Project acronym: BorderLabs CE 

Project title: Participatory cross-border governance for transition management in central European cross-border regions 

This project is supported by the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund.  

For more information visit BorderLabs CE

Overview 

As a consequence of progressing EU integration, nearly half a million citizens commute across central European borders, and several tens of thousands inhabitants have chosen municipalities beyond the border as their residence. However, public administration and policies are not yet sufficiently addressing the needs of cross-border communities. There is need to enhance the capacity of local and regional administrations in cross-border functional areas in central Europe to properly manage cross-border integration processes, adequately addressing civil communities’ needs.  

The partners of BorderLabs CE teamed up to  

• thematise and valorise cross-border functional ties,  

• spread the practices of cross-border strategic planning,  

• enhance cross-border participatory governance and  

• manage cross-border obstacles. 

Within the project new governance models and solutions in the fields of integrated cross-border strategy development, participatory governance, cross-border development of sustainable and slow tourism, cross-border marketing of local products and reduction of border obstacles will be piloted and evaluated, and transnational learning and exchange will be facilitated. In the effect of the project, cross-border cooperation governance in participating cities and regions - from the twin-city level to the regional one - will be substantially improved. All results and findings will be made available for the central European cross-border cooperation community via multimedia platform, enabling the implementation and mainstreaming of solutions. As a result of the project, not only models will be developed for integrated cross-border participatory governance but also a Charter for more integrated central Europe will be drafted and signed.

Outputs 

• Charter for participatory cross-border cooperation governance in Central Europe - challenges, needs and successful approaches 
• Solutions (multimedia learning platform) for integrated cross-border development in Central Europe, addressing the fields of integrated planning, participatory governance and obstacle management 
• Pilot actions on integrated cross-border development in Central Europe, addressing the fields of integrated planning, participatory governance and obstacle management 

Project partners and associated partners cooperating for the elaboration, the follow up and uptake and the dissemination of new models and solutions developed in the result of pilot activities.

Pilot actions 

Pilot 1 – Integrated cross-border strategy development 

The aim of the pilot activity is to develop and to implement a joint governance model for integrated cross-border strategy development in the Three- Country Area between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.  

Pilot 2 – Participatory governance for transition management in cross-border twin cities 

The aim of the pilot activity is to establish a temporary twin-city dialogue forum, to exchange experiences, to learn from each other and to improve methods and practices of involvement of local cross-border communities.  

Pilot 3: Cross-border development of sustainable and slow tourism 

With this pilot, the EGTC GO aims to formulate a cross-border development model of sustainable slow-tourism, providing benefits not only to the municipalites members of the EGTC GO (Gorizia – Nova Gorica - Šempeter Vrtojba) but to the whole a cross-border area between Slovenia and Italy composed by 27 Italian and 13 Slovenian municipalities. The strategic objective is to take advantage of the great visibility given by the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) 2025, to generate a long-term positive impact on this area full of natural attractions. To implement the pilot activity, the route of an extensive cross-border cycle network including public bike sharing and the corresponding investment needs will be analyzed. To support this process, a network of bicycle counters will be installed used for mapping cycling flows in the cross-border region. Moreover, there will be an assessment of the feasibility of the creation of sustainable accommodation facilities across borders. This aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the specific strategies and requirements needed to develop an integrated cross-border model of sustainable tourism in the area. The result of the pilot activity, which is based on a participatory process involving local, regional and national stakeholders, tourism organisations and service providers, will be a consolidated and integrated model bringing sustainable cycling tourism closer to some places which are still not well-known but are rich in cultural and natural heritage.   

Pilot 4: Cross-border marketing and promotion of products 

The aim of the pilot activity is to roll-out and to evaluate a producer-oriented support mechanism for cross-border sales and distribution of local agricultural products in the Ister-Granum crossborder region by reducing border obstacles and facilitating the establishment of short (cross-border) supply chains. 

Pilot 5: Facilitation of joint management of border obstacles 

The aim of the pilot activity is to gain applicable knowledge on how to remove border obstacles in the trilateral cross-border area between Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. As a part of the pilot concrete obstacles will be identified, 2-3 border obstacles will be selected to be discussed by stakeholders with an objective to find solutions how to overcome these obstacles.