INTERREG  IVC  and  URBACT  II  pro-

particular features of both networking programmes, it undertook an 

grammes.  Each  project  application  will  be  processed  by  the  rel-

internal exercise to designate around half of the 30 themes on which 

evant  programme  on  the  basis  of  quality  criteria  decided  by  the 

it  would  be  particularly  interested  in  oﬀ ering  support  to  networks 

Monitoring Committee. At the same time, the applications will be 

during the ﬁ rst round of calls:

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Regions For Economic Change: Sharing Excellence

8

• 

Improving air quality

• 

Moving to a low-carbon economy

• 

Healthy communities

• 

Urban transport

Fast Track Assessment Questions

(The  questions  and  a  commentary  on  them  are  available  on  the 

RFEC “themes and networks” web page)

• 

Energy efficient housing stock

Question

• 

 Improving monitoring of environment and security by and for 

Regions for Economic Change themes

the regions

• 

 Is  the  project  partnership  built  on  a  Regions  For  Economic 

• 

Improving the capacity of regions for research and innovation

Change theme?

• 

Bringing innovative ideas to the market more quickly

• 

 Has the Regions For Economic Change theme been chosen as 

• 

Better ICT connections

• 

Meeting the demographic challenge

• 

Integrating marginalised youth

• 

Managing migration, facilitating social integration

• 

Managing coastal zones

• 

Reaping the benefits of the sea

• 

Achieving sustainable urban development

• 

Re-using brownfield and waste disposal sites

one of the first themes for implementation?

• 

Does the project contribute to the aims of Cohesion Policy?

• 

 At this point in time, is the Commission in a position to offer its 

active involvement and expertise on this particular theme?

Wider coverage and exchange of experience

• 

How many regions does the partnership bring together?

• 

Do they ensure good coverage of European Union territory?

• 

Do the partners have a coherent approach?

• 

 Have  some  of  the  partners  worked  together  on  a  network 

project before?

Two-way bridge

• 

 Does  each  partner  propose  to  include  policy  makers  and 

decision makers in its delegation?

• 

 Does each partner propose to include in its delegation those 

responsible for follow-up in the regional programmes?

• 

 Do  the  Convergence  and  Competitiveness  programmes  in 

each  partner  region  include  a  specific  link  to  the  proposed 

network activities?

• 

 Is the project partner a member of the relevant Programme 

Monitoring Committee?

• 

 Are working methods envisaged that lead to ‘mainstreaming’ 

in the sense of Structural Funds: for example, regional action 

plans  and  reporting,  which  lead  to  the  implementation  of 

ideas,  tools  etc.  through  the  Convergence,  Competitiveness 

New hospital providing a wide range of health care, Viseu, Portugal.

or other programmes?

As  the  description  of  the  themes  in  the  staﬀ   working  paper  is  in 

• 

Is a transparent working method envisaged?

Transparency and Communication

some cases rather broad, the Commission has attempted to specify 

the areas of these designated themes in which it would be particu-

larly interested in developing fast track networks. The Commission 

services have also identiﬁ ed on a sample basis existing projects, net-

works and source documents that may inspire potential partners in 

developing networking projects. For each of the above themes, the 

Commission has therefore developed a thematic ﬁ che, available on 

the Regions For Economic Change website.

However,  this  list  of  themes  is  not  exclusive,  and  the  Commission 

• 

 Does the project proposal include a clear focus on communi-

cation and dissemination?

• 

What communication activities are envisaged?

Enhanced communication: two Regions For 
Economic Change conferences and the Regions 
For Economic Change website

will not hesitate to oﬀ er its support to projects under other themes 

Two Regions For Economic Change conferences took place in 2007. 

where it feels in a position to add value.

These  events  aimed  to  showcase  themes  where  Cohesion  Policy 

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9

can  support  the  Lisbon  modernisation  agenda,  provide  examples 

of good practice and provide a learning opportunity for Structural 

Funds Managing Authorities.

