2006 comes to end and€¦ · norway. they provide a framework for strengthened transnational...

2006 Comes to end and...

...at the Secretariat office in Viborg we are looking back at a very dynamic and interesting year. There will

be limited staff at hand on all working days of the holidays and by Monday 8th of January 2007 we are

back to full capacity.

2007 is going to be exciting and hectic by the looks of it! The new programme is going to be launched and

current programme is expected to continue to deliver strong results. Already in March there is going to be a

pre- launch event to inform about the new programme. This will then be launched at the Annual Conference

in June! Check the website for more information.

Parallel to the day- to-day work of managing the current programme, the staff has been busy preparing for

the new Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme. The process of writing the Operation Programme

document has been ongoing throughout the year and we are hoping to submit in February.

The staff at the North Sea Programme secretariat wish everyone happy holidays!

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Outcome of PPG meeting no 8

PPG meeting no 8 was held in Brussels on the 13th of December 2006. It is anticipated to be the last PPG

before submission of the Operational Programme document to the Commission.

Following amendments after the PPG 8 the OP will go out to interdepartmental consultation within the

ministries of the participating countries. The OP will then be submitted to the European Commission in early

February 2007.

The four priorities and the joint transnational strategy have been approved by the Member States and

Norway. They provide a framework for strengthened transnational co-operation in order to secure that the

new programme contributes to the Lisbon and Gothenburg Agendas and the Territorial Agenda.

It was also reported that the Ex-Ante and SEA evaluation report is positive, and that the work on the

indicator system is showing good progress.

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Innovative Workshops at LP10 in Lübeck

Lead Partner seminar no 10 was held in Lübeck on the 21-22 of November. Around 80 participants

attended workshops on Indicators, Article 4 visits and Reports. The seminar also featured presentations on

Communications, the new Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme and Key points for closing projects.

The approach from the secretariat was to engage the participants in discussions and dialogue as much as

possible. The feed back from the seminar proved that this approach was successful and appreciated.

Mini call for extra PR funding

The Mini call for additional PR funding, which will be posted on the programme website in early January

2007, was launched. The call will present projects with an opportunity to do some extraordinary work in

communicating and publicising their respective projects, which is of increasing importance as projects are

coming into their delivery phase.

Communications Officer Henrik Josephson also discussed the importance of communicating the

transnational added value of projects and the programme and to always remember that each and every

person involved in a project is to some extent a representative of the North Sea Programme and ultimately,

the European Union.

Latest on new programme

Head of Secretariat, Lorraine George, gave a presentation on the new programme in which she emphasised

the importance of the Lisbon and Gothenburg Agendas as well as three keywords for new projects:

strategic, concrete and focused.

The final Operational Programme (OP) document is scheduled to be submitted to the Commission in mid

January 2007. The new programme will be launched at the Annual Conference on the 20-22 June in

Brunstad, Norway. The first call for applications will follow shortly after that.

Workshops

Indicators

The workshop on indicators illustrated that there is a big interest in the indicator system, but also that

there are many questions related to their relevance and accuracy. Indicators can often be used successfully

to measure quantitative data and support the findings of qualitative data. There is, however, room for

improvement when it comes to the indicators on qualitative data, especially those measuring the success of

projects long after they are closed.

Reports and Article 10 check

In the workshop on reports the participants were split into four groups to discuss the issues related to sub-

partners, audit trail and public tender. The workshop revealed differences in approaches at both country

and organisational level. Each group came up with recommendations on how to tackle the three issues and

these were presented during the plenary.




The workshop also included a presentation by a representative from BAFA, the German Federal Office of

Economics and Export Control. This presentation featured information on the Article 10 checks, a topic

which triggered some debate.

Article 10 check: A number of projects will be subject to Article 10 checks. This involves a full financial

audit of the given project. The Member States must send the Commission an annual report on their audit

work in the various programmes they are involved in.

Article 4 visits

The workshop on Article 4 visits was carried out as a case study, including a role-play of a fictitious visit,

where a project manager was put to the test, supported by another project manager with concrete

experience of such a visit. The somewhat experimental approach proved successful and gave the

participants a picture of how such a visit is carried out and what kind of questions can be expected.

Article 4 visit: Every project is subject to an Article 4 visit at least once in its lifetime. The check is carried

out by project development and finance representatives from the programme secretariat and it aims to

verify whether the project complies with the regulations. In addition, it has been a good tool for

troubleshooting.

