About us

Our objectives

The main objectives of CESCI are the followings:

to provide professional support for cross-border cooperation along the Balkans borders
to invite the Euroregions, the EGTCs and the local and regional authorities participating in the cross-border cooperation into a network
to promote good examples from Western European initiatives
to establish strategic cooperation with the competent decision making and decision preparing institutes of the European Union as well as with Northern and Western European networks created with the same purpose
to strengthen the internal cohesion and mutual rapprochement within the region by establishing partnerships between the nations of Central and South-Eastern Europe.

The Association

The Central European Service for Cross-border Initiatives (CESCI) was established in Budapest in 2009 and in past 10 years it became one of the leading institutions in research, programming and policy making activities related to cross-border cooperation in Central Europe.

The Central European Service for Cross-border Initiatives Balkans (CESCI Balkans) was established in 2015 with a main mission to improve and promote professional cross-border cooperation in the Balkan region. CESCI Balkans works on a strategic level, providing support to institutions, governments in reform processes, institutional development, applied research, integrated strategic, regional or cross-border planning, development of methodologies and guides for planning, development of cross-border integrated territorial investments, development of cross-border territorial date bases, mediation and organization of professional events. The specific methodology developed by CESCI for integrated strategic cross-border planning and management includes all levels and sectors of the society. The institution was involved in multiple large-scale researches, strategic planning and regional development initiatives targeting legal and national/regional frameworks on various topics (e.g. first phase and second phase evaluation of the Hungary-Serbia IPA CBC Programme, Thematic preparation /programming of IPA CBC Programmes 2021-2027 in cooperation with the CESCI office in Budapest).

CESCI aims to bring the best available tools and knowledge in EU and coordinating the cross-border perspectives of the various actions by capacity building and gradual establishment of a strategically planned and managed cross-border management structures.

The management of the organization has over 20 years of experience in large-scale project development and management (over 100 projects) with a wide scope of institutional and donor background: major international donors, various EU, European Commission, Council of Europe, H2020, Interreg, FP7, transnational, foundations, governments, universities, research institutes, etc.).

Our services

CESCI Balkans provides expertise in:

applied research on cross-border issues
cross-border strategic planning and development of methodologies related to planning
institution and project development
mediation between the different levels of governance on CB issues,
development of knowledge sharing tools, publication of brochures and methodologies,
organisation of professional events, trainings and conference.

Research on cross-border issues

Cross-border cooperation might be considered as the “laboratory of the European structure” (Paul Lamassoure, MEP). It is obvious, that all achievements of the European integration (such as the free movement of goods, services, labour and capital) appear the most transparent way in the open border regions. Similarly every obstacle hindering the development of a deeper integration of the Union occurs in closed border areas. Forms and structures of cross-border cooperation thus serve as a model, as a smaller version of the EU, as a kind of laboratory which demonstrates how the European Community works. Consequently, cross-border studies are beneficial not only because peripheral border regions need to be more open for the sake of a better use of their territorial capital but at the same time it is in the common interest of the EU to follow and examine and even learn from the processes on the ground.

CESCI Balkans provides the following services:

implementation of research projects on territorial cooperation
research on particular border regions
analyses of the professional and legal documents of cohesion policy of the EU
professional contribution to the decision preparatory activities of national and EU level institutions
networking activities
organisation of conferences, workshops
printing publications
organisation of training courses
providing information on CBC issues.

Cross-border strategic planning

The biggest obstacle hindering the use of territorial capital in border regions is the dividing effect of the frontiers. Borders limit the area of influence of larger cities thus creating truncated urban areas. Borders lead to double peripheries in rural areas where the roads end, where the infrastructure is underdeveloped and from where the population move away because of the lack of working opportunities.

Cross-border planning and developing work fulfils its mission if it results in reducing to minimum or abolishing these unfavourable impacts.

CESCI has developed a new methodology of cross-border strategic planning which focuses on enhancing territorial, economic and social cohesion. Instead of a state-of-play analysis we elaborate a cohesion analysis seeking for the factors boosting and hindering three aspects of cohesion. Instead of a sector-based strategy we work out an integrated, cross-sectoral strategy which focuses on cohesion. By using this new method we aim at opening the borders and bringing stakeholders from both sides of these borders closer to one another.

In the field of strategic planning CESCI Balkans offers its services as follows:

development of methodologies and guides for planning
strategic planning in border regions
development of cross-border integrated territorial investments
development of cross-border territorial data bases, plotting of maps (GIS)
elaborating territorial analyses and studies
organisation of professional events
realisation of network building projects.

Institution and project development

In recent years a bad practice of cross-border project development and implementation has taken root in the Balkans. Local actors use cross-border cooperation programmes for satisfying their own, local development needs. Consequently, sustainable, long-term institutionalised and strategic cooperation cannot be developed. The parties meet in an ad-hoc way for the sake of a single project. Following the project implementation the partners deal with maintaining only their own project package, the joint elements are fading out.

The mission of CESCI Balkans is to transform this bad practice into a good one, that of strategically based long-term forms of cooperation. Integrated projects can ensure the joint development of the projects and the long-term sustainability of the results thereof.

Institutionalised cooperation might guarantee a strategic approach in planning and financing.

In this field CESCI Balkans provides support in:

developing institutional frameworks for long-term cooperation (e.g. preparation, establishment and registration of EGTCs)
capacity building at the level of stakeholders interested in CBC activities
preparing and developing integrated projects
organization of training courses and workshops facilitating smarter project development at local level
sharing experiences and information related to institutionalised, strategically based cooperation.

Mediation

Part of the CESCI Balkans mission is mediation between the local, the national and the European level. Mediation is crucial because without this proper information on policy documents and legal provisions under preparation related to cross-border cooperation at national and EU level cannot reach local stakeholders who will be responsible for the implementation of those regulations; and vica versa: the preparation of decisions will be inadequate without the knowledge of interests and capacities of local stakeholders. Our association takes part in several professional networks and platforms in Europe.

As a service provider CESCI helps cooperation by:

providing access to a wide range of information
managing workshop of EGTCs in the Balkans
taking part in the preparatory phase of decision-making at national and EU level
preparing policy background papers, analyses and proposals
organisation professional events, conferences and training courses related to cross-border activities
developing partnerships.