Since RHA was established in 1992 the centre has been in the forefront of regional research in Iceland. A part of this emphasis has been transnational cooperation in regional research. The ESPON programme is an important venue in such research in Europe. A new project period for ESPON; the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion has been started (ESPON 2020). RHA has taken part in several applications with different consortiums but the following projects have materialized so far:

• Territories with geographical specificities

RHA participated actively in the ESPON 2013 Programme and was a partner in following projects:

• ENECON - ESPON Evidence in a North European Context
• ESPON on the Road - Bringing closer ESPON evidence for decision making
• KITCASP - Key Indicators for Territorial Cohesion and Spatial Planning
• NORBA - Nordic-Baltic dialogues on Transnational Perspectives in Spatial Planning
• SeGI - Indicators and Perspectives for Services of General Interest in Territorial Cohesion and Development

Dr. Gretar Thor Eythorsson, professor at UNAK - University of Akureyri is the ESPON contact point (ECP) for Iceland - gretar@unak.is.

ESPON uses an open competitive process in the selection of partners for projects. Calls are launched regularly.