PERIURBAN is a regional initiative project, of medium level cooperation intensity, which uses interregional exchange of experiences to improve policies on management of natural suburban areas. PERIURBAN focuses specifically on policy and management solutions to mitigate pressures on biodiversity. The creation and management of parks in natural suburban areas has a positive impact on the environment and on halting biodiversity loss. Focus on such initiatives is in line with European environment policy and redevelopment in suburban areas. PERIURBAN is an integration of 2 European initiatives: GreenLink led by Regione Toscana and CityNature promoted by FEDENATUR. Through cooperation, the leaders of these 2 initiatives saw the potential for real progress in the field on management of suburban areas for better environmental conditions.PERIURBAN brings together 14 partners from 11 EU countries. Partners all have experience in and competencies to manage suburban areas, but are atdifferent stages with periurban parks. While some have long promoted such parks, and currently face management and sustainability concerns, others plan for their implementation and build on different suburban management experiences. Thus, this strong collection of partners representing regional authorities, local authorities, periurban parks and associations of parks, learn from each others' experiences in a continuous process of exchange.Regione Toscana is responsible for management and coordination of the project (Component 1). FEDENATUR, with its vast network of contacts all over Europe, is in charge of Communication and Dissemination of activities and results (Component 2) to a wide and relevant audience. These horizontal activities go alongside the core activities of Exchange of Experiences (Component 3) and Methodology Testing and Action Plans (Component 4). During Component 3 (led by Regione Toscana), partners are involved in participative exchange workshops, thematic seminarsand study visits, all of which support them in a territorial analysis (including good practices). These analyses are brought together in a joint report and used to form the basis of a Common Methodology for creation and management of periurban parks. In Component 4 (led by Zografou Municipal Enterprise of Development), partners test the methodology in 4 partner areas and, through intense activities and peer reviews, feed back into the methodology to improve and consolidate it. To ensure long term sustainability of actions promoting suburban management, partners produces action plans for potential future activities, based on the PERIURBAN learning process. Memorandums of Understanding are signed between partners who see potential for future, constructive cooperation (among partners and with external entities involved in activities). The project concludes with an international conference in Tuscany, where the foundations for further steps forward in this field are sealed. Achievements: PIKE set out to exchange 4 eGovernment and Wireless Broadband Good Practices (GP), to transfer those GP into the mainstream Structural Funds Programmes and to disseminate information about the project to a large audience. The 4 GP being transferred are: (1) Wireless Cities Flagship from Derry (NI) which consisted on the implementation of a wireless access network in the city and the piloting a number of key mobile services (education, tourism and local authority) to test user demand and business models for deployment of emerging wireless and mobile services. (2) Donegal Online Planning Services (www.donegalcoco.ie/eplanning) was a finalist in both the 2007 European eGovernment Awards and the Irish Government awards. It enables citizens and business to access up-to-date spatial planning information via the Internet 24 hours a day using a user friendly map interface. It is the most popular web site in Donegal County and, in addition to providing a better service to citizens/business,hasresulted in substantial operational efficiencies for the local authority .(3) Integrated Aid System (IAS),Cantabria (Spain) was also finalist in the 2007 EU eGovernment Awards. It is an eGovernment application that enables the online receipt, processing and payment of over 7,000 applications (worth circa €40 M) a year by businesses to the ERDF, CAP and EAGGF programmes administered by the government of Cantabria. (4) The Model for Introduction of eGovernment in Local Authorities (eLocal),Cantabria, (Spain) is a methodology and tool designed to help modernise diverse areas of the local administrations. Based on open systems, includes modules for shared service centres, management of citizen and business service interactions, exchange of information between local and regional levels of government. Potential to reach 80% of the population. The partners have successfully completed the GP transfer process which has involved: documenting the different aspects of 4 GP and compiling them ina handbook; an interregional GP transfer workshop which brought together transferring and adopting partners to present and discuss the GP in detail; study visits to the 3 transferring regions to gain a first hand experience of how the GP were being implemented and to directly discuss issues with the key players; development of a GP transfer roadmap which gave a high level representation of how the trasfer and implementation of the GP will take place at a regional level; development of 1 Action Plan per region describing the implementation of the GP in detail. In parallel, partners worked towards achieving the mainstreaming the GP into the Regional Operational Programmes (ROP), and they did so by having regular meetings with the Managing Authorities and other stakeholders to keep them up to date on project developments and to ensure their ongoing commitment.Each partner organised a regional Action Plan launch to present the imported GP to the various stakeholders and the general public. In terms of dissemination, the project had a launch conference in Derry and a closing conference in Burgas which were very well attended ;additionally several dissemination materials, including a bi-annual newsletter and a website were developed and disseminated. The project was also presented at several European conferences, it opened up its own community within the EU ePractice portal and hosted a dissemination workshop in Brussels on Sep'09 to present the GP and to discuss the main issues surrounding the Capitalization process. Several regional policies and instruments (i.e., ROP, regional strategies and plans, and others)have been improved as a result of PIKE and the total amount of mainstream funds targeted for the implementation of the 9 Action Plans is € 7,272,906.42, of which €3,050,000 has been secured to date.