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Council of Europe Development Bank: a trusted partner for regions

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Investing in regions reduces social and economic disparities and promotes inclusive growth, one of the priority areas of operation for the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). In recent years, the Bank has stepped up its cooperation with regions and municipalities in its member countries in order to lend its full support to their social investments.

The  scale  of  needs  in local infrastructure  across  the continent is  particularly  large,  given  demographic pressures and climate  change adaptation. Local governments are responsible for a quarter of all public expenditure and almost half of all public investment; however, slow and uneven recovery in public investments since 2009 has been a concern.

CEB’s recent investments in regions across Europe include revitalisation and modernisation of urban and rural infrastructure in Trnava, Slovakia; expanding education facilities in Malmö, Sweden; and improving municipal services in Tampere, Finland.

Flexible financing for local investments

With its range of flexible financial instruments, the CEB is an attractive partner for regions looking to diversify sources of funding for their public investments. The CEB is an important source of long-term financing for social investment at local level – one quarter of CEB loans are provided directly to regional and local authorities.

In addition to project and programme loans, the CEB offers the following instruments particularly suitable to regions.

  • EU Co-financing Facility (ECF)

ECF loans allow for co-financing and/or ex-ante financing of EU-funded investment activities. They are developed in conjunction with different EU financing instruments directly supporting current EU objectives and facilitate better absorption of EU Funds in the CEB’s priority sectors.

  • Cross-sectoral loan (CSL)

The CSL provides flexibility in the use of funds for all purposes, which can be a significant advantage. This type of loan is a great match for urban renewal projects with many interdependent components that are not easily boxed into neatly defined sectors.

  • Public Sector Financing Facility (PFF)

The PFF is a financing instrument for maintaining the viability and sustainability of social investment programmes faced with a lack of funding over time.  PFF loans cover temporary financing gaps in the public sector and facilitate the continuation of investments and reform programmes, particularly in the areas of high social relevance.

How to apply for CEB financing

A loan application should include the following preliminary information:

  • Brief description of the project and its sustainability
  • Project’s financial aspects (loan amount, estimated project cost, financing plan) and implementation schedule
  • Borrower’s profile and general information

Potential borrowers include governments, local/regional authorities, public/private financial institutions or any other public/private legal entity approved by a CEB member state.

For more information on applying for a loan contact [email protected]

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Study visit on the Energy transition: you’re invited!

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On the occasion of the London Committee 1 plenary meeting, members agreed to organise a study visit on the energy transition in Gelderland (NL) to share and learn from each other’s experiences.

Multistakeholder collaboration

The main focus of the study visit, which will be organised in cooperation with other interregional networks, will be the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). This collaboration between local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, has pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society.

A bottom-up approach

The unique nature of the GEA resides in its origin. The initiative sprouted from society when it faced the complex, intricate problems of the energy transition.

The three initiators were GNMF, the Gelders’ environmental protection association, het Klimaatverbond, a national climate association and Alliander, an energy network company. While the provincial government endorses the project, it is not a top-down initiative.

A unique cooperation process

The Gelders’ energy agreement currently brings together 190 partners. Non-governmental organizations, municipalities, provincial government, local and regional businesses work in cooperation on 24 topics to reach these goals. The co-creation process is unique in its nature, and has supported many initiatives already. Examples are solar- and wind parks, local information counters for individual household isolation measures and a clean mobility center.

Involving all sectors for the energy transition

While the Paris Agreement at COP21 illustrated the global commitment to the environment, the GEA is a regional translation of the massive task this commitment implies. The global trend towards fossil free energy resources has significant repercussions at the regional and local level.

The GEA does not only affects households and the design of residential areas, but the public and private space to facilitate wind, water, solar power and geothermal systems. Additionally, it intends to shift the methods of transportations, highlighting the importance of electrification of mobility. Furthermore, businesses also have their part to play, by optimizing and changing their production processes. In that sense, all sectors and aspects of society come together towards energy transition in the organization of the Gelders’ energy agreement.

Goal: Energy neutral province 2050

Organizations in the GEA pledged to take their role in the energy transition towards an energy neutral province in 2050. And they work towards shorter-term goals, such as 14% renewable energy in 2020, and natural gas free in 2035. Renewable energy in the province of Gelderland is currently only 5,5%. These goals are thus a major task and it takes every branch of society to achieve them. In the GEA, all actors gather to take their share in constructing a sustainable region.

Study visit

The Province of Gelderland invites all AER members to take part in a study-visit to get to know this unique multistakeholder collaboration for an energy-neutral Province.

When: 31 October – 2 November
Where: Gelderland, Netherlands
Who is invited: Regions, regional businesses and/or knowledge-institutes

The visit will feature: how GEA works, meeting with regional partners, visiting of sites to share regional good practice and a regional energy game.