Regional Policy responses to demographic challenges 
(25 – 26 January 2007)

The  purpose  of  the  conference  was  to  raise  awareness  of  demo-

graphic  change  as  a  driver  of  socio-economic  change  and  dem-

onstrate  how  European  regional  policy  and  its  instruments  allow 

European regions to respond to the challenges and make the most of 

the opportunities presented by demographic change. Key speakers 

included Commissioners Hübner and Špidla, Presidents Dimitriadis 

of the EESC and Delebarre of the Committee of the Regions, as well 

as  ministers  and  experts  from  Member  States  and  regions.  During 

the  conference  a  Eurostat  representative  announced  the  latest 

25–year population projections while the Committee of the Regions 

launched an ‘Age-prooﬁ ng toolkit’.

Fostering competitiveness through innovative 
technologies, products and healthy communities 
(7 – 8 March 2007)

Brussels, Commissioner Danuta Hübner meets representatives 
of the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in March 2007.

This  conference  aimed  to  facilitate  the  exchange  of  good  prac-

 The conference was also the ﬁ rst of the annual spring Regions For 

tices for pursuing implementation of the Lisbon Strategy at regional 

Economic Change conferences and the occasion for the launch of 

level  through  cohesion  instruments.  Through  an  ‘exchange  and 

the ‘RegioStars  2008:  awards  for  innovative  projects’,  which  aimed 

networking forum’ organised in cooperation with the French region 

to  identify  good  innovative  practices  in  regional  development  in 

of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and the Committee of the Regions, 

EU regions.

the event oﬀ ered learning and networking opportunities for partici-

pants. Nine workshops showcased examples of good practice and 

Regions For Economic Change website

governance in European regional policy under three themes:

In 2007 the Regions For Economic Change website was launched 

• 

 Small  and  medium-sized  enterprises,  transfer  of  technology 

and governance;

• 

 Innovative technologies, products and markets for sustainable 

growth; and

• 

Improved regions and cities for businesses and citizens.

and 

regularly  updated.  All  documentation 

relating  to  the 

initiative and events supported under its banner are posted on this 

site,  which  also  includes  sections  on  frequently  asked  questions 

and information about Regions For Economic Change themes and 

networks. 

A section on the RegioStars contains information about the awards, 

criteria, applications and the jury and procedures for selection. The 

names of the winners of the RegioStars awards will be published on 

the site on the second day of this conference – 26 February. 

Finally,  the  website  contains  a  page  dedicated  to  case  studies  for 

practitioners of good practice projects from the 2000-2006 period. 

The ﬁ rst 40 case studies from the innovative actions programmes 

published on this website in 2007 will be added to during 2008 with 

case studies of all the short-listed RegioStars candidates and many 

more from the Objective 1 and Objective 2 programmes.

The website can be found at the address:

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/cooperation/

interregional/ecochange/index_en.cfm

Windmills in Cerova, Slovakia.

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Regions For Economic Change in 2007: piloting fast track

During 2007, the INTERREG IIIC West and URBACT I programmes took 

support the development or consolidation of clusters, including an 

the initiative, in partnership with the Commission, to test out certain 

analysis of ﬁ nancial needs.

aspects of the ‘fast track’ approach with remaining funds, thus pro-

viding a valuable learning experience for implementation of the ‘fast 

track’ through the 2007-2013 programmes. This testing phase was 

carried out by one project under the INTERREG IIIC West Programme 

– ‘CLOE’  (Clusters  Linked  Over  Europe)  –  and  two  projects  under 

URBACT I – ‘MILE’ (Managing migration and Integration at local LEvel) 

and ‘URBAMECO’  (Creating  Competitiveness  &  Social  Cohesion  in 

Deprived Urban Areas). The three projects built on the experience 

of existing projects funded under the INTERREG IIIC and URABCT I 

programmes and tested the following ‘fast track’ aspects:

• 

 Broadening  the  partnership,  in  particular  to  include  partners 

from new Member States;

• 

 Establishing the two-way bridge by ensuring the participation 

of Managing Authorities; and

• 

 Development  of  methodologies  to  enable  the  translation 

of  the  good  ideas  into  actions  through  the  mainstream 

Convergence, Regional Competitiveness and Employment and 

European Territorial Cooperation programmes.

