After a competitive process that saw 378 proposals submitted in March 2016 from across 24 EU Member States, 18 urban authorities will have the opportunity to experiment bold and innovative solutions to tackle the challenges linked to urban poverty, the integration of migrants and refugees, jobs and skills in the local economy and the energy transition.
The final decision was taken by a Selection Committee made up of the European Commission and the Entrusted Entity at the end of September based on the level of innovation of the proposals as well as on the quality of the partnership, the measurability of the expected results, the potential transferability of the solution to other urban authorities in Europe and the overall quality of the Work Plan. Approximately €80 million ERDF have been committed to support the selected projects
The approved projects were announced officially on the 12 October during the European Week of Regions and Cities.
The projects will kick-start their activities on 1 November for a duration of three years. One extra year will be dedicated to the capture and sharing of the main knowledge acquired during implementation.
In the coming months, each selected project will have a dedicate page in the UIA website with more detailed information on activities, partners and milestones.
UIA Experts will work closely with the 18 urban authorities and their partners to capture the knowledge generated throughout the testing phase and to make it available to policy-makers and practitioners in Europe and beyond.
Meanwhile, the UIA will continue to provide urban authorities with space and resources to experiment new bold ideas. The second Call for Proposals will be launched in November 2016. Interested urban authorities are invited to check the details of the topics of the circular economy, sustainable urban mobility and the integration of migrants and refugees now available on our website.