The energy game is a very serious element of the visit and was the highlight of last year’s event on energy at the House of Dutch Provinces which brought together representatives of several regions and organisations. The serious game revealed the diverging interests and need for compromise and negociation in the deployment of any energy strategy. This serious-but-very-enjoyable game is an efficient way to discuss the main competing priorities in terms of energy strategies and learn from each other’s experiences.

 

To participate in the study visit, please contact Daisy Pasanea

Useful links

Study visit on the energy transition

Study visit on energy transition

Photo credits: Karsten Würth

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Social entrepreneurship: partners wanted!

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Europe, as a community of shared values and a framework for collaboration, will only be able to endear itself to the majority of Europeans if it manages to carry a significant social dimension. A social dimension which visibly impacts the lives of Europeans in a positive way. Social entrepreneurship can help growing this social dimension.

Social inclusion: a real need in Europe

Social inclusion is a key aspect for Europe. It, therefore, is also a key policy goal. Indeed, many citizens are still not able to equally benefit of all the opportunities Europe has to offer. Women are still underprivileged in certain respects, young people and elderly people as well. Immigrants often have a hard time to be fully included in their new country. Minorities, such as the Roma or the LGBTI people and communities are also confronted to inequalities. The situation of people with disabilities is yet another illustration of inequalities and exclusion which have to be addressed.

Action plan: from ideas to projects

At the recent AER London plenary meeting, members discussed the actions they want to implement in the coming year. All three AER thematic committees held an individual session about the themes which should be addressed and the actions which would be relevant for members. In Committee 2 one of the prioritized themes was that of social inclusion. The discussion focused on the aspects of social inclusion to be put highest on the agenda but also which strategies would be most effective in promoting and stimulating social inclusion.

Regions attending the London meeting discussed who would be willing and able to lead joint projects and collaborative efforts of member regions in this broad field. The rule of the game being that no proposal could be made without specifically identifying for each action the regions which would be leading the implementation and those which would support it.

Social entrepreneurship, a tool for inclusion

In the discussion on social inclusion, considerable attention was being paid to social entrepreneurship as a method of practically strengthening social inclusion. It was widely recognized that involving the private sector and engaging individual employers are key to really making a difference when it comes to social inclusion and cohesion. Highly relevant is then how to engage entrepreneurs effectively. How to reach them, how to convince them, how to engage them, how to make them act effectively.

Exchanging good practices & developing a project

Participants in the discussion agreed that identifying and exchanging best practices would be very valuable and that the AER network provides an excellent and natural framework for such exchange.

Participants discussed the opportunity of getting co-financing from the European Union for good practice exchange in the context of an EU-funded interregional project. The region of Timis, for instance, presented a project idea focused on good practice sharing for social inclusion.

The province of Flevoland (NL)  shared it would be willing to look into the possibility of playing a role in initiating a project around social entrepreneurship, based on the exchange of best practices. Regions also interested in participating in a project focusing on social entrepreneurship are kindly invited to let this know

Regions interested in participating in a project focusing on social entrepreneurship together with the Province of Flevoland are kindly invited to contact AER Coordinator for European Projects and Private Partnerships Agnese Pantaloni or Rutger Schuitemaker at the Province of Flevoland

 

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Decisions from the Executive Board in London

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The AER Executive Board (EB) met at the occasion of the Spring Committees Plenaries in London on 21 March for their first meeting in 2017. High on the agenda was the preparation for the General Assembly as well as following topics of strategic importance in various fields. Here are some of the key decisions that were taken.

Revising the planning strategy

The recent changes in the Statute adopted by the General Assembly in June 2016 sought to clarify and simplify the roles of the AER bodies (Bureau, Committees, General Assembly) giving them each prominence in their fields. The planning strategy needs to reflect these changes for the sake of coherence:

  • Political priorities: the political priorities will now run for 1 year in order to better reflect issues that come up. They will be decided by the Bureau and will serve as the guidelines for AER’s work. The action plan will no longer be a static document but will be continuously adapted to reflect the reality of the activities taking place and available on the website.
  • 3 changes in the Statute: the portfolios of the Vice-Presidents are assigned by the Executive board. The number of Vice-Presidents will be between 3 and 6. The election committee will work throughout the year and will also be responsible for the elections of the Committees.
  • Changes in the procedures: proposal for each Committee to work with a Presidium that takes joint responsibility for the activities, and increase involvements and relations.

