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.
This one-pager outlines the main characteristics of the Platform.
As the community of like-minded stakeholders grows, so does the pool of good practices and expertise in the four Interreg Europe topics:
The platform is open to all policymakers in Europe. Certain target groups have been defined to better focus the resources and services:
If you design or implement public policies in your region, you can register to the platform in a few easy clicks and become part of our community.
Read more about the platform and the proposed services in the dedicated brochure or scroll through below. You can also download the brochure in PDF version.
The platform offers a set of services that allow you to:
1. Access support and expertise
The platform’s aim is to help policymakers find solutions and improve their public policies by exchanging with experts and peers. Peer learning is a core component of this service. But community members can also contact the platform experts directly for advice on the best course of action for their specific needs. Support will also come in the form of online discussion hours and webinars. As the experts get to know the community members and their needs in more detail, the services will be adapted and tailored accordingly.
Discover the expert helpdesk in a nutshell in this one-pager and share it with your colleagues!
2. Share knowledge
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.).
Access the knowledge hub here.
This one-pager allows you to explore the knowledge hub in a nutshell.
3. Be part of a community
The beneficiaries of the platform, its community members, are also the drivers that will generate real added value by creating a peer learning experience. We count on each community member to benefit from the platform services and contribute to the activities. Our experts are here to help!
Don’t forget to follow us on social media: @InterregEurope #policylearning
Discover the benefits of the community in this one-pager and invite your colleagues to join!
+ Good practice database
Our special +1 service is the good practice database. Interregional cooperation has proven to be an efficient tool for identifying good practices. But how useful are the practices if only the project partners know about them ? The platform is here to make this knowledge accessible to everyone.
Good practices can be found all across Europe. What qualifies as a good practice for one region may be quite common in another one. The platform database will feature good practices that are well evidenced and validated by our experts.
Discover good practices or submit your own.
Explore the Good practice database in a nutshell in this one-pager and start submitting yours!
Nicolle Lambrechts, participant of the Peer Review is Gävlborg, Sweden, mentioned: ‘Learning shouldn’t end with the graduation. We live in a fast-changing world and it is vital for policy analysts to focus on continuous learning. And this is what the Policy Learning Platform offers: an incredible opportunity to stay up to speed with what happens around Europe.’
Luc Hulsman, participant of the workshop on better monitoring, evaluating and designing RIS3, mentioned: ‘For me it was a perfect combination of listening, learning, exchanging & networking.’
Mariona Miret, participant of the webinar on Creative Hubs, mentioned: ‘I believe this webinar is a really good asset for my training and I take the opportunity to highlight my wish to continue participating in the Policy Learning Platform activities/training.’
Thematic Expert – Research and innovation
Marc Pattinson has over 25 years of helping regions prepare their regional development and designing research-innovation and S3 strategies, promoting interregional cooperation actions, working with clusters and performing policy analyses.
Thematic Expert – Research and innovation
Arnault has a PhD in Economic Geography from Utrecht University and the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria. He is expert in regional innovation governance and innovation policies. He is responsible for validating good practices and contributes to the production of articles and policy briefs for the knowledge hub. He also answers requests for policy advice via the expert support helpdesk.
Thematic Expert - SME competitiveness
Rene has more than 20 years of experience in innovation management and business development. He has held executive management positions in several public and private sector organisations helping SMEs to increase their competitiveness. Recently he has been acting as an investor and board director of different business acceleration programmes and startup investment funds.
Thematic Expert - SME competitiveness
Luc has over 20 years of experience in the design of business support ecosystems on behalf of regional public authorities and business support organisations, with a focus on entrepreneurship and cluster organisations. He has also gained experience in working directly with SMEs on improving their competitiveness.
Thematic Expert - SME competitiveness
Mart has experience from projects related to innovation ecosystems, SME competitiveness, inter-cluster cooperation, and smart cities. He is also a representative for the Estonian contact point for the Enterprise Europe Network. On the platform, Mart is responsible for validating good practices and writing policy briefs and organizing thematic workshops and webinars.
Thematic Expert – Low-carbon economy
Katharina Krell has 20 years of experience in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart cities and circular economy. She is specialised in supporting the uptake of results of EU-funded projects in form of policy recommendations, good practices, technologies for commercialisation or knowledge for further research.
Thematic Expert - Low-carbon economy
Simon Hunkin has eight years’ experience in the low-carbon economy sector, working in projects and studies to support uptake of innovative low-carbon technologies and policy instruments. He is specialised in European energy and environment policy, as well as regional policy and funding and co-operation initiatives.
Thematic Expert - Low-carbon economy and Environment and resource efficiency
Astrid is a senior expert with over 25 years of experience in regional and innovation policy. She has a track record in renewable energy, energy efficiency, the circular and low carbon economy and authored several studies and policy papers. Astrid is an accomplished communication professional. She developed corporate identities, moderated international conferences and workshops on sustainability issues.
Thematic Expert Environment and resource efficiency
Magda has a MSc in Environmental Assessment and Management from University of Liverpool and an MBA from Copenhagen Business School. She has experience in areas related to circular economy, waste management, green strategy development and sustainable food systems. Magda is responsible for validating good practices, producing articles and policy briefs for the knowledge hub and organising thematic workshops and webinars.
Project Manager
Thorsten leads and manages the overall implementation of the Policy Learning Platform. He holds responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the platform team and supports the personal development of each team member. At the same time, he works closely with the management of the programme, fostering and facilitating the strategic development of the platform services.
Thematic Manager
Elena is the thematic manager for the Policy Learning Platform and coordinates all activities performed by the thematic experts. She ensures the quality control of the platform services and supports the project manager in the strategic development of the platform.
Communication Manager (Maternity leave)
Raluca leads the overall communication and promotion of the Platform. She works closely with the Project and Thematic managers and takes care of the management of the communication team and activities.
Communication Manager (Temporary)
Anne is responsible for the platform’s communication and dissemination activities and events. She leads the production of the platform’s communication deliverables, defines and implements promotional campaigns.
Office Manager
Karine provides administrative support to the team and assists in organisation of meetings. She also supports the Project Manager and the Thematic Manager on quality management issues.
Web Expert
Lotte coordinates web developments within the Policy Learning Platform and acts as a helpdesk for the platform users. She is also in charge of community management of the Policy Learning Platform.
Events Expert
Eugénie is in charge of the Policy Learning Platform's onsite and online events. She also contributes to other communication and promotion actions.
Join us today to access our services and improve the performance of your regional development policies and programmes.