Budget amounts can be reallocated from one cost category to another, and the budget of a cost category can be exceeded (without a maximum limit) if this is fully justified by a project’s needs and the project’s activities remain in line with the application form. Budget amounts can be re-allocated between partners too. Two types of budget change between partners are possible: 1. A budget reallocation of up to 20% of the total partner budget stated in the latest approved application form (flexibility rule) A partner’s total budget can be exceeded by a maximum of 20 % of the original total amount if this is compensated by an underspend in the budget(s) of other partner(s). This type of budget reallocation does not require the programme’s formal prior approval but must be reported and justified through the progress report. 2. A budget reallocation of over 20% of the total partner budget stated in the latest approved application form A budget reallocation between partners greater than the 20% budget flexibility limit requires a formal approval by the managing authority/ joint secretariat and it must be incorporated in the application form through a request for change procedure (“major budget change”). In principle, a major budget change should happen only once during a project’s lifetime. Budget reallocations between partners and cost categories are possible on the condition that the total amount(s) of Interreg Funds and/or Norwegian funding awarded to a project are not exceeded.

Based on Regulation (EU) No 2021/1059, the different cost categories applicable in the programme are:

• staff
• office and administration
• travel and accommodation
• external expertise and services
• equipment
• infrastructure and works (only for pilot actions)

Costs for project activities are eligible from the date of the monitoring committee’s approval of the project until the end date of the project. The end date of the project marks the end of the eligibility period for expenditure, and it is the date by which the last progress report must be submitted to the joint secretariat.

Under Interreg Europe programme rules, staff costs can only be reported according to the fixed percentage method. It is therefore not possible to use other methods such as the calculation of staff costs on an hourly basis with timesheets. The staff costs of employees working part-time on the project must be calculated on a real costs basis using a fixed percentage of the gross employment cost (incl. employer’s contributions) in accordance with article 55 (5) of Regulation (EU) No 2021/1060.

The project end date marks the end of the eligibility of the expenditure. This means that by this date: • all project activities must be completed (incl. all procedures related to the administrative closure of the project, such as financial control) • all payments must have been made, meaning debited from the bank account • the last progress report is submitted to the joint secretariat. Any expenditure incurred, invoiced, or paid after the project end date indicated in the latest approved application form will be ineligible. Therefore, in order to be eligible, costs for the verification of expenditure of the final progress report have to be paid out before the end date of the project, provided the check itself is be concluded before the end date.

Country-specific information, including information about the control system and the verification of expenditure can be found on Interreg Europe website: here (link)

Costs for project activities are eligible from the date of the monitoring committee’s approval of the project until the end date of the project. The end date of the project marks the end of the eligibility period for expenditure, and it is the date by which the last progress report must be submitted to the joint secretariat.

According to Article 82 of the Common Provision Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, each partner institution is required to archive documents related to their project activities for a minimum period. All supporting documents must be kept for at least a 5-year retention period from 31 December of the year in which the last payment by the managing authority to the project is made. Longer retention periods may apply in cases where state aid is involved or in accordance with national rules. tbc: The Joint Secretariat will communicate this date to the projects after their closure.

Control costs for the last progress report can be eligible only if the activity (control) is carried out AND the payment is made before the official end date of the project.

The subsidy contract is a document that establishes the rights and responsibilities of the lead partner and the managing authority. It is concluded between the programme's managing authority and the lead partner of the project once a project has been selected for funding and has fulfilled the conditions laid down by the monitoring committee. The subsidy contract covers both phases of a project (core phase and follow-up phase). A model of the subsidy contract is available on the programme’s website

The subsidy contract is signed between the programme's managing authority and the lead partner of the project once the project has been selected for funding and has fulfilled all the conditions laid down by the monitoring committee.