‘Clusters Linked Over Europe’ (CLOE) – 
A European Network of Excellence for Cluster 
Management, Matching and Promotion

CLOE was an INTERREG III C project led by the Oﬃ  ce of Economic 

Development  of  Karlsruhe  which  gained  prominence  through  its 

work on development and network arrangements created around 

clusters. In particular, the project developed a ‘Cluster Management 

Guide – Guidelines for the Development and Management of Cluster 

Initiatives’; a practical handbook giving an overview of essential tasks 

to be undertaken within cluster management and designed to help 

regional actors, cluster and project managers and their supporting 

staﬀ  to develop and manage cluster activities.

Eleven  new  partners,  mainly  from  the  new  Member  States,  joined 

the  seven  initial  EU  partners  to  take  part  in  the  experimentation. 

The new partners came from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, 

Lithuania,  the  Slovak  Republic,  Slovenia  and  the  United  Kingdom, 

and included an innovation centre, as well as Regional Development 

Agencies and city and regional authorities.

Training of workers in double glazing production, Petrosani, Romania.

Following  identiﬁ cation  of  the  new  partners,  Regional  Policy 

Directorate-General  desk  oﬃ  cers  played  an  important  role  in 

helping to establish the involvement of Managing Authorities and 

the link with the relevant operational programmes for both original 

The project was extended and a further budget of € 800,000 (€472,000 

and new partners, especially in cases where the project partner was 

ERDF) granted by the INTERREG West IIIC Monitoring Committee in 

having some diﬃ  culties in establishing the necessary contacts. 

March 2007 with the aims of increasing the number of representa-

tives  from  new  Member  States,  broadening  the  partnership  to 

create  ‘deep  delegations’  (include  the  Managing  Authorities)  and 

establishing action plans to ensure the translation of the network’s 

outputs into actions through the mainstream programmes.

Several Commission services (Regional Policy, Enterprise, Research 

and  Information  Society  Directorates-General)  were  involved  in 

partnership in the process on the following aspects: analysing the 

work  programme,  supporting  the  involvement  of  the  Managing 

Authorities and helping to ensure links with the relevant operational 

programmes aimed at developing an action plan for each region to 

To  consolidate  these  links,  the  project  partners  also  developed  a 

bilateral  Memorandum  of  Understanding,  setting  out  that  both 

project partner and Managing Authority would make the necessary 

arrangements for the best practice identiﬁ ed through the work of 

CLOE to be fed into the Convergence or Regional Competitiveness 

and Employment Programme as appropriate (for example through 

participation of the project in meeting(s) of the relevant Programme 

Monitoring Committee). Most of the 18 EU partners and Managing 

Authorities  signed  their  bilateral  Memoranda  of  Understanding 

during  a  high  level  event  organised  by  the  Baden  Wurttemberg 

Region in Brussels on 19 September 2007.

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To  ensure  transparency  in  the  procedures  of  the  network  and 

to assist partner cities in developing and identifying good practice 

its  actions  as  highlighted  in  the  Regions  For  Economic  Change 

project proposals for possible funding from ERDF, ESF or other EU or 

Communication, the Regional Policy Directorate-General requested 

national sources of funding.

that the Lead Partner construct a speciﬁ c area of the CLOE website 

dedicated to its ‘pilot fast track’ work. This new section contains the 

partners and regions, the CLOE work programme, progress reports, 

recommendation papers and action plans, as well as information on 

all the CLOE events, open to any interested participants.