Measures for smooth transition

The elections taking place in June in Lower Austria mark a turning point for the organisation. The Executive Board that has been responsible to implement major changes over the past 4 years will see itself largely replaced after these elections. The work of the Election Committee has been key in this process to ensure suitable matching between nominations and profiles for the open positions. Conscious of the delicate process that a transition can be and confident in its open and transparent processes, the Executive Board has set up 3 additional measures to make the transition a successful one and to give the new EB members all the tools for a successful mandate: (1) a transition meeting of the outgoing and incoming Executive Board will be organised the day following the General Assembly in Lower Austria to include newly-elected members in the operations; (2) a meeting with the seconded officers of Executive Board members will be organised in June in Brussels to establish work methods, roles and responsibilities; (3) the EB suggests the election of a President Emeritus, for the outgoing President, to provide such advice as from time to time is requested by the President or the Executive Board.

Continued involvement in ARLEM

AER has been active in the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) for many years, but the EB recently questioned the relevance of this activity and asked Mr Christian Debève (Grand-Est-FR) to attend one of their meetings and evaluate the added-value for AER. Following a report from Mr Debève, the EB confirmed AERs participation in ARLEM activities and events as an excellent means to get further involved in Mediterranean issues and gain visibility on that front.

Membership in the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Government

AER was invited by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to join its Global Task Force. This taskforce is a gathering of the key worldwide networks working on the global agenda : the Sustainable Development Goals and the fight against climate change. The Taskforce members share information on these topics and decide on common action when needed. Current members include CEMR, Metropolis, C40, ICLEI or nrg4sd. Next common action through the Global Taskforce, the organisation of the COP23 Summit of local and regional leaders!

On the way to becoming founding member of the European college of local innovation and democracy

AER has been approached to become a founding member of this new European college, the very first college dedicated 100% at Master degrees on the European action of future or current local and regional leaders (students, civil servants or politicians). To put it simply : the college of Bruges of local and regional authorities.

Located in the historic town of Cluny in AER member region Bourgogne-Franche Comté (FR), the first students will be welcomed in 2018 with priviledged access to AER members.

AER is following closely the progress of the European college and will inform you as soon as the first applications will be open. In the meantime, a delegation of the AER Summer Academy Committee and the Youth Regional Network will go to Cluny in early July 2017 in order to participate in the College’s Summer School and discuss potential cooperation on the Summer Academy and YRN front.

AER programmes looking ahead

“The Summer Academy will be taking a break in 2017 and focus resources and energy on planning for the 2018 and 2019 editions”, explained Mr Rune Fredriksen, President of the Summer Academy Organising Committee (SAOC). The SAOC will also be looking at attracting new regions to join the Organising Committee.

Ms Gloria Vitaly, President of the Youth Regional Network (YRN), spoke of the preparation for the upcoming YRN Committee meetings and General Assembly. The changes in the Statute will give the YRN the necessary tools to pursue the topics of their interest all the while influencing AER bodies to keep the youth perspective in their positions and actions.

A new Statute will also be adopted in Lower Austria for the Eurodyssey programme , aiming at clarifying the relations between the two structures while giving the members in the programme latitude to establish working methods that best fit the needs for filling the placement opportunities of the member regions.

 

 

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World sustainable energy days: Experience sharing & business

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At the AER Spring Plenaries, regional policy makers reiterated their interest in the World Sustainable Energy Days, one of Europe’s largest annual conferences on sustainable energy. The WSED17 event, which took place from 1 to 3 March 2017 in Upper Austria (AT) gathered around 700 participants from 59 countries achieving resounding success.

What was WSED17 all about?

8 Conferences, treating relevant thematics as energy efficiency, biomass and sustainable buildings and 3 interactive events with technical study visits, allowing participants to gain first-hand information and to discuss specific questions on-site with the project operators.

Through a call for papers, around 80 papers were submitted by young researchers from 35 countries in the fields of energy efficiency and biomass. Some of the papers were selected and presented and two of them received the Best Young Researcher Awards:
• Best Young Researcher Biomass: Rebecca Trojanowski – “Repeatability in particulate and gaseous emissions from pellet stoves” and
• Best Young Researcher Energy Efficiency: Modar Yasin and Felix Klinker – “Cooling performance of phase change material systems”

Another interactive part of the event is “the voting”. During this session, the audience was invited to answer questions regarding their opinions towards the different conference topics. You can have a look at the results!

Upcoming steps

The 2018 edition of the  World Sustainable Energy Days will take place from 28 February – 2 March 2018. The deadline for the Call for Papers & Speakers is 10 October 2017.
AER members interested in participating in this event or to organise a specific activity related to this event can contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer, Johanna Pacevicius. The World Sustainable Energy Days in Wels are a unique opportunity to learn about the latest information on technologies and policies, be part of the sustainable energy community and build networking and business

Useful links

Conference Review

European Energy Efficiency Conference 2017

World Sustainable Energy Days 2017

World Sustainable Energy Days: A focus on sustainable energy

Spotlight on young researchers to boost energy efficiency and biomass

10th edition of the World Sustainable Energy Days

AER at the World Sustainable Energy Days

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AER series on investments: Episode 2

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Episode 2 of the AER series on investments focuses on the EFSI technical and advisory services available to regions for a sound and smooth implementation of the Juncker Plan.

