Deadline: 15-Nov-21
Are you facing a challenge in your border region that you want to tackle with the participation of residents on both sides of the border? Do you want to make a difference and unleash potential? In doing so, do you want to work together in a strong cross-border coalition of politics, administration, and civil society? Are you motivated to establish a culture of participation in your border region – with all relevant stakeholders? Then apply for the Common Ground: Shaping Regions Across Borders program and become a Common Ground Region!
The aim of the program is to contribute to the institutionalization of cross-border local citizen participation. In addition, the participating actors from both administration and civil society should network and learn from each other.
In its three-year pilot phase, the Common Ground: Shaping Regions Across Borders program will support the implementation of participation processes at local level in up to eight German border regions – trans-sectoral and cross-border.
The focus is on regions that have had little experience with (cross-border) citizen participation to date. Within the framework of the program, regions are to develop and share needs-based formats for low-threshold participation. These formats must also reach people who have so far hardly felt addressed by politics. Following this pilot phase, selected border regions will receive further support in consolidating their participation structures. To this end, all projects funded in the pilot phase will be accompanied scientifically.
What are possible topics for cross-border participation?
In principle, Common Ground is open to supporting any topic that serves the common good. Example topics include:
- Projects for the development of crossborder public services, e. g. in the fields of public transport, energy supply, waste disposal, health care, education.
- Projects for the joint development of concepts for the region, e. g. a cross-border tourism, culture, mobility, or climate protection concept, or the joint conceptual design of (public) facilities used by residents on both sides of the border, such as a shared swimming pool.
Funding Information
- A total of up to € 1.3 million in funding is available for up to eight selected border regions to implement cross-border participation processes.
- The exact amount per region will depend on the plausibly presented financial requirements of the region and will cover a funding period lasting three years.
Eligibility Criteria
The application as a border region is submitted by a main applicant.
- This applicant should be a regional authority, i. e. a district, municipality, municipal association, or any other local authority from Germany or one of the neighboring countries. A civil society organization may also act as the main applicant if it can demonstrate cooperation with a local authority.
- The main applicant should apply together with three other partners (this is one local authority and one civil society organization per country). These partners must demonstrate their willingness to cooperate by providing Letters of Intent.
For more information, visit https://www.bosch-stiftung.de/en/project/common-ground-shaping-regions-across-borders