23 ideas on how to build synergies: project platforms in the making!

From singular projects to elevated and strategic project platforms: Interreg Baltic Sea Region started its strong capitalisation chapter and welcomed the first 23 applications for project platforms!

Capitalisation at its best!

The first call for project platform applications attracted high interest among the applicants, proving that project partners are dedicated to building on project results and bringing them to a higher level. In fact, project platforms are the Programme’s main capitalisation tool that will consolidate project results from Interreg Baltic Sea Region and other funds, shape policies and boost knowledge transfer. Labelled as Operations of Strategic Importance (OSI), they will demonstrate how synergies can lead to a higher impact!

Looking at the applications, the project platforms bring together results from over 250 projects from the EU and other funding programmes. Close to 90 projects are part of Interreg Baltic Sea Region family. The next biggest group are projects from the Horizon Europe Programme. Our Interreg neighbours in the Baltic Sea region also bring in many projects, especially from Interreg South Baltic and Interreg Central Baltic.

Strategic topics tackled by applicants

Project platform applications contribute to all Programme objectives, with Resilient economies and communities (5) and Responsive public services (6) attracting the highest interest. The coverage of all the remaining programme objectives is very much balanced.

Most project platforms plan to capitalise on the projects’ results and integrate them into policy development. The partners of the project platforms plan to work closely with the coordinators of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, especially in policy areas Innovation, Nutri, Hazards, Bioeconomy, Energy, Ship, Transport, Culture, Tourism, Health and Spatial Planning.

The profile of applicants

185 applicants come from all nine Programme area countries. The majority of applicants represent research and educational organisations, as well as an array of non-governmental, international, and other associations. A strong representation of public authorities complements this picture. 14% of applicants indicated their journey with Interreg is new.

The characteristics of lead partner organisations follow a very similar scheme regarding the types of organisations they represent. The highest number of lead partner organisations originate from Finland and Germany. Several lead applicant organisations come from Poland and Sweden. We also welcomed lead applicants from Denmark, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Next steps

The applicants requested EUR 21.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund out of EUR 12.6 million available. Now, the admissibility check and thorough assessment process will follow. The best project platform ideas will be selected in March 2025, when the next meeting of the Monitoring Committee takes place.

We keep our fingers crossed for the best applications to win! At the same time, we appreciate all the efforts the applicants invested in building synergies across projects and funds.

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