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This series has covered 18 projects launched through an EU initiative, “Engaging Citizens for Good Governance in Cohesion Policy”.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) received up to EUR 25 000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for innovations to better target cohesion policy funds and renew public engagement in democracy.
#madebycitizen4cohesion
Citizens and CSOs around Italy have been raising awareness of and shaping priorities for 2021-2027 Regional Operational Programmes in five structured dialogues. Each discussion covered one each of: work-life balance; parks and protected areas; e-procurement and digitalisation of services; creative industry; and the future of Europe.
Each debate involved at least 25 citizens, seven to eight CSOs, and up to three managing authorities and experts. Up for discussion were cohesion policy achievements and recommendations for future action, to be included in a final report.
Background materials and dialogue summaries are available on the project’s website, and participants have signed up as cohesion-policy ambassadors to expand citizen engagement with policy choices.
‘We are particularly proud of the wide and active presence of students and high-school classes at the event “A Europe closer to citizens” … The young participants showed a great passion in sharing their ideas.’
Andrea Ciaffi, Director EU and International Affairs, Conference of Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces
Agenda Partecipata dei Territori (Territorial agenda in partnership)
This project put remote and vulnerable inland areas in Lombardy in the spotlight. Citizens and local stakeholders in this Italian region have helped to create an agenda for local authorities to redesign services, boost economies, sustain local heritage and strengthen regional cohesion within the 2021-2027 Lombardia Operational Programme.
A survey among 500 inhabitants under 40 from the region informed a baseline for action. Three citizen-and-stakeholder focus groups within the target areas then identified challenges and key actions, from which regional stakeholders and experts identified priorities.
Results will be published on the project’s website, which along with educational materials, outreach products and participant interviews will help more people to influence decisions on the spending of cohesion funds.
Kleroterion
Citizen assemblies in Western Greece, Central Greece and Alentejo in Portugal have been contributing to local cohesion-policy programmes through the Kleroterion project. Organisers set up three regional panels, each with 30-50 citizens selected at random, following an ancient Greek practice.
Topics and formats were chosen for easy input on local issues. After a briefing, participants recommended not only small-scale solutions but also more general ones, such as earlier communication of calls to beneficiaries and more focus on social inclusion.
Participants are more aware of how cohesion policy impacts their lives, while other managing authorities are interested in replicating the grassroots consultation. For these, a handbook and action plan are available from project organiser, CPMR.
‘Many people tend to think of EU funds as distant, unrelated to their day to day lives. The project is intended to show that a direct involvement of citizens in planning measures can reverse this widespread view.’
Francesco Molica, Regional Policy Director, CPMR
CITI4GREEN
The CITI4GREEN project supported citizens and CSOs in Central Italy to co-design a policy brief for local authorities restoring earthquake-hit areas using cohesion funds. A second report shares information on the results of EU-funded actions.
Project organisers assessed EU-funded measures for supporting impacted communities, jobs and the environment in terms of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). Hundreds of local people then provided feedback on measures in a specially designed survey and online platform. This feedback will guide managers to shape projects for a resilient, sustainable and safer region.
The resulting documents, which are in plain language, are also being promoted in the region via workshops and social media, empowering more people to understand and assess cohesion-policy strategies.
‘We had constructive feedback on how local communities perceive cohesion policies and the SDGs. This allowed us to understand the best techniques and engagement methods for sustainable reconstruction projects co-designed with regional actors.’
Fernando Nardi, Senior Research Associate, and Laura Cavalli, Programme Director Agenda 2030, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
People Shaping Cities for the People (PSCP)
Public talks and urban hackathons in the Romanian cities of Brașov and Oradea have generated local insights to make the cities more sustainable.
Public officials, business leaders, NGOs and innovators presented good practices in the talks, while a total of 17 teams of citizens took part in the structured hackathons.
Around 2 000 viewers logged on to view each of the four events. Results, such as points-based fees for cars entering Brașov and smart bike stations in Oradea have been shared on the Urbanize Hub platform.
Oradea has since entered a neighbourhood-design kit for residents, NewBlocKit, into the 2022 New European Bauhaus Prizes, and PSCP has contributed to the EU mission for 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030.
Libellula
In the Italian municipality of Palermo, citizens have been shaping local policies in a civic-monitoring lab from the Libellula project.
Around 40 CSOs and professionals selected by the project took part in roundtables on social inclusion, the environment, participatory democracy, transparency and civic monitoring to propose a local action plan.
Citizens collaborating with civil servants put ideas under the microscope and refined them, supported by training in public finance. Among the proposals being adopted by Palermo are plans to connect local green areas and an online platform to monitor the delivery of social services.
Project organiser Parliament Watch Italia is sharing Palermo’s example across Italy to inspire further city-citizen collaboration in local open government forums.
‘For the people we are working with, we are the enzyme that started and facilitated the process.’
Francesco Saija, President, Parliament Watch Italia
New call for citizen engagement projects
The success of the 18 initiatives and results from EU-OECD cooperation has led to a call for new projects for citizen engagement. Any public authority managing or implementing cohesion funding with CSOs can apply, but hurry – the deadline is 30 April 2022.
The call was announced at a high-level event held by DG REGIO on 10 March 2022. Participants discussed the importance of citizen engagement and lessons learned so far, including those in a joint EU-OECD good-practice report.
Elisa Ferreira, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms summarised the importance of working closely with citizens when shaping public initiatives: ‘Citizen participation is not an optional extra. It is one of the foundations and preconditions of a project’s success. As the excellent report from OECD makes clear, we must move from citizen consultation to citizen engagement.’
FIND OUT MORE
#madebycitizen4cohesion – http://www.regioni.it/madebycitizen4cohesion-home/
Agenda Part dei Territori – https://fondazionefeltrinelli.it/agenda-partecipata-dei-territori/
Kleroterion – https://cpmr.org/projects/cohesion-projects/
CITI4GREEN – www.feem.it
People Shaping Cities – www.urbanizehub.com
Libellula – http://parliamentwatch.it/
Call for expression of interest: Innovative Implementation of the Partnership Principle in Cohesion Policy – ec.europa.eu
Helping everyday public administrations improve their skills:
Managing EU funds for cohesion policy can be difficult, and there are often needs for training and tools to make the work better and faster. The competence centre for “administrative capacity building” at DG REGIO offers tools, training, support and knowledge to help civil servants enhance their skills in topics as specialised as state aid, public procurement and road map for capacity building – and as wide as anti-corruption, fraud and civil society partnerships.
Visit the following page to know more about all the learning products we offer: Improving how funds are invested and managed.