Strasbourg, 18 September 2012                                                       CDLR-Bu(2012)23

                                                                                             Item 6 of the agenda

BUREAU OF THE

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

MANUAL ON REMOVING OBSTACLES

TO CROSSBORDER COOPERATION

CHOICE OF A CONSULTANT

Secretariat Memorandum

prepared by the

Directorate of Democratic Governance, Culture and Diversity

Democracy, Institution-Building and Governance Department


This document is public. It will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.

Ce document est public. Il ne sera pas distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire.

Introduction

The drafting of a Manual on removing obstacles to crossborder cooperation is one of the tasks that the CDLR shall implement during the period 2012-2013 in accordance with its Terms of Reference.

At its last meeting, the CDLR agreed to invite delegations to make proposals as to the body (physical person or institution) that could perform this task and set the deadline for replies at 30 June 2012. At its 5 July meeting, the Bureau, having regard to the suggestions received (Euro-Institut, ISIG, Institut Destrée, EIPA, Immanuel Kant Baltic University)[1] agreed that they be invited to present more in detail their interest for the job.

The Secretariat drew up an Information paper which was circulated to the five institutions with a deadline for responding set at 31 August.

The responses received are distributed to Bureau members in the electronic format. A paper version will be made available in the meeting room in Paris.

The Secretariat has prepared a written analysis of the replies received (see Appendix).

Action required

The Bureau is invited to examine the five applications received and, having regard to the analysis prepared by the Secretariat, make a recommendation as to the institution to be contracted for the preparation of the Manual.

 

APPENDIX

Expression of Interest in drafting a manual on removing obstacles to cross border cooperation

Comparative table of offers received

Institution

Past experience

Methodology

Team

Budget provisions

Other points

Kant Baltic Federal Institute

Not provided

Not provided

Diverse & strong academic team

Not provided

Institute Destrée

No specific experience of CBC work is mentioned

Very general methodology

Small team, not specialised in CBC

Draft budget included

Euro Institute

Substantial experience of CBC work in the Upper Rhine region and Europe in general

Considerable experience of preparation of toolkits and relevant publications

A sound methodology is provided suggesting –

Analysis of the results of the survey, comparative analysis of the questionnaires, capturing examples of good practices, categorization of obstacles and possible solutions.

Professionally strong, experienced team consisting of 4 persons is proposed

In addition the Institute has wider contacts with a larger platform of international experts and practitioners, which could be used.

Not provided

The Institute has strong partnership  with organisations involved directly in CBC (TEIN, AEBR), which may also be involved in the preparation work to a certain extent.

ISIG

Extensive experience of CBC research.

Various publications on CBC in various parts of Europe, including one specifically on overcoming barriers to CBC in Eastern Europe published in 2012.

Detailed, well-elaborated methodology is provided.

Professionally strong team is proposed, working as part of a larger research institute.

Realistic budget provisions are provided.

The application is possibly the most detailed and elaborate

European Institute for Public Administration

Experience & previous research on CBC related subjects is mentioned (Dutch-German, Dutch-Belgian border cooperation) .

Analysis of cross-border cooperation issues carried out in 2011 at the request of the CoR.

The proposal includes a sound methodology, detailed table of Contents and work timeline.

Given the limited budget, they suggest  limiting the manual size and concentrating the main body of research on a smaller number of major obstacles as well as  to highlight most innovative practices for overcoming them. So far there is little evidence gathered on the impact of innovative practices.

A team composed of two persons, with sound professional background  (specialised mainly in European integration and EU policies) is proposed. 

Budget provisions are provided according to working days & number of staff to be involved.


[1] Another proposal regarding the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT) of France arrived after the expiry of the deadline.