Reaching the real economy

At the Opening Conference of AER Committees’ Plenaries in London, Florentine Hopmeier, Team Leader for the Investment Plan for Europe, European Commission, presented the latest features of the Investment Plan. She insisted on the EFSI technical and advisory services in particular. Regions had the opportunity to discuss and ask her questions about the challenges their facing. The European Fund for Strategic Investment is mobilising at least € 315bn for access to finance and strategic investments and is already supporting projects from areas such as research & innovation, digital economy, energy union, transport or the circular economy.

To facilitate the process of developing projects and matching with the investment opportunities, the EFSI has been equipped with the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH), for advisory services, technical assistance and providing expertise and with the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP), to improve transparency and to help matching investment opportunities proposed by project sponsors with investors’ interest. We will go through the main accessible services.

EFSI technical and advisory services for project development

To address the main financial and non-financial obstacles the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) is providing support to the investment environment, during the project development and preparation. It is a partnership between the EIB and the European Commission and both contribute to its financing.

Project promoters, public authorities and private companies can ask for technical assistance and receive advices from high-level experts in order to get their project ready and suitable for investment opportunities. Here are the main programmes available:

  • JASPERS (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions), provides EU Member States with assistance during all stages of the project cycle, from development to capacity building and provides you an independent quality review. Here is the detailed description of the services, which are free of charge.
  • ELENA (European Local ENergy Assistance), provides investment preparation support related to energy efficiency and renewable energy across the 28 EU Member States. You can contact ELENA providing a brief description of your entity and the planned investment programme. The ELENA team will review the information and assess if the project meets the eligibility criteria and they will actively support you during the application process.
  • EPEC (European PPP Expertise Centre), supports the public sector’s ability to deliver better Public-Private Partnerships, through market intelligence, helping the PPP legal framework, the processes of preparing, approving and managing PPPs. This is mainly done through network activities, policy advice and project development support. Through the helpdesk facility they provide responses to immediate questions or find the relevant expertise needed.

The fi-compass  platform supports and enhance the use of EU funds. Searching by topic or by country gives access to guidance and manuals, providing practical know-how and learning tools on financial instruments. Through events and learning opportunities the platform enables the sharing of experiences in using the financial instruments and supports in the management.

InnovFin Advisory guides its clients on R&I projects in order to improve their structure and the access to finance. The services provided are many such as business modelling, strategic planning, eligibility criteria, governance, innovative financial instruments and they are provided independently of the EIB’s lending/investment decisions. You can submit you request writing a detailed description of the project, including business plan highlights and the expected budget commitment.

Bridging opportunities to investors

The European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) is a web portal where investors can search for project opportunities across Europe, choosing the size, sector and geographical position. Project promoters seeking for investors have only to register their proposal to the portal  and filling out a project application. The publication is free for public authorities.

In this way the project opportunities gain visibility and the investors can choose the solution which better fit their willings. The matching process between the interested sides becomes smoother and easier. This simple and user-friendly portal enables the transparency of the EU investment opportunities and at the same time makes them attractive to investors worldwide.

Useful link

Presentation on Investment Plan for Europe & EFSI 2.0

Related articles

AER series on investments: Episode 1

Committees’ Spring Plenary

Investing in the future: new perspectives for the regions

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Cultural heritage: from Veneto to Flanders via… Nordland

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How a storm, which in 1431 dramatically changed the route of  Pietro Querini, a Venetian merchant, now is a motive for experience sharing on innovation and entrepreneurship!

Cultural heritage a basis for exchange

On the occasion of the AER Spring plenaries, delegates interested in cultural heritage had the opportunity to participate in a workshop on cultural heritage. The main objective was to set up partnerships for European projects and identify specific topics for interregional cooperation.

The region of Nordland is currently developing a project on a cultural heritage route from south to north in Europe, based on the story of Pietro Querini. The Venetian merchant sailed from Crete, bound for Bruges in Flanders. Altogether 68 men sailed on three merchant ships loaded with wine casks and spices intended for Western European markets. The fleet passed malta, the Canary Islands and Galicia, but encountered a terrible storm on the west coast of France. The storm damaged the ships and the sailors had to go in the lifeboats. Without ability to navigate, the boats were driven by the streams following the coast of Ireland and Scotland ending up on the remote island of Rost in Northern Norway. The history of Querini as a background makes it possible to connect Europe from south to north. The journey follows the trails of merchants that have impacted many different cultures.

