The implementation of cross-border cooperation programmes is not metaphysics. It is a process that moves downwards from the width of strategic vision to the concreteness of day-to-day decisions. ENI CBC can rely on the extensive knowledge generated during the 2007-2013 period in order to address those areas that proved least successful, gradually solving the pitfalls of the past. Additional efforts may be needed in some cases due to the new regulatory requirements, but these are not Sisyphean tasks. True: improvements in programme management will not directly lead to a fulfilment of the foreseen results. Receiving good-quality proposals and involving a broader base of local and regional actors can still prove challenging, in particular for those programmes where all funds are mobilised in one single call.

How do others do?

Ooops! Yet another question. Indeed, this is the one question that we receive most frequently from programme practitioners. By means of answer, we can state with full certainty that no neighbour’s grass is greener as a whole within the ENI CBC community. There are extensive patches of bright green in every single programme, and our networking events act as a magnifier that helps in better analysing them.

Dates have been confirmed for the networking meeting on monitoring and evaluation, which will take place in Brussels on 12 and 13 April. In fact, the ex-post evaluation of ENPI CBC programmes highlighted monitoring and evaluation as one of the major weaknesses for the programming period 2007-2013. It also remarks that the ENI regulation puts more emphasis on result-oriented programme and project monitoring and makes it mandatory for programmes to carry out different types of monitoring and evaluation tasks. Based on this foundation, the main objective of the meeting is to promote joint knowledge generation on how to put in practice the monitoring and evaluation tools from 2019 onwards. More news will follow by mail and on our website in the days to come.

And we have just launched a doodle in order to fix the dates of the ENI CBC networking meeting of communication managers. Make sure you have received it and pick your choice!

Scripta manent…

…or down in black and white, as you prefer. In a long-term perspective, it is important that all the knowledge generated is condensed in written form. For this purpose, our publication plan foresees for the month of March a wide range of products, including Q&A on financial management, a working paper on the role of the Control Contact Point and templates on expenditure verification. All these documents will be timely available in the reshuffled library section of our website and will be also circulated to the concerned actors.

Mobilising the territories

TESIM will head eastwards during the month of March and will support the Romania-Republic of Moldova and Romania-Ukraine Programmes in their quest for the best project proposals. A total of seven capacity building events and one partner forum taking place in Partner Countries will count on TESIM’s involvement. Programme bodies will independently run those taking place in Member States. In addition to increasing the quality of proposals, the fostering of a smooth project launch in case of success will be covered in the agenda. Should you be an eligible actor under these two programmes, make sure you register soon!

For those who cannot attend, there is still a possibility to consult our e-modules under www.goforenicbc.eu. And a brand-new video on building project partnerships is now also available on our YouTube channel. Stay tuned!

The road to success is always under construction, also within the ENI CBC community. But materials are of good quality and works progress according to schedule. The time to capitalise on the distance run so far is steadily approaching. This will be actually our next endeavour. Check our April bulletin to find out whether we managed to find answer for this issue as well. 

Do you want to keep yourself regularly updated with news on ENI CBC? Visit our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Visit also our online learning platform and the website of the KEEP database!