The  partnership  has  brought  together  10  cities  and  10  Managing 

Authorities covering seven European countries from both Convergence 

and Regional Competitiveness and Employment regions; namely: the 

cities of Venice - Lead Partner - and Turin (Italy), the District of Charlois 

in  Rotterdam  (Netherlands),  Vantaa  (Finland),  Timisoara  (Romania), 

Komotini  and  Nea  Alikarnassos  (Greece),  Amadora  (Portugal),  Seville 

Lessons  Learned:  The  process  has  not  been  straightforward 

and Herrera de los Navarros (Spain).

but  has  demonstrated  the  advantages  of  establishing  a  close  re-

lationship within and among regions, their representatives and the 

Commission  Services. The  organisation  of  extra ‘regular’  meetings, 

or ‘steering committees’ at the same time as the CLOE seminars has 

proved invaluable in helping to develop the relational capital, estab-

lish and check benchmarks, assess work done and establish a culture 

of peer assessment of partners’ work. 

A mapping exercise was undertaken at both European Union and 

city/regional  level  in  order  to  provide  partners  with  an  overview 

of  policy  development  in  relation  to  immigration  and  integra-

tion, and also to identify the speciﬁ c needs of the cities in relation 

to  these  themes  and  the  possibilities  of  funding  within  ERDF  and 

ESF Programmes. The analysis of the local mapping led to the iden-

tiﬁ -cation  of  four  sub-themes:  enterprise  development  for  ethnic 

The Lead Partner is required to perform more demanding activities in 

minorities, active inclusion in the labour market, cultural diversity, and 

this kind of ‘fast track’ project because it has to act as an ‘animator’ of 

access to education, health and housing services.

the  activities,  establish  and  check  deadlines  and  disseminate  results 

to all partners. The role and commitment of the Commission is instru-

mental in facilitating the establishment of dialogue with the Managing 

Authorities,  oﬀ ering  expert  support  consistent  with  EU  policies  and 

targets,  helping  to  establish  milestones  and  the  focus  on  a  results-

oriented process, and encouraging the culture of peer review.

MILE: Managing Migration and Integration at 
Local Level – Cities and Regions 

Building  on  the  experience  of  the  UDIEX-ALEP  project,  the  MILE 

network addresses the issues of migration and integration in order 

The methodological approach proposed by the pilot network is based 

on  the  development  of  an  Action  Learning  Set  (ALS)  for  each  sub-

theme. The ALS is a trans-national exchange programme for over 90 key 

actors from 10 cities and their Managing Authorities, organised around 

a ﬁ rst exchange workshop followed by the development of a speciﬁ c 

action plan and a ﬁ nal workshop to present the results achieved. Each 

ALS is designed to last between ﬁ ve and six months and should ensure 

dissemination of the results both at local and European level.

Lessons  learned:  Demographic  change  linked  to  increasing  migra-

tion ﬂ ows is having a visible impact on all partner cities and there is 

a  need  to  develop  more  integrated  responses  at  local,  regional  and 

EU levels. Policy and legislative frameworks are determined at national 

level, however, the impact is at a local/regional level. There is a need to 

empower local/regional stakeholders to ensure more eﬀ ective integra-

tion. The ‘fast track’ approach provides such an empowerment route 

for key actors.  

‘Fast track’ has created for the ﬁ rst time a communication link directly 

between  the  URBACT  Secretariat,  the  Commission  and  the  Lead 

Partner. This  has  been  critical  in  helping  to  deﬁ ne  a  clear  structure 

of the pilot in both phases and creating a stronger “buy in” into the 

project.

The establishment of a partnership with the Managing Authorities 

as well as partner cities and regions has resulted in work to create lo-

cal action plans which will have wider ownership and reﬂ ect agreed 

local/regional needs. This process has also helped to highlight the 

framework  and  possibilities  aﬀ orded  by  ERDF  and  ESF  operational 

programmes as well as other EU programmes.

Infrastructure investments, road from Riga to Russia, Estonia.

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Regions For Economic Change: Sharing Excellence

12

This approach is designed to lead to new job opportunities, more 

income  and  more  money  circulating  in  the  project’s  target  areas, 

making a contribution to the functional re-integration of these areas 

and their population into the economic life of the cities and their 

surrounding region. 

