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AER at Smart City Expo World Congress, Barcelona

9 October, 2018 By Editor

AER is organising a mutual learning event focused on food, in partnership with Smart City Expo World Congress. This event, which was announced at the Committee 1 Plenary meeting in Vojvodina by the Chair of the AER Working Group on Rural Development Olimpia Neagoe, will take place on 14 November from 14:00 to 16:00

Food, Sustainability and Governance in the Digital Age

The “SCEWC: Food, Sustainability, and Governance in the Digital Age” event AER is organising will be a mutual learning event on food which will be organised around 4 discussion groups. The group discussions are the raison d’être of the event, the place where the policy learning happens. The event will bring together regional policymakers, NGOs, academics, businesses to look at food from different perspectives to support sustainable regional development:

governance, SDGs, co-creation, rural-urban links and citizens participation in the Digital Age
short food supply chains, food systems, quality products, territorial approaches
food & the circular economy, waste management, renewable energy
urban farming, agrotech, sustainable agriculture

The format of the event is based on a tested and tried methodology that AER has used to bring together stakeholders on topics such as e-health and artificial intelligence

Smart City Expo World Congress will be an ideal place to address the many modern aspects of food and policy making, as these are at the crossroad of innovation, sustainability, wellbeing, health and territorial cohesion.

A collaboration for policy learning and advocacy

On the occasion of the Spring 2018 plenaries, members of Committee 1 decided to exchange experiences on food, short supply chains and food quality to learn from each other and improve regional policy making. In parallel to this, the Spring Bureau set up a Task Force on food to identify policy messages on food and the circular economy, food innovation and food quality. This was deemed an ideal moment to initiate a collaboration between the AER Committees, which are the place for experience sharing and policy learning, and the AER Bureau, which focuses on developping political positions and engages in advocacy.

The AER event at Smart City Expo World Congress will create

Mutual learning and sharing of experiences
Thought provoking perspectives & new inputs
Understanding of others’ challenges
Fields for action which can start now

Moreover Smart City Expo is an opportunity to bring the topic of food and policy in the shiny world of technology.

Smart City Expo World Congress, an international benchmark

The upcoming Smart City Expo World Congress (Barcelona, November 13-15th) is the leading international event for the smart urban solutions industry, the key meeting point for experts and leaders of the world’s most innovative cities, companies, research centers and international organizations. Over 20.000 professional visitors are expected, with over 700 exhibitors, along with high level representatives from more than 700 cities and over 420 international speakers that will share their vision of how to build more sustainable and livable urban environments.

This year’s edition will have five focus areas: Digital Transformation, Urban Environment, Mobility, Governance & Finance and Inclusive & Sharing Cities.

It provides an opportunity for governments, companies, entrepreneurs, research centers and innovators to connect and share their vision of how to build a smarter and more sustainable future. Both the congress and the exhibition area allow all participants to draw inspiration from leading experts and learn about cutting-edge developments that are already making positive impacts on people’s lives.

The international impact of the show has grown with related regional events every year.

How to participate?

AER has received twenty seven 3-day passes which give access to the Smart City Expo Trade Fair, which will be given in priority to speakers/ contributors. Regions interested in sharing their experience in one of the above mentioned topics (governance, food supply chains & systems, the circular economy, agrotech) should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius.

The passes also allow delegates to buy individual keynote speeches or one day conference passes.

Photo © SCEWC Barcelona 2017

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SEED comes to successful conclusion with Silver Economy Awards handover

28 September, 2018 By Editor

After two years of dedicated work, the SEED project—‘Supporting the recognition of the Silver Economy in Europe in the Digital era’—has met its objectives and is wrapping up its activities. The project, which was launched in October 2016 with funding from Horizon2020, established an awards scheme committed to promoting and rewarding digital innovation that improves the quality of life of older persons throughout Europe: the Silver Economy Awards.

During the Committees plenaries in Novi Sad (RS), AER members got a chance to discuss the achievements of SEED and the first successful edition of the Silver Economy Awards. With categories dedicated to public authorities, non-for-profit organisations, and for-profit organisations, the 2018 Silver Economy Awards attracted 95 applications from 22 countries. Awards went out to a digital platform for testing telemedicine pilot projects, a project that produces smartphone interfaces tailored to the needs of elderly users, and an integrated set of tools that effortlessly connect elderly patients with their caretakers and loved ones.

At the same time, representatives of the SEED consortium were at the AAL Forum and the Bizkaia Silver Week in Bilbao (ES), aiming to ensure a bright future for the Awards. A special handover ceremony was held on 26th September on the occasion of the Covenant’s General Assembly, in order to officially pass on the responsibility for the Silver Economy Awards to the Covenant on Demographic Change. From now on, the Covenant will take charge of future iterations of the Awards, incorporating them into their mission to spark a European Silver Economy Movement. You can find the press release about the handover below.

If you want to learn more about the next editions of the Silver Economy Awards and keep up to date on all the latest developments in the Silver Economy, flip through the brochure below and take a look at the Awards scheme’s new and improved website.

AER would like to thank our SEED partners for a rewarding collaboration and extend our gratitude to all of our members who took interest in the project and brought it into the work of the AER Committees. We could not be more pleased with the sustainable outcomes of the project and the strides being made toward a more age-friendly Europe.

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E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
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Regional representatives gather in Vojvodina, Serbia

25 September, 2018 By Editor

The AER travelled to Vojvodina, Serbia for its Autumn Plenary from 25 – 27 September 2018. A detailed recap of all the meetings that took place is available below. The key takeaways from the plenary are as follows:

There will be a strong collaboration in the coming months between the Committees, where mutual learning and experience exchange take place, and the Bureau Task Forces, where the findings from the Committees will be used to develop policy messages. For example, the three AER committees and the AER Task Force on Migration will work closely together to develop messaging ahead of the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions event in Barcelona on Tuesday 18 December.
The Task Force on Cohesion Policy, which is currently under the responsibility of the Committee for Economy and Regional Development, will be transferred to the Bureau.
The regions of Umbria (IT), Maramures (RO) and Brussels Capital (BE) discussed support for social entrepreneurs and the impact of such on improving regional and national policy frameworks. A discussion on the potential creation of an exchange programme for entrepreneurs from different regions took place. Interested regions should contact the Policy and Knowledge Transfer Coordinator.
Talks progressed on the new Civil Servant Exchange Programme. It will be co-organised with the European College of Cluny and will provide high quality training and education as well as placements in regional administrations. Please fill out this survey if your region would like to participate in the programme.
Emax Sweden presented their concept of a Youth Innovation Camp which could be deployed elsewhere in Europe. A workshop on the development of such a Youth Innovation Camp will be held during the Spring 2019 Plenary in Orebro (SE). Please contact the Programmes Coordinator for further information.
A handbook on the use of SDGs as a policy framework could be developed. Interested regions should contact the Policy and Knowledge Transfer Coordinator.
A webinar will be organised in January 2019 to further help regions make use of the TAIEX EIR programme for peer learning in the field of environmental policies. Please contact the Project Unit for further information.

Detailed recap

The plenary was officially opened on Tuesday 25 September with a video message from Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia. In it she stressed the importance of regional cooperation as a means to promote integration. She also reiterated her support for the European Union, saying that it is the ‘first and foremost priority’ for Serbia.

The opening ceremony was followed by the joint plenary. At this we were very pleased to recognise the outstanding contributions of three AER regions: Umbria, Vienna and Scotland. All three were rewarded a ShineBright Recognition Award for their commitment to the AER core priorities.

We were also very pleased to hear from the latest AER and Eurodyssey member, the region of Sardinia, Italy. Massimo Temussi, Managing Director fo the Sardinia Employment Agency ASPAL, provided an overview of active labour policies in the region.

The AER Project had the opportunity to provide and overview of their work with this video.

Finally, we gave a warm send-off to Agneta Granström, County Council Commissioner, Norrbotten County Council, Sweden, who will be leaving politics. She has been an active and engaged member of the AER for several years.

A panel debate, focusing on the role of Open Data and the role it can play in governance, start-ups and innovation took place in the evening. Panellists were:

Brigitte Lutz, Open Data Coordinator, City of Vienna
Margriet Nieuwenhuis, The European Data Portal
Geert-Jan Waasdorp, The Intelligence Group
Ton Zijlstra, The Green Land
Moderator: Slobodan Markovic, UNDP Technical Advisor on Digital Governance

The discussion focused on how public institutions collect and generate enormous quantities of data in areas as varied as unemployment, air pollution, hospital consultations etc and how this data can best be re-used to create or improve both public and private services. There is a need to change the political perception of Open Data and instead view it as opportunity for policy-making.

On Wednesday 26 September our focus turned to the activities of our three Committees:

Economy and Regional Development
Social Policy and Public Health
Culture, Eduction and Youth

All three outlined achievements made over the last six months, including regional projects which have recently gained funding to work on integrated care systems, social entrepreneurship and social inclusion. Jean Luc Vanraes, president of the Committee on Economy and Regional Development initiated a discussion on the Sharing Economy and the role it can play in the regions. While many AER regions are very familiar with collaborative services such as Uber, Airbnb and Deliveroo, the sharing economy landscape is very diverse and includes companies, which are very social and very green as well as classic larger corporations. The stakes are furthermore very different for larger cities or for rural areas, where collaborative services can compensate gaps public services. Bruxelles Capitale region will organise a conference on this very topic on 4 December in Brussels. Further information will follow on this in the coming weeks but we do hope you can join us.

