According to the study specifications its object was “to support the preparation of an Action Plan for the development of cross-border cooperation and the enhancement of social, cultural, economic, and environmental sustainable development along the Western African seaboard ... placing particular emphasis on promoting the active participation of regional and local actors ...”.
The study built on the previous EU study “Opportunities for CBC in West Africa” which was carried out by AEBR in 2011-2012 and the EU "TransnationalCooperation Programme Madeira-Açores-Canarias 2007-2013“ (MAC Programme), which supports some 50 projects involving a large number of West African partners.
The desk research of the study covered the abundant literature on West African borders as well as the growing institutional literature documenting the initiatives and decisions of the African Union (notably the AU Border Programme), ECOWAS and UEMOA, inter-state agreements and various interventions.
The fieldwork focused on Senegal and Cape Verde. It included an online survey through which 55 questionnaires were obtained (40 from stakeholders in Cape Verde and Senegal, and 15 from lead partners of MAC programme projects, mostly from the Canary Islands). Additionally, 40 face-to-face interviews were conducted with stakeholders in Senegal and Cape Verde exploring in greater depth their experience, factors that facilitate or constrain CBC, fields with the greatest potential for CBC, methods of support to CBC and lessons learned from various interventions to date.