Eurocities
In close partnership with Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council is a member of the Eurocities network – the network of major European cities. Founded in 1986, the network brings together the local governments of more than 130 large cities in over 30 European countries. EUROCITIES provides a platform for its member cities to share knowledge and ideas, to exchange experiences, to analyse common problems and develop innovative solutions, through a wide range of Forums, Working Groups, Projects, activities and events
EUROCITIES gives cities a voice in Europe, by engaging in dialogue with the European institutions on all aspects of EU legislation, policies and programmes that have an impact on cities and their citizens. The network is active across a wide range of policy areas including: economic development and cohesion policy, provision of public services, environment, transport and mobility, employment and social affairs, culture, education, information and knowledge society, governance and international cooperation.
To find out more please visit the Eurocities website
http://www.eurocities.org/main.php|
International Funding
Structural Funds
We have made the most of opportunities to obtain European funding in the region. The majority of European funding has come from either the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - a major instrument for helping to redress regional imbalances, or the European Social Fund (ESF) - concerned with labour market initiatives to combat unemployment. These funds are known as the Structural Fund.
In the past project such as the Sage Gateshead and BALTIC as the International Business Centre have been funded through Structural Funds.
The next period of funding runs from 2007-13 and we will ensure that the growth and prosperity of Gateshead benefits from the most efficient usage of funds. The North East is eligible for what is known as Objective 2 funding through ERDF – in other words, funding to address high levels of deprivation, not due to a lack of basic infrastructure, but the decline in traditional economic activities. Support is given for business creation, to improve competitiveness and aid survival. In this way, we can use Structural Funds to help create a more dynamic economic environment that increases business investment and growth.
For more information on ERDF please visit
http://www.erdf.communities.gov.uk/|
http://www.go-ne.gov.uk/gone/eurofunding/struct_funds_07_13/?a=42496|
For more information on ESF please visit
http://www.esf.gov.uk/|
Interreg IV
One of the Highest Profile funding regimes is Interreg IV. This is a transnational programme that sits within the structural funds family, providing a cooperative element to development.
The North East and therefore Gateshead is eligible to participate in two of the three strands of Interreg, namely:
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Strand B Transnational co-operation: concrete projects important for a specific geographical programme area.
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Strand C Interregional co-operation 'Regions for Economic Change': exchange of experiences and best practices to improve regional policy design & implementation. There are no geographical barriers to participation.
When developing or participating in projects in Strand B we can work to address issues surrounding Innovation, Environment, Accessibility and Sustainable Communities with partners from:
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The North Sea Region, that covers parts or all of the participating states of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the Flemish region of Belgium and Norway.
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North West Europe that covers parts or all of France, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The Programmes are managed through the respective Joint Technical Secretariats.
Transnational funding
In addition to these Structural Funds, we are able to access substantial financial support through monies directly allocated from Brussels. Transnational funds support projects undertaken at a local level, often by a number of Cities or Regions in cooperation across Europe.
Funding is available to support work in all major policy areas, with just some of the most important being:
In the past we have been involved in high quality projects that demonstrably impacted on the way in which the Council delivers its services, including:
Waterfront Communities Project
We worked alongside eight other cities (Gothenburg, Hamburg, Aalborg, Hull, Odense, Schiedam and Edinburgh). Each city worked on new ways of tackling a particular challenge of waterfront development such as integrating new and existing communities or transport links. These activities were organised around nine project themes |allowing cities to consider a wider range of issues than would have been possible working alone. Examining themes as a whole rather than individually is generating considerable learning about the interrelated nature of the thematic issues which impact on waterfront development.
Cities learned from one another through regular transnational meetings, joint study visits and secondments and produced:
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A framework for organising knowledge of key concepts in urban sustainable development
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A database of practice from around the world
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A toolkit with guidelines for achieving high quality waterfront regeneration.
RFO-touriSME
During the past three years North East England and three partner regions in the European Union have collaborated on a series of 12 projects designed to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tourism. An important aim was to increase inter-regional co-operation and to share knowledge and best practice between the SMEs and other participating organisations. This, in turn, helps to promote sustainable and balanced development in the regions. Furthermore, the lessons learned and new knowledge gained can be shared with other regions in Europe, as a contribution towards enhancing economic and social cohesion within the EU.
RFO-touriSME itself was carried out as part of the INTERREG IIIC Programme, which is one of three strands of the European Community initiative INTERREG III.
The other regions involved with North East England were: Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, Valencia in Spain and Limburg in the Netherlands. The 12 projects have focused on the chemical, automotive, food and tourism sectors, as well as on a number of business support activities such as succession planning and internationalisation.
Gateshead Council contributed to the strand of the project entitled Revitalisation of Industrial Areas with Cultural tourism (RIACT), producing a Best Practice Guide on the Regeneration of Gateshead Quays that chronicles the work undertaken, also explaining what mistakes were made along the way and the lessons learnt. The guide chronicles the work carried out to create what is now a spectacular cultural destination. It sets out examples of best practice and details Gateshead Council's efforts that were pivotal to the development of the area. In Ferropolis a list of measures has been drawn up, resulting from strategic workshops. Ideas have been developed for an annual event, 'Brass On', and other cultural initiatives. A development and marketing plan has been produced.
Civic and Friendship Agreements
For over 2 decades Gateshead has been twinned with Komatsu City, Japan – home of the Komatsu based in Birtley. The link is extremely active, with a number of ongoing activities serving to strengthen the relationship between our Borough and Komatsu.
Some of the activities include:
Komatsu Youth Exchange
The Youth Exchange began in 1991 and involves a rotating 2 year programme, with Japanese students visiting Gateshead and vice versa. Since its inception almost 2 decades ago, over 200 students have had the opportunity to participate, allowing them to visit schools, take part in cultural and educational activities as well as spending time in the Lake District.
Officer visits
Officers have visited each other's home organisations in order to learn about practices, policies and initiatives undertaken at the local level to address common issues. The most recent of these was a Gateshead delegation visit to Japan to look at developments surrounding Regeneration, Sport and participation and Arts & Culture amongst other things.
Annual Web Conference
Each year during the festive period a varied group of people communicate via web conferencing technology. Those involved include elected members, officers and students.