ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility, Maastricht University) strives to research the effects of legislation, policy and enforcement on border regions by analysing, publishing and discussing the most interesting and current issues in-depth. This is done via annual ITEM Cross-Border Impact Assessments. The primary focus is on the border regions between the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.
This survey invites policy makers, administrators, (academic) experts, and practitioners in the field of transnational and cross-border mobility to submit your suggestions for a topic(s) for ITEM Cross-Border Impact Assessment 2026. Notably, the suggestion must concern a piece of upcoming or existing legislation or policy that you consider relevant and whose (potential) cross-border effects or impact on border regions should be researched in more detail in the coming year.
About the method: a Regulatory Impact Assessment
The ITEM Method is a Regulatory Impact Assessment, preferably done ex ante (before a law, amendment or policy comes into force) but can also be done ex post (after implementation). Various instruments aimed at the assessment of effects exist at the European and national levels. Examples of such initiatives include the European Commission’s Regulatory Impact Assessment and the ESPON Territorial Impact Assessment, that have a different focus and objective. ITEM’s regulatory Cross-Border Impact Assessment is complementary to such existing evaluations. This complementarity of ITEM’s report mainly consists of its particular focus on a designated border region. Read more about the method and it’s background in this article or read the previous Cross-Border Impact Assessments.
Do you want to learn more about the Cross-border Impact Assessment, the why, what and how? Watch a YouTube video on our research methodology here:
ITEM kindly invites you to participate in its survey for its Cross-Border Impact Assessment 2026. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 minutes. The survey is available in English and Dutch. However, you can also reply in French or German. The survey will be available up to and including 23 March 2026. You do not have to complete the survey in one go, your answers are temporarily saved.
We very much welcome your ideas, suggestions and experiences based on which the new research dossiers of 2026 will be chosen!