Transnational cooperation
From partner searches to the management of concrete projects, AEIDL advises and helps with all aspects of cooperation, both inter-regional and transnational.
Cooperation between areas always provides added value: it is a unique way to put an action into perspective, to compare practices with other cultures, to achieve the critical mass needed for the viability of an activity, product or service. But it is a long-term process that is often difficult and requires preparation and rigorous coordination.
Since its creation in 1988, AEIDL has helped several hundred organisations implement cooperation projects, usually involving several different countries.
With its specialised multicultural team and its network of experts in allthe fields covered by local development, AEIDL can facilitate the preparation and completion of every phase of a cooperation project.
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FARNET Support Unit
(May 2009) AEIDL and Grupo Alba (associated as the "DevNet" EEIG) have been assigned by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission to be the "Support Unit" of the Fisheries Areas Network ("FARNET") from 2009 to 2014.
This FARNET Support Unit will bring animation, thematic and technical expertise as well as administrative support to the Commission, groups and other relevant actors / bodies concerned by the implementation of the fisheries operational programmes and in particular of their priority axis 4.
Client: European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Partner: Grupo Alba
Expected termination: 2014/12
Contact: Serge Gomes da Silva
Transnational and innovative actions under the 2007-2013 European Social Fund
(February 2009) AEIDL has been chosen by the European Commission's Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DG to provide "services related to monitoring transnational and innovative action under the 2007-2013 European Social Fund and to synthesizing and disseminating relevant results". For this framework contract, AEIDL will be in charge of Lot 1 ("Increasing adaptability of workers, enterprises and entrepreneurs and enhancing human capital"), Lot 2 ("Enhancing access to employment and the sustainable inclusion in the labour market"), Lot 3 ("Reinforcing the social inclusion of disadvantaged people with a view to their sustainable integration in employment") and Lot 4 ("Good governance and capacity building").
Client: European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Expected termination: 2013/12
Contact: Florence Gérard
RUR@CT
(April 2008) The Limousin region (France) has launched a European network (RUR@CT) to promote the sharing of knowledge in rural development between regions. In the context of the EU budget reform, and particularly in relation to its impact on cohesion policy after 2013, RUR@CT aims to give European regions access to the experiences and lessons of an innovative rural development model. Within this network, AEIDL is responsible for identifying and promoting examples of good practice in four key issues: development and competitiveness; social cohesion and human capital; environment management; and territorial governance.
Client: Conseil Régional du Limousin
Partners: AEIDL, Conseil Régional du Limousin and RCT (Réseau Conseil en développement Territorial)
Expected termination: December 2010
Contact: Jean-Luc Janot
Employment: "Linking Local Actors"
December 2005
In partnership with the firm European Dynamics, AEIDL won (in December 2005) an important contract with the DG Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission. The contract is called “"Linking Local Actors". The work involves setting up a European database which will enable 1) cooperation among local actors for employment (in 27 countries) and 2) between the local actors and the European Commission. The website will provide useful information about events, sources of funding, partners searches, best practices etc. The methodology proposed by the AEIDL/ European Dynamics Team revolved around three main ideas:
- cooperation with a panel of experts selected on the basis of their expertise in various thematic areas;
- a flexible approach based on matching the demand and supply of information;
- creating synergies between thematic experts and journalists.
Today, local development is recognized as one of the European priorities as regards employment. This contract is at the heart of AEIDL’s mission to offer a range of services to local development actors. Furthermore, it strengthens the cooperation with DG Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission, in an area in which AEIDL has been very active in the past, i.e. local employment initiatives. Previous contracts such as ELISE involved the management of a European information network on local employment initiatives.
European Cooperation on Major Tourist Sites
AEIDL is responsible for the external evaluation of an INTERREG IIIC project on cultural tourism. The COESIMA project (Coopération Européenne de Sites Majeurs d’Accueil) includes 7 partners from various countries (France with the Lourdes Développement agency as project leader, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Greece and Poland). COESIMA aims to establish joint promotion on the various sites, and to present a tourism offer adapted to visitors’ requirements, particularly for disabled people.Evaluation will take place throughout the project until 2007, in three stages: establishment of a monitoring mechanism; assistance, monitoring of achievements and transfers; overall assessment report and recommendations.
EQUAL
Since December 2001, AEIDL has assisted the European Commission in the organisation of European networks promoting the exchange of experiences and the diffusion of innovative practices in terms of enterprise spirit.This objective, which falls within the EQUAL Initiative, is aimed more specifically at:
- opening up the process for business creation to everyone, by providing the necessary tools to start up a business;
- identifying and making use of new job creation possibilities, in both urban and rural areas;
- promoting the social economy (the third sector), particularly services of public interest, by focusing on the improvement of the quality of employment.
By bringing together stakeholders in the field, project holders, experts and political decision makers, the thematic networks concerned should identify new methods to combat all kinds of discrimination and inequalities in relation to the job market, circulate best practices and contribute to the development of the European Employment Strategy (EES).
This framework contract runs for a period of eight years (2001-2008). The technical assistance provided to the EQUAL Unit of the Employment Directorate General of the European Commission (DG EMPL) takes the form of reports, drafting articles, coordinating workshops, collecting and analysing data on projects and taking part in meetings, etc.
Best practices in the field of energy
In the context of the European SAVE programme, AEIDL took part in the Bacchus project. The project involved a transfer of best practices between energy agencies and regional development agencies.
The project was undertaken in partnership with the EURADA network and the Italian company ECUBA.
LEADER I Coordination Unit and LEADER II European Observatory
After organising the LEADER I Coordination Unit between 1992 and 1995, AEIDL operated as European Observatory for Rural Development under the LEADER II Community Initiative (Links between Actions for the Development of the Rural Economy) from 1995 until 2000.
The main task of the Observatory was to facilitate innovation transfer and exchanges of experiences and knowledge between rural actors and territories in the European Union, notably by creating and diffusing methodological tools. In this context, European wide studies have been completed, a large number of seminars and conferences have been organised in rural areas throughout Europe and some thirty multilingual publications provide updates on various methodological aspects of interest to Local Action Groups and administrations, along with a monthly newsletter and a quarterly magazine.