DRP: Leading a €2.6M Interreg project for the first time is not a small thing. How did your team handle all the rules and financial requirements — was there a moment where it just "clicked", or was it more of a gradual learning process?
Simona Roudi: We established a project team that combines both people who are new to this kind of work and those who already had experience in implementing similar projects. However, as a lead partner managing such a large-scale project for the first time, the learning process was definitely gradual.
Whenever we weren’t sure about something, we reached out for support – to experienced colleagues in the region, knowledgeable project partners, our Project Officer (JS), and, when necessary, also to the First Level Control (FLC). This collaborative approach helped us build confidence and understanding over time.
DRP: What does your day-to-day coordination actually look like?
Simona Roudi: We start with regular morning meetings within the project team, where we review the tasks for the day or week and distribute responsibilities accordingly. Throughout the process, we continuously support each other, exchange ideas, and often work collaboratively on planning and implementing tasks.
At the partnership level, we organise monthly online meetings. We also added in-person project meetings, even though they weren’t planned in the application. These turned out to be really useful, as they strengthen coordination, provide hands-on workshops, include expert input, and create more opportunities for knowledge exchange and mutual support among partners.
DRP: RurALL brings together local authorities, NGOs, research institutes, and business organisations from 11 countries, including non-EU partners from Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro. How have you managed to keep everyone aligned on programme rules and deadlines?
Simona Roudi: At the beginning, we set clear expectations, highlighted programme requirements, and communicated key deadlines related to implementation, reporting, and financial planning. We also regularly reminded partners of upcoming deadlines.
Of course, not everything always went according to plan. Whenever we identified challenges, we addressed them immediately to prevent more serious deviations.
For example, when we noticed lower spending in external costs, we asked partners to prepare spending plans to assess potential underspending. In cases of delays in local activities, we discussed the situation with the respective project partners and activity leaders to evaluate the impact on the overall project timeline and adjust accordingly.
DRP: Beltinci coordinates both territorial and knowledge partners who have very different day-to-day roles in the project. How do you ensure knowledge partners like Zavod PIP (SI) and EMFIE (HU) stay connected to what is happening on the ground in the pilot areas?
Simona Roudi: We addressed this by strengthening the role of knowledge partners throughout the entire project. They actively supported the partnership by monitoring pilot activities, providing guidance, and conducting evaluations even after specific thematic phases were completed.
They were also consistently involved in joint activities and contributed through additional thematic inputs and expert presentations. For example, expertise in community engagement (Zavod PIP) was integrated not only into activities focused on identifying new functions for dwellings, but also into the development of business models and transnational networking activities. In the case of the multi-stakeholder governance model, the process involved all project activities, ensuring the continuous involvement of the knowledge partner (EMFIE) throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Overall, knowledge partners played an active and continuous role, ensuring that their expertise remained closely linked to the realities on the ground.
DRP: Can you describe a specific programme rule or procedural requirement within the Interreg Danube framework that took the most effort to master and how you ensured the whole consortium understood it too?
Simona Roudi: There wasn’t really one rule that stood out as especially difficult. We shared the main programme manuals and guidance documents and highlighted the most important requirements related to implementation and reporting. In general, there were no major issues.
In the initial phase, one partner faced challenges in understanding the eligibility of certain types of staff costs, particularly regarding different forms of contractual work arrangements. Since national interpretations by control bodies can vary, this required additional clarification and coordination to ensure a common understanding across the partnership.
DRP: The New European Bauhaus inspiration is central to RurALL's identity. How has Beltinci translated this rather abstract concept into something meaningful and tangible for your local community and for partner municipalities?
Simona Roudi: For us, the New European Bauhaus really comes to life through concrete actions in rural communities across the Danube region. We focus on the three core values: sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion.
On the sustainability side, the project encourages reusing existing buildings rather than building new ones, helping to reduce land consumption and make better use of local infrastructure. Partners explore renovation and adaptive reuse ideas that are both environmentally responsible and practical for the community.
When it comes to aesthetics, we aim to respect local character and heritage while improving the quality of everyday spaces. Through participatory workshops and consultations, residents, local associations, and experts help shape renovation ideas that meet community needs and make spaces feel welcoming and connected to their surroundings.
Finally, inclusion is at the heart of the process. The project ensures that a wide range of voices – citizens, NGOs, and local authorities – can contribute, shaping multifunctional and accessible spaces that bring people together and strengthen social life in rural communities.
DRP: The governance model RurALL is developing is meant to be transferable across the Danube region. From Beltinci's perspective as both LP and pilot site, what do you think will be the hardest element of the model to replicate in other communities, and why?
Simona Roudi: The model represents a structured and comprehensive approach that requires both dedicated staff and additional financial resources. One of the main challenges for other communities may be the level of commitment needed to implement it fully.
The most demanding part is the mapping process, particularly the fieldwork component, which often involves engaging local residents. This requires time, coordination, and strong local involvement.
Another key challenge is long-term sustainability – maintaining community motivation, securing funding for implementation, and ensuring continuity despite potential political or administrative changes.
DRP: What would be your advice to organisations planning to take on a LP role for the first time?
Simona Roudi: If an organisation is considering taking on the lead partner role, we strongly recommend that they already have some experience participating in projects as a project partner. Alternatively, it is essential to include someone in the team who has prior experience in project management.
This significantly helps in understanding the complexity of coordination, financial management, and communication within large international partnerships.
DRP: What things could you not have learnt or gained experience of if you had not participated in the Danube Programme?
Simona Roudi: We realised that the Danube Programme is a powerful connecting element that helps build a shared regional identity. Although the participating countries differ in many ways, the wider Danube region is strongly connected through common challenges.
This sense of connection and shared purpose is something we were not fully aware of before participating in the programme.
DRP: Projects like RurALL create something that no results indicator can measure - real connections between people from very different places and backgrounds. Was there a moment, with a partner, a local resident, or a colleague from another country that reminded you why this kind of transnational work matters beyond the project itself?
Simona Roudi: At the local level, we were really surprised by the level of engagement during community activities. Residents showed strong commitment and enthusiasm when contributing ideas for new uses of buildings – demonstrating that they truly care about both the development and the identity of their community.
At the partnership level, there was also a strong sense of connection built through discovering similarities among us, despite our different backgrounds. These shared experiences helped create meaningful relationships, which we believe will continue even after the project ends.
