Advantage West Midlands has been announced a key partner in an international, multi agency, €2,063,419 project aimed at fostering eco-innovation and sharing good practice.
ECREIN+ (European Clusters and Regions for Eco-Innovation Network Plus) is an Interreg IVC project and involves partners from 12 European regions.
The project has been designed so that partners can share expertise on how to better support businesses and clusters in their regions that are already involved in, or would like to become involved in, eco-innovation projects.
Project partners recently met for the first time in Uppsala, Sweden – an internationally recognised region for its expertise in the field of environmental technology.
Advantage West Midlands is a partner in the bid and was involved in the development of the successful application to the European Commission. The total cost of the project is €147,865, of which €110,898 has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg IVC Programme.
ECREIN+ will reinforce and complement the ongoing eco-initiatives existing in partner regions. The project will run for two years.
Aled Thomas, European Programme Policy Manager:
“This project will highlight best practice in eco-innovation across Europe, helping the region to become competitive and capitalise on these opportunities.
“It will also stimulate innovation, creativity and knowledge generation and raise awareness of the West Midlands as a UK leader in eco-innovation.”
Notes to Editors
Project partners are: Rhône-Alpes (F - lead partner), Andalucia (E), Baden-Württemberg (D), Galicia (E), Ile-de-France (F), Lombardia (I), Malopolska (PL), Romanian Municipalities Association (RO), Stara Zagora (BG), Uppsala (S), Wallonie (B), Assembly of European Regions, Brussels and the West Midlands represented by Advantage West Midlands.
Interreg IVC aims, by means of interregional cooperation, to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies and contribute to economic modernisation and increased competitiveness of Europe, by:
• Enabling local and regional actors across the EU to exchange their experiences and knowledge;
• Matching regions less experienced in a certain policy field with more advanced regions;
• Ensuring the transfer of good practices into Structural Funds mainstream programmes.