The focus of the study was on projects implemented in the Baltic Sea and Danube regions as well as on their funding instruments, analysing where these projects and funding sources see the added value of macro-regional cooperation.

The framework of the study can be defined as follows:

• The analysis was done in the context of two older strategies: the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR);
• Projects implemented in three thematic fields relevant for both macro-regional strategies were considered, namely: research and innovation, environment and transport and navigation;
• A pool was built of the projects of different size, character and funding sources;
• The expected outcome of the study was to identify any potential actions to increase the benefits of the macro-regional strategies for projects and programmes.