Contents Editorial

3 Editorial

6 However idealistic we might like to be, resources usually drive us

4 News
6 Getting to the point of Corepoint
Val Cummins, instigator and project
CoastNet – breathing new
coordinator for the Corepoint project,
life into coastal matters
explains the purpose and goals of the
Spring 2008 four year project.
Getting to the point of Corepoint
towards European programmes. I have come across two opposing
schools of thought in relation to matching budgets and workloads: if budgets are restrictive
then a) scale back on activity and overheads; or b) seek some additional funding to fill the gap.
Both have their place of course, but in small teams (and that is usually where coastal things
sit), the former leads to a downward spiral of activity that quickly leads to extinction, while the
latter can facilitate survival against the odds.

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8 Coastliners
12 partners, 7 countries, one continent
10 On the ground
A look at Corepoint’s central idea of
expert couplets – partnerships between
locally-based research institutions and
local authorities.
12 Unlocking the data
Tim Stojanovic discusses the
development of local information
systems in ICZM practice.
14 Training the professionals
A brief look at Corepoint’s training
schools and its projects that cut across
issues, sectors and regions.
It was in applying approach b)
8 that I was first introduced
to European programmes and
working in a broad-based project
partnership. It was hard at first to
make sense of the administrative
systems (the financial reporting
was a nightmare) but I persevered
and now it is second nature. And
in addition to the extra resources
that these programmes bring I can
now talk at length about other
benefits of equal importance.
10
First among these is creating the
freedom to innovate; to try new
ways of working and to share
that learning with others. In
some cases I have seen these
innovations become part of
mainstream working because they
were positive improvements.
A close second is what I have
14
learned personally from seeing the
diversity of approaches that are at
work across Europe, and through
having to understand different
systems and the thinking that
underpins them. I don’t doubt
that this is common to most
people who have been involved in
European projects, and I am sure
that they would all agree that it
is an immensely valuable and
satisfying experience.
I hear of many people who shy
away from Interreg, from LIFE,
from Leonardo and so on, because
of fears about bureaucracy, about
being diverted from one’s core
work. But I would urge these
people to think again, especially
when they work in coastal
management. We need to develop
new ways of working and that is
what these programmes are largely
about. So I say innovate, converse
and debate with your European
neighbours, and bring the benefits
back home.
This special edition of the edge
celebrates and reflects upon the
achievements of the Corepoint
project, funded through the
European Interreg programme.
The following pages give a taste of
the project and some insight into
what it achieved.
Alex Midlen,
Strategic Director

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not necessarily those of CoastNet.
© CoastNet, 2008

2 The edge Spring 2008 The edge Spring 2008 3