Inga-Lill Sundset, Project Manager in Nordland (NO) presented the project idea and with a group of regions started developing the partnership of Via Querissima. The project will strengthen address questions such as:

  • How can an economy based on creative/ cultural industries be managed, enhanced and implemented?
  • What kind of tools and competencies are present and how are they best used as experience products?
  • how can the partnership develop stronger awareness of its unique resources?

Alf Norberg, County Councilor in Gävleborg (SE) shared the main features of an all-encompassing and an ambitious project his region developed for the European Year for Cultural Heritage. Participants exchanged in particular around the topic of digitalisation and shared ideas on using virtual reality for cultural heritage, improving accessibility and the development of dedicated applications. Cultural heritage in the project from Gävleborg aims at developing activities, promoting the region but also quite importantly at being a tool for inclusion and social cohesion. “Gävleborg’s cultural heritage strategy has been developed in collaboration with regional actors. It underlines that cultural heritage is a resource for achieving a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable society” explains Alf Norberg.

Other ideas for cooperation include the walking pilgrim Route which goes from Trondheim to Santiago de Compostela, the trade of wine or the digitisation of exhibitions for elderly people.

Funding Opportunities

While national funding schemes such as the “national city of culture” in the UK or others are an important source of funding for cultural heritage, a number of opportunities exist also at European level.

These were detailed by AER Coordinator for European Projects & Private Partnerships Agnese Pantaloni and include specific calls in H2020, Interreg and Creative Europe:

 

“What strikes me is the wealth of cultural heritage we have in Europe and the strong interest regions have in developing it” concludes Nina Björby, Chair of the AER Subcommittee on Culture, “this is why having a workshop like today is such a powerful experience: regions find in the same place information on funding schemes and new partners”.

Related articles

Committees’ Spring Plenary

Develop a project on cultural heritage

Gävleborg: a county of cultural heritage

Cultural heritage & the environment

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Youth mental health: pressing needs across Europe

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On the occasion of the AER Spring plenaries, regional policy makers from wider Europe made a point on working together on the topic of youth mental health and improve regional policies in the field.

Health, youth and the future of Europe

Agneta Granström, Norrbotten (SE)

The difficulty for young people to relate to others is a growing severe problem across Europe as was identified by AER members on the occasion of the Autumn Plenaries in Izmir. This issue translates into different social problems, such as early school leaving, substance abuse, violence or extremism. “We need transversal approaches. In Catalonia the departments in charge of health, education and youth now work together to address the situation in an efficient way, this needs to be the case at interregional level too” says Marta Vilalta, Chair of the AER Subcommittee on Youth.

This is why the AER Committee 2 on Social Policy & Public Health and Committee 3 on Culture, Education & Youth decided to join forces and use interregional cooperation to improve policies. Mutual learning has proved to be an efficient approach for policy design and implementation, this is why in AER members invest time in good practice exchange. Why reinvent the wheel if we can share knowledge? Mutual learning at policy making level has therefore direct impact for citizens. Interregional cooperation is probably an area where results are most tangible for citizens as the effects of policy learning shape policy making in a direct and constant way. This is why for the future of Europe interregional cooperation and policy learning are so crucial.

” The impacts of youth mental health are dramatic on society at large. However we have proved in Norrbotten that coordinated action in this area produces fantastic results. There is hope! rates of depression have dropped in two test municipality in our region as a direct consequence of our action. We need to share the good news.” insists Agneta Granström, President of the AER Committee on Social Policy & Public Health.

Nothing about us without us!

Johannes Sundelin, Norrbotten (SE)

While the root causes of youth mental health issues are varied, one of the main issues is the need to talk with young people and not about them. “Young people repeatedly insist on being considered as experts on their own reality in everyday life, as a study we carried out shows” explained Johannes Sundelin, County Councillor in Norrbotten (SE). Empowerment, Inclusion, in short taking young people seriously. This means that young people don’t deem it sufficient to be included in the validation phase of policy making but would like to provide inputs which are considered expert content during the whole process. Participation should be made easy, adapted to the reality of young people… and fun. AER has been a long time advocate of youth participation especially via youth councils. The Merabet report published in 2014 provides a series of examples and recommendations on youth participation. However what is at stake is more than the setting up of youth councils as such. This was also highlighted by the 2015 AER conference on participatory approaches in Nordjylland. Young people in Nordjylland were invited to contribute to the region’s priorities via Twitter during the #Nordpol14 event. Important elements are the communication means which are chosen, the way communication is envisaged and the consideration for young people themselves.

Joint action

On the occasion of the definition of their action plans, AER members chose to create a specific working group on youth mental health which will aim at both sharing experiences and defining a joint European project proposal. During the workshop on youth inclusion & social skills, participants further exchanged and specified the needs they are faced with in their home regions. Currently, the AER team on funding and projects is investigating funding opportunities. A project development meeting will take place on the occasion of the AER General Assembly in Lower Austria. Regions interested in cooperating on this topic can contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius.

