The North West Region Cross Border Group has been in existence for almost 30 years and consists of the 5 Council areas of Donegal, Strabane, Limavady, Magherafelt and Derry.

The Group acts as a facilitator and catalyst for regional economic regeneration and has worked through joint planning and co-ordination of its programme.

In July 1994 the Group presented to the two national governments and the European Commission, an Operational Programme for the region. Extensive consultation went into the preparation of this document and, as a result, the following priority themes were identified as necessary for sustainability and growth for the regional economy. These themes were:-

North West Region Secretariat
Marketing for Tourism – Regional Countryside Brochure
Columban Heritage Trail
Marketing for Inward Investment – Ireland North West
Foyle Basin Project
Regional Waste Management Strategy
Lough Foyle Car Ferry Project
Transportation and Infrastructure Study (in conjunction with ICBAN)
LACE/TAP (Dissemination of European Best Practice)

The Operational Programme presented to Interreg in October 1995 had a value of £150 million. Although the Group has not been able to achieve such levels of expenditure, this did not deter the Group from proceeding with pilot projects all of which were firmly placed within the priority themes identified within the Operational Programme.

The projects outlined were all local authority led and driven but required that the Group consult on a wide basis to ensure that the activity for the Group was both relevant and consistent with the wider needs of the region.

In December 2001, it was announced that the North West Region Cross Border Group, in conjunction with social partner representatives from within the region, would become an Implementation Body for the Ireland/Northern Ireland INTERREG Programme.