Presentations

Closing Projects - Christian Byrith

Reports & Control - Christian Byrith

Communicating the Transnational - Henrik Josephson

Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme - Lorraine George

Mini Call for Publicity and Communications - Lorraine George

Workshop 1: Measuring Success & Valuing Impacts - Frans Hamer, COMCOAST

Workshop 1: Experience with Indicators - Runar Knutsen, Safety at Sea

Workshop 1: Workshop Summary: Measuring Success of Projects - Niels Roode, SAFECOAST

Workshop 2: Second Level Control - Johanna März, BAFA

Workshop 3: Article 4 - Erik Fuglsang & Christian Zieske

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Important decisions at MC10 in Brussels

The most recent Monitoring Committee meeting of the North Sea Programme was held in Brussels on the

24-25 of October. A number of issues were dealt with. The most important decisions are reported below.

MSUO funding secured

The new programme period – Events to come!

Publicity and communications – Video project

Publicity and communications – Special call for applications for additional PR funding

Programme results – A progress report

The future of the INTERACT Point for Qualification & Transfer


MC10 decided to extend funding, with a clear focus on expanding the scope of the Umbrella and bring in

more participating programmes and stakeholders to co- finance and join in the work.

The MSUO is hoping to expand significantly and has received a great deal of support from several

Directorates General of the European Commission for its work to date and its plans for the future.

Read the full story here.

The new programme period – Events to come!

A pre- launch event in anticipation of the new Interreg IVB North Sea Programme will take place in Ostend

on 21-22 March 2007. The aim of this event is to invite stakeholders and inform them about the content of

the new programme.

At MC10 it was formally decided to arrange the Joint Annual Conference in Brunstad, Norway. The

conference will mark the formal launch of the new programme.


Publicity and communications – Video project

A pilot scheme involving documenting projects on web based video formats has been carried out by the

secretariat. The scheme involves videoclips and news coverage by film of approved projects to be put on

the programme website.

Communicating the strategic, transnational and often complex nature of projects in a programme such as

the North Sea Programme is a challenge, which calls for new methods of communication to be explored.

A decision was taken by MC10 to expand the scheme to involve a number of projects.

Follow this link to read the full story and view the videos.




Follow this link to read the full story and view the videos.

Publicity and communications – Special call for applications for additional PR funding

It was decided at MC10 to allocate available funding for extra PR activities for projects within the North Sea

Programme. The secretariat is currently writing the framework for this proposal. All projects approved

under the programme can apply for funding. The initiative will be launched at the upcoming LP seminar in

Lübeck on the 21-22 of November.


Programme results – A progress report

The latest developments on the delivery of the programme aims and objectives were presented at the MC.

It was concluded that the outlook is good and in line with was reported in the Progress Report published

earlier this year.


The future of the INTERACT Point for Qualification & Transfer

Following a strong demand of its services the staff has increased and the office is currently employing 6

people. 22 events have been arranged in 2006, up to September. Although changes are imminent for

INTERACT as a whole, it is not expected to have any effect on the daily work of the INTERACT Point Q&T.


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The Maritime Umbrella Organisation (MSUO) is a North Sea Programme initiative to bring together

stakeholders on different levels to co-operate on maritime safety issues. The first period of funding runs out

at the end of this year.

MC10 decided to extend the funding, with a clear focus on expanding the scope of the umbrella and bring in

more participating programmes and stakeholders to co- finance and join in the work.

Currently the North Sea, the North West Europe, the Baltic Sea Region and the Northern Periphery Interreg

IIIB Programmes are participating in the umbrella. The MSUO is hoping to expand significantly and has

received a great deal of support from several Directorates General of the European Commission for its work

to date and its plans for the future.

Read more about the MSUO here.

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The new programme period –

Events to come!

Preparations for the new programme period, the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme, are going as

planned and the final version of the Operational Programme is scheduled to be submitted to the

Commission early in 2007. The formal launch of the programme will be the Joint Annual Conference 2007

in Norway.

A pre- launch event will take place in Ostend on 21-22 March 2007. The aim of this event is to invite

stakeholders and inform about the content of the new programme. Please check this website for the latest

information.

Annual Conference 2007 in Norway

At MC10 it was formally decided to arrange the Joint Annual Conference in Brunstad, Norway. The

secretariat has already initiated the preparations for this event. As the event marks the launch of the new

programme, the turnout is expected to exceed even the record turnout of 430 participants of the 2006

conference. Please check this website for the latest information about the event.

