34 EAST-WEST FORUM FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION - EAST-WEST FORUM         

 

Lead partner: TELEMARK COUNTY COUNCIL in NORWAY.

Address: Fylkeshuset, 3706 Skien Phone: +47 35 584 200 Fax: +47 35 52 99 55, bjorn.reisz@telemark-f.kommune.no Contact person: Bjørn Reisz

Second obligatory partner: ICSER “Leontief Centre” of St. Petersburg City Administration in RUSSIA

Envisaged partners:  Government of Leningrad oblast, St.-Petersburg, RUSSIA; Agenjia Rozwoju Pomorza Gdanskiego SA, Gdansk, POLAND; Stockholm County Council, Stockholm; The South Finland Regional Alliance, Helsinki, FINLAND; Nordregio, Stockholm, SWEDEN; Institute for Regional and Urban Planning, Minsk, BELARUS; Government of Murmansk oblast; Administration of Arkhangelsk oblast; Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Karelia, Petrozavodsk; Administration of Kaliningrad oblast, Kaliningrad, RUSSIA

Indicative Priority:  3.0 - Transnational promotion of institution building, strengthening the capacity for spatial development activities

 

Main Project - problem and objectives: The co-operation in the BSR is strengthening but there is a risk of Russia stays aside. Continuation of the existing patterns and the enlargement may result in strengthening the already clearly seen divide of the BSR into active Western part and passive Eastern Part. Almost all Russian regions have worked out their strategic documents. Nevertheless, they are not aware that their strategies can be implemented also by transnational co-operation, which their internal problems can be predetermined by participation in the transnational projects. The main objective is to prepare Russian North West stakeholders for improved participation in the BSR co-operation and projects and encourage Russian regional and local decision-makers to develop entrepreneurial patterns and behaviours.

 

Seed Money - Activities and Expected Results: Searching for partners and examining existing and already completed INTERREG III B/II C projects results. Inviting the leaders of the projects with the most relevant outcomes; describing the detailed content of the project (in particular issues to be covered by pilot and demonstration sub-projects) with the partners through; finding out relations between the INTERREG and TACIS parts of the project; presenting the project to the Northern Dimension Action Plan 2004-2006. Deciding which issues/problems to be covered in depth by the ‘learning by doing’ phase of the project (based on expertise and interest of the partners), reparation of the application including budgetary issues.