Useful links

Johannes Sundelin, “The difficulty for young people to relate to others, and why this is a problem for Norrbotten”
Angels Piédrola, “Youth inclusion & social skills: experiences from Catalonia”

Related articles

Engage citizens?

Youth empowerment & employment

Regional Development Strategies for and with citizens

Youth: inclusion & social skills

(R)e-inventing Democracy

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Breakfast Briefing on Urban mobility

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At a Breakfast briefing at the Spring Plenaries in London last week, we had the pleasure to listen to Mr Philipp Rode, Director of LSE Cities and joint Research Director of the “Towards New Urban Mobility” paper.

Mr Rodd presented the report ‘Towards New Urban Mobility: The case of London and Berlin’ which provides insight into how urban transport policy can better leverage new and emerging mobility choices in cities.

Today the policy makers must embrace an increasing number of alternatives, including cycling and walking as main modes of travel, bike and car sharing, multimodal travel options and electric vehicles, as changes in urban mobility patterns no longer follow traditional patterns of motorization. Smartphone applications now support people’s travel decisions as they move through the city, opening possibilities of combining public transport, taxi services and shared car use.

Policy interventions more likely to result in changes

This study identified six mobility attitude groups, where the attitudes towards travel, the environment, technology use and residential preferences were used to identify mobility attitude group.  Attitudes and values are key factors in the choice of transport modes since they reflect group specific needs, constraints and preferences in travel.

This report argues that policy interventions sensitive to group attitudes are more likely to result in behavioural change towards transport alternatives. This includes understanding which transport alternatives are more acceptable to each group and how best to target communication.

This report ties very well to the Action Plan from the working group “Transport and Mobility ” Committee 1,  Knowledge sharing on “Nudging”.

Update Regional Airports

The next speaker at our breakfast briefing, was our AER expert on Regional Airports, Mr Roger Estefors. He gave us an update on the current changes in regulation concerning regional airports and the usage of ERDF and regional airports.

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What Brexit means for local government – insight from British Member of Parliament

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For our very first cocktail debate, we were honoured to welcome Mr Jim Mc Mahon, British Labour and Co-operative Party politician, MP for Oldham West and Royton, who spoke of the challenges and opportunities that local governments face in the wake of Brexit. As our moderator Mr Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of LGIU put it, it is difficult to ignore the elephant in the room when holding meetings in London these days. So after an expert panel discussion on sustainable financing for regions earlier that day, AER members tuned in for a passionate and open story of what is at stake for local government to prepare for the future of the United Kingdom.

Addressing his audience directly, Mr Jim Mc Mahon strongly assured AER members that regardless of Brexit, the labour party and its constituents believe that “we are stronger together and by working together we achieve more”. Of course, as AER brings together regions from within and outside the borders of the EU to act in one, unified, voice, this is essentially preaching to the choir, but it does keep thoughts of adversity from across the Channel at bay.

Mr Mc Mahon confirmed that many of the issues that may have pushed his fellow constituents to vote in favour of Brexit were not a direct result of the EU decisions, but rather failure from within the UK, such as poor housing, poor jobs, a slow economy and a more general feeling of being left behind by globalisation. So although the UK leaving the EU may well be collateral damage of internal unrest, it is the reality that politicians now have to deal with. “My job is to define what a post-Brexit England can be” stated the MP, and the backbone of this is “pushing power and control down to the people and away from self-serving politicians”. Mr Mc Mahon used the common analogy of a divorce between the UK and the EU, which he hopes will go as smoothly as possible, but adding emphasis on the post-divorce situation; “people need to see a difference after Brexit, they need to see a change, we fear the rise of an anti-politic mood otherwise.”

The other real risk is that the United Kingdom may not survive the test and Mr Mc Mahon was quite clear that he stands to defend the interests of England which may otherwise come out losing as the different countries raise the issue of their independence. “England needs a strong voice around the table in the midst of the this soul-searching about the type of UK we want to build”.

In his concluding remarks, the MP confirmed “we value our relationship with the people in Europe, we have shared values and beliefs and whether we are in or out of the EU, this will not change”

In his intervention earlier that day, Councillor David Simmonds from the Local Government Association, addressed Brexit from a finance and trade agreements perspective. The disparities that exist between different regions and countries within the EU is also true within the United Kingdom; the funding received from central government is very different one city or county to the next. Cllr Simmonds insisted on the relevance of local authorities to play a new role and build on their expertise in the area of procurement. He concluded by adding that local authorities need to maintain their involvement on EU level through networks such as AER.

