62
2.13
Concluding remarks
The survey among project leaders and participants shows that the Barents Secretariat fills a niche for project collaboration among Russian and Norwegian actors. The co-operation funded by the Barents Secretariat has given opportunities for increased interaction between Russian and Norwegian partners that otherwise would have been unlikely to take place. The major achievement, according to the survey respondents, has been the networks established between a large number of Russian and Norwegian partners. These networks appear to have been strengthened and broadened throughout the project period. Project owners as a rule appreciate the possibility to learn about practices on the other side of the border, and the mutual learning aspects are stressed by project participants in both Russia and Norway. Although competence development has been most prominent from Norway to Russia than the other way around, there has been considerable exchange and perceived mutual benefits for all the partners involved. The survey gives evidence of a number of important additional achievements, some of the most noteworthy being: •
a large number projects have been supported within all priority areas;
•
the vast majority of projects are co-funded by other institutions, and a large number have Russian as well as Norwegian or international co-funding;
•
the programme appears to be run efficiently, in a flexible and transparent manner, thanks to solid work by Barents Secretariat staff, who are also considered to be very accessible by survey respondents;
•
the co-operation has an adequate gender balance;
•
improved economic conditions in Russia have contributed positively to the project collaboration for a vast number of projects;
•
projects involving humanitarian aid and material support have been reduced to a minimum.
NIBR Report 2008:4
