Local and Regional Development
Shaping the future of our cities and territories
We contribute to the development of cities and regions through beneficial and innovative social, economic and environmental initiatives that seek to improve the quality of life of the population.
We contribute to the development of cities and regions through beneficial and innovative social, economic and environmental initiatives that seek to improve the quality of life of the population.
Our thematic activities cover local and regional development in its broadest sense and include urban and rural development, employment and social integration, training and professional insertion, democracy and citizenship, environment and resource efficiency, support for the competitiveness and internationalization of SMEs and businesses, transition to a low-carbon economy initiatives and the improvement of the research and innovation systems to overcome the gap between society and emerging technologies.
INFODEF contributes to implement the Europe 2020 Strategy at local and regional level through:
Smart growth
Boosting competitiveness by improving performance in:
- education (encouraging people to learn, study and update their skills);
- research/innovation (creating new products/services that generate growth and jobs and help address social challenges);
- digital society (using information and communication technologies).
Sustainable growth
Making a more competitive low-carbon economy that makes efficient and sustainable use of resources. Protecting the environment, reducing emissions and preventing biodiversity loss. Capitalising on Europe’s leadership in developing new green technologies and production methods, harnessing EU-scale networks to give our businesses (especially small manufacturing firms) an additional competitive advantage and improving the business environment, in particular for SMEs.
Inclusive growth
Raising employment rates and more and better jobs, especially for women, young people and older workers. Helping people of all ages anticipate and manage change through investment in skills & training. Improve the labour markets and welfare systems. Ensure that the benefits of growth reach all territories and people.
PROGRAMMES
Interreg Europe
Interreg Europe helps regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better policy. By creating an environment and opportunities for sharing solutions, we aim to ensure that government investment, innovation and implementation efforts all lead to integrated and sustainable impact for people and place.
Interreg Sudoe
The Interreg Sudoe Programme supports regional development in Southwest Europe financing transnational projects through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Programme promotes transnational cooperation to solve common problems in Southwest Europe, such as low investment in research and development, weak competitiveness of the small and medium-sized enterprises and exposure to climate change and environmental risks.
Interreg POCTEP
The Cross-Border Cooperation Program INTERREG Spain-Portugal 2014-2020 promotes the development of border areas between Spain and Portugal. This program makes it possible to take advantage of the existing extensive cooperation networks that have been developed since 1989 with the implementation of infrastructure projects, which have been progressively incorporated into other sectors such as tourism, social services, environment, technological innovation, health, Education or culture. The Trans-Border Space of Spain-Portugal is made up of 37 NUTS III belonging to both countries, ensuring the consistency and continuity of the areas established in the previous programming period.
Interreg MED
Partner States from 13 countries are working together in the transnational European Cooperation Programme for the Mediterranean area, The Interreg MED Programme 2014-2020. The transnational setup allows them to tackle challenges beyond national borders, such as the rise of low carbon economy, the protection of natural and cultural resources and the strengthening of innovation.
The main objective of the Interreg MED Programme is to promote sustainable growth in the Mediterranean area by fostering innovative concepts and practices and a reasonable use of resources and by supporting social integration through an integrated and territorially based cooperation approach.