Interreg South Baltic Programme 2021-2027

Type of the project: Regular / full scale
Programme Measure:
→ Measure 1.1: Digitalising the region.
Main project objective: Develop and test a methodology and ecosystem of digital public services replicable across borders; co-created and deployed by cultural and civic infrastructures (libraries, youth centres, musea and cultural centres); co-designed for accessibility via citizen participation and multiple helix capacity-building; “forking/branching” open-source codebases for site-specific projects with increased sovereignty and resilience.
Common territorial challenge/need addressed:
→ Public institutions lack resources, methods and the technical and accessibility knowledge to develop accessible digital public services, independent civil society actors even more.
→ People with disabilities struggle to use the internet and digital public services, which are less accessible and usable the more complex they are.
→  Lack of participatory, inclusive, efficient methodologies to develop digital public services with participation of accessibility target beneficiaries.
→  Urgency from public authorities to pursue technical solutions offering better data/digital sovereignty for resilience goals.
Planned project activities:
→ Needs analysis of digital public service needs and priorities, in dialogue with users and consortium.
→ Capacity-building sessions on digital accessibility principles and digital public services (case-studies, tech solutions), administered by universities, with public servants, university students and civil society representatives as target groups.
→ Local open-source development labs, offering hackathons, workshops, networking, community tools, administered by municipalities with support by non-profit or SMEs experienced with technical development of digital public services, digital accessibility and universal design principles.
→ Co-development and co-coding of pilot project, offering 1 open-source solution for (tbc) single digital gateway, digital booking and community management, digital asset and open data management , public notifications, or digital payments.
→  Facilitation of community-driven expertise provision by accessibility target groups during co-development of pilots and in early testing, with focus on visual/auditory/cognitive accessibility, facilitated by non-profit or SMEs;
→  Testing of solutions for interoperability and accessibility by civil society non-profits and associations, associated partner municipalities, and open-source communities, including development of codebase forks for independent use
→ Evaluation of results and lessons learned publication, final conference.
Outputs and results foreseen:
→  Increased digital skills (open-source, accessibility and digital public services) for public servants, students, and civil society.
→ New method and community-of-practice to maintain and continue development of digital public service open-source solutions at local level.
→  Up to 5 new technical solutions for accessible digital public services available for municipalities to deploy and re-purpose.
Initial project duration
From 01.08.2027
Until 30.06.2029
Partnership – types of partners searched: 
→ Municipalities (over 75.000 inhabitants);
→ Universities;
→ Non-profits or SMEs experienced with technical development of digital public services, digital accessibility and universal design principles, and facilitation of citizen participation processes;
→  Cultural and civil society associations (non-profit, community and volunteer spaces);
→  Associate partners (smaller municipalities, regional actors, business support institutions).

Interested in joining the idea? Contact southbaltic@southbaltic.eu and JS will pass your details to the project idea owner. 

Type of the project: Regular / full scale
Programme Measure:
→ Measure 4.1: Strengthen the cooperation capacity of actors based within the South Baltic Area (incl. civil society).
Main project objective: To strengthen cooperation capacity among municipalities, civil society organisations, local communities, SMEs and other stakeholders in the South Baltic Area through a community-based cooperation model that uses visitor-local engagement as a mechanism for building partnerships, increasing participation and creating local value.
Common territorial challenge/need addressed:
→  Limited citizen participation in local development processes.
→  Insufficient cooperation between municipalities, civil society, local communities and SMEs.
→  Weak integration of community resources and local knowledge into development initiatives.
→   A need for stronger territorial cohesion, resilience and cross-sector cooperation.
→   Lack of practical cooperation structures that enable diverse local actors to work together around shared opportunities.
Planned project activities:
→  Capacity Building and Methodology Development
→  Pilot Actions and Community Engagement
→  Cross-Border Learning and Exchange
→  Monitoring, Insight and Scaling.
These activities are directly supported by the model’s three functions: Connect, Coordinate and Insight.
Outputs and results foreseen:
→  A tested Connect with Locals cooperation methodology.
→  Local pilot actions implemented in participating regions.
→  Training materials and facilitator toolkit.
→  Cross-border learning workshops and study visits.
→  Stakeholder engagement framework.
→  Monitoring and evaluation framework.
→  Policy recommendations and replication guide.
Initial project duration
From 01.05.2027
Until 30.04.2029
Partnership:
→ Types of partners searched: Lead partner from a public institution

Interested in joining the idea? Contact southbaltic@southbaltic.eu and JS will pass your details to the project idea owner. 