It is an important internal document that must be signed as soon as possible between the lead partner and its partners, in line with Article 26 (1) (a) of the ETC Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 and in order to ensure the quality of project implementation, the achievement of objectives, and sound financial management. It is the key document between a lead partner and the other project partners, extending the arrangements of the subsidy contract to the level of each partner. The lead partner assumes the overall responsibility for the project towards the managing authority by signing the subsidy contract. Through the project partnership agreement, project partners are responsible and assume liability for their part in implementing the project towards the lead partner. Only partners who have signed the project partnership agreement are allowed to report expenditure. A template is available on Interreg Europe website.

The project partnership agreement is an internal project's document. It is up to the lead partner and the partners to decide if valid electronic signatures can be accepted.

The partnershio agreement should be signed as soon as possible. Early agreement on partnership working will help to shorten the project’s start-up phase following approval and will ensure that partners have a common understanding of the practical and financial implications of participating in the project. To facilitate this, and where useful, certain decisions, relating to decision making processes or communication within the partnership, for example, may be left until the first project meeting and agreed in a separate document (e.g., the project steering committee’s rules of procedure). Only partners that have signed the partnership agreement can report costs.

The project partnership agreement is an internal project's document. The programme strongly recommends to attach the following annexes: 1) Detailed allocation of tasks and activities including detailed budget by categories and spending plan, by PP (indicative) 2) preparation cost division. This is a strong recommendation, not an obligation. It is up to the partners to decide on this.

Both signatures are valid. The most important is that the declaration is actually signed: “Declarations must be signed. Electronic signatures will be accepted if evidence of this electronic signature is provided. This evidence usually takes the form of an electronic certificate included in the pdf document. If is not possible to supply this certificate, then the lead applicant must provide evidence that the document has been electronically signed (e.g., certificate to be scanned together with the declaration and submitted as one pdf document in the Portal).”

Associated policy authorities do not directly receive funding. However, their travel and accommodation costs may be paid by the main partner (and reported as external expertise costs).

Costs for pilot actions should be planned under the different relevant cost categories as for any other project activity. There is no separate budget to fill in the application form for pilot actions.

In principle, each progress report covers a reporting period of six months. Only the first and last reports cover a period that is slightly longer: - The first progress report covers the period from the date the project is approved by the monitoring committee to the end of the first six months of activities - The final report covers a nine-month period (six months of implementation + three months of closure). The progress report needs to be submitted to the programme three months after the end of the reporting period, except for the last progress report which must be submitted by the end date of the project. The dates of the reporting periods are set by the programme.

The reporting procedure for projects is as follows: 1. Each project partner (including the lead partner) compiles and submits the partner report to a controller within two weeks after the end of the reporting period. The partner’s financial report in the Portal must include: ▪ The list of expenditure (incl. the list of contracts) ▪ The control certificate ▪ The control report (including control checklist). 2. The lead partner includes all the partner reports that have been confirmed by a controller in the joint progress report. Based on the information on the activities carried out, the lead partner also compiles the joint progress report. 3. The lead partner submits the joint progress report to the joint secretariat. By doing so, the lead partner confirms that: ▪ the information provided by partners is accurately reflected in the joint progress report ▪ the costs included result from implementing the project as planned and as set out in the application form and described in the progress report. 4. The joint secretariat checks the report and, if necessary, sends clarification requests to the lead partner. Once all points have been clarified, the progress report can be approved 5. The accounting body makes the payment of the Interreg Fund to the lead partner 6. The lead partner transfers the funds to the partners after receipt of the payment within the timeframe agreed in the partnership agreement in line with the amounts stated in the progress report.

The programme uses an online reporting system (Portal). The lead partner of the project must grant to each partner access to this Portal. Each partner will then have access to the Portal using an individual username and password. In the Portal, each partner must create, fill in and submit its individual partner report to the controller.

Controllers are granted access to the Portal by the control body or the approbation body, depending on the control system applying in the country. For further information about the control systems, please see the country specific info section of our website.

In the context of Interreg Europe, a good practice is defined as an initiative related to regional development policy which has proved to be successful in a region and which is of potential interest to other regions.

‘Proved successful’ is when the good practice has already provided tangible and measurable results in achieving a specific objective.

