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QUEST: Quadruple Helix-Based Enhancement of Stakeholders at Black Sea Territory

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BSB00716

QUEST: Quadruple Helix-Based Enhancement of Stakeholders at Black Sea Territory

 Lead partner:

  • Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ttso.org.tr

Project partners:

  • Karadeniz Technical University (KTU), Türkiye
  • Union of Bulgarian Black Sea Local Authorities (UBBSLA), Bulgaria
  • Organisation for local development ANATOLIKI SA (ANATOLIKI), Greece

Funded:         Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme Programme priority Competent and Resilient Region; Specific objective ISO6.3: Building up mutual trust, in particular by encouraging people-to-people actions
Period:           01.08.2025 – 28.02.2027 (18 months)
Total budget: 507.780,00 Euro
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The BSB region is of strategic and economic importance but faces several multifaceted challenges that hinder its development and integration. The Territorial Analysis (TA) published in November 2020 highlights these challenges and emphasizes the need for better collaborative governance. The project aims to transform institutional capabilities, making the cooperation in the area more effective and sustainable by leveraging the quadruple helix approach, which involves the collaboration of universities, businesses, civil society, and public sector organizations.

The overall project objective is to improve the capacity of stakeholders in partner countries to access open funds and apply for projects related to the blue economy.

This objective will be achieved through several planned actions designed to enhance institutional capacities and establish sustainable partnerships. By addressing the challenges identified in the TA, such as the low level of involvement of public authorities in projects, the lack of resources for implementing cooperation initiatives, and the organizational focus of NGOs, the project seeks to create a more inclusive and effective framework for cross-border cooperation.

The expected change from this project includes a significant increase in the number of institutions from the BSB region applying for and receiving international funds. By enhancing the skills and knowledge of stakeholders, the project will help overcome barriers such as insufficient project preparation and implementation capacity, lack of human resources, and inadequate networking opportunities. The project will also foster a collaborative environment that encourages the sharing of resources and best practices among different types of organizations.

The main outputs of the project will include a series of capacity-building activities, training sessions, consultancy services, and the establishment of the Grant Gate Portal.

These activities will target a wide range of stakeholders, including national, regional, and local public authorities, higher education and research institutions, NGOs, business support organizations, and others. By integrating stakeholders into the quadruple helix structure, the project will create clusters that facilitate knowledge sharing, innovation, and sustainable cooperation.

The Grant Gate Portal will be a crucial tool for sustaining the project’s impact, providing stakeholders with access to information on available funds and potential project partners. It will streamline the project preparation process, save time and effort, and address the significant barrier of networking deficiencies. Additionally, the project will organize the Black Sea MetaExpo, a virtual platform that will enable stakeholders to form international consortia and collaborate on project proposals in the metaverse.

Transnational cooperation is essential for this project as the challenges faced by the BSB region are too complex to be addressed by individual efforts. The project will foster cooperation between institutions across the region, creating a unified approach to tackling common issues. The collaborative governance model promoted by the project will ensure that knowledge and resources are shared effectively, leading to more successful project outcomes.