At the plenary for the Committee on Economy and Regional Development members decided that the Task Force on Cohesion Policy, which for historic reasons was under the responsibility of this Committee, should be transferred to the Bureau for coherence purposes, as it is the Bureau which is in charge of the identification of policy messages and advocacy activities.

Martin Tollen, Östergötland (SE) was re-elected Chair of the Working Group on Transports and Mobility, other positions were left open for future candidacies

At the plenary for the Committee on Social Policy and Public Health members said farewell to Agneta Granström, Vice President of the Committee and Chair of the AER e-Health network. Albert Castellanos, Catalonia (ES) was elected Vice-President for Inclusion & Social entrepreneurship, other positions were left open for future candidacies.

At the plenary for the Committee on Culture, Education and Youth a discussion took place on the launch of the Civil Servant Exchange Programme, an initiative proposed by Radimir Čačić, President of this Committee. This programme will be hosted at the European College of Cluny, in the region of Bourgogne, France and is expected to be operational by 2020. If your region is interested please fill out this survey.

Emax Sweden presented their concept of a Youth Innovation Camp which could be deployed elsewhere in Europe. A workshop on the development of such a Youth Innovation Camp will be held during the Spring 2019 Plenary in Orebro, Sweden

Two workshops took place in the afternoon. The AER Working Group on Energy and Climate Change looked at use of the Sustainable Development Goals as a policy framework. Many regions are very active in this space. Oppland, Norway and Varmland, Sweden provided case studies.

A presentation on the ways in which The UNDP in Serbia is helping stakeholders from the private and the public sector to reach the SDGs, provided useful insights to participants on how to structure support: Areas for action are

improving legislation;
encouraging private investments and providing information on funding opportunities;
supporting the development of infrastructure for renewable energies such as biomass;
sourcing innovation through prizes and open data challenges;
supporting engagement of society through awareness raising; and
matchmaking.

The AER Working Group on Transport and Mobility looked at Sustainable Urban Mobility, with Miroslav Tadic, UNDP Climate Change Portfolio Manager, providing the foundation for the discussion. The region of Östergötland, Sweden is particularly engaged in this field.

Mathieu Mori explained the main advantages of an EGTC, especially for interregional projects on transports. Regions interested in developing an EGTC to develop project should get in touch with the EGTC platform of the Committee of the Regions for support.

AER is involved in the New Mobility Services Initiative of the European Commission. This initiative was set up within the Sustainable Urban Mobility Action Cluster of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC). The engagement in this partnership has proven very beneficial for Östergötland as it allows to source knowledge, innovation and qualified advice. Other regions are invited to take part in the New Mobility Services Initiative. On 10 October, a seminar on “Sustainable Urban Mobility in the Smart City: How to make change happen?” in Brussels will be an opportunity to learn more about this initiative and meet stakeholders. Interested members can register here.

On the occasion of the AER Black Sea Summit, the AER partnership with the Arge Donau Working Community was reinstated. This will be of interest for members who would like to develop partnerships along specific transport corridors too.

On Thursday 27 September a breakfast debate on ‘Welcoming unaccompanied migrant children’ was held with guest speaker Sarah Sommer, Senior Programme Manager at the European Programme for Integration and Migration, a collaborative fund supporting civil society projects in the fields of migration and integration. This topic was chosen by the President of the Committee on Social Policy & Public health Mihai Ritivoiu based on the discussions, which took place during the Spring plenaries in Arad. At the EPIM the focus is on youth on the move, rather than unaccompanied children only, in order to not leave out other vulnerable youth. The difficulty with youth on the move is not scale, as such, but the fact that good solutions still have to be developed. This can only happen through pilot projects, mutual learning between stakeholders and involving users in a feedback loop to evaluate the effectiveness of measures. Further collaboration with EPIM and partners will be developed to prepare the mutual learning event on migration to be held on 18 December in Catalonia, which will feed the work of the Bureau Task Force on Migration.

Following this our Working Group on Rural Development met to discuss waste management in rural areas. Svetlana Marusic presented the situation in Vojvodina (RS) and Olimpia Neagoe, Chair of the Working Group, presented a project which is being implemented in Dolj (RO) and which is substantially supported by EU funding. Sustainable Waste Management involves both considerable investments in infrastructure and a lot of work on behavioural changes. The main takeaways are:

things take time;
changing behaviours requires a lot of work, awareness raising and discussions, in all regions;
it is worth working on it, investing time, energy, creativity and money in changing the way things are done; and
it should be more expensive to behave badly than to do the right thing.

The workshop finished with a presentation on the TAIEX EIR programme of the European Commission which finances study visits, workshops and expert visits to help regions improve environmental policies and learn from their peers abroad. Regions interested in using the programme can check the Commission webpage explaining the procedure to benefit from it here. A webinar will be organised on this topic in January 2019.

The AER Group on Equal opportunities has regular phone meetings and met as well in Novi Sad to discuss the development of a Code of Conduct for AER.

View photos HERE and HERE.

View press conference videos HERE.

Presentations & background articles

Plenary meeting of the Committee on Economy & Regional Development

Introduction, by Snezana Sedlar

General presentation & info on the Sharing Economy, by Jean-Luc Vanraes

Background article on the sharing economy & the stakes for regions

Plenary meeting of the Committee on Social policy & Public Health

SCIROCCO Exchange: knowledge transfer to help regions implement integrated care systems, by Andrea Pavlickova

Umbria, IT: support to Social Entrepreneurs, by Ana Ascani

Maramures, RO: ASSOC, a good practice with high impact, by Florian Sălăjeanu

General Presentation, by Mihai Ritivoiu

Background article on social entrepreneurship & the stakes for regions

Plenary meeting of the Committee on Culture, Education and Youth

Speech by Aleksandra Djankovic

The new AER Civil Servants Exchange programme, by Larisa Križan Breljak

Emax, youth innovation camp, by Janis Lancereau

General Presentation, by Radimir Čačić

Workshop on Using the SDGs as a policy framework

The SDGs to achieve Climate Goals in Serbia, by Miloslav Tadic

Localising the SDGs in Oppland, NO, by Hakon Noren

Environmental Work in Värmland, SE: a political affair, by Eva Hallström

Workshop on sustainable urban mobility

The New Mobilities Initiative of the EIP-SCC, by Martin Tollén

Sustainable Urban Mobility in Serbia, by Miloslav Tadic

General Presentation, by Martin Tollén

Background article on New Mobilities & AER’s work in the field

Breakfast Debate “Welcoming unaccompanied migrant children”

Background article on youth on the move

Workshop on waste management in rural areas

Waste Management in Vojvodina, by Svetlana Marušić

The integrated waste management project in Dolj, RO, by Olimpia Neagoe

General presentation, by Olimpia Neagoe

Summer Academy Organising Committee meeting

Background article on the Summer Academy Organising Committee meeting

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Committee 2 Progress report Autumn 2018

13 September, 2018 By Johanna Pacevicius

Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health gather in plenary meeting. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the elaboration of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

On the occasion of the Committees’ plenaries in Arad, AER members identified joint actions they wanted to implement with fellow regions. Six months later it is time to evaluate progress, celebrate achievements and share experiences!

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in Arad, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the autumn 2018 plenary meeting in Novi Sad. It gives an overview of the situation, 6 months after the adoption of the work programme.

Projects

SCIROCCO Exchange project – Personalised knowledge transfer and access to tailored evidence-based assets on integrated care

The SCIROCCO Exchange project, under the 3rd Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which has resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project will run from end 2018 to end 2020. It will support regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The maturity matrix, at the core of the project, offers a tool for regions to better deliver integrated care for their citizens while at the same time empowering citizens. With this tool regions can assess their current status, revealing areas of strengths and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government Health Agency Service, a new AER member. The consortium is composed by 14 organisations.

AER is leading the Working Package on knowledge transfer, helping the regions in preparing the local environment for implementation and scaling-up integrated care.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

This year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

HOME4LIFE – Certified smart and integrated living environments for ageing well

AER joined this project as supporting partner, upon the request of AGE Platform which is partner in the consortium. No budget or specific tasks assigned.

This project has been submitted within Horizon 2020 – CSA on “Supporting investment in smart living environments for ageing well through certification” and aims at the development of a European certification scheme fostering safe investments and supporting physical and technological retrofitting for what concerns age-friendly environments and accomodation.

The results of the evaluation should be known in 2018.

INTEGRATE PERMED project – The inter-regional linking infrastructure for implementation in personalised medicine (reserve list)

The INTEGRATE PERMED has been submitted under the Horizon 2020 Programme. It aims at linking the efforts in personalised medicine across European Regions by mapping them and then exchange of experiences between selected regions. The project will focus on breast cancer as a launching pathology to maintain focus. After validation, the approach will be replicated to other pathologies.

PATHWAY project – Pathway to social entrepreneurship

The PATHWAY project, under the Erasmus+ Programme, aims at providing learners with a training programme which meet their needs in the sector of social entrepreneurship. It also aims to raise awareness on the role social entrepreneurship can play in local development, fostering also be the establishment of links and cooperation between different stakeholders.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity of the AER Summer Academy

Social Entrepreneur Key competencies – SEK project

Submitted within the Erasmus+ Programme, the Social Entrepreneurship Key competences (SEK) project strives for providing learners with specialized training in the sector of social entrepreneurship with a special focus on tourism.

