European Urban Initiative

Opportunities for Portuguese Cities Investing in Innovative Public Policies

The European Urban Initiative is an essential tool to support cities in developing innovative solutions. The program funds projects that address urban challenges relevant to the European Union, such as demographics, climate change, energy transition, or digital transformation.The total budget is €450 million, and there is an open call until October. 

Article: André Cester Costa, Head of National Policies Unit, INOVA+

Through the “Delegate Act no. 522/2014” of the European Parliament, dated March 11, 2014, the creation of the “Urban Innovative Actions” (UIA) program was instructed. This initiative of the European Union offered cities (urban areas) financial resources to test innovative and disruptive solutions related to sustainable urban development. The distribution rules for the €372 million of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocated to this program for the 2014-2020 period were then defined.

Currently, as in 2014, the European Union is characterized by highly populous urban areas – 75% of the EU’s total population lives in cities, towns, and suburbs – facing multiple and interconnected challenges related to employment, migration, demographics, climate change, housing, or energy and digital transition.

These urban areas are also the main drivers of new ideas and solutions, and they host a significant portion of actors with the competence and capacity to respond to urban challenges through local partnerships and implement bold and innovative public policies. However, the research and innovation developed in cities are not always applied due to the reluctance of urban authorities to use their budget to test new, unproven, and therefore high-risk ideas.

Testing Responses to Urban Challenges

The Urban Innovative Actions program emerged to address this need, offering urban authorities the opportunity to take risks and test innovative solutions for major urban challenges, understand how they work, and assess their ability to respond to real-life complexities.

Between December 2015 and December 2019, five calls for applications were launched, covering the following topics:

  • Urban poverty;
  • Integration of migrants and refugees;
  • Employment and skills in the local economy;
  • Energy transition;
  • Circular economy; Urban mobility;
  • Air quality;
  • Climate change adaptation;
  • Housing;
  • Digital transition;
  • Sustainable land use and nature-based solutions;
  • Urban security;
  • Demographic changes;
  • Culture and cultural heritage.

Between 2015 and 2023, the year of project completion, Portugal had only two of the 87 projects approved by the program. These projects were Aveiro Steam City in the Employment and Skills in the Local Economy topic and VoxPop from the municipality of Lisbon in the Digital Transition topic.

Enhanced Budget for the Program until 2027

Due to the success attributed to the Urban Innovative Actions program, the European Commission decided to launch a new program with an enhanced budget – the European Urban Initiative.

The European Urban Initiative is thus an essential tool to support cities of all sizes in developing skills and knowledge, supporting innovation, and developing transferable and scalable innovative solutions for urban challenges relevant to the EU. The new program has a total budget of €450 million, representing a 21% increase over the previous program’s budget, and is now divided into two types of actions: Innovative Actions and Capacity Building and Knowledge Development.

European Urban Initiative – Innovative Actions

This type gives cities the opportunity to test their innovative ideas through pilot projects and promote the transfer of this knowledge to other European cities.

European Urban Initiative – Capacity Building and Knowledge Development

This type aims to strengthen cities’ capacity to develop Sustainable Urban Development Policies through integrated and participatory processes.

Viana do Castelo and Coimbra with Approved Projects

Within the scope of “Innovative Actions,” three calls have already been published. The first, launched in October 2022 and closed in January 2023, was dedicated to the theme “New European Bauhaus”. 99 applications were received from 21 Member States, and 14 applications were approved.

Viana STARTS CENTRE

One of these approved applications was from a Portuguese city – the Viana STARTS CENTRE, in Viana do Castelo. The project will establish a new center in the city’s Old Slaughterhouse, dedicated to participatory activities in various artistic, scientific, and technological fields, to develop creative and sustainable solutions, fostering blue innovation. The building will be rehabilitated based on the principles of the New European Bauhaus, a movement launched by the European Commission to create bridges between the worlds of science and technology and the arts and culture.

The second call, launched in May 2023 and closed in October 2023, was dedicated to three themes: Greener Cities; Sustainable Tourism; and Attracting and Retaining Talent in Shrinking Cities. 112 applications were received from 21 Member States, and 22 projects were approved.

Coimbra ST LLM

In this context, a Portuguese project was approved, the project of the Municipality of Coimbra in Sustainable Tourism: Coimbra ST LLM. The initiative started this month and will create a Sustainable Tourism Portal based on a large language model (LLM). The goal is to improve the experience of tourists and local communities, supporting the development of a Welcoming, Sustainable, and Innovative Tourism Destination.

INOVA+ Promotes National Participation in the European Urban Initiative

INOVA+ supported the municipality of Aveiro in the 1st approved application under the UIA – Aveiro Steam City. In the new “European Urban Initiative” program, it not only supported the Municipalities of Viana do Castelo and Coimbra in preparing their successful applications but is also currently, as a partner, supporting these municipalities in the overall coordination of the physical and financial implementation of these innovative and transformative projects.

In the case of Viana do Castelo, after the first months of project implementation, councilor Ricardo Rego highlights the important role of INOVA+.

“INOVA+ demonstrated total commitment to our application from the very first moment, working closely with the teams of the Municipality of Viana do Castelo. The strategic vision and experience in European projects were and are invaluable for the success achieved and now in supporting the management of the Viana STARTS project. Creativity, rigor, and teamwork were fundamental to the development of a high-quality project that stands out at the European level”.

€90M Available for Energy Transition and Technology in Cities Projects

In May, the third call for project applications was launched under the European Urban Initiative – Innovative Actions [Access the call here]. This opportunity is open until 13:00 (Portuguese time) on October 14, and the budget is €90 million to be distributed among projects on two topics: Energy Transition and Technology in Cities.

If you intend to prepare an application for the “European Urban Initiative” program, INOVA+ has the frameworks and skills necessary to assist you. We can support the process of designing and consolidating an innovative and transformative operation for your ecosystem, which allows you to increase the chances of access within the scope of this third call. The maximum ERDF support to be awarded per project is €5 million.

For detailed information, please contact us.