AER has embraced the issue of Brexit under the more general question of what is the future for Europe. Cllr Roy Perry, Leader of Hampshire County Council, addressed the AER Bureau in October 2016 on “A post-Brexit system: How will Europe be reshuffled?” after which AER members adopted a declaration looking at three main parameters for the future of Europe; (1) vision and values, (2) patterns and institutions, (3) communicate and promote. The final text “Status quo is not an option” was adopted and serves as AER’s key position for the coming talks and discussions.

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AER series on investments: Episode 1

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The Prodi High Level Task Force

As a follow-up on the AER conference on sustainable financing for the regions, AER will be publishing a series of articles on investments. These will provide deeper insight on the different financing tools available for regions, which were presented on the occasion of this conference.

Maximising public value

AER is participating in the work currently being carried out at European level on long term investments. On the occasion of the Spring plenary meeting,  Jonathan Watson, Managing Director of the Think Tank INTEGRATE updated AER members on the EC High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public value, also called the Prodi High Level Task Force. This Task Force is providing inputs to the Commission on how current instruments should be completed in particular in the field of long-term investments for health, education and housing.

This Task Force was set up by the European Association of Long Term Investors and the Think Tank Integrate and  is supported by Jirki Katainen and the European Investment Bank. The Chair of the High-Level Task Force is Romano Prodi and Deputy Chair is Christian Sautter. Two working groups are working on current investment patterns in the public sector by sector and by geography on one hand and future patterns on the other hand.

AER member region Arad (RO) is contributing to the work of the first working group, it is possible for another region to contribute to the group which will look at future patterns.

Reworking how the public sector mobilises finance for social infrastructure

The High-Level Task Force for Social Infrastructure investment while maximising public value formally launched in February 2017. While there is undoubted interest in what the dialogue it moderates between social and financial sector experts will say when the final report is delivered in December 2017, it is not about changing current regulations. Instead it will focus on doing things differently in order to

  • overcome the current shortage in social infrastructure investment especially for lifelong education, health and social care and affordable housing
  • address the gap in the finance industry’s ability to arrange financeable social infrastructure projects on behalf of the public sector.

 

Help secure the inflow of investable projects

A common message is already emerging. There is a need to include new measures that will help secure the inflow of investable projects to the various funds available: public, private and third sector. These new measures have yet to be identified and agreed but a key challenge that will remain at the end of the Task Force exercise will be how we ensure the generation of credible investment opportunities that are to scale and how to better blend different funding streams during a project’s lifecycle. For example, it has been suggested that the pipeline of EFS projects can be improved by creating investment platforms that bring together smaller projects from the same sector. This tool needs other tools and resources because it won’t succeed alone.

For the public sector a particular issue is how it mobilises finance for social infrastructure. This needs some reworking in ways that unlock social infrastructure investment from political cycles. Specifically, it involves adopting prevention as a strategic principle for planning and investment, finding ways to improve local capacity to absorb capital and knowing how to ‘sell’ the added value from social infrastructure investment.

Next steps

The presentation on the Prodi High Level Task Force at the AER plenaries in London will be followed up by a workshop in Brussels in September which will consider exemplar pipelines (R20, European Fund for SE Europe, the High Road Predevelopment pipeline) and what needs to happen to improve the generation of projects locally including a role for intermediation platforms with non-profit dealmakers.

If your region is interested in contributing to the work of the High Level Task Force, please contact AER Coordinator for Policy and Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius.

Related articles

Committees’ Spring Plenary

Long term Investments, the EU and you

 

 

 

 

 

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Committees elect new members in their Presidium

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At their Spring Committee meetings in London, AER members elected new members for their Committee Presidium. Congratulations to the new representatives!

Committee 1 for Economy and Regional Development

President
Jean-Luc Vanraes
Brussels-Capital (BE)
(will be confirmed at the General Assembly)

Representative for Equal Opportunities
Sıla İlgi Akkaş
Izmir (TR)

Committee 2 for Social Policy and Public Health

President
Mihai Ritivoiu
Timis (RO)
(will be confirmed at the General Assembly)

Vice-President for Health Innovation (interim)
Agneta Granström
Norbotten (SE)

Committee 3 for Education, Youth and Culture

President
Dag Rønning
Hedmark (NO)
(will be confirmed at the General Assembly)

Vice-President
Aleksandra Djankovic
Vojvodina (RS)

Representatives for Equal Opportunities
Attila Klarik
Covasna (RO)

Desislava Cvetkova
Västernorrland (SE)

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Local investment needs: a study by the Council of Europe Bank

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At the opening conference on sustainable financing for the regions, 21 March in London, a very brand new study on investment in public infrastructures will be presented by Mr. Jérôme Hamilius, ECS Director at the Council of Europe Development Bank – CEB.