Within this project, AER is in charge of organising an international information day, which will be the opportunity to share the project outcomes and to foster networking. AER is also in charge of a training session to test training course for social entrepreneurs. On top of that, AER will perform advocacy work in order to raise the attention on the project findings at regional and EU level.

The activities realised by the AER will take place in the scope of the Eurodyssey and the AER Youth Regional Network.

PIKTOGRAMA project – Visual thinking for social innovation

PIKTOGRAMA is a project submitted within Erasmus+ Programme. It focuses on design thinking approach as a method to empower non-profit organisation and implement original visual thinking tools to face new EU societal challenges (e.g. climate change). The project aims at raising awareness on this approach and the advantages it has in the social innovation context as well as stimulating its use by training the youths.

The project will provide regions with recommendations regarding design thinking, which can be an interesting method for non-profit organisations to approach social challenges.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity within the Youth Regional Network General Assembly, thus creating synergies between AER programmes and the project.

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! project

The project will launch an integrated campaign “Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” with ongoing press functions and an activity mix which will allow us to achieve indirect and direct reach of the target audience.
The campaign centers on the stories of locals in regions in each of the five selected countries (Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Italy and Spain), as a highly-relatable focal points to convey the positive impact of Cohesion policy in people’s everyday lives.

The project is led by AER with the international communication agency MC Group (DE). The application was submitted to the DG Regio on the media calls for proposals.

The project is part of AER’s work on Cohesion Policy.

Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA): ongoing

The MOCHA team is led by the Imperial College London and involves 19 scientific partners from ten European countries and 30 country agents from each European Member State and EEA country. MOCHA appraises the differing models of child health that are used across Europe. The project identified gaps in knowledge, on surveillance of children’s primary care and children’s specific needs in primary care, lack of coordination of care, models of care that are not based on current child health epidemiology, and low prioritisation of children’s needs in e-health strategies. AER is a member of the Advisory Board. AER is benefitting from the connection with the MOCHA experts, which have been invited at AER events (workshop on health innovation ecosystems in Izmir, workshop on social capital for integrated care in Norrbotten) and also shared expertise and advice for the development of the project on youth mental health led by Catalonia and Norrbotten. The project is now in the final year where results will be published. The final conference will take place on 15-16 November in The Hague.

AMID project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: ongoing

This project is led by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities and aims to improve the access to services for migrants with disabilities. AER is a partner and Valencia, Timis and Värmland are all members of the Advisory Board. The project is will provide opportunities for experience sharing and capacity building in this area for all AER members.

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:

-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

Welcoming unaccompanied migrant children

Committee 2 members decided to share experiences on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children. In this context a Breakfast Briefing is being organised on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children in Novi Sad on 27 September, which will be led by the European Programme for Integration and Migration, an initiative of currently 25 private foundations, has the goal of strengthening the role played by civil society in advocating for constructive approaches to migration in Europe.

Exchange of experiences on social entrepreneurship (ongoing)

On the occasion of the Committee 2 plenary meeting in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), members will discuss Social Entrepreneurship: multi-stakeholder collaboration & social cohesion. Good practices from Umbria (IT) and Maramures (RO) will be presented

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy (ongoing)

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital will organise a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE). This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean Luc Vanraes, aims to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions are welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

Leadership programme for policy makers on e-health, integrated care systems and health innovation (planned)

The AER e-health network wants to share good practices on leadership for the deployment of integrated care systems

AER e-health network activities (planned)

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. The plenary meeting in Arad was the opportunity to set new objectives. These include good practice sharing on

-risks of digital exclusion
-business models
-data protection, profiling & mass surveillance
-Artificial intelligence, bots

Equal access to healthcare (planned)

The AER Group on Equal Opportunities has identified equal access to health as the main topic to be addressed in Committee 2. This includes:

-vulnerable groups: meet them where they are & help them
– exchange good practices on reducing barriers to care & access to services

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Building on AER’s role in advocating for a strong cohesion policy, and following the adoption of a position paper on the future of cohesion policy post 2020 at the Bureau meeting in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) on 1 June 2017, AER will continue to convene and deliver joint policy influencing work for the future cohesion policy by:

Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

These actions aim to ensure European regions engage in the future cohesion policy discussions at regional, national and European level, and meaningfully contribute to the design and implementation of a stronger and more effective reformed policy.

AER Bureau Task Forces

The 2018 Spring Bureau established the creation of Task Forces on dedicated topics. These Task Forces will gather examples, identify and formulate policy messages which will be brought together in position papers which will then be used for advocacy. Members who would like to contribute to one of the below Task Forces should contact AER Coordinator for Advocacy & Institutionnal Relations Vania Freitas

-Task Force on Food

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for their region. The principle is the following: as long as an action fits with the AER values, is in line with the AER priorities and has support from other regions, it can be included in the Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

The AER action plan is the consolidation of the three Committees’ work programmes with all other activities led by the Bureau and the Executive Board. It is adopted at the General Assembly.

Members can propose new joint initiatives at any time during the year, these are then approved by the Executive Board and included in the Committees work programmes and the AER action plan.

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Norrbotten and Scotland’s NHS24 help regions to deploy integrated care systems

29 August, 2018 By Editor

To innovate healthcare and improve the patient’s journey the AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health has constantly offered a place for experiences exchange and knowledge sharing on integrated e-care systems since the first AER Conference on Integrated Care in 2013. This topic gained new momentum with the intervention of EHTEL’s Diane Whitehouse at the workshop of the AER e-health network in Arad on the SCIROCCO maturity model for integrated care.

Health innovation ecosystems & the deployment of integrated care systems

In March 2018, during the Spring Committee Plenaries in Arad (RO), Committee 2 held a workshop on health innovation ecosystems & the deployment of integrated care systems. Both topics are closely related as they require to build relationships and establish trust between multiple stakeholders to support collaboration, as findings from the MACH5 project show. To help regions deliver more integrated care services for their citizens, the SCIROCCO maturity model presented at this workshop shows its use, as it helps in analysing the situation in areas as diverse as citizen empowerment, governance, innovation management or finance and funding.

Assessing a region’s maturity to implement integrated care systems

The maturity model was first developped within the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing in the Action Group on Integrated Care (B3) of which AER is a member. The SCIROCCO consortium, which includes AER members Norrbotten and NHS24, further developped the model. The maturity model is now operationalised it in the form of an online self-assessment tool. This online tool is ready to be used by stakeholders who are working on innovative solutions that support the delivery of integrated health and care. The tool has been tested in 40 regions across Europe, Singapore and the United States. The SCIROCO tool is a participatory tool which helps regions to:

Understand the strengths and weaknesses of their regional context and inform national, regional and local policy-makers about potential areas of improvement;
Adopt and transfer integrated care good practices by identifying their maturity requirements, thus facilitating knowledge transfer;
Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogues focused on progress towards the implementation and delivery of integrated care;
Facilitate twinning and coaching activities between regions by helping them to understand the local conditions that enable the successful deployment of integrated care.

Learning from the best

Registrations are open for the SCIROCCO Final Conference “How to Accelerate Scaling up of Integrated Care in Context”. During this event participants will learn about the self-assessment tool, the methodologies on how to apply the tool and the experience of regions in using it. The final conference will take place on Wednesday, 24 October 2018, at the Scotland House Conference Centre, Rond point Schuman 6, 1040 Brussels

The conference will be also web-streamed, here is the link to join us remotely

More information about this event is available on the SCIROCCO website

What are integrated care systems?

Integrated e-care systems aim to provide health and social care in a flexible, personalised, and seamless way. The integration of care can be

vertical, involving patient pathways to treat named medical conditions that transcend organisational boundaries and connect community-based generalists with largely hospital-sited specialists

horizontal, involving peerbased and cross-sectoral collaboration to improve overall health closing the traditional gap that often exists between health and social care or vertical, ensuring better.

The objective is to bridge delivery, management, and organisational gaps. An integrated e-care approach harmonizes and coordinates the management, organization, and delivery of services. This ensures healthcare services provide quality and efficient solutions to the needs of patients. ICT plays an important role in integrated care systems, and topics such e-health, big data in healthcare, artificial intelligence have constantly been on the agenda of AER events.

SCIROCCO Conference Agenda

Photo credits: Scirocco webpage, The 12 dimensions of the Maturity Model tool.

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Brussels Capital: the Sharing Economy & the way forward

29 August, 2018 By Johanna Pacevicius

The sharing economy will be at the heart of discussions on the occasion of the Autumn plenary meeting of the AER Committee on Economy and Regional Development chaired by Jean Luc Vanraes, Brussels Capital (BE)

The sharing economy: reshaping the way we do business

In 2011 TIME Magazine described the sharing economy as one the ten ideas that will change the world (Walsch). Today the sharing economy is effectively reshaping the way we do business. It is a rapidly growing socio-economic trend disrupting traditional business sectors by revolutionising the way people share goods and services and interact with one another. It has allowed a substantial amount of flexibility for work and business, blurring the boundaries between employment and unemployment, consumer and provider, employee and self-employed and between the professional and non-professional delivery of services.

A need for public action

The rise of the sharing economy has created opportunities for citizens and regions, but being a new form of economy, it has also raised issues that will need to be resolved. It can contribute to job creation and be an important driver of regional competiveness, innovation and sustainable economic growth. However for this, European public authorities need to establish a proper policy, regulatory and legislative environment that serves to aid rather than hamper the sector, while also addressing issues faced by market operators and protecting consumers. The Sharing Economy is a still emerging, but rapidly growing sector. As such regions are often still in the process of figuring out how best to adapt to it.

