Introduction and purpose of the course

On this page, I would like to provide you an overview on what you can expect from this course, what is expected from you as well as who has developed and contributed to this course.

This course is about the understanding of the necessity and added value of coordination and cooperation between funding programmes. But it will not present ‘facts and figures’ or ready-made solutions which you can apply 1:1. It rather aims at enabling you to realise the possibilities coordination and cooperation with other funding programmes provide. At the same time, the course aims at stimulating managers and team leaders to support their team in developing such inter-programme capacity and competence.  

Course structure

Inter-programme capacity and competence is a wide topic, not always easy to grasp. And it has a lot to do with attitude and approaches. Going through this course is a bit like walking through a museum where every exhibition hall has a different theme. And like in a museum, everyone walks through in his/her own pace. With this in mind, the course structure is based on the idea of a ‘Museum of Inter-programme capacity and competence’. You can either walk from the entrance hall through all exhibition halls until the exit. Or you can pick those exhibition halls of interest to you. At the end of the introduction section, there will be a simple self-assessment to provide you some idea of where to start.

Course developers and contributors

Many persons have contributed to developing this course. The overall responsibility lies with me, Philipp Schwartz (Interact), dealing with the issue of Inter-programme capacity and competence since 2014. In this work, I largely benefit from my previous work as Head of the Joint Technical Secretariat of an Interreg cross-border cooperation programme (2007-2013). My passion for this topic derives from my involvement in the coming into being of the first ever EU macro-regional strategy back in 2009 in the Baltic Sea Region and the linkages between “my” Interreg programme and this strategic regional framework for cooperation. From my perspective as Head of Secretariat, I quickly realised that the starting point are the personal skills, abilities, experiences, attitude and the willingness of those involved in funding programmes to gain and use ‘Inter-programme capacity and competence’. But this course would not exist without the great contribution of many colleagues from various Interreg programmes who actively participated in Interact’s activities on Inter-programme capacity and competence in the past years. You will meet these people and their stories when walking through the course in videos and publications. A big thank you therefore goes to the colleagues from various Interreg programmes! And of course also various Interact colleagues contributed to this course.

Course Instructor

Philipp Schwartz Course developer