Effective instruments supporting territorial development

1. Effective instruments supporting territorial development Strengthening local development and urban dimension within Cohesion Policy Daniel Balinski Anna Baucz Warsaw, 26 September 2011

2. Objective of the Issue Paper • Windows of opportunity, covering three main areas for policy intervention to be put forward for discussion: • Use of local development approach with a view to better coordination of integrated and territorially oriented EU policies, • Strengthening the instruments supporting the development of urban areas and correlations between cities and rural areas, • Strengthening the institutional capacity of entities involved in the support for local development. • Expectations towards MS: to express opinions on the individualproposals of the instruments, to facilitate reaching the consensus regarding the most desired shape of territorial development instruments at further step of the disscussion held by the Ministers, and within the works on the draft regulations for CP post 2013. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 2

3. Window of opportunity 1 Local Development Approach What is needed post 2013: • to increaseinteractions between the national, regional and local level in programming and implementation of public policies, • to provide incentives for LDA, in order to: • strengthen implementations of integrated local development strategies and plans, • integrate projects co-financed from different policies and funds, • encourage MS to use LDA instruments and • made it more atractive for beneficiaries, and opened for their needs. • to more involve various local stakeholders in delivering policy measures. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 3

4. Window of opportunity 1 Local Development Approach Policy option 1: Introducing a definition and consistent rules for local development within EU public policies • common provisions in the regulations and other documents related to the Cohesion Policy and other EU policies and within the individual funds, • principlesto be applied in the implementation of integrated measures at the local level in the scope of programming, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and control+supporting projects of local entities and facilitating local entities in applying for funds. Policy option 2: Promoting local development approach among Member States and other stakeholders • guidelines for local development to be prepared by DG REGIO, AGRI and MARE, informing ‘how to do it’ but flexible, and not too detailed, • reports on how to use the LDA by MS, developed by the EC or by external experts. Consisting of best practices from MS and recommendations for the effective application of the LDA. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 4

5. Window of opportunity 1 Local Development Approach Policy option 3: Introducing incentives to delegate the management ofdedicated parts of the operational programmes to local authorities • subdelegation of the management of some amount of funds from the OP to the local authorities, • precondition: the elaboration of an integrated local development strategy/plan, • to encourage MS to support specific (policy) interventions (strengthening functional urban areas, improving the access to basic public services in rural areas, urban-rural linkages), • to support innovative projects, more complex and involving various partners from the area covered by the instrument, • each delegation of the management to local level would need to be approved by the institution at national level responsible for coordinating the implementation of the funds from CP. Policy option 4: Supporting experimental, pilot and innovative projects in the field of local development • dedicated to difficult projects, due to involvement of multiple entities, innovative nature of a project or high innovativeness level etc., • types of incentives: additional funds to MA from national reserve, or higher co-financing rate at project level to encoourage beneficiaries to carry out the projects. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 5

6. Window of opportunity 1 Local Development Approach Policy option 5:Introducing financial instrument for supporting integrated local development strategies and plans co-financed by various financial instruments • possibility to introduce the Financial Instrument Supporting Local Development (FISLD), • to integrate funding from different EU fundsfor interventions in the field of local development specified in EU regulations(e.g. revitalization, delivering basic public services in rural areas, enhancing of the integration between urban and rural areas, etc.), • precondition: the preparation of an integrated local development strategy / plan to be approvedby an inter-programme body (representatives of the relevant MC of the OPs), • operator of funds: public or private institution as final beneficiary, • types of assisstance: grants, repayable assistance, credit lines or preferential loans, • accounting rules: the same for all funds integrated under the instrument (e.g. ERDF, ESF, EAFRD), • types of projects to be given support: mixed of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ interventions adjusted to different functional areas, 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 6

7. Window of opportunity 1 Local Development Approach Policy Option 6: Introducing the obligation to prepare an integrated local development strategy / plan for functional area as a pre-condition for using the European funds • integrated local development strategy / plan to be elaborated according to the EC guidelines for local development (Policy option 2) • obligatory document prepared by local authoritiesin order to make use of the instruments described in the Policy options: 3., 4., 5. and 10: • subdelegation of the management of the funds from OP to local authorities, and the one designed especially for cities • experimental, pilot and innovative projects • Financial Instrument Supporting Local Development 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 7

8. Window of opportunity 2 Instruments for urban areas and urban-rural linkages What is needed post 2013: • Clearly marked position for urban areas and with dedicated instruments • Implementation of the integrated urban development: • should be made attractive for the authorities (“pull approach”) • MAs should get incentives to implement it (“pushapproach”) • More flexible attitude in delivering urban development strategies (mechanisms to to integrate resources from different funding streams) • Consideration of the whole Functional Urban Area in the interventions using the EU funding for urban areas 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 8