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Publicity and Communications –

Video Project

A pilot scheme involving documenting projects on web based video formats has been carried out by the

secretariat. The scheme involves videoclips and news coverage by film of approved projects to be put on

the programme website.

Part of the programme strategy

The scheme is part of the Programme’s ongoing publicity and communications strategy and efforts to

explain our work to the general public. The accessibility and user friendly nature of the videos complement

the wide range of information on the programme and its projects already available on the programme

website.

Transnational and strategic focus

Communicating the strategic, transnational and often complex nature of projects in a programme such as

the North Sea Programme is a challenge, which calls for new methods of communication to be explored.

The 10 minute long project films and shorter VNRs (Video News Releases) provide a platform to penetrate

audiences not reached before. The films are produced to meet all relevant professional qualities and are of

broadcast quality, complete with separate voiceover, plain versions and scripts.

Support from the Monitoring Committee and DG Regio

The scheme received support from the MC as well as from DG Regio. They recognised the pioneering effort

of the scheme and promised to monitor the progress of the project in the future.

A decision was taken to expand the scheme to involve a number of projects, as chosen by the national

representatives to reflect the different participating regions, themes and topics of the programme. More

information about which projects have been chosen will be available within the next few weeks, at which

time the individual projects will be informed.

The videos are available in an on-screen and web friendly version.

POWER

NS RURAL

Professional broadcasters and networks interested in this work are advised to contact the Publicity and

Communications Officer Henrik Josephson for more information.

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Publicity and Communications –

Special call for

applications for additional PR funding

As many projects in the North Sea Programme are approaching closure and are coming into the delivery

phase of their project lifecycle, publicity is increasingly important. At this time it is also essential to

demonstrate the transnational and strategic aspects on which the projects and the programme is built.

To facilitate this, it was decided at MC10 to allocate available funding to extra PR activities for projects

within the North Sea Programme. The secretariat is currently writing the framework for this proposal. All

projects approved under the programme can apply and the initiative will be launched at the upcoming LP

seminar in Lübeck on the 21-22 of November.

Please check this website for further information. The framework document will be published on the North

Sea Programme website after the LP seminar in Lübeck.

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Programme results –

A progress report

The latest developments on the delivery of the programme aims and objectives were presented at the MC.

It was concluded that the outlook is good and in line with was reported in the Progress Report published

earlier this year. Programme delivery is strong and a number of targets are being met already.

The programme is proving to be good value for money through concrete, tangible and visible results.

Delivery is expected to pick up more speed in the period to come, as more and more projects are finishing

or coming into the delivery phase of their project life cycle.

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The future of the INTERACT Point for Qualification and Transfer

The INTERACT Point for Qualification & Transfer was originally initiated by the North Sea Programme

secretariat in 2004. The work of the INTERACT Point Q&T is aimed at guiding Interreg programmes towards

better a co-operation and to enhance delivery.

Following a strong demand of its services the staff has increased and the office is currently employing 6

people. 22 events have been arranged in 2006, up to September. Although changes are imminent for

INTERACT as a whole, it is not expected to have any effect on the daily work of the INTERACT Point Q&T

and the Viborg office will continue its work in the new programme period.

Read more about the INTERACT Point Q&T here.

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New North Sea Region Programme is an Interreg IVB Programme after all!

At a recent meeting with the DG Regio it was decided that the upcoming North Sea Region Programme

should no longer be referred to as an “Objective 3” Programme. It should be referred to as the North Sea

Region Programme. It can also be expanded to the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme.

The following alternatives are acceptable references to the new programme, in order of priority:

North Sea Region Programme

Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme

European Territorial Cooperation Programme (but never ETC)

It should also be noted that any reference to the current programme should follow the same principle. The

current programme is the North Sea Programme, or the Interreg IIIB North Sea Programme.

The final version of the Operational Programme (OP) will be available for download following the PPG 8

meeting in Brussels on the 13 December.

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Events

<< See Previous 365 days events | See Next 365 days events >>

Pre-Launch event

Wednesday, 21 March 2007 - Thursday, 22 March 2007

March

Wednesday, 21 March 2007 -

Thursday, 22 March 2007

Pre-Launch event

Location: Ostend, Flanders

June

Wednesday, 20 June 2007 - Friday,

22 June 2007

Annual Conference 2007

Location: Brunstad, Norway



http://www.interregnorthsea.org/diary.asp?eventID=44

http://www.interregnorthsea.org/diary.asp?eventID=44

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