Since Interreg Europe is dedicated to improving regional development policies, a good practice is usually related to public intervention. In principle, a private initiative is not considered as a good practice', unless if there is evidence that it has already inspired public policies.

Although the Interreg Europe programme primarily refers to good practices, valuable learning also derives from unsuccessful practices. Lessons learnt from unsuccessful experiences can also be taken into consideration in the exchange of experience process.

Examples of good practices can be found in the good practice database on the programme website.

You can submit a good practice by logging into your account on the Interreg Europe website. In the connection menu on the top right, you will find a section called 'Good practices'. You will be directed to your good practice's dashboard from which you can submit your good practice. In addition, you can also submit a good practice from the good practice database. Right below the search bar, you will find the section to submit your good practice.

1. You submit a good practice related to your Interreg Europe project. Your project web admin is notified and can request additional information, and approve or decline your good practice. If the project web admin approves your good practice, it is published on your project website.

2. If approved by the project web admin, the good practice will go to a dedicated Policy Officer that will evaluate it for the project indicator. The Policy officer can also request additional information, and approve or decline your good practice.

3. If approved by the Policy Officer, the good practice goes to the Thematic Experts of the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform. They will evaluate it based on relevance to other regions and replicability. The Thematic Expert can ask you for additional information, approve or decline the good practice. If approved, your good practice is published in the good practice's database.

You can also submit a good practice if you are not part of an Interreg Europe project. Your good practice will then directly go to our Thematic Experts for validation. They will evaluate it based on relevance to other regions and replicability. The Thematic Expert can ask you for additional information, approve or decline the good practice. If approved, your good practice is published in the good practice's database.

The good practice validation involves different people, depending on whether you submit your good practices related to an Interreg Europe project or not. If you are submitting a good practice related to an Interreg Europe project, the following people are involved:

1. Community members: The author of the good practice

2. Web admin: The person(s) responsible for the first step of validation.

3. Policy Officers: The person responsible for validating the good practice for the project output indicator.

4. Thematic Experts: The persons responsible for validating the good practice for the good practice database.

If you are submitting a good practice not related to an Interreg Europe project, the following people are involved:

1. Community members: The author of the good practice

2. Thematic Experts: The persons responsible for validating the good practice for the good practice database.

Yes, you can download the template for the good practice form.

A good practice should be linked to a project when it has been identified as part of the interregional learning process during an Interreg Europe project (i.e. to be reported under the indicator “number of good practices identified” in the progress report). If you are involved in more than one project, please choose the project for which you are submitting this good practice. If you are submitting a good practice that has not been identified during an Interreg Europe project’s exchange of experience process, answer 'NO' in the good practice submission form to the question ‘Are you involved in an Interreg Europe project?’.

All project partners with an Interreg Europe community account can submit a good practice for publication.

Your project’s web administrator's role is to check the overall quality of the information on good practices and validate its link to the project. When an author submits a good practice linked to an Interreg Europe project, their project web administrators receives a notification email. After login to the web admin account and under the good practices tab, you will find a list of good practices related to your project.

Please note that this tab is on your personal dashboard, not on your project editing dashboard. Click on the title of the good practice with the status 'Waiting for approval'.

Read the good practice description carefully and at the very end you will find three buttons:

1. If you find the good practice complete and linked to your project and you want it to be published on your project website, click OK. It confirms both its quality and the link to the project. The good practice is then published on the project website under good practices and sent for further validation to the Interreg Europe team. If further validated, the good practice will appear also in the programme good practice database. The status of the good practice changes to 'Published on project website and under validation by Policy Officer.'

2. If you find that the good practice does not come from your project, decline the good practice by clicking NO.

3. If you see that the good practice is linked to your project, but some information is missing, you can send the good practice for further improvement to the author by clicking MAYBE.

The good practice you submit to the Interreg Europe website goes through a validation process. The good practice linked ot a project will be reviewed by the project web administrator that is appointed at the start of the project. If the project web administrator approves the good practice, it is published on your project website and will be sent to the Policy Officer of the Joint Secreatriat for further validation.

