• MAIN OBJECTIVE
The S3 project aims to strengthen the tools used for implementing EU Structural Fund programmes by sharing and learning from the experience of organisations that are currently involved and those from new member states. The project has established a discussion network where Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies of both Objective 1 and 2 regions can exchange their experience and develop consensus on the best competencies and practice.

• DESCRIPTION
S3 aims to enhance direct co-operation between regional authorities across Europe on the types of tools and methods used in programming and managing local development programmes using EU Structural Funds. Based around a benchmarking exercise where regions will present their most effective tools and strengths, partners will learn from each other’s experiences. The network will facilitate discussion and comparison between EU regions on the identification different ways of programming, managing, monitoring and evaluating Structural Fund programmes and on the assessment of the added value of experienced instruments.

• PARTNERSHIP
The partnership comprises 14 partners from nine countries, including four from new member states. Nine partners are public authorities, in regional governments while five are development agencies at regional level, that act as intermediary bodies.
The regional governments act as Managing Authority of Objective 1 operational programmes (Western Greece, South Yorkshire, Campania) and Managing Authority/Intermediary bodies in Objective 2 programmes (Madrid, Latium, Emilia Romagna). As far as Public Equivalent Bodies are concerned they either act as Intermediate Body (Saxony-Anhalt, Finlombarda, CIDEM, BIC Western Greece) or will be in charge of Objective 1 operational programmes as Intermediary bodies in New Member States (Ostrava, Kosice, North Great Plain, Ignalina).

EU Partners that are currently managing programmes are keen to learn about solutions adopted in other regions and the possibility of transferring the best practices, while taking the opportunity to promote their own experiences to a wider audience. They aim to establish co-operation agreements and improve their know-how in view of the next programming period of structural funds.
For partners from the new member states, their main interest is to have access to other partners' experience and learn from it in order to assess the opportunity to adopt similar approaches in their own region.

• SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Networking experiences/best practices on regional development programmes in view of the potential application in the new programming period of Structural Funds and of the EU enlargement
• Networking people in order to strengthen and exchange know-how and skills
• Networking results in order to disseminate information EU-wide and in new member states regional institutions.

• CONTENTS
The project is be made up of four components:

1. Project management and co-ordination: setting up an internal organisation to co-ordinate partners, take care of relationships with EU offices, support technical and financial activities and reporting processes.
   
2. Networking experiences: analysis, discussion and share best practice, through the identification of relevant tools used in programming, managing and evaluating structural funds programmes. Once the network has identified the most relevant tools, it will proceed through a benchmarking analysis to identify the best competencies (competencies mapping). The discussion of tools and contents will take place in the Thematic Working Groups TWG, which are the core of the experiences network
   
3. Networking people: hands-on experience of best practice. Through study tours and exchange of staff, partners will carry the results of activity 2 within their own region. This step will allow the network to understand the accessibility and transferability of best competencies among different regions. Hands-on experience might pinpoint more practical problems related to transferability of practices, thus suggesting solutions for the implementation of programmed activities.
   
4. Networking results: dissemination and information activities. Once the best competencies and innovative tools have been identified, the network will take care of disseminate it both within the network and externally. There will be seminars and conferences as well as the web-site and other on-line communication tools that aim to disseminate the achieved results. Moreover, there will be network promotion campaign and promotion materials (brochure, leaflets, newsletters, studies).

Financing
ERDF funding € 861.249,15
National co-financing EU Member States: € 505.979,15
TOTAL BUDGET: € 1.367.228,30