The INTEREG IPA ADRION programme announces the upcoming second call for proposals, which will be open from 15 April to 30 June 2025.
The second call will be open to project proposals under the following priorities and specific objectives:
Priority Axis 1: Supporting a Smarter Adriatic and Ionian Region
Specific Objective 1.1: Strengthening Innovation Capacity
- Developing transnational smart specialisation strategies in the main areas of specialisation of the Adriatic and Ionian Region, in particular in the following main sectors: health and quality of life, agriculture, food and nutrition security, sustainable tourism and the creative economy.
- Promoting and establishing multi-level governance schemes to facilitate transnational cooperation models to address challenges in common areas of specialisation.
- Uptake, upscaling and testing of advanced technologies through pilot and joint actions, policies, tools, processes, in particular in, but not limited to, the main fields of interest of smart specialisation and social innovation.
- Promoting and fostering the development of transnationally designed innovations (technical and non-technical innovations, including services) through pilot and joint actions that contribute to addressing societal challenges such as demographic change.
- · Promoting the development of transnational partnerships, cluster-to-cluster cooperation, innovation networks and similar initiatives.
- Supporting the reduction of the digital divide by addressing sustainable development, climate change resilience, as well as addressing well-being, including the health of young and elderly people, hospital and home care and demographic trends.
- Developing and deploying e-services such as: e-government, e-learning or e-marketing or digital tools for industrial and creative production.
- Support the development of transnational and macro-regional clusters in emerging sectors such as creative and digital industries; medical devices, as well as sustainable tourism.
Priority Axis 2: Supporting a greener and climate resilient Adriatic and Ionian Region
Specific Objective 2.1: Improving resilience to climate change, natural and man-made disasters
- Develop, implement and promote transnational climate change adaptation strategies, plans and test solutions with a focus on human health, preservation of natural and cultural heritage and urban areas.
- Develop transnational joint plans and pilot actions to strengthen the resilience of marine ecosystems to climate change within the framework of maritime spatial planning activities; design and implementation of strategies and action plans at local, regional and national levels for the protection of water resources (rainwater management, water retention in rivers and lakes, water scarcity, drinking water, water availability, agricultural forecasting, cultivation, industry and population).
Specific objective 2.3: Support for environmental conservation and protection
- Collection of useful information and its application for the preparation of materials in order to strengthen synergies and improve the preparedness of local/regional/national policy makers and establish activities aimed at improving policy frameworks, management schemes for existing or planned marine/natural protected areas.
- Exchange of good practices and testing of solutions for sustainable tourism through participatory approaches and multi-level governance.
- Identify and test joint actions to ensure the sustainability of food and traditional agricultural products (e.g.: protection from old seeds, traditional animal husbandry, etc.) to support the zero-kilometre food chain, food safety and quality.
- Contribute to creating positive impacts on the health of the Adriatic-Ionian population by identifying good practices and implementing pilot actions aimed at reducing air, water and soil pollution.
- Define joint actions to improve soil and water conservation by ensuring data collection and their public availability (e.g.: feeding EU networks such as Data Network – EMODnet, spatial data on agriculture).
Priority Axis 3: Supporting a carbon-neutral and better connected Adriatic-Ionian Region
Specific Objective 3.1: Strengthening a carbon-neutral smart mobility system
- Develop and test innovative planning tools/solutions that anticipate future demand for public transport considering the impact caused by ongoing socio-demographic changes and the current pandemic situation on intermodal national, regional and local mobility.
- Implement transnational integrated action plans to support the development of rail-sea transport intended as intermodal and multimodal transport.
- Mapping of infrastructural, technological, legislative gaps and barriers to freight traffic, including legal and administrative differences that hinder the efficiency of seamless transnational transport, in order to create a common framework for transnational transport policy.
- Improving accessibility in the Adriatic-Ionian region, with a focus on peripheral areas, to the TEN-T network through the implementation of action plans, tackling bottlenecks that hinder the growth of the transport sector and economic development.
Where to get the necessary information
The application package and additional information will be available soon at: www.interreg-ipa-adrion.eu
Upcoming events for applicants
The first support event for the second call organised by the Joint Secretariat and the Managing Authority of the INTERREG IPA ADRION programme will take place on 29 April 2025. It will promote key details, technical guidance and practical advice for applicants on preparing and submitting proposals. The morning session of the event will be broadcast live, more information to follow.
A national info day for the second call, organized by the Ministry of European Affairs, will be held in the second half of May 2025, more information to follow.