Mutual learning event on the sharing economy

As is now a tradition and has been promised during the elaboration of the Committee 1 work programme, Brussels Capital will host this year again a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. This year it will be the Sharing economy, which will be in the spotlight. Previous editions of this unique annual event have included:

-A mutual learning event on bringing diverse stakeholders find a common language in the field of e-health

-A mutual learning event on Artificial Intelligence, its opportunities and challenges for regions

These events always bring together very diverse stakeholders who engage in genuine exchange. The idea is to share and discuss initiatives which can be implemented right away. Another major asset of these events is to discover projects and initiatives and hear of stories first hand. Stakeholders from the private and public sector, industry specialists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers will gather to identify opportunities and points of action of the sharing economy.

This year’s event will take place late November or early December and will be organised in partnership with AER and Catalonia.

Back to basics, what is the Sharing Economy?

A reality that spans from “very social and green” to “rather cynical”

The sharing economy covers a wide variety of sectors including everything from sharing mobility and accommodation to food, goods, domestic and business services. Most citizens will have likely engaged with, personally benefitted from, or at least have heard of some of the companies operating or services provided by this new business trend. Uber and Airbnb are two of the bigger names associated with the sharing economy, which has sometimes led to skepticism and misunderstandings towards the sharing economy as a whole. There is however a wealth of other examples for profit and not-for-profit organisations operating in the field including

COVIVO, a Grand Est (FR) example of shared mobility solutions offering carpooling for companies and communities, which was presented at the AER workshop on smart green and integrated transport systems
Couchsurfing, a service that connects members to a global community of travelers to find a place to stay for free or share their home and hometown with travelers
Deliveroo or Takeaway are food delivery services
To Good To Go is app-based solution which allows users to act against food waste, by buying food that is still fresh at a great price instead of stores throwing away their unsold food.
Paupiette is a platform which facilitates intergenerationnal lunches between students and older people at an affordable price
The Repair Café movement was started in Amsterdam in 2009. There are now 1,003 centres worldwide, with hundreds in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands and 18 in Britain. Each is a community hub where local residents can bring in broken items and get them repaired for free, as well as network, learn skills, socialise and help others. Local expertise, tools, repair manuals and materials are all on hand. Melding education, social inclusivity, sharing economy practices and sustainable action, the cafés have become nodes in the circular economy, teaching its principles from the bottom up.
Other platforms propose cultural experiences, the selling or exchange of services, including care or education services, sharing gardens etc

A concept still under construction

While the sharing economy is being widely talked about, the definition and the boundaries delineating what exactly falls into the sharing economy still remain unclear (European Commission, 2016 & Teffer, 2017: 4). The sharing economy is the term most popularly used by the general public, but it is sometimes also referred to as the “peer-to-peer economy”, “on-demand economy”, “platform economy” and “gig economy” among others. The European Commission prefers to refer to it as the “collaborative economy”.

Having access to, not owning

It involves individuals having access to, as opposed to ownership of, goods and services. It is a peer-to-peer commerce which allows people to share, borrow or exchange goods and services between one another through online platforms. Individuals make use of the ‘idle’ or ‘surplus’ capacity of their assets usually in exchange for some type of payment or service. Sharing in itself is nothing new but it is the possibilities that have opened up through the use of technologies that has changed the game. It has made sharing easier and cheaper than ever enabling it on a scale that would not have otherwise been possible. Through the collaborative economy people are empowered to become not only consumers but providers. This form of business has become popular because of the numerous social, environmental and economic benefits it can have.

Business support in a changing world

While Europe has been relatively slow at embracing this new business phenomenon in comparison to others such as the US or China, the European Commission expressed its support for the sharing economy through its communication on ‘A European agenda for the collaborative economy’ issued in June 2016. Through this the European Commission has provided guidance aimed at supporting consumers, businesses and public authorities to engage confidently with the sector. It has shown its commitment to facilitating the balanced development of the collaborative economy as a means of encouraging the adoption of new and innovative services where quality and productivity is improved. As stated by the European Commission “these new business models can make an important contribution to jobs and growth in the European Union, if encouraged and developed in a responsible manner” (European Commission, 2016).

Discussion at AER plenaries

If the sharing economy has had so much success so early on it is because it has been able to address the needs of consumers. As such authorities at all levels including the regional level will need to find ways of working with it because it’s here to stay and it’s only going to continue growing. This is why the President of the AER Committee on Economy and Regional Development and Chair of the Working Group on SMEs, Business and Investments, Jean Luc Vanraes, decided to initiate a discussion on the sharing economy on the occasion of the AER Autumn Committee Plenaries taking place between the 25-27 September in Vojovdina.

References
Walsch, B. (2011) 10 Ideas that will change the world. Time Magazine
Teffer, P. (2017) The ‘sharing economy’ lacks a common definition. Euobserver
European Commission (2016a) Fact sheet: A European Agenda for the collaborative economy. Press Release Database
European Commission (2016b) Press Release: A European Agenda for the collaborative economy. Press Release Database

This article was written by Mariangela Clendon, Eurodyssey Intern in Brussels Capital working for Bruxelles International and supporting Committee 1 Seconded Officer Pierre Gérard

Photo by Robin Benzrihem on Unsplash

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Optimum healthcare for every child

27 June, 2018 By Editor

Launched in 2015, the Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA) is appraising the differing models of child healthcare that are used across Europe. This project, which aims to advise policy making and help every child benefiting from optimum healthcare, will be finalised end of 2018.

AER & the MOCHA project

Within this project, AER belongs to the External Advisory Board. Right from the start AER therefore set up a Focus Group on Child Health Care under the leadership of Dr Marta Tatar which aimed at following the project closely and channel findings to AER members in a continuous way. In this context the Focus Group met on the occasion of the 2016 Spring plenaries in Timis (RO) to hear about the ambitions of the MOCHA project and how the consortium would be operating to evaluate the different models of child health care in Europe.

As a result of its engagement in the project, AER was able to provide feedback on findings from the consortium and develop its network of potential project partners. AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius participated in the MOCHA annual general meeting and the advisory board meeting in Riga on 23-26 October 2017 to contribute to the project’s work and gather content for the work of the AER Committees.

The participation in MOCHA prove instrumental in the AER work on health innovation ecosystems. MOCHA researchers have contributed to several AER events and activities, in particular:

A workshop on stakeholder mapping for the developement of health innovation ecosystems was conducted during the AER autumn plenaries in Izmir (TR), together with Prof. Mitch Blair, project coordinator, from the Imperial College of London ;
Prof Michael Rigby spoke about “The Informal and Formal Virtual Care Team – Consent, Trust and Enablement in a Digital World” during the 2017 Artic Light E-health Conference in Nordbotten (S).
AER organised a workshop on harnessing the potential of social capital for integrated care systems together with Prof Michael Rigby at the ALEC 2017 conference.
AER members exchanged with Dr Paul Kocken and Dr Maria Brenner on youth mental health in the framework of the development of an interregionnal project on this topic.

In 2017 AER published an update on the progress of the MOCHA project, one year later it is time to look at achievements.

Gathering & analysing data on child healthcare

During its second year of research, the MOCHA consortium started to gather and analyse their initial results on a variety of topics such as:

E-Health Policy for Children
Integration of health and social care for children with complex health conditions
Harmonisation of child health care in Europe
Child Migrant Health Policy
Measurement of the Strength of Children’s Primary Care
Equity in primary care health systems for children
Innovative measures of quality of care and outcomes of child primary care models

This was a particularly busy, fascinating and complex time, as they began to disseminate their initial findings, in numerous conferences and events and test theories with a number of different stakeholder groups. Primary care services for children are multidisciplinary, ever changing and very much based in the communities they serve. The project’s work packages are therefore working in multidisciplinary ways in order to really understand the different health systems in the European Union and EEA countries. At the same time, the MOCHA team have been discussing how these results are shaping the project’s ultimate aim of appraising the models of primary care to children.

Now in the final months of the project, the focus is on organising and analysing the results, not least the vast amount of data received from the MOCHA country agents. The consortium is also working on identifying health outcome measures to compare with the project results, and wrestling with the inevitable data challenges that anyone working on children’s public health will be familiar with.

The MOCHA team is already busy developing conclusions and disseminating results as well as forming productive relationships with other EU projects and the World Health Organisation, to spread the knowledge learnt in MOCHA to benefit primary care for children, and ultimately improve children’s health.

The newsletter from March 2018 presents in particular an E-Book showcasing conditions for implementation of examples of best practices in primary child health care in European countries.

Final conference

The final MOCHA conference will take place in the Hague (NL) on 15-16 November 2018. This concluding event will share the headline results, introduce the formal reports, and enable stakeholder discussion on next steps after the project’s conclusion. This will include presentations on key MOCHA findings:

Invisibility of Children in Data and Policy Systems
Measurement Challenges
Listening to Young People
Vulnerable Children and Equity
Delivering Complex Care
Patients and Primary Care Interfaces
School and Adolescent Health Services
Health Workforce in Child Health
Education of the Child Health Workforce
E-Health as the Enabler
Optimal Service Models

The way forward for primary child healthcare Health in Europe will require understanding child-centricity, as well as bringing MOCHA results to local services and contextualising into European and Professional Initiatives

For more information about this project, visit the MOCHA webpage on the AER website or the official MOCHA project website. It is also possible to subscribe to the MOCHA newsletter or consult previous newsletters. The project’s publications also provide invaluable insights on the different topics researched and the consortium’s findings.

Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

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Do you want to know how to better use ESIF funds for health?

13 June, 2018 By Editor

Health is a topic of high importance for AER’s members, having one Thematic Committee dedicated to follow its developments. To this extent the AER eHealth network has been established since 2006 and AER often conducts workshops and events on topics related to health. Knowing the interest of our members in this area of work, we are happy to share with you some informations that could bring you new knowledge on this.

The ESI Funds for Health is a project gathering knowledge on how European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) are used to support health investments under the 2014-2020 programming period. Plus, it aims to further develop capacities of member states and regions to support the effective implementation of the ESIF for health.

Within this project, 4 events are organised. The topics, date and locations are the following:

Health promotion in Zagreb (HR), 15 June 2018
Research and innovation in Health in Breda (NL), 21 June 2018
eHealth in Budapest (H), 19 September 2018
Access to healthcare, Faro (PT), 28 September 2018

If you are ESIF programme managing authorities, beneficiaries, or any other health and social policy stakeholders who want to share knowledge and build capacities to develop and implement EU-funded projects in the health field, these opportunities are for you!

Each event consists in a one-day peer review of an exemplary ESI-funded health project and a one-day wider workshop to discuss how the funds can be used to target priority health policy goals.

If you want to know more about this series of events, information can be found here. In case you are interested by these opportunities, you can register here. These events are free of charge but the number of places for each workshop is limited.

Please do not hesitate to contact AER Secretariat if you have questions.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52
E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: agnesepanta
Languages: it, en, pt

Articles by Agnese

EU funding
Calls for projects and tenders
Partner search

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Regions wanted to uptake a new co-creational model for the health sector

28 May, 2018 By Editor

Health is key for everyone and AER is glad to share with its member regions and network an enriching training opportunity linked to inDemand model on the eHealth co-creation.

InDemand is a project funded by the Horizon 2020 programme. It offers digital health solutions, meaning a model where healthcare and companies co-create eHealth solutions, with the economic support of regional funds. It is aimed to increase the capacity of health entities to identify and solve their needs, while creating opportunities for private companies.

Why is this interesting for regions?

Within this project, a inDemand community is to be created and the project partners (Murcia – ES, Paris – FR and Oulu – FI) are looking for 12 regions who are interested to uptake the created and validated co-creational inDemand model for the health sector.

Regions who join the community will have the opportunity to learn how to develop the innovation they need and use public fund. They will receive a free training to learn how to use the inDemand model. Plus accommodation and transport cost are covered.

How to benefit of this training?

To be one of the selected regions, a regional consortium has to be established. This consortium should be composed by the following actors:

challenger: which can be public entities, health care providers that identify the unmet needs and then co-create the solution with the solvers;
funder public: fund management organisation,s managing authorities, usually managing Structural Funds at regional level. They launch the competitive call to identify the solvers;
supporter: business intermediary organisations, clusters that provide assistance to optimise the business model, access to funding and the commercialisation.

The deadline to fill and submit the application form is 31 August 2018.

You can find more information regarding the inDemand community and the application procedures here.

A webinar is taking place on 11 June 2018 to know more about the application form and the inDemand community. For all of you who are interested by this opportunity, we strongly advice you to register to it.

If you are interested by this opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact AER Secretariat.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52
E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: agnesepanta
Languages: it, en, pt

Articles by Agnese

EU funding
Calls for projects and tenders
Partner search

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Silver Economy Awards Ceremony – and the winners are… !

9 May, 2018 By Editor

Over the past few months, we have been happy to share with you the development of the SEED project.

SEED, which stands for ‘Supporting the recognition of the Silver Economy in Europe in the Digital era’, was designed to launch the first European-level award scheme rewarding innovative solutions for better quality of life of the elderly : the SEED European Silver Economy Awards

Lately you have heard a lot about it and after two years of work of the partnership, here it is: the result of the first ever Silver Economy Awards!

The Silver Economy Awards

The Committee of the Regions hosted a hundred of participants who came from all over Europe and above to Brussels to attend this unique event.

After an inspiring opening speech delivered by Maryia Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, participants had the chance to listen to a discussion on challenges and opportunities of the Silver Economy.

Then, the 9 finalists, divided in three categories, presented their innovative ideas to the audience before the Ceremony. From smartphone applications to support for informal caretakers, it offered the audience with remarkable ideas and actions which are already implemented in various countries.

And finally, after this moment of exchanges and learning, the long-awaited moment came.

The Awards Ceremony

Andy Bleaden and Markku Markkula, as Masters of Ceremonies supervised the Awards ceremony.

We are delighted to share with the three winners who were awarded their price on the 3 May 2018.

In the “Public authority” category, Mathieu Mori awarded a price to the Generic Telemedicine Platform.

GoLive Solutions win the award in the “Non-for profit organisation” category.

And last but not least, Project-Ray was given the prize in the “for-profit organisation” category.

If you want to learn more about their initiatives, here is a summary of their innovation.

We would like to congratulate the finalists for their great ideas and all of those who came to be part of the first Silver Economy Awards!

Pictures from the event!

Silver is Gold : the First European Silver Economy Awards have announced its winners

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Committee 1 Annual Report June 2017 – May 2018

7 May, 2018 By Johanna Pacevicius

The General Assembly is the highest authority of AER and convenes representatives of all its full members at least once a year. The General Assembly adopts among other things, the annual reports of the Thematic Committees.

This report is the compilation of actions developped and implemented within Committee 1 between the 2017 General Assembly in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) and the 2018 General Assembly in Lillehammer, Oppland (NO).

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

The AER Action plan, which brings together all the activities carried out within AER, is constantly updated.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

This year the Silver Economy Awards replace the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels under the moral patronage from Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: planned

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco having already implemented several actions in these geographical areas.

This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences.

It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months

Citizens for Cohesion. 351 times closer to Europe: cancelled

Building on the work previously done by AER on cohesion policy, the regions of Catalonia (ES), South Ostrobothnia (FI), Trentino (IT) and West Slovenia, together with AER Cohesion Policy Task Force lead on a project on awareness raising. While the project received a very good evaluation it was not accepted.

Brokerage event in Partnership with ERRIN on health innovation: finished

After the success of the brokerage event on the green economy and innovation early 2017, we collaborated with ERRIN to stimulate project development. This resulted in the organisation of the Horizon 2020 Project Development Week.

Development of an environment project based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): in progress

YRN representatives met with AER Coordinator for European Projects & Private Partnerships Agnese Pantaloni to learn about project development steps and potential funding opportunities. The YRN will work on the definition of an EU project. The AER Secretariat Project Unit will explore calls for projects if there is still interest in developping such a project.

MULTIPLE, MULTI-layer Governance PoLicy-making for the Environment: cancelled

MULTIPLE aimed to build an ecosystem of policy-support tools and methods for a more effective, efficient policy making in the field of environmental policies. Its aim was to support the entire policy cycle from issue identification to policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation by the use of open data systems. The project was not accepted.

Migrant Entrepreneur Support Scheme Against Gap of Economic System: cancelled

This project proposal aimed to share approaches and lessons learnt for migrant entrepreneurship support schemes. Migrant entrepreneurship had been raised in specific during the 2016 Spring plenary meetings in Timis. The proposal brought together public administrations, business support organizations, non-profit organisations and NGOs, educational institutions and other organisations active in the field across cities, regions and countries. The project was not accepted.

From local to global: Connecting the Dots in the EU’s 2030 energy transition: cancelled

The theme of this project proposal was to contribute to a coherent energy transition across the EU and support progress towards a low-carbon economy in light of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets and policy framework. The consortium was led by EURACTIV.

The AER Secretariat collected letters of support from member regions: Abruzzo (IT), Catalonia (SP), Gelderland (NL), Trentino (IT). The aim was to highlight, compare and contrast Member States’ initiatives to achieve the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets, supporting the energy transition as well as the transition towards a competitive and low-carbon economy, by sharing information on best practice at the local level (regions, cities, towns) and the connection with global agreements. The project was submitted under the LIFE+ programme but was not accepted.

RAINBOW project – Raising Awareness INitiative for a Beautiful Open World: cancelled

RAINBOW aimed to transform the 2030 Agendas into policies and to launch concrete actions at local level, in order to improve the management of the territories, whilst continuing innovating and learning from one another. It focused on interdependencies between developing countries and the European Union, with focus on the neighbouring areas. ALDA was the initiator of the project. The project was not accepted

Committees Autumn Plenaries in Nancy: finished

This Autumn’s committees’ plenary took place in Nancy (FR) from the 12th to the 14th of September. The events featured a debate on culture in the digital age, a workshop on the value of data, a workshop on transport & mobility, a workshop on life-cycle approaches and the Committees Plenary meetings.

A discussion on Cohesion Policy and its advantages also took place in Nancy.

Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad: finished

The 2018 Spring Committees’ Plenaries took place in Arad (RO) on 20-22 March. The events featured a debate on innovation ecosystems, a workshop on integrated care systems, a lounge meeting on equal opportunities, a meeting of the working group on transports, a Breakfast Briefing on implementing democracy in regional policy making, a presentation of the social inclusion policies in Arad, a meeting of the Summer Academy Organising Committee and the Committees Plenary meetings.

The Committees’ Plenaries were an opportunity to develop the Committees’ work programmes.

INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform (IEPLP): finished

AER was a partner of the Policy Learning Platform (PLP) which is the second action of the Interreg Europe programme established to boost EU-wide policy learning and capitalisation of practices from investments on growth and jobs. The Platform aims to be a space for continuous learning where regional actors in Europe can tap into the know-how of experts and peers. The PLP was present at the European Week of Regions and Cities (formerly Open Days).

Study visit on the Energy transition: finished

The main focus of the study visit, which took place from 17-19 April, was 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. See the event page.

Event on a current transversal topic: finished

Jean-Luc Vanraes, President of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy invited AER members to contribute to the organisation of a mtual learning event on artificial intelligence held in Brussels, on November 30th 2017. A debate at the Committee 1 Plenary meeting paved the way for this event. This event, “Artificial Intelligence: are regions up to the challenge” was organised on the same format as the event “E-health let’s find a common language” which took place in December 2016 with the contribution of very diverse stakeholders. At the event, group discussions adressed the following topics:

Supporting innovation, attracting innovators
The Health Revolution
Culture In a Digital World
Skills and Competences: racing with machines
AI: Towards a Soulless World?

The event lead also to the publication of a series of articles on artificial intelligence and its implications for different policy areas.

Follow up on photonics: finished

On the occasion of the Timis Spring Plenaries Professor Hugo Thienpont presented the ACTPHAST programme on photonics innovation for SMEs. The information and opportunities regarding this European programme were further disseminated via the AER website. The ACTPHAST programme for photonics. See the results as at September 2017.

Conference on biomass: finished

In London AER members agreed to collaborate for the organisation of a conference on Biomass in Vojvodina. The objective was to share practices and expert lectures to show the practical possibilities of production and usage of biomass in Europe, with a preview insight in the production in Vojvodina. The event also aimed to awaken the interest of individual agricultural farms, agricultural cooperatives and clusters and regional and local governments.

Partners this year were the OECD Mission in Serbia and the Central European Initiative, with expert lectures from representatives from World Bioenergy Association, State Ministries in Serbia, University in Novi Sad, the Environment Agency Austria, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and KfW (German government-owned development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau).

Cooperation with the World Sustainable Energy Day: finished

On the occasion of the AER Committees plenary meetings in London, members highlighted their interest in participating to the World Sustainable Energy Days in a meaningful way. A delegation of AER representatives from across Europe was able to attend the World Sustainable Energy days for free on behalf of AER.

Workshop on Public procurement for green innovation: finished

This workshop was advertised in the AER network by Oppland and was organised in the framework of the INTERREG Sweden-Norway the Bioeconomy Region project involving 4 AER members: Hedmark, Värmland, Østfold and Oppland. It aimed to address the following questions:
• How can innovative public procurement accelerate take-up of green technologies and stimulate innovation?
• How is innovative public procurement adopted in regional and local authorities to implement bioeconomy?
• How are public authorities cooperating with clusters, SMEs, industry and companies?
• What are the greatest challenges to implementing large scale innovative public procurement?
The AER Secretariat provided support with the identification of potential speakers and connected them with the organisers.

Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review : ongoing

The AER Secretariat is disseminating information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchanges with other regions.

Awareness raising on sustainable mobility: ongoing

AER is continuing to highlight regional good practices on sustainable mobility. In this context an AER article was published in the Autumn 2017 edition of Revolve Magazine.

AER Chair of the working group Martin Tollen contributed to the Smart Airports event in Germany

Meeting of the AER working group on transports and mobility in Nancy: finished

Good practices from the host region were presented on smart mobility and policies aimed at supporting green innovation in the field of transports. Discussion about regulatory framework, challenges for regions and opportunities for cooperation

Digitalisation of transports: ongoing

Promote the digitalisation of transports networks both in urban and rural areas (see below as well)

Promotion of knowledge about innovative technologies in transports: ongoing

The sharing of knowledge is being carried out via:

–Workshop on the digitalisation of transports & information about the European Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), a milestone on the path towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility (COM(2016) 766)
–cooperation with Revolve Media to highlight regional good practices in the field of transport and provide visibility to active AER members
–contribution on new mobilities & artificial intelligence at the AER event on Nov 30th “Artificial Intelligence: are regions up to the challenge?”
–New Mobility Services of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities & Communities: involvement in the European Innovation Partnership on Sustainable Cities and Communities: within the the Action Cluster Sustainable Urban Mobility, AER is involved in the New Mobility Services initiative. AER Chairman of the Working Group on Transports and Mobility, Martin Tollén attended the first meeting of this Action Cluster.

The New Mobility Services initiative is a cooperation between private and public partners (quadruple helix type of cooperation, brings together companies, NGOs, research centers & universities, and policy makers). The purpose is to establish strategic partnerships between industry and European cities & regions to develop the urban systems and infrastructures of tomorrow. It is mainly focused on urban mobility. It is open for all European regions and cities to join or to send their stakeholders

AER AT THE EUROPEAN WEEK OF CITIES AND REGIONS

Workshop on climate and energy transition: finished

Led by the region of Abruzzo, AER co-organised a climate side-event during the European Week of Regions and Cities 2017.

Workshop on the Silver Economy: finished

Led by the SEED consortium. This workshop took participants through four inspiring examples of how a Silver Economy can help regions and cities to better match the needs of their ageing population while supporting local businesses and solution providers. It was the opportunity to discuss the complementarity between these examples and the initiatives at EU level. The networking session that followed brought together potential partners around issues related to the Silver Economy.

Workshop of the INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform: finished

The workshop aimed at helping regions learn from the project outputs from their peers in Europe.

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

Following the publication of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework on May 2nd, AER’s reaction can be found here

AER Report on Regionalisation: ongoing

More than 40 academic experts accepted to give their contribution to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

COP23 Local and Regional governments Leaders´ Summit: finished

AER was a partner to the Climate Summit of Local and Regional Leadersat the UN climate change conference (COP23) held from 6 to 17 November in Bonn, Germany, under the Presidency of Fiji. The event gathered more than 330 political leaders and 1000 delegates. At the Summit, local and regional leaders adopted the Bonn-Fiji Commitment to Deliver the Paris Agreement at All Levels, a pledge that signals their commitment to bring forward a critical shift in global development.

AER also contributed to a number of other events, including:
-8th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum, organised by UNEP and Climate Action.
-World Climate Summit 2017, organised by R20 and BlueOrchard, in collaboration with World Climate.
-Side Event  “Mountains in motion: Climate Action in the Alps, the Carpathians and the Pyrenees”, co-organised by the Region of Abruzzo.

R20 Summit: finished

In presence of AER and R20 President, Magnus Berntsson, R20 founding chair, Arnold Schwarzenegger and all key people playing a part in climate change (private partners, NGOs, officials). R20 is a winning alliance for AER, but where do we stand?

Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negociations. AER is now providing members with privileged access to a training on the SOURCE system which allows stakeholders to access funding for their climate action.

33rd Session of the Congress Local and Regional Authorities: finished

AER has a partnership status with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. It sends high-level representatives to the meetings of the Congress and sits in the Chamber of Regions Bureau. On 19 October, the AER President, Magnus Berntsson, took part in the 33rd Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and addressed the Chamber of Regions during the debate on “Regional Co-operation and democracy in Europe: the role of European regional associations and organisations”. At the Session, the AER and the Congress expanded their existing collaboration by signing a Joint Action Plan for 2018-2020. The document reiterates the commitment to work together on various issues of mutual interest, notably regional democracy, youth participation and cultural diversity.

ERDF Funding for Regional Airports & State Aid for regional airports: ongoing

AER members get regular updates from the Working Group on transports and mobility’s Regional Airports expert Roger Estefors at meetings of the group. The Nancy meeting featured an update on the topic too.

Sustainable biofuels: finished

AER member regions have been exchanging experiences on the topic of sustainable energy for many years and developped different projects on the topic, such as for instance the MORE4NRG and R4GG projects or the global engagement with the R20

The region of Oppland is very active in AER on the topics of energy and the circular economy. In 2016 the YRN Spring Plenary was hosted by Oppland and delegates visited a recycling plant which produces biogas was also featured in the Autumn 2017 edition of Revolve Magazine as an outstanding regional good practice.
Description of the action. The region of Oppland proposed to exchange experiences on the topic of 2nd generation sustainable biofuels, for example from waste and forest resources.

Legislation on biogas: finished

The AER secretariat connected regions which were interested in initiating a lobbying action. Regions had diverging priorities, the connection therefore did not result in a joint action.

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Committee 3 Annual Report June 2017 – May 2018

7 May, 2018 By Johanna Pacevicius

This report is the compilation of actions developped and implemented within Committee 3 between the 2017 General Assembly in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) and the 2018 General Assembly in Lillehammer, Oppland (NO).

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

The AER Action plan, which brings together all the activities carried out within AER, is constantly updated.

Involvement of YRN in AER projects: ongoing

AER is supporting the YRN’s participation in European Projects in 2 main aspects:

support in the development of own projects, as in the case of the development of an environment project based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). YRN representatives met with AER Coordinator for European Projects & Private Partnerships Agnese Pantaloni to learn about project development steps and potential funding opportunities. The YRN will work on the definition of an EU project.
Systematically think of including the YRN when AER is invited to join a consortium

Project development, Youth Mental Health: ongoing

On the occasion of the Nancy plenary meeting a project development workshop on youth mental health was held to further identify areas for potential collaboration on the topic of youth mental health and the desired scope for such a project. During the Committees Plenary meetings in London, Committee 2 and Committee 3 decided to join forces for the development of a European project on youth mental health. This is the follow-up of a workshop which was held in Izmir and which identified the difficulty for young people to relate to others as a shared challenge for many very diverse regions in Europe. During the AER General Assembly a first project development meeting was held to discuss the type of focus and funding programmes. In the context of this project development the AER Secretariat also engaged with diverse experts from organisations working on mental health and held a meeting with DG EAC on youth mental health.

