Why CLLD in border regions matters
According to the OECD, community‑led local development can help strengthen cross‑border cooperation, reduce structural barriers and unlock the economic and social potential of Europe’s border regions.
This context underpins the IMPACT initiative and highlights why bottom‑up, place‑based cooperation can make a lasting difference in border areas.
What is IMPACT?
The IMPACT project will run in 2026 - 2027 and supports local cross‑border partnerships in designing and implementing joint, place‑based CLLD strategies.
It has two main objectives:
- Support up to 30 pilot territories in establishing or strengthening governance partnerships and adopting joint CLLD strategies.
- Generate sustained support from Interreg programmes for community‑led cross‑border development.
Selected pilot regions will receive tailored expert support and opportunities for peer learning and exchange with other border regions.
Who can apply?
Pilot cross‑border territories may come from:
- all 27 EU Member States,
- Andorra, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland,
- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye,
- Moldova and Ukraine.
The call encourages applications from partnerships with a strong interest in community‑led and collaborative territorial development.
Information webinar
The OECD will host an informational webinar on 24 February 2026.
The webinar will give a practical overview of the call, explain the support available for selected pilots, and answer questions from interested applicants.
Expert pool
The OECD is also creating a list of experts who may support selected territories during the project. Potential experts can register via the dedicated link below.
More information
For more information about the project and our upcoming events, please contact:
The IMPACT project is funded and supported by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and carried out by the OECD.
