The report was prepared by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui. It was produced as part of the programme of work of the Regional Development Policy Committee. The project was implemented in the context of the OECD “Building More Resilient Cross-Border Regions” project. It was made possible thanks to the financial contributions of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO).
The report was co-ordinated by Stephan Visser, under the supervision of Maria Varinia Michalun, Head of the Governance and Strategic Planning Unit in the Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division in CFE, led by Dorothée Allain-Dupré.
Chapters 1 (Defining cross-border regions and their development challenges) and 2 (Cross-border governance architecture) were drafted by Stephan Visser (CFE) and Raj Kharel (external contributor). Chapter 3 (Strategic planning for cross-border development) was prepared by Stephan Visser. Chapter 4 (Funding and financing cross-border co-operation) was developed by Stephan Visser. Chapter 5 (Promotion and advocacy for cross-border development) was prepared by Geoff Upton (CFE).
The full report benefited from valuable input and comments provided by Nadim Ahmad, Deputy Director of CFE; by Dorothée Allain-Dupré, Marc Bournisien de Valmont, Claire Charbit, Isabelle Chatry, Enrique Garcilazo, Margaux Tharaux and Margaux Vincent in the CFE Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division; and by external contributors Alison Merrick, Meghan Hennessy, and Raj Kharel.
The OECD wishes to extend special thanks to Olivier Baudelet and Ricardo Ferreira (European Commission, DG REGIO) for their support and input provided throughout the project.
The OECD also warmly thanks representatives from the following local partners in the project’s five pilot regions for the organisation of different missions, and the information provided over the course of the project: Eurometropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, EGTC Alzette Belval, EGTC Cerdanya Hospital, EGTC Nemunas-Niemen, EGTC Rio Minho, Pôle Métropolitain Frontalier du Nord Lorrain and PRO-SUD.
Additionally, the OECD would like to thank representatives from national, regional and local governments, civil society organisations, academia, and local businesses that met with the OECD team during the fact-finding missions, workshops and peer-to-peer exchange activities organised as part of the project.
Finally, thanks are extended to Jack Waters (CFE) who provided guidance on preparing the publication, to Roxana Glavanov (CFE) for the cover art and external communications throughout the project, to Andrew Brenner who edited the final manuscript, and to Leslie Greenhow, Elena Arcones Sanjuan and Evangelia Thanasi (CFE) for their administrative and logistical support throughout the project implementation process.