Interregional events refer to exchange of experience meetings involving at least two partner regions (e.g., workshops, seminars, study trips, staff exchanges, peer reviews). Back-to-back meetings (e.g., study visit following a seminar organised by the same partner at the same place) should be counted as one event. This indicator does not include: - local / regional events such as stakeholder group meetings - public relations events aimed at disseminating project information and results.

The project monitoring system is based on a limited number of output and result indicators. Output indicators measure tangible deliverables which contribute to achieving the project’s objectives. They are directly related to the activities carried out in the project. Outputs are measured in physical units, such as the number of interregional events, good practices identified, or policies addressed. Results are the immediate effects of the project’s action and derive from the production of its outputs. They are what the project aims to change. Result indicators are also measured in physical units, such as the number of policy instruments improved or the number of organisations with increased capacity due to their participation in interregional cooperation.

The policy learning from the cooperation activities must be transformed into action and lead to concrete measures in the regions. In principle, a successful pilot action should also result in the improvement of a policy instrument. The improvements can be of 3 types: - a new type of project - an improved governance, i.e. a change in the management of the policy instrument - a structural change, i.e. revision of the policy instrument adressed.

Interreg Europe is dedicated to reinforcing ‘the effectiveness of cohesion policy’. It pursues the overall objective to improve the implementation of regional development policies, including Investment for jobs and growth goal programmes, by promoting the exchange of experiences, innovative approaches, and capacity building in relation to the identification, dissemination, and transfer of good practices among regional policy actors. Interreg Europe is therefore dedicated to cooperation among regional policy organisations from across Europe. By supporting learning and increasing the capacities of these organisations, the programme will strive to improve the design and delivery of regional development policies.

Among result indicators, projects can report the number of policy instruments improved thanks to the projects. Policy improvements are validated only when sufficient evidence is provided that the following conditions are met: - The improvement of the instrument has taken place (intention is not enough) - The nature of the improvement is clearly specified - the improvement can be attributed at least in part to the activities and knowledge generated by the project. This indicator is expressed as a percentage by comparing the total number of policy instruments ultimately improved to the total number of policy instruments addressed by the project.

The midterm review meeting between the joint secretariat and the lead partner takes place during the fourth semester of project activities (i.e., second semester of year 2 of implementation). It offers an opportunity for the programme to obtain a more detailed picture of the project’s performance beyond the information provided in the progress reports. The core objective of the midterm review is to check on progress towards the project objectives and prepare the ground for the second half of the project (including the follow-up phase). This review will primarily look at the following parameters: - The state of play of the project in relation to policy improvement in each participating region - The project’s spending rate - Whether or not the project is requesting a pilot action (see also section 3.2.1 for the detailed procedure). For projects accumulating significant underspending, their ability to spend the total budget by the end of the project will be reassessed.

This indicator captures the number of organisations whose professional capacity has increased thanks to their participation in the project’s activities. At the application stage, projects need to estimate the target value for this indicator. The ‘achieved value’ for this indicator is reported only once in the project’s lifetime, in the final progress report. It is derived from a dedicated survey. The relevant survey template is provided in Appendix 02 ‘Performance framework’. Through its question 3, the survey also specifies how an organisation can demonstrate that it has increased its capacity thanks to the project. This survey should be launched in the last semester of the project and sent to all organisations actively involved. Only organisations able to convincingly justify their increased capacity (e.g., through using new knowledge, adopting new tools, changing their internal structure) should be counted under this indicator. It is the partners’ responsibility to check and validate the answers provided to the survey. The list of organisations with increased capacity should be provided to the programme as evidence for the achieved value reported in the final progress report.