Just today, the CEB has published on its website the study “Investing in Public Infrastructure in Europe. A local economy perspective”, presenting an overview of the CEB’s long-standing experience in improving the living conditions in urban and rural areas across Europe. It also assesses recent trends and challenges in the provision and financing of local infrastructure across CEB member states and their implications for future lending to this sector. Here the key messages of the study.

The dragging of the crisis

There has been a slow and uneven recovery in public investment in Europe since 2009. While all levels of government are seeing investment levels below pre-crisis peaks, local governments are noticeably lower than central government levels. Moreover, the study shows that the public capital stock (the accumulated stock of all public infrastructure) is beginning to drop in many countries, after years of weakening public investment in infrastructure. This deterioration may result in sub-optimal delivery of public services in the near future.

Re-start from the people needs

Yet, the scale of investment needs in the local infrastructure sector across Europe is particularly large, given the changing demographics, increasing urbanisation, shifting migration patterns, and rising pressures from climate change. Investment in this sector should thus be a driving force in the current challenging environment, with the clear objective of improving people’s welfare and quality of life. In this respect, regional and local authorities have a huge potential to revive infrastructure investment as they play a key role in financing and managing public investment programmes.

How can the CEB help?

The CEB endeavours to respond to local investment needs in its member countries. In the coming years, from a geographic standpoint, the focus of CEB action could be placed on the countries that have experienced the most severe decline and weakest recovery in public capital investment since 2009. From a sectoral standpoint, the CEB will examine the possibility of providing financing in the following areas: urban and rural investment in infrastructure and services, “silver economy”, migrant integration, urban and rural adaptation to climate change. Given its social mandate, the CEB will be giving special attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups in society such as low-income households, the unemployed, the frail elderly, people with disabilities or chronic diseases, ethnic minorities and migrants.

Links

Investing in Public Infrastructure in Europe. A local economy perspective – Download

The Council of Europe Development Bank

Committees’ Spring Plenary

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Discover UK’s places of power

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On 21 March 2017, ahead of a busy agenda for the AER Committees’ Spring Plenary, AER members are invited to take a walk in the city of London to get an insight of the places of power of Her Majesty’s country. From “The Palace“ to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, from Theresa May’s Downing Street to the banks of the Tames and – finally – to the AER/LGIU Conference room, the participants will get a full coverage of the political history of the country, the famous British Parliamentarism and the key moments of the Kingdom’s life.

The meeting place is set at the Victoria Memorial, in front Buckingham Palace, at 10 AM. The guide will then bring us safe and sound to the Conference Room for 1PM.

Oh! and that’s important as well: the walk is about 3 km long (sorry, I meant 2 miles, obviously), so bring good shoes and an emergency umbrella !

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Youth: inclusion & social skills

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On March 23rd in London, UK, at the AER Spring plenary session, the workshop “Youth: Inclusion&  social skills” will provide delegates with an opportunity to share experiences in the implementation of youth policies. They will identify implementation challenges as well as the success factors for regions.

Difficulty for young people to relate to others

Following the workshop in Izmir, TR in November 2016, the Sub-committee on Youth decided to focus its attention on the difficulties for young people to relate to others.

This topic covers a wide range of problems affecting the young generation. From the educational system which not always takes into account the changes occurring in our society, to the lack of outdoor social activities engaging young people. Problems in communication and reciprocate understanding are growing more and more.

Many regions across Europe encountered different problems among young people: drug and/or alcohol abuses, isolation, social media addiction and mental health problems. The big use of social media, for instance, is generating a new way of relating to other people, limiting sometimes the opportunities to actually have face-to-face discussions with peers. Difficulties on how to express themselves, on building own personality are increasing depression, lack of self-esteem, mental health problems.

The workshop will present some projects addressing these issues, in order to share good practices and discuss together how it is possible to intervene and which are the challenges to overcome.

Catalunya: a strong engagement for youth

Catalunya has always played a strong role in addressing youth policies. Regional commitments to help young people building their life projects, to empower them and guarantee a better quality of life for them.

The workshop will be an opportunity to see how Catalunya is dealing with the difficulties young people are facing. More specifically, Catalunya is addressing mental health among children and adolescents, in a transversal way: the departments in charge of health, education and youth work together. The main goal is to implement a common strategy on mental health at regional level and to coordinate the activities of the Government regarding the different issues: prevention, awareness, assessment, especially for young people.

Indeed mental health problems are associated with difficulties in emotional and intellectual development. Therefore the Catalan government is intervening at local level in order to prevent risky behaviours, to promote social skills and emotional education.

Work together

During the workshop the full set of measures implemented by Catalunya will be presented and participants will have the opportunity to jointly analyse elements of success and of transferability. Participants will also explore together opportunities for further cooperation, in particular for project development.

Link

Committees’ Spring Plenary

Committees plenaries: results for projects, good practice exchange and lobbying

 

Photo by Marc Moschell @Flickr

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