The purpose of the service was to provide technical assistance to the Marche Region in the implementation of the ‘EUSAIR Stakeholders Engagement Point – StEP’ project. 
StEP is a strategic project, financed in the frame of the Interreg IPA ADRION programme, a European transnational cooperation programme, aimed at enhancing stakeholder engagement and collaboration within the Adriatic-Ionian region, fostering economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social cohesion across participating countries.

The Interreg IPA ADRION Programme brings together ten countries, including four EU Member States, five non-EU Partner States (IPA countries), and one third country (San Marino). This different composition within the Adriatic-Ionian Region fosters a dynamic collaborative environment, driving cross-border partnerships and promoting regional development initiatives.

The project aims to improve the EUSAIR Stakeholder Platform (ESP) and enhance its role in engaging stakeholders, facilitating and embedding financial dialogue, and coordinating a network of Managing Authorities. Expected outcomes include improved ESP infrastructure, a new data center, a Joint Stakeholder Engagement Plan, and enhanced cooperation with financial institutions to support EUSAIR Flagships and integration into IPA III.

The service provided comprehensive operational and strategic support to the StEP Management Team. It contributed to the design and organisation of three Action Labs, aimed at fostering structured dialogue among key stakeholders and strengthening coordination within the Adriatic-Ionian area.

In parallel, the service supported communication and capitalisation activities through the production of a structured video package dedicated to the Financial Dialogue Forum (held on 5 December 2024 in Ancona). This included a teaser and four thematic episodes exploring the key dimensions of the EUSAIR governance and financial architecture. The videos were produced in Italian with English subtitles to ensure accessibility across the macro-regional area.

The service also prepared two thematic publications in English Booklet - Financial Dialogue supporting the EUSAIR and Booklet - Green and Smart Ports  contributing to the consolidation and dissemination of project results.

Additional tasks included facilitating collaboration between ETC and mainstream Managing Authorities, managing databases and document repositories related to the implementation of EUSAIR Flagships, mapping funding opportunities under the 2021-2027 programming period, supporting the integration of the EUSAIR Strategy into ETC and mainstream programmes, and providing ongoing technical assistance to ESP stakeholders.