European Community of Practice on Partnership (ECoPP)

The European Community of Practice on Partnership (ECoPP) is a forum for those involved at all levels of the implementation of cohesion policy funds across Europe to exchange and reflect on partnership practices.

ECoPP consists of representatives of the managing authorities and partners that are mentioned in Article 8 of the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR 2021-2027) such as:

• NGOs at national and sub-national level
• municipalities
• regional authorities
• economic and social partners

ECoPP was established on the basis of Article 18 of the Commission Delegated Regulation 240/2014 - the European Code of Conduct on Partnership, which sets out the framework for the application of the partnership principle - one of the fundamental principles applying to the programming and implementation of European cohesion policy.

The objectives of ECoPP:

• to facilitate exchange of experience with partnership
• to stimulate capacity building
• to disseminate relevant outcomes, in particular good practices and innovative approaches
• to review the existing European Code of Conduct on Partnership (ECCP) and prepare proposals for its update for the 2021-2027 period

The community meets in annual plenary meetings. In between the plenary sessions the members of the community cooperate in thematic sub-groups and task forces where they share their experience, develop best practices on partnership, and discuss and reflect on the effective application of the European Code of Conduct on Partnership (ECCP). Two ECoPP experts support the Commission with the coordination and steering the work of the network.

The sub-groups of the ECoPP work in an independent manner on the range of topics chosen by the community. The ECoPP is a special group and does not fall under the rules set out under Commission rules for expert groups. The outputs presented below, represent solely the views of the members and not those of the Commission.

Key deliverables of ECoPP to date:

1. Set of recommendations on mechanisms for inter-fund coordination or multi-fund one-stop shops that can serve as a blueprint for ESI fund implementation (with upstream and downstream funding examples)
   
2. Accountability framework which breaks down the main accountability principles that should be guaranteed during partner selection (compliance, transparency, and responsiveness), based on examples of both good and bad practices from ECoPP members in their respective countries
   
3. Collection of good examples of partnership practice and recommendations on how to achieve meaningful partnership through co-creation
   
4. Guide for different forms of collaboration in multi-stakeholder processes with tips on how to organise this collaboration and necessary competence for the managing authorities
   
5. Guidelines (golden rules) for partnership facilitation at different stages of the partnership cycle and a proposal for a cross-fund e-platform to assist improved partnership facilitation by promoting exchange around partnership issues and challenges and access to relevant resources
   
6. Recommendations for revision of the European Code of Conduct on Partnership (ECCP) on a range of topics, including on the composition of monitoring committees, empowerment of smaller and underrepresented groups and the inclusion of co-creation as a guiding principle throughout all stages of the programming process, enhancing stakeholder capacity building.

Contact

You can contact the European Commission regarding the ECoPP at EC-ECOPP@ec.europa.eu

Related information

• 1st meeting of the Thematic Group on CAP Strategic Plans: Towards Implementation | European CAP Network (europa.eu)

• FAMENET (europa.eu)

Documents