In order to monitor project implementation and as a condition for the Interreg Fund reimbursement, a progress report must be submitted periodically to the programme. The programme uses an online reporting system which is accessible in the Portal. Each partner has access to the system using an individual username and password. Progress reports must be submitted to the programme through this Portal. There are two reasons for reporting on your project progress: 1. To follow the project activities and results; 2. To demonstrate the project's and the programme's success and usefulness. The first part of the reporting process is the Insight into project implementation, and the second one is Insight into project results. It is possible to report on results from the first reporting period. The same report template should be used for both parts of the report. The progress report is due three months after the end of the reporting period.

No, please do not create your own project logo. We will give you your main visual at the start of your project. It will consist of the programme’s logo and your project’s acronym, and will comply with the Regulations and the programme requirements. You must use your project’s main visual on all your communication materials intended for the public and for participants in your activities.

You must use the harmonized branding approach that we’ve developed in all your communication tools and materials intended for the public or for participants in your project activities.
When communicating, make sure you:

1. Use the project visual we’ve developed for you as it already complies with the Regulations and the programme requirements
2. Respect the structure, protection area and minimum size requirements for your visual
3. Use only your topic’s assigned colour and icon
4. Use the correct version of your project visual on different backgrounds
5. See how to make use of the additional branding elements
6. Apply the correct typeface

Download the project branding guidelines for more details.

Poster
Each partner must place at least one poster, or equivalent electronic display, in a location visible to the public, like the entrance to your building, within six months of project approval. It must stay visible for the whole duration of your project.
Use the poster template we provide as it already meets the Regulations and programme requirements:

• Minimum size A3
• Information about the project
• Including financial support from the Union

Plaque
You must display a durable plaque or billboard if your project involves physical investment (i.e. infrastructure/works and/or equipment in the context of a pilot action).
The plaque or billboard must be in place at the start of the physical implementation of your pilot, or the purchase or installation of equipment. It needs to be clearly visible to the public and present the Union’s emblem.

Your communication toolkit includes:
•    Project branding guidelines
•    Main project visual
•    Project poster template
•    Project plaque/billboard template
•    Project PowerPoint template
•    Project website
•    Project social template
To access your project’s toolkit, contact your communication officer.

We have a list a publicity requirements that you need to keep in mind when communicating about your project:
•    Use the logo set (project main visual) on all communication materials
•    Publish information about the project on every partner institution’s website (why not link to our own project’s website)
•    Put up an A3 project poster in a clearly visible and public place at each partner institution’s office
•    Set up a plaque or billboard at the start of the physical implementation of your pilot project (if relevant)
•    Mention EU support on all documents used for the public or participants in project activities
•    Update your project website at least once every six months
•    Get a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable license for all your project communication and visibility materials. And grant any pre-existing rights to us and the European Union.
In addition, you will need to:
•    Use the project branding rules and guidelines in your project communication
•    Participate in 6-10 programme events
•    Provide us with 1 high-quality photo
•    Produce and publish at least two short videos about the project
•    Regularly publish and update your project’s presentation on achievements
•    Organise one final project dissemination event
We provide you many templates to support you in your project communication. Read the programme manual to find out more.

In the context of interregional cooperation, there are several reasons for this:
• the European institutions (the European Commission in particular) wish to demonstrate to the wider
public how European funds are spent
• the public authorities involved in projects need to show the added-value of allocating resources to
cooperation and how they use public funds more efficiently as a result
• Interreg Europe’s result-oriented approach also requires the less tangible, but no less effective policy
results to be visible

We highly recommend that you take photos yourselves or that you hire a professional photographer to produce images for your project.
This will ensure that you have the right to use the images in perpetuity.
We do not recommend that you purchase images from an image bank because the license will expire and you may find yourself in a difficult position in the future.
Also, remember that you need a royalty-free, non-exclusive and irrevocable license for your image, and that any pre-existing rights attached to it must be granted to the Union and made available upon request to its institutions, bodies, offices or agencies.

An image’s copyright always belongs to the individual who took the photo. This is why we highly recommend that you take photos yourself.
If you hire a professional photographer to produce images for your project, remember to get a royalty-free, non-exclusive and irrevocable license for your image, and that any pre-existing rights attached to it must be granted to the Union and made available upon request to its institutions, bodies, offices or agencies.

