Ex post evaluation INTERREG
The final report of the Interreg III ex post evaluation presents its findings, makes recommendations for the present European Territorial Co-Operation and feeds into the debate on future cohesion policy. The main objective of this evaluation was to provide evidence on inter-regionality and co-operation. This was to be done through a comprehensive overview of all 81 programmes, gathering evidence, and an in-depth examination of a sample of 16 programmes and 80 projects.
Key findings on Interreg III
- The very significant volumes of activity demonstrate that Interreg was about much more than mutual learning opportunities, as is sometimes stated in the literature, although these too were important.
- Physical investments achieved tangible territorial impacts, but only if they had a real cross-border or transnational relevance.
- Soft co-operation outcomes were equally important territorial impacts, particularly where they involved the development of a joint & durable problem solving capacity.
- Co-operation was promoted and facilitated, with 12,000 networks and co-operation structures reported to be created and 63,000 agreements or conventions concluded along the borders.
Recommendations for the present ETC
- To ensure that programme logic is consistent: what do programmes aim to achieve and how will they know when they have been successful?
- To promote projects with strategic importance: how can programmes be sure that projects will contribute to achieving the objectives of the programme?
- To establish pro-active and ongoing interaction with other Territorial Co-Operation and Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment programmes
- To improve monitoring and evaluation of the programmes
- To experiment with the EGTC to set up fully integrated co-operation structures
- To start preparing joint territorial strategies in the programme areas for the future
Documents
- Final report

- Executive summary

- Terms of Reference

- Inception report

- "1st Interim Report - Emerging findings from literature and data analysis. Typology of programmes"
- Annex
- "Annex on indicators for all Interreg III programmes"

- 2nd Interim report - In-depth analysis of 16 programmes.
Synthesis report
- Case Studies : INTERREG IIIA Austria – Slovakia
- INTERREG III A Finland-Estonia
- INTERREG IIIA Priority South Programme (Latvia – Lithuania – Belarus)
- INTERREG IIIA Italy - Slovenia
- INTERREG IIIA Flanders - the Netherlands
- INTERREG IIIA ØRESUND (Denmark – Sweden)
- INTERREG III A KARELIA (Finland-Russia)
- INTERREG IIIA Alpenrhein – Bodensee - Hochrhein
- INTERREG IIIA PAMINA
- INTERREG IIIA Spain-Portugal
- INTERREG IIIA Ireland – Northern Ireland
- INTERREG IIIA Czech Republic - Poland
- INTERREG IIIB North West Europe
- Baltic Sea Region INTERREG III B Neighbourhood Programme
- INTERREG IIIB Western Mediterranean (MEDOCC)
- INTERREG IIIC WEST ZONE

- Good practice examples (mini case studies) : INTERREG IIIA Austria – Slovakia
- INTERREG III A Finland-Estonia
- INTERREG IIIA Priority South Programme (Latvia – Lithuania – Belarus)
- INTERREG IIIA Italy - Slovenia
- INTERREG IIIA Flanders - the Netherlands
- INTERREG IIIA ØRESUND (Denmark – Sweden)
- INTERREG III A KARELIA (Finland-Russia)
- INTERREG IIIA Alpenrhein – Bodensee - Hochrhein
- INTERREG IIIA PAMINA
- INTERREG IIIA Spain-Portugal
- INTERREG IIIA Ireland – Northern Ireland
- INTERREG IIIA Czech Republic - Poland
- INTERREG IIIB North West Europe
- Baltic Sea Region INTERREG III B Neighbourhood Programme
- INTERREG IIIB Western Mediterranean (MEDOCC)
- INTERREG IIIC WEST ZONE

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