Due to difficulties in identifying a potential lead partner, members decided to refocus this activity on good practice sharing and awareness raising through

-workshops
-webinars
-data collection
-gathering of prevention resources
-potential topic for a future Summer Academy
-advocacy activities

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

Youth Caravan: cancelled

This interregional project was developed to follow-up on the workshop organised by Harghita at the 2016 EWCR. It aimed to foster the dialogue between youth and policy makers. The YRN had the possibility to participate to the main project meetings (mainly the youth consultations and the final conference) having travel & accommodation costs covered, they would have had the possibility to contribute to the elaboration of the joint action plan as well as to be involved in the other project activities. This was supposed to be a 3 years project starting in autumn 2017.

Project development, Cultural Heritage: planned

On the occasion of the Plenary meetings in London a project development workshop was organised on the topic of cultural heritage. Several topics were suggested for project development, such as cultural heritage routes and digitalisation. The region of Nordland presented their project proposal, Via Querinissima, which was also presented on the AER website. The AER Secretariat supported the region for the consortium building.

AER in particular contributed to the development of project idea based on the promotion of the heritage to young generations of edible landscapes. The aim was to raise awareness on the importance to transfer to young generation the immaterial heritage that shaped landscapes through the production of edible local traditional products and give to the landscape a future. This project was not awarded funding.

Other regions regions discussed potential areas for collaboration. AER regularly receives invitations to join projects or requests for support to consortium building. These are generally shared on the AER website.Regions willing to get support for the development of a project can contact the AER Secretariat.

Summer Academy “Cultural heritage for regional attractiveness” Europe for Citizens project: planned

In order to support the implementation of the 2018 AER Summer Academy in Maramures and further develop its impact for citizens the host region developped a Europe for Citizens project proposal which has just been submitted.

Committees Autumn Plenaries in Nancy: finished

A discussion on Cohesion Policy and its advantages also took place in Nancy.

Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad: finished

The Committees’ Plenaries were an opportunity to develop the Committees’ work programmes.

INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform (IEPLP): finished

Event on a current transversal topic: finished

Supporting innovation, attracting innovators
The Health Revolution
Culture In a Digital World
Skills and Competences: racing with machines
AI: Towards a Soulless World?

The event lead also to the publication of a series of articles on artificial intelligence and its implications for different policy areas.

Cultural heritage: ongoing

On the occasion of the workshop on cultural heritage, AER members shared their experiences, challenges and good practices. Another means of sharing good practices is via the AER website. The region of Gävleborg for instance shared their vision and activities in the context of the European Year for Cultural Heritage

AER Most Youth Friendly European Region: finished

The MYFER award ceremony took place on the occasion of the AER GA in Lower Austria and recognised the particularly impressive achievements of Vojvodina and Catalonia. The evaluation and selection of the projects was carried out together with representatives from the AER Youth Regional Network, Eurochild, the European Youth Forum (EYF), the European Youth Parliament (EYP), and the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe Youth Department. Each of the projects submitted received a detailed evaluation and advice for improvements. The youth-friendly initiatives shared were highlighted in a series of #shinebright articles on the AER website in order to inspire other regions.

Awareness-raising & engagement about Eurodyssey: ongoing

While Eurodyssey is the oldest AER programme its achievements and the way it works are not always well known to AER members. Eurodyssey provides young Europeans a work experience abroad. This has proven to be extremely positive in increasing employment perspectives for young people. The programme is for youth 18 to 30, unemployed or recently qualified, living in a participating region. The work placements are organised and financed by the host regions. Since its creation, over 10,000 young people have benefited from Eurodyssey work placements. New regions can join and benefit from the programme. The feedback from the last Eurodyssey Forum can be found on the AER website and the next Eurodyssey Forum will take place in Brussels Capital Region from 18-20 April.

Culture for Inclusion

On the initiative of Nina Björby, Chair of the Subcommittee on Cuture a Handbook was developped, which brings together several good practices from all over Europe and aims to serve as an inspiration and a basis for collaboration. The AER Handbook of good practices on Culture for the inclusion of migrants and refugees was published in March 2018.

Par/Tea, culture and inclusion: cancelled

This initiatives aimed to integrate migrant people by organising cultural events. The exchange of cultural values and learning by dialogue are the 2 main objectives. The idea was for the events to be organised as non-formal gathering of people on a weekly basis and more formal workshops.
Vojvodina initially foresaw to organise a “PARtea” seminar end 2017 and discuss results with AER members. This initiative was cancelled.

Culture & Health: cancelled

Follow-up on previous actions and conferences in Istanbul & Västerbotten on topics such as culture on prescription, culture and sports. After the workshop on culture and health in Nordjylland an AER handbook on Culture and Health was published in 2015. Regions willing to engage in further policy learning on this topic can contact the Secretariat to define activities they can lead within the AER network. The Secretariat did not receive expressions of interest from regions wanting to develop concrete policy learning activities.

Compilation of good practices on school dropouts: finished

The region of Västernorrland brought together regions to share good practices to combat early school leaving through the AER working group on school dropouts. They set up an Erasmus+ project to further develop the exchanges and mutual learning. They finalised the work with a very useful handbook which brings together good practices from 11 regions in wider Europe.

Awareness raising on YRN activities: ongoing

Awareness raising on YRN activities is carried out through:

information on the AER website
communication around YRN activities, such as high-level meetings, conferences or capacity building activities
inclusion of YRN representatives in the AER slack teams for online collaboration
invitation of YRN representatives to AER activities, partnership development, and plenary meetings

Training on European regional affairs: ongoing

AER is a partner of the European College of Cluny, a new training offer 100% dedicated to local democracy, territorial engineering and innovation in Europe. An AER delegation participated in the Cluny Summer School to further develop the collaboration for the training as well as for the AER Summer Academy. In the framework of this cooperation with the European College of Cluny, AER has proposed to offer a training on youth mobility for regional policy makers in the first year the College will be operating. The Eurodyssey Steering Committee will be developing and implementing this training, as decided during the meeting in Sibenik Knin in October 2017.

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

Following the publication of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework on May 2nd, AER’s reaction can be found here

AER Report on Regionalisation: ongoing

33rd Session of the Congress Local and Regional Authorities: ongoing

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Committee 2 Annual Report June 2017 – May 2018

7 May, 2018 By Johanna Pacevicius

This report is the compilation of actions developped and implemented within Committee 2 between the 2017 General Assembly in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) and the 2018 General Assembly in Lillehammer, Oppland (NO).

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

The AER Action plan, which brings together all the activities carried out within AER, is constantly updated.

Brokerage event in Partnership with ERRIN on health innovation: finished

Project development, Youth Mental Health: ongoing

Due to difficulties in identifying a potential lead partner, members decided to refocus this activity on good practice sharing and awareness raising through

-workshops
-webinars
-data collection
-gathering of prevention resources
-potential topic for a future Summer Academy
-advocacy activities

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA): ongoing

Active and Healthy Ageing Network AHA-NET: cancelled

The project proposal aimed to implement a Leadership programme for the coaching and training of future reference sites. The development of a Leadership Programme for e-health innovation was agreed on by Committee 2 in 2012. Since then the methodology has been developed and ad-hoc training academies have taken place on the Silver Economy and integrated care systems. This project would have provided an ideal framework for the deployment at larger scale of this programme.

ACT2Bridge project – Actions to Support Regional Ecosystems on Health Innovation Research: postponed

This project aims to encourage and increase the participation of European regions with a low level of health-related research and innovation activity in European research programmes through benchmarking and mutual learning. An increase in their R&I activity is expected to leverage health services, and thus, into social and economic benefits for these regions. Within this project AER is leading the Working Package “Benchlearning and knowledge exchange between regions”, having as one of the main objective of to support our regions to reach equivalent levels of development in the different areas.

This project has not been financed but, considering the high standard of the consortia and the good evaluation it received, it is planned to be submitted again in the forthcoming calls.

AMID project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: ongoing

The project will guide key actors to respond adequately to the disability implications in the identification process and to the cultural implications in the relocation process. It will result in the creation of a Specific Needs Assessment Tool to be circulated among all actors dealing with migrants assessment.

AER leads the Working Package on “Tuning of Outcomes to European Local Authorities” and is the project partner that will ensure the perspective of the regions is included in the adaptation of the projects outcomes and tools.

The project kicked-off in January 2018. In April a second meeting focused on good practices, in particular the JUMA Refugees Map Services and the Washington Group Set of Questions on Disability

AMiD is a two-year project: from 01/2018 to 01/2020.

European network for harmonising self, society, and systems to facilitate integrated care, COST action proposal: cancelled

This project led by partners we have been working with previously aimed at pursuing the work of AER in the field of integrated care systems. The project was not accepted.

Project development, Social inclusion of vulnerable groups: ongoing

With views to the preparation of a project gathering regional good practices on inclusion a debate took place on the occasion of the Committee 2 Plenary meeting. The idea with this project is to define a general approach to inclusion, helping policy makers appraise their policies and develop effective policies for inclusion. As the topic received a lot of interest, a workshop on inclusion was organised on the occasion of the Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad.

