The Policy Learning Platform
BIA´s core team members Rene Tõnnisson and Mart Veliste are also in the role of Thematic Experts of SME Competitiveness on the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform. Together with their colleague Luc Schmerber they are responsible for assisting European policy makers to make changes to regional policies.
The Policy Learning Platform is the second action of the Interreg Europe programme, established to boost EU-wide policy learning and capitalisation on practices from regional development policies. The platform is a space for continuous learning where the policymaking community in Europe can tap into the knowhow of experts and peers.
Its purpose is to open up the programme’s knowledge for the benefit of all the project partners and the whole community of regional policy stakeholders. It aims to facilitate continuous learning among organisations dealing with regional development policies in Europe in order to improve the way they design and implement their public policies. The Platform focuses on four areas: 1) research and innovation, 2) SME competitiveness, 3) low-carbon economy, 4) environment and resource efficiency.
The platform provides various services to policy makers:
1. Expert Support (Peer reviews) – Regions all over Europe are tackling similar challenges. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for these issues, which is why we offer you a chance to benefit from a tailor-made peer review. Selected peers from all over Europe are invited to the host region to examine the specific territorial context, and make recommendations based on their experience and expertise. Further information about this service and some success stories are available here.
2. Knowledge hub – The platform experts monitor policy trends and provide analyses on the four topics (see above). The platform experts regularly publish news articles and policy briefs as well as the results of their work with community members (peer reviews, benchmarking exercises, discussion hours, etc.).
3. Good practice database – Europe is full of regional policy initiatives that proved their success and have the potential to inspire others. The Good practices database gathers over 1 500 such good practices, reviewed and validated by thematic experts.
4. Community – community members get access to a wide variety of online and face-to-face events, which are great learning and networking opportunities for policy makers.
Interreg Europe helps regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better policy. Interreg Europe offers opportunities for regional and local public authorities across Europe to share ideas and experience on public policy in practice, therefore improving strategies for their citizens and communities. The main component of Interreg Europe are interregional cooperation projects.
For more information about the Policy Learning Platform, click the “LEARN MORE” button or watch the video below:
