Identifying critical factors for success in Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) development projects

Border interactions have reached unprecedented levels in recent decades, not only due to their potential for territorial integration but also considering their role in supranational processes, such as infrastructure construction and planning activities all over the world. These interactions gained increasingly more emphasis when we know that in several countries more than half of the population lives across the border, tending to be more affected by common policy-making, and by the gaps that plague such policies. This scenario is particularly evident in European countries. In this regard the identification of influential factors of territorial success in cross-border areas is considered to be critical to achieve sustainable development through Cross-Border-Cooperation (CBC) Strategies, which lead to a consequent improvement in quality of life of the population living in these regions. This study explores expert attitudes and perceptions towards the identification of a set of critical factors for success of CBC projects. Throughout the present research 20 CBC European case studies were assessed, described and analyzed, enabling the identification of 14 critical factors to achieve success in development projects based on Cross-Border-Cooperation principles. These factors were briefly explained considering the goals of this research and their influence for success statistically described, and individually analyzed both by case study and by factor. From the identified critical factors, the research pointed out that there are 3 of utmost importance to promote territorial success in CBC projects: (i) the definition of clear common objectives and master plans; (ii) the promotion of political transparency and commitment towards the decisions related to the CBC project; and (iii) the promotion of connectivity and movement between cities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.