The innovation capacity of regions and firms depends on their ability to create, diffuse and exploit knowledge from outside the region through the regional innovation system. This regional innovation system is determined by policies, funding instruments, companies and technology providers. Public innovation intermediaries play a crucial role in providing innovation support measures, creating partnerships and also providing finding innovative solution. Public innovation intermediaries, such as business parks, innovation centres and innovation policy units at local and regional level play an important role in raising the rate of innovation.The lack of external links and limited co-operation of innovation intermediaries at local and regional level are an important drawback factor for a higher rate of innovation and therefore for generating growth and employment at regional level. This is often accompanied by low performance targets set by the funding authorities,based on a lack of data and a lack of understanding of the potential role of these agencies.The Interregional Partnership Project would like to step in here • to identify successful access models in the partner regions to increase the outward orientation of innovation intermediaries in the region • to exchange experiences of these successful access between the partner regions • to develop a long-term framework of interregional know-how transfer among the local and regional innovation intermediaries including alos other European intermediaries working in the region such as EEN.• to jointly implement successful practices in two pilot actions for the four partners during the life cycle of this project• to develop a joint benchmark and monitoring tool and IT tool to regularly assess the participation rate of SMEs, local and regional authorities and support agencies in international know-how transfer.In order to achieve this the project is divided into 4 main parts:• Comp. 1 comprises all actions to ensure the proper management of the overall project. • Comp. 2 focuses on information and dissemination, notably towards the regional and interregional audience. It includes the regional partnership meetings, dissemination conferences, brochures, newsletters, a web-site as well as study visits.• Comp. 3 is the essence of the project including the identication and exchange on best practices, joint seminars on the Involvement in interregional partnerships and Best practices in access strategies, a study on a joint benchmark model, regular benchmark reports and an IT tool to improve the co-operation as well as a best practices inventory based on a joint data collection • Comp. 4 is designed to carry out two pilot projects to transfer successful access models, in the participating regions, a seminar on mainstreaming and the development of a joint action plan. Achievements: The lack of interregional links and limited cooperation at local and regional level are a significant drawback factor for the development of regions. The IPP project therefore aims to increase the outward orientation of innovation intermediaries and cooperation on interregional level. In 2010, the first year of the project, the project partners discussed, how successful practices of supporting interregional cooperation could be identified. The partner from Valencia developed a methodology for benchmarking the regions and all partners started to compile data on the European and interregional interaction for the 1st benchmark report. A questionnaire was devised to learn from regional actorsabout their firsthand experiences on and obstacles to cooperation. On 27-28 October 2010 the interregional working group (IWG) came together in Latvia to exchange preliminary findings from their region. A study visit to Cesis was organised, where the City Council introduced its internationalisationstrategy. The IPP partnes also visitied the local business incubator and learnt about the activities of the culture and tourism agency. With the seminar "Involvement of local actors in interregional cooperation" (1 December, Magdeburg/DE) further delegates from the partner regions presented examples of local cooperation across boarders and regions and shared their areas of interest for collaboration in the future. The chances of interregoinal cooperation within the Europe 2020 strategy were the main topic of the 1st Dissemination conference, hosted on 2 December. A set of policy recommendations highlighted the importance of internationalisation for innovation in the face of economic crisis. In 2011 the project partners continued to share their experience in supporting internationalisation. Various approaches to fostering cooperation were presented by public intermediaries during the seminar "Interregional cooperation for innovation and employment" (29 March, Paterna / ES). A studytrip to innovation intermediaries located around Paterna offered an insight into the innovation system of the Valencia region To intensify the cooperation between actors in the partner regions two pilot project have been developed. Pilot project 1 brings together EU advisory service agencies. During a 1st seminar in Nyiregyhaza / HU (21/22 September) several such entities introduced themselves, their services and target groups to each other and formed working groups to discuss successful strategies to inform and motivate the participation in interregional cooperation projects. Further topics were rules for building project consortia and project management. In the aftermath of themeeting partners started to describe effictive tools to reach these goals. In February 2012 the pilot partners learnt more about moderation and networking techniques, which can help to foster international cooperation. During a final seminar in June the pilot partners discussed measures for cooperating in thefuture. Pilot project 2 deals with the internationalisation on municipality and district level. During the 1st seminar, organised on 24/25 November in Paterna, the pilot partners introduced their approaches to internationalisation and learnt about the requirements for developing a strategy of territorial competitiveness. During seminars in Februar and April 2012 a methodology for the development of internationalisation strategies for municipalities was presented and discussed by the pilot partners, who helped to formulate guidelines on steps to gear up local authorities for becoming more engaged on interregional level. The discussions of the pilot projects were introduced to a broader public during the mainstreaming seminar "Gateway to the internationalisation in municipalities and regions" (14 June, Jurmala / LV). The seminar also addressed the role of interregional cooperation and the regional policy directions in the next planning period.