Sylwia DOLZBLASZ, University of Wroclaw, Poland
Andrzej RACZYK, University of Wroclaw, Poland
Although public sector organisations (mainly local and regional authorities) dominate cross-border cooperation, NGOs play a very important role in shaping the nature of cross-border ties. They give the cooperation a grassroots, informal character and to a large extent take into account the needs of local communities.
The aim of this study was to determine the role of NGOs in cross-border cooperation in Poland. The study covered institutional cooperation carried out in projects under the European Territorial Cooperation 2007-2013, INTERREG 2014-2020, European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument 2007-2013 and European Neighbourhood Instrument 2014-2020 cooperation programs. Hence, it allowed to cover all Polish borderlands, including comparison of internal and external EU borders and the Schengen Zone. The time horizon covered the two programming periods of cooperation 2007-2013 and 2014-2020.
The study took into account the thematic scope of projects, their funding volumes as well as the number, type structure and location of cooperation partners. The analysis covered a total of more than 1,500 cooperation projects implemented by project consortia consisting of more than 2,200 organizations operating on both sides of the national borders.
The survey made it possible to assess the scale of NGOs’ involvement in cross-border cooperation by comparing projects in which they participated with other projects. It also allowed to define the role of NGOs in project consortia and stability of cross-border relations in both programming periods. The study also resulted in determining the spatial regularity of the location of organisations carrying out cross-border cooperation.
Mots clés : cross-border co-operation|NGOs|borderland|Poland
A103753SD