There are many ways you can share your project’s results. Here are some ideas:
•    Write news articles for your website
•    Present at an exhibition
•    Share your experience as an event speaker or panellist
•    Publish summaries on social media
•    Create infographics with statistics and charts
•    Record videos interviews or produce animations
•    Design brochures, publications or detailed reports
•    Share personal stories
Watch our webinar on communicating project results to learn more about our top ten tips:
1.    Build on your content
2.    Repurpose and use templates
3.    Share your results as news
4.    Make it explicit (think about the title)
5.    Make the most of your website
6.    Make it personal
7.    Bring the story to life
8.    Plenty of results? Collect them!
9.    Take pride in your work
10.    Keep them coming

We recommend you begin planning your story by thinking about the five Ws of storytelling. They are the main components of every good story.
•    What is this story about? Be selective.
•    Who is your hero? Who is the enemy? Choose real individuals or objects.
•    When did this happen? Give your story a beginning, middle and end.
•    Where did it happen? Put your story in a specific location.
•    Why do you want people to watch?  
Finally, remember to think about your audience and adapt your voice and tone accordingly.

When producing a video you should think about the following technical matters:
•    Story treatment
•    Preproduction
•    Equipment list
•    Interview setup
•    Line of enquiry
•    B-roll
•    Archival material
•    Start and end cards
•    The edit

You are expected to produce at least two short videos.
The first video should present the project at its inception. The other video should present the project’s achievements towards its end.
Each video should:
•    Be short (up to 3 minutes)
•    Use material which is copyright free or which the project has the right to use
•    Be useful to all project partners
•    Not exceed costs of 5,000 euros per video

Your project website should be updated at least once every six months.
It should serve as the main source of up-to-date information about your project.

We will set up and provide you with user statistics for monitoring and evaluating your project’s website on a monthly basis. It will be up to your project’s communication manager to keep track of these reports, analyse them, and adjust the communication activities if needed.

If you have the right to edit your project’s website:

1. Log into your Interreg Europe community account
2. From your account menu, select ‘Project websites’
3. In your dashboard, find the project website you wish to edit
4. Click ‘Edit project’

You should arrive at your website’s editing tool. Download and follow the instructions in the user manual for more details.

If you do not see any project websites in your dashboard, ask your lead partner to provide you with editing rights.

Your project can assign as many people as needed to edit the project website.

They will need an account in the Interreg Europe community and your lead partner or project admin will have to give them editing rights via the Portal.

Did you know that the average web user has about 7-10 seconds to be engaged by a website before clicking away?
That’s why how you write on your website is just as important as what you write on your website.
The key things to think about are:
•    Know your audience
•    Use an effective voice and tone
•    Understand how people ‘read’ websites. (Spoiler: they don’t read, they scan)
•    Structure your content with headers, sub-headers and bullet points
•    Vary the type of content you use (e.g. include photos, videos, links)
•    Write in Plain English
•    Make your content accessible to everyone
Download the user guide for more information.

Your lead partner or project admin is responsible for assigning the web admin role to the person in charge of editing your project’s website via the Portal.

The lead partner needs to:

1. Log into the Portal and access the project area
2. Go to the ‘Project users’ section
3. Select the user who needs to edit the project website
4. Assign them the ‘web admin’ role under ‘Roles in project’
5. Click save

Did you know that about 20% of the population has some form of disability?
That is why it is important to make your content accessible. The more accessible you make it, the easier it will be for people to understand, even those without disabilities.
How do you make your content accessible?
•    Your text should be easy to understand. Use Plain English.
•    Structure it with headings, sub-headings and bullet points
•    Fill in the alternative text field for each image
•    Include captions in your videos
•    Links in text should be unique and easy to speak out loud. It should be obvious what you get if you click on it.
•    Complete the Aria Label field for links
•    Include captions and summaries with tables and iframes
Download the presentation for more information.