Twelve cross-border projects will be financed under the Interreg VI-A Italy–Slovenia 2021–2027 Programme through the SPF Call 3/2025 of the Small Projects Fund, managed by the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation – EGTC GO.
The ranking list related to the third call was published this morning. The SPF GO! 2025 Fund, as is well known, primarily aims to support the GO! 2025 Nova Gorica–Gorizia European Capital of Culture strategy through cultural, tourism, and social initiatives.

“The experience gained with the first two SPF calls allowed us to approach the third one with a well-established level of preparedness, knowing what to expect in managing the procedure, which was indeed completed within a relatively short timeframe. The themes of this latest call were more focused compared to previous editions and once again confirmed the ability of the wider cross-border area to respond effectively even to more specific topics. Particularly significant is the strong presence of activities aimed at children and young people, a segment of the population we consider essential to involve in our initiatives,” stated Romina Kocina, Director of EGTC GO.

The twelve funded projects focus on themes such as the enhancement of green areas and aquatic environments, the inclusion of children and young people, sport and well-being, and the valorisation of infrastructure of public interest.
Project activities include, for example: a cross-border educational programme aimed at increasing local environmental awareness; the creation of an ecomuseum for the sustainable enhancement of the rich water and landscape heritage of the cross-border area; the establishment of the first cross-border centre for science, technology, and youth creativity, equipped with interactive laboratories and advanced technologies; the development of cross-border tourism packages linked to food and wine and the valorisation of railway infrastructure; and a summer school combined with a networking event to support young people in the cross-border area during the transition from university to the labour market.
These new initiatives add to the already extensive “catalogue” of 56 projects funded through the first two calls.

The call was open from 8 September 2025 to 17 October 2025 and focused on the following thematic areas: active inclusion and participation of children and young people under 30; enhancement of green areas and aquatic environments; valorisation of infrastructure of public interest; and promotion of well-being and social cohesion through sport and physical activity.

At the closing of the call, 98 project proposals were received. Of these, 79 passed the administrative checks and moved on to the qualitative evaluation phase. Evaluators assessed the proposals according to the criteria set out in the call and assigned scores accordingly. Following this process, 30 projects obtained a score of 85 or higher, the threshold required for funding eligibility.

The funds allocated to this call amount to just over one million euros – precisely €1,026,839.17 – allowing for the funding of 12 projects: eleven fully and one partially, due to the exhaustion of available funds.
Among these twelve projects, two will receive funding of less than €50,000, while the remaining ten will receive just under €100,000 each. Only the two projects below €50,000 were submitted by a single entity; all others involve both a lead partner and a project partner, one from Italy and one from Slovenia, as required. Single-partner projects nevertheless ensure a cross-border impact.

As with the previous calls, partners include both public and private entities of various kinds and come from a wide area extending from the urban centres of Nova Gorica and Gorizia through Latisana, Ljubljana, and other locations, reaching as far as the neighbouring Veneto region.
The funded projects have a shorter duration compared to previous calls – as the fund concludes in 2027 – ranging from 6 months (one project), 10 months (one project), to 12 months (ten projects).

“The selected projects will now have to undergo further verification and control phases before starting their activities. We also wish to highlight that many of the 56 projects already funded through the first and second SPF calls are still ongoing and have represented an important component of the European Capital of Culture programme,” Director Kocina emphasised, adding:
“We hope that these initiatives can continue to be supported through European programmes. Our experience has shown that the Small Projects Fund is an effective tool for bringing small associations and local stakeholders closer to Europe, who would otherwise struggle to participate in European calls for proposals.”

The full ranking list is available here