On Tuesday, 31st March, the IPA ADRION Capitalisation Kick-off Meeting was held online, marking the start of a series of activities designed to strengthen cooperation among ongoing projects and maximize their collective impact. The event saw a high level of engagement, with more than 200 participants joining the discussion on the programme’s capitalisation efforts.
The Importance of Capitalisation
The meeting opened with a welcome from Veronica Lenzi (Managing Authority), who emphasized that capitalisation is vital for two main reasons: for ensuring the impact of the projects lasts beyond the project lifecycles and strengthening the connection between IPA ADRION and EUSAIR, allowing projects to contribute more effectively to regional policy.
Barbara Di Piazza, Head of the Joint Secretariat (JS), presented the meeting’s agenda and the structure of the capitalisation strategy. She underlined that, given the specific territorial character of Interreg projects, it is essential to expand the added value of projects and ensure their results are spread, reused, and anchored to the territory even after their finalization.
The Thematic Clusters
A central part of the meeting was the presentation of the Thematic Clusters, which are to be established as a structured process to promote collaboration. Lucia Calliari (Content Lead) explained that 10 clusters have been designed to include all funded projects, with each group comprising 5 to 9 projects based on the strategic priorities and their Specific Objectives (S.O.):
- Innovation (S.O. 1.1): 2 clusters (14 projects)
- Climate Change & Disasters (S.O. 2.1): 2 clusters (14 projects)
- Circular Economy (S.O. 2.2): 1 cluster (6 projects)
- Environmental Protection (S.O. 2.3): 2 clusters (13 projects)
- Urban Mobility (S.O. 2.4): 1 cluster (7 projects)
- Transport (S.O. 3.1): 1 cluster (7 projects)
- Water Pollution (Marine/River): 1 cluster (7 projects)
Implementation and Next Steps
The Communications Manager, Giulia Frattini, detailed how projects will be involved in practice. The clustering approach follows a “giver-taker” model, where each project shares solutions and helps others transfer or reuse products. This method has proven successful in the past for improving dissemination and visibility.
The roadmap for the next steps includes:
- Online Cluster Meetings: To identify complementary activities and shared steps.
- Programme Capitalisation Event, onsite: A capitalisation event providing projects the opportunity to meet in person and continue working together.
- Joint Activities: Clusters will be asked to implement at least one joint activity. These can include workshops, joint events, conferences, policy papers/briefs, or various dissemination activities, among other collaborative efforts.
Stay tuned to learn more about the activities that will be organized in the next months!