Type of the project: Regular / full scale
Programme Measure:
→ Measure 2.1: Supporting transition towards green energy
Main project objective: Establishment of the reliable and cooperative solutions aimed at strengthening local businesses & administrations in the offshore value chain
Common territorial challenge/need addressed:
→ In many cases, the development of the offshore wind in the Baltic Sea region does not provide sufficient benefits to the local communities
→ Ensuring that the offshore wind fosters the development of the regions is crucial for increasing the social acceptance for the climate policy as well as development of the projects
Planned project activities:
→ Mapping the barriers for the SMEs & regional communities (governments) for participation in the wind energy projects
→ The Good Practice Cookbook
→ Workshops for SMEs & local communities
→  e-Marketplace for the SMEs – web app aimed at fostering the creation of consortiums & exchange of the experience to strengthen offers provided to the investors
→ Study visits
→ From shore to core – advocacy activities
Outputs and results foreseen:
→ E-Marketplace: platform which will foster the local SMEs ability to create robust, comprehensive and attractive offers for the investors and therefore increasing the share of LC in offshore investments
→ The Good Practices Cookbook: the overview of the good practices of ensuring the local content in the huge investments & recommendation on how to ensure such participation
→ Workshops for SMEs to identify the barriers as well as to equip them with the know-how on how to advocate for wider participation in the offshore wind investments
Initial project duration
From 04.05.2026
Until 31.05.2029
Partnership:
→ Types of partners searched: Lead partner and local authorities from the regions concerned, local SMEs / associations from the regions concerned aspiring to join the offshore wind value chain

Interested in joining the idea? Contact southbaltic@southbaltic.eu and JS will pass your details to the project idea owner. 

Type of the project: Small-scale project
Programme Measure:
→ Measure 2.2: Promoting sustainable use of water
→ Measure 2.3: Supporting a circular and more resource efficient development
Main project objective: Set-up, verify and implement a plantbased sanitation for PFAS contaminated areas
Common territorial challenge/need addressed:
→ Similar issues are present in most airports or other places where PFAS contamination is present
Planned project activities:
→ Evaluate present contamination situation
→ Design and set up sanitation solution
Outputs and results foreseen:
→ Major reduction in PFAS (the solution is indicating up towards 90%)
Initial project duration
From 01.10.2025
Until 30.08.2026
Partnership:
→ Types of partners searched: Lead partner and similar partner/issue owner i.e. airport

Interested in joining the idea? Contact southbaltic@southbaltic.eu and JS will pass your details to the project idea owner. 

Type of the project: Small-scale project
Programme Measure:
→ Measure 4.1: Strengthen the cooperation capacity of actors based within the South Baltic Area (incl. civil society)
Main project objective: Throughout the regions around the Baltic sea, different knowledges about traditional building and connected supply chains for materials has been kept alive and ”living” or diminished. Today, many of these fields are of higher interest again – both in terms of preservation but also as ways of building sustainable for the future.
Common territorial challenge/need addressed:
→ Traditional knowledge connected to house building and preservation have been lost in different regions but remain vivid in others.
→ Material supply chains for traditional building have in many places ceased to exist, or are malfunctioning, even though there is a local and/or regional demand.
→ The connection and exchange around the Baltics concerning this field is weak or non-existing.
Planned project activities:
→ Initial field overview (Which actors? Which traditional methods & supply chains are in use, and where?)
→ Visits, workshops, and other exchange activities.
→ Building nodes in each region, construction frames for further education and raised level of competence.
Outputs and results foreseen:
→ Knowledge about which traditional building methods that exists in the different regions and how these can be exchanged.
→ Create regional centres for further exchange and spreading of knowledge.
→ Strengthen the common identity around the Baltics.
→ Resilient and sustainable ways of building and supplying material are spread, giving way for new building with traditional core values.
Initial project duration
From 01.04.2026
Until 31.03.2027
Partnership:
→ Types of partners searched: Lead partner. Museums, cultural heritage NGO:S, education centres, UNESCO actors etc.

Interested in joining the idea? Contact southbaltic@southbaltic.eu and JS will pass your details to the project idea owner.