Project development, Combatting isolation and social exclusion: ongoing

The region of Timis would like to develop a project to address the isolation of 2 social groups:
-orphans, who at the age of 18 find themselves without support and homeless because orphanages do not support youth after their 18th birthday.

-elderly people, who often live on their own and would need minimal support and company.

The idea is to gather good practices which have been implemented in similar contexts and to look at transferability and adaptation of such good practices.

The debate at the Autumn 2017 Committee 2 plenary showed that these issues are recurring issues in different regions. These topics will also be addressed on the occasion of the workshop on inclusion at the Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad. The idea is to identify good practices for potential benchmarking and transfer.

Project development, Public-private cooperation for social inclusion: cancelled

In order to initiate a project for good practices exchanges on the collaboration between regional governments and the private sector for the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, AER published an article outlining the different issues at stake. Following the publication of this article several regions have expressed interest in developping a project. As no lead partner was identified for the project development the project was canceled

Project development, Equal Health: cancelled

Possible project (seek funding opportunities). Exchange of experiences from different programs offering parental support. As this project idea was not further specified, the activity is cancelled.

DIGIT-ABLE project: planned

Building on the work previously done by AER on digitisation and inclusion, Committee 2 is leading on a project setting up a “European Platform on Vulnerable People in the Information Society”, mapping best practices and socio-economic impact of the digital empowerment of disadvantaged people.

The DIGITABLE-EU project aims to raise the knowledge about the level of digital inclusion of vulnerable people in EU countries and to trigger the sharing of knowledge and good practices in order to increase the level of digital inclusion of vulnerable people. In order to achieve this goal, this project will work on four main priorities:

Networking with public authorities (national/regional/EU level), social business actors, civil society organisations, international associations focusing on improving the quality of life and social inclusion of the different vulnerabilities targeted by the project as well as digital literacy.
Establishing a metrics for evaluating the quality and impact of practices for digital inclusion of vulnerable people, for the vulnerabilities covered by the project: People with disabilities; Elderly people; Marginalised young people and children (based on socio-economic status); Unemployed or those facing social problems; Migrants.
Realise an interactive online catalogue of best practices, accessible via a dedicated website;
Disseminate the catalogue through dedicated events

The project was submitted on September 2017 under the Horizon 2020 and it will run for 24 months. The coordinator is INSIEL SpA (Friuli Venezia Giulia – IT).

Committees Autumn Plenaries in Nancy: finished

A discussion on Cohesion Policy and its advantages also took place in Nancy.

Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad: finished

The Committees’ Plenaries were an opportunity to develop the Committees’ work programmes.

INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform (IEPLP): finished

Event on a current transversal topic: finished

Supporting innovation, attracting innovators
The Health Revolution
Culture In a Digital World
Skills and Competences: racing with machines
AI: Towards a Soulless World?

The event lead also to the publication of a series of articles on artificial intelligence and its implications for different policy areas.

Follow up on ALEC: ongoing

The Arctic Light E-health conference is an emblematic example of a succesful cooperation between an AER member region and the AER network. The workshop on data of the AER e-health network in Nancy followed up on issues addressed during the conference. Articles elaborating on topics of the ALEC conference, which are of specific interest to AER members should be published.

Healthcare without harm: tbc

The idea which was presented on the occasion of the Committe 2 Plenary meeting was to combine the topics of healthcare and environment. Activities have not yet been specified and can range from the publication of articles on the AER website showcasing good practices to the organisation of a mutual learning event (online webinar, workshop in Brussels or on the occasion of another AER event). Any such activity needs to be lead by an AER region and supported by a few others. The idea will be submitted at the Spring plenaries to identify whether this is an area where different regions would like to cooperate on.

In the meantime the AER Secretariat has connected the region of Värmland, which proposed this topic, with Diane Whitehouse, an e-health expert who has done research on this topic and whom AER members have had the opportunity to meet at the AER event on artificial intelligence.

Equal opportunities: tbc

Members were interested in sharing experience through articles on the AER website, exchange of good practices, and the sharing of regional data. Members interested in doing so can get support from the AER Secretariat.

This action needs to be further specified, especially in the context of the priorities the AER group on Equal Opportunities has defined for Committee 2: Health Inequalities (gender and socio- economic)

AER AT THE EUROPEAN WEEK OF CITIES AND REGIONS

Workshop on climate and energy transition: finished

Led by the region of Abruzzo, AER co-organised a climate side-event during the European Week of Regions and Cities 2017.

Workshop on the Silver Economy: finished

Workshop of the INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform: finished

The workshop aimed at helping regions learn from the project outputs from their peers in Europe.

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

Following the publication of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework on May 2nd, AER’s reaction can be found here

AER Report on Regionalisation: ongoing

AER participation in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing: ongoing

AER is a member of the B3 Action Group on integrated care systems. In this framework AER has a commitment towards raising awareness & building capacities for integrated care systems. Participating in the EIP-AHA enables AER to connect with the right stakeholders, provide state of the art knowledge on health innovation and raise the voice of regions in European discussions on health innovation.

33rd Session of the Congress Local and Regional Authorities: ongoing

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Committees develop their 2018-2019 work programme

2 April, 2018 By Johanna Pacevicius

On the occasion of the Committees’ plenaries in Arad, AER members identified the topics which matter most for them and on which they want to develop joint ations on with fellow regions. The developement of the Action Plan was a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for their region. The principle is the following: as long as an action fits with the AER values, is in line with the AER priorities and has support from other regions, it can be included in the Committees work programmes.

Committee for Economy & Regional Policy

The main upcoming actions in the AER Committee on Economy and Regional Policy can be summed up as following:

Innovation & SMEs :

-sharing experiences & mutual learning on mainstreaming innovation in all public services
-youth entrepreneurship in link with Committee 3
-Event on the Share Economy led by Brussels Capital & Catalonia

Rural development

-waste management in rural areas
-import & export of local agricultural products
-local food systems/ short supply chains
-potential study visit to Norrbotten (to be linked with the TAIEX EIR peer learning opportunity of the European Commission)

Energy

-follow-up on the visit on the energy transition in Gelderland: preparing peer learning via the TAIEX-EIR tool
-international event on biomass in Vojvodina
-use the Sustainable Development Goals to communicate about AER activities
-event on using the Sustainable Development Goals as regional development framework

Transport and Mobility

-experience sharing on the deployment of electric mobility
-REFIT H2020 project on New Mobility Services
-experience sharing & advocacy in the framework of the European Innovation Partnership on Sustainable Cities and Communities on New Mobility Services and exchanges with AER members

Cohesion Policy

-follow-up activities

Committee for Social Policy & Public Health

The main upcoming actions in Committee 2 can be summed up as following:

Social inclusion

-exchange experiences on unaccompanied migrant children
-AMID project on migrants with disabilities
-exchange experiences on social entrepreneurship & social canteen
-highlight frontrunners to increase visibility& inspire

E-health & health innovation

-leadership programme for policy makers on e-health, integrated care systems and health innovation
-risks of digital exclusion
-business models
-data protection, profiling & mass surveillance
-Artificial intelligence, bots

Equal access to health

-vulnerable groups: meet them where they are & help them
– exchange good practices on reducing barriers to care & access to services

Committee for Culture, Education & Youth

The main upcoming actions in Committee 3 can be summed up as following:

Youth

-Erasmus+ project
-promote youth mobility for all across wider Europe via the Eurodyssey programme & ensure all AER members are aware of the opportunities the programme offers
– training on youth mobility for civil servants in the framework of the European College of Cluny

Education

-workshop on entrepreneurship education best practices
-digitalisation in education
-sexual& relationship education
-LGBTIQ rights & sexual identity in education systems

Youth mental health

-organise a webinar on youth mental health
-workshop for mutual learning & experience exchange
-youth mental health as a topic for an upcoming Summer Academy
-awareness activities on the importance of youth mental health
-data collection on youth mental health & impacts/ costs of ill mental health
-sharing of resources for prevention

Culture

-2018 Summer Academy on cultural heritage for regional attractiveness
-Virtual reality: creation of an informal network of regions with a focus on immersion and visualisation of world heritage and cultural heritage
-walking and hiking paths along cultural routes

AER Action Plan

The AER Action Plan brings together all the activities carried out within and via the AER network, be they large or small. The Action Plan aims to be constantly updated. It is the Executive Board, which approves actions to be added to the AER Action Plan, in order to ensure alignment with values and priorities.

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AER Committee 2 President Mihai Ritivoiu looks back on the Plenaries in Arad

28 March, 2018 By Editor

AER’s Spring Committee Plenaries took place in Arad (Romania), from 20 to 22 March 2018 in the very beautiful location of the City Hall of Arad. The City Hall is one of the most beautiful public building in Arad. “Ferdinand” room is a spectacular location and the warm welcome of the host made our stay even more pleasant. The astonishing building embodies one of the most significant works of eclectic architecture in the city. At the time of building “Palazzo del Municipio”, was reflecting the citizens of Arad will to follow the European model of urban renewal and modernisation. The central tower is 54 meters high. The clock situated at the top of the tower was brought from the Netherlands. Its bell marked each half-hour for almost a century. After 1989, it was reconditioned, and once Romania joined the European Union, the song played at each passing hour was replaced with the Anthem of Europe. This European spirit is still present this days.

AER brings together