The work of each participating Managing Authority and city is sup-

ported  by  international  training  (Market  Research)  and  coaching 

(Development  of  Integrated  Action  Plans  and  Delivery  Strategies) 

and will lead to new and innovative strategic approaches that can 

subsequently be applied across all participating cities and regions.

Lessons  learned:  Multi-level  governance  has  brought  real  added 

value to the work of the URBAMECO ‘pilot fast track’ network. For the 

network partners, the close cooperation between cities and respon-

sible regional and/or national Managing Authorities, along with the 

involvement of Commission services, has been identiﬁ ed as being 

crucial in the ‘fast track’ process. Partners are very conﬁ dent that lo-

cal action plans will help to connect jointly developed implemen-

tation  projects  with  funding  opportunities  in  EU  Structural  Funds 

programmes. 

Furthermore,  linking  experience  from  the  local  and  regional  level 

with European policy development is expected to positively inﬂ u-

ence the current and future generation of Structural Funds actions.

Partners agree that, during the process, cities need to pay attention 

to the continuous involvement of Managing Authorities; a situation 

where these Managing Authorities are only presented with ﬁ nalised 

Local Actions Plans at the end of the process should be avoided. At 

the same time, Managing Authorities need to bring the right people 

on board – oﬃ  cials in charge of the relevant themes or programme. 

Network partners would also appreciate a joint leadership between 

the Lead Partner city and its Managing Authority to visibly demon-

strate  the  joint  approach  and  facilitate  the  involvement  of  other 

Managing Authorities in the networks.

New tram in city centre, Valencia, Spain.

URBAMECO: Creating Competitiveness & Social 
Cohesion in Deprived Urban Areas

Building on the experience of the REGENERA project, the URBAMECO 

network  has  brought  together  partners  from  France,  Great  Britain, 

Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden. In each of 

the participating regions and cities, there are deprived urban areas 

that are in need of integrated and sustainable regeneration.

The URBAMECO partners have designed an innovative approach that 

links the objectives of competitiveness and cohesion at a neighbour-

hood level. For each city and its surrounding regions, the ﬁ rst step is 

to undertake market research to identify sectors and potentials of 

growth. The next step is a structured analysis to deﬁ ne elements of 

potential growth that can be realised in the project’s target areas. 

Local Action Plans are then prepared to design the way forward – a 

strategy to convert regional and local growth potential into actual 

growth incentives for deprived urban areas. 

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13

RegioStars Awards 2008

RegioStars  2008  was 

launched  by 

Commissioner  Hübner  in  March  2007 

during  the  ﬁ rst  annual  Regions  For 

Economic Change spring conference. At 

the time, Mrs Hübner explained that the 

main  objective  of  RegioStars  2008  was 

to identify good innovative practices in regional development within 

the 268 regions of the EU. The aim was to highlight original and inno-

vative projects which could be attractive and inspiring to other regions. 

The themes chosen for the RegioStars 2008 were Regional Economies 

Based  on  Knowledge  and Technological  Innovation  and  Sustainable 

Economic Development.

In total, 71 eligible applications were submitted by 18 Member States. 

These applications were examined by DG Regional Policy and by the 

RegioStars jury and as a result 26 applications were short-listed. DG 

Regional Policy has worked with these 26 projects in order to pro-

Optimisation of the Socorridos hydropower 
station
Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal
This  project  is  based  on  the  optimisation  of  the  Socorridos 

Hydroelectric  Power  Station  in  use  since  1995,  with  its  transform-

ation  into  a  reversible  system,  to  enable  it  to  take  advantage  of 

the power capacity (3x8 MW) at any time of the year, regardless of 

rainfall.  The  system  also  provides  for  lower  losses  and  higher 

reliability  in  both  systems  (water  and  energy),  and  contributes  to 

the installation of additional renewable power.

SmartLIFE
INTERREG III B North Sea – Cambridgeshire – United 
Kingdom (Lead Partner), Malmö – Sweden, Hamburg – 
Germany
SmartLIFE saw training centres set up, projects showcased and in-

duce case studies which will be included on the Inforegio website. A 

tensive  research  carried  out  into  best-practice  construction  tech-

brief description of all the short-listed projects is provided below.

niques in order to deliver aﬀ ordable, energy-eﬃ  cient and environ-

The RegioStars 2009 Awards are being launched at this conference. 