9. Window of opportunity 2 Instruments for urban areas and urban-rural linkages Policy option 7: The urban dimension as a priority of the Cohesion Policy • urban dimension as a priority of the Cohesion Policyshould be guaranteed equally in the ERDF and ESF regulations, • thematic scope should address the objectives of the Europe 2020 and the Leipzig Charter: priority to actions using the potentials of urban areas & to actions aiming at supporting the challenges the cities and towns have to tackle such as deprived urban areas. Policy option 8: Introducing the definition and consistent rules for integrated urban development into the Regulations and related documents • common for the Cohesion Policy and other EU policies (CAP, CFP etc). 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 9

10. Window of opportunity 2 Instruments for urban areas and urban-rural linkages Policy option 9:Making cities the co-partners of regional authorities in developing and implementation of regional strategies Local authorities should: • be made co-responsible for developing and implementing regional strategies, • get a well described role as co-partners in the programming and implementing (regional) operational programmes, • be made responsible together with the regional partners in the preparation and implementation of the operational programmes. Policy option 10:Introducing the possibility of creating a special instrument for cities that delegates responsibility for the management of European funds to local authorities • a certain part of funds from one or several operational programmes would be dedicated to the development of selected cities  subdelegation, • “mini-contracts” with cities sepcifing the conditions, • special incentives for MA and MS could be introduced. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 10

11. Window of opportunity 2 Instruments for urban areas and urban-rural linkages Policy option 11:Introducing dedicated urban priority axes in the selectedoperational programmes • option for MS to implement the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy • cross-sectoral needs of cities and towns would be met • this axis could cover explicit thematic areas indicated in the regulations 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 11

12. Window of opportunity 2 Instruments for urban areas and urban-rural linkages Policy option 12: Improving tools for city networking The new instrument should combine the following possibilities: • networking all European cities interested, • networking cities which are implementing the urban dimension of CP, • networking limited number of cities selected by MS  urban development platform. Policy option 13: Increasing the use of analyses of the FUA prepared within the ESPON Programme • theESPON expertise should be used by policy makers and widely distributed among all stakeholders. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 12

13. Window of opportunity 3 Institutional capacity for local development • The institutional capacity of entities involved in the support for local development should be strengthened • A "must" to merge the external knowledge and the unique potential embedded in the specific place; • Improvement of knowledge about local development at all levels of the management system: local, regional and national • Local stakeholders should understand the rules of the local development approach and they should be made them aware of their importance in the involvement in the debate 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 13

14. Window of opportunity 3 Institutional capacity for local development Policy option 14:Introducing incentives for Member States to support capacity building of localauthorities in the preparation and implementation of integrated developmentstrategies/plans for functional areas • possibility to create a separate priority under the TAor ESF OPdedicated to support institutional capacity at the local level (for local authorities and local non-state actors), • objective: • to support local authorities and other entities in the preparation and implementation of integrated local strategies/plans, • to promote the establishing of the development observatories – local or sub-regional “nodes of knowledge”. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 14

15. Window of opportunity 3 Institutional capacity for local development Policy option 15: Creating local platforms for strategic debate regarding development • to encourage the exchange of experience and cooperation among all the local stakeholders and with representatives of regional authorities (broder than issues regarding CP), • option to increase the ownership and strengthen the local empowerment in the decision-making process by linking them to the implementation system of operational programmes. Policy option 16: Creating a project-pipeline system • to be created at national level, • tosupport beneficiaries in the preparation for implementation of experimental, pilot and innovative projects, • types of assistance:training in the application procedures, establishing agreements between multiple entities, and sharing of the best practices, • support provided through the consulting companies or public entities that have the knowledge and experience in the development of strategies or preparation of projects for implementation. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 15

16. Window of opportunity 3 Institutional capacity for local development Policy option 17:Introducing a new networking instrument for local authorities • to enable and encourage networking and cooperation of local authorities from the neighbouring municipalities, especially in functional urban areas, • mechanism similar to the LAGs, • to encourage the inclusion of local stakeholdersBUT primarly to involve the representatives of local authorities from the neighbouring municipalities, to prepare and implement projects covering the functional areas (not just a small scale projects of a given municipality), • to encourage networking and exchange of experience between local authorities and local partnerships at international level. 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 16

17. Q U E S T I O N S • Which of the options are the most important and should be reflected in the regulations? • Which of the options do not have any chance of finding agreement from your side and should be abandoned? • What kind of issues are missing and need to be added? • Will any of the proposals find its reflection in drafts of the regulations for CP and other EU policies to be presented on 5th October? 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 17

18. Thank you for your attention! Effective instruments supporting territorial development Strengthening local development and urban dimension within Cohesion Policy 26.09.11 Effective instruments supporting territorial development 18