Representatives of 54 Interreg Europe projects met in Dublin to discuss project communication and finance in our seminars for third call projects on 13-15 November 2018.
During two and half days, the 142 seminar participants from 24 countries had the opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other, and clarify project-specific questions or issues with the staff of the joint secretariat.
Communication seminar
The participating projects' lead partners and communication managers started on 13 November with a full day dedicated to the ins and outs of project communication.
The seminar kicked off with an introduction and overview of the key communication requirements and principles, covering issues such as project branding, progress reporting, and tools and templates provided by the programme to support project communication.
For the rest of the day, the participants worked on specific communication topics in workshops delivered by communication experts:
- Eugene Grey from the European Institute of Communications gave the project representatives an overview on the role and importance of stories in communication and provided tips for developing compelling messages with storytelling
- Sinead O'Donnell from Carr Communications outlined the key principles of developing a fruitful relationship with the media and challenged the participants to look at their press releases through the eyes of a journalist.
- Laura Uotila, a social media expert, provided examples and tips for leveraging social media in project communication. The session featured also testimonials from Interreg Europe projects BIOREGIO, ERUDITE and SHARE.
At the end of the day, the participants had a chance to discuss communication topics of their choice in a world café session. Questions such as 'how to engage partners and stakeholders?', 'are project newsletters still a good tool?', 'how to use videos and social media in a creative way?', or 'how to evaluate project communication?' and 'what is a successful event?' were raised and discussed by the project representatives.
Finance seminar
On 14-15 November, the finance managers and representatives of first level controllers joined the lead partners to get ready for financial reporting and fine-tune their approaches to managing project finances.
To set the scene, the participants reviewed the legal framework and main procedures, as well as the use of the iOLF reporting system. Diving deeper into the world of project finances, they then looked at how to manage the reporting process and heard tips based on concrete experiences of more experienced lead partners and first level controllers.
Additional sessions focused among other on eligibility of expenditure, dealing with changes and the flexibility rule, as well as tools and tips to address the common challenges related to financial reporting. The participants even got to explore different perspectives into financial management through a role play session, before closing the intense seminar days and returning home, hopefully with some new practical tips in their pockets for further project implementation.
We would like to thank all the project representatives once more for joining us in Dublin!
If you participated in the seminars, please share your feedback by filling in the event evaluation (open until 23 November).
More information, photos and seminar materials are available on the event website.