More information on the themes and eligibility criteria can be found 

on the website:

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/cooperation/

interregional/ecochange/regiostars_en.cfm?nmenu=4

EnergiekompetenzPLUS – Energy Competence 
Centre Böbingen an der Rems
Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The  objective  of  EnergiekompetenzPLUS  is  to  bring  low-energy 

construction  techniques  to  citizens  and  companies  in  the  region 

through  a  show  property,  to  demonstrate  both  residential  and 

commercial  innovation  in  resource-saving  techniques  for  low-

energy consumption. The project has also established a cooperation 

network of companies as well as a training centre for craftsmen and 

architects.

Floating Autonomous Environmental Friendly 
and Efficient Desalination Unit
Greece
This is a ﬂ oating platform in the Aegean Sea that uses energy pro-

vided  from  renewable  sources  to  produce  drinking  water  for  the 

islands  from  sea  water. The  energy  to  desalinate  the  sea  water  is 

provided by a wind generator and a photovoltaic system.

mentally sustainable housing in the three regions.

ENERGIVIE
Alsace, France
ENERGIVIE encourages the demand for renewable energies-related 

equipment  through  both  a  comprehensive  communication  cam-

paign and advisory services for local authorities. It also contributes 

to  providing  a  better  oﬀ er  in  the  region  (e.g.,  upgrading  existing 

professionals’  skills  and  preparing  future  professionals  in  the  solar, 

wood-energy  and  construction  sectors),  conducting  experiments 

(e.g. low-energy consumption buildings in Mulhouse) and carrying 

out studies (biofuels, biogas and geothermal energy).

The Advance Project
London, United Kingdom
The  Advance  project  has  provided  SMEs  across  the  London 

Objective  2  areas  with  comprehensive  guidance  and  support 

services  on  environmental  technology  implementation,  linking 

innovation  and  the  environment  and  supporting  the  growth  of 

the SMEs through improvements in product, process and environ-

mental performance.

Arcelor Mittal
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
The aim of the project was to make a contribution to the substantial 

reduction of atmospheric emissions from the Arcelor-Mittal facilities 

in  Fos-sur-Mer  by  implementing  innovative  technologies  both  for 

replacing the incineration of ammonia stack eﬄ  uent by desulphur-

isation and for dust extraction of iron ore.

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Regions For Economic Change: Sharing Excellence

14

Øresund Science Region – Cross-border triple 
helix collaboration
INTERREG – Øresund Sweden (Lead Partner) and 
Denmark
The  project  is  organised  around  innovation  platforms  that  create 

OpTIC Technium (Optronics Technology and 
Incubation Centre)
Wales, United Kingdom
This project aims to grow existing businesses and to attract inward 

investment to further strengthen the existing opto-electronics clus-

linkages  between  14  universities,  regional  authorities  and  com-

ter in the region and thus to create high-quality job opportunities. 

panies  around  the  Swedish-Danish  border  region  of  Øresund  in 

OpTIC Technium oﬀ ers business support and assistance to start-ups, 

identiﬁ ed core competencies. The platforms are established in the 

incubator  services  to  house  new  or  relocating  companies  and  a 

areas of life science, environment, ICT, food science, logistics, nano, 

technology centre for innovating new opto-electronic products and 

digital entertainment and humanities.

processes.

DIALOGUES (incorporating Nexxus)
Western Scotland – United Kingdom
The aim of the project is to work towards the creation of high-quality 

Region-Enterprises Forum on Logistics
INTERREG – Emilia-Romagna (Lead Partner) Italy
The  Forum  is  a  public-private  interface  between  the  relevant  local, 

employment opportunities and collaborative ventures with strong links 

provincial  and  regional  public  actors,  manufacturing  and  transport 

to the educational system. The objectives are to increase investment 

companies  as  well  as  universities,  for  better  policy  making  and  the 

activities  in  R&D  and  the  biotechnology  sector,  linking  the  research 

promotion  of  innovation  in  transport  and  logistics. The  Forum  aims 

base with SMEs and encouraging academics to work with SMEs.

to enhance vertical and horizontal cooperation among enterprises to 

Cluster Eco-construction
Province de Namur, Belgium
The  development  strategy  for  the  eco-construction  sector  was 

initiated  in  2002  in  the  Namur  region  with  a  view  to  swift  expan-

sion  to  the  whole  of  Wallonia.  The  cluster  manages  exchanges 

rationalise and pool their demand for transport and logistics services, 

thus reducing transport costs, pollution and traﬃ  c congestion.

TECHNOFIT PRO 2005
Styria, Austria
Targeting  a  speciﬁ c  group  –  SMEs  in  peripheral  Styrian  areas  less 

of  experiences  and  partnerships  between  companies,  and  puts 

experienced  with  R&D  partnerships  –  the  project  aims  to  provide 

together proposals for projects, investments and promotional policy. 

innovation  support  and  initiate  new  science-SME  pilot  projects. The 

The project has made it possible to accelerate the market trends of 

TECHNOFIT PRO partners (representing the four largest Styrian research 

eco-construction in Wallonia and other European regions.

institutions)  have  achieved  this  through  awareness  raising  events, 

Regional Innovation System
Upper Austria
The  aim  of  this  Innovative  Actions  Programme  was  to  further 

develop  the  region’s  innovation  support  system  by  setting  up  a 

number of cross-sectoral networks between companies and public 

‘on-the-shop-ﬂ oor’  audits, ‘quick  ﬁ x’  meetings  with  academic  experts 

and initiating ﬁ rst-time projects using existing R&D funding schemes.

Embedded Internet System
Norra Norrland, Sweden
EIS  (Embedded  Internet  System)  relates  to  the  production  of  smart 

actors in the existing clusters. The programme has brought together 

products  by  adding  computing  capabilities  and  communication 

many parties from the public and private sectors and academia to 

possibilities  through  the  Internet. This  means  that,  by  including  this 

network  and  run  pilot  projects  in  the  areas  of  human  resources, 

technology in any product, information can be measured or received 

research & technological innovation, logistics and design & media.

and systems overseen remotely through the web.

Mobient

Oulu Region, Finland
The objective of Mobient was to help the networking of content and 

media SMEs and give small-scale ﬁ nancing to pilot productions and 

marketing. The project supported product development, marketing, 

selling  and  distribution  of  digital  media  products,  consulting  and 

training  for  SMEs  as  well  as  the  use  of  intellectual  property  rights. 

SMEs were assisted in product development and marketing projects 

as well as provision of networking.

CeRDT
Province de Hainaut, Belgium
The Centre of Research & Development Promotion & Technologies in 

Hainaut was launched to assist SMEs (all sectors) in the region in inno-

vating and/or improving their products, services and methods. During 

the period 2002-2007, nearly 700 SMEs received personal support from 

the CeRDT, with 415 entreprises presenting one or more projects.

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15

HySy Vision
Piedmont, Italy
The main goal of HySy Vision was to support the creation and strength-

Incubator-Technology Centre
Lower Silesia, Poland
The  main  objective  of  this  project  was  to  stimulate  the  advanced 

ening of the hydrogen chain in the Piedmont region. The project has 

technologies industry. The aims were to help increase the transfer of 

taken the hydrogen chain, broken it down into its component parts 

new  technologies  to  existing  and  newly  established  business  units, 

and looked at SMEs in the region that might be able to produce or 

commercialise results of scientiﬁ c research and promote regional pro-

innovate. Successful pilot projects have been run with the SMEs and 

innovative entities.

the project’s partners.

Competence Centre of Wing System Simulation 
and Wind Tunnel Verification – CCTS
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
The  focus  of  this  project  was  the  process  development  for  aerody-

EpiCentre (Electronics, Production and Innovation 
Technology Centre)
INTERREG, Northern Ireland (Lead Partner) – 
United Kingdom
EpiCentre aims to build innovation and technology transfer capabili-

namic  investigation  and  optimisation  of  wing  systems  (e.g.  wind 

ties in the Northwest cross-border region of Ireland. The centre focuses 

turbines or yacht sails) in natural wind currents. One of the main prod-

on the development of a strong industrial research base through the 

ucts of the project was the design and construction of a new twist ﬂ ow 

integration of existing capabilities in the three tertiary level education 

wind tunnel for testing sailing yachts and other wind driven systems.

providers.

Innovation Assistant
Lower Austria
Niederösterreich  piloted  a  scheme  to  encourage  SMEs  to  employ 

recent graduates in order to strengthen their technological and inno-

vation  competence.  Targeting  small  SMEs  and  those  in  rural  areas, 

the project provided support for an Innovation Assistant to work on a 

speciﬁ c innovation project.

EnviroINNOVATE
West Midlands, United Kingdom
EnviroINNOVATE made positive linkage between innovation resources 

within universities and the region’s SME population in the growing ﬁ eld 

of environmental technologies. It did this by enabling SMEs to link to 

speciﬁ c expertise for developing innovative products. The programme 

assisted 116 companies and supported the economic regeneration of 

the region’s industry.

Centre for Technology Transfer (CTT) in Torun

Kujavie-Pomeranie, Poland
The project addressed the issues of performance in the ﬁ eld of new tech-

nologies by SMEs, management and a qualiﬁ ed work force. It aimed to 

deliver  aﬀ ordable,  high-quality  oﬃ  ce,  technological  and  industrial 

space  for  entrepreneurs  and  establish  continuous  cooperation  with 

higher education institutions in the region.

Matching Technologies and Opportunities 
(MATEO)
INTERREG – Catalonia - Spain (Lead Partner), 
Noord-Brabant – Netherlands, Lombardy – Italy, 
South-West Bohemia – Czech Republic
The  main  objective  of  MATEO  was  to  develop  and  execute  collab-

orative subprojects that stimulate regional innovation through close 

cooperation between entities from the four participating regions. The 

eight speciﬁ c themes of the subprojects are: food, biotech, aerospace, 

advanced  materials,  pharma  &  medical  technologies,  mechatronics, 

renewable energies and process & production technologies.

Centres for Industrial Collaboration (CIC)
Yorkshire and the Humber, United Kingdom
This  project  was  set  up  to  help  businesses  harness  the  intellectual 

strengths  and  technical  expertise  of  regional  universities.  The  CICs 

facilitate the transfer of skills and technology from universities to small 

and large companies, encouraging greater levels of industrial inno-

vation, research & development.

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Regions For Economic Change 2008

Sharing Excellence

The aim of “Regions For Economic Change” is to address core issues facing Europe by building a stronger link between the 

exchange of good practices in EU networking programmes (INTERREG IV C and URBACT II) and the main body of EU cohesion 

funding in national and regional operational programmes. To achieve this aim, Regions For Economic Change has introduced 

four elements: identiﬁ cation of priority themes focused on the Lisbon Agenda, emphasis on a two-way bridge between thematic 

networking and the mainstream programmes, an enhanced joint communication eﬀ ort and a ‘fast track’ option, where the 

Commission will oﬀ er its expertise to a number of networks.

This brochure has been produced as part of the Commission’s work under the third element above. It forms part of the second 

annual Regions For Economic Change spring conference, where more than 500 participants from regions throughout Europe will 

meet to discuss how European regional policy can help regions to learn from one another and translate network outputs into 

action through mainstream programmes. It describes the progress made in implementing Regions For Economic Change in 2007 

and includes summaries of the 26 short-listed candidates for the 2008 RegioStars Awards, which will be presented during the 

conference.

Inforegio
Consult the Inforegio website for an overview of EU European Regional Policy: 
http  : //ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/ 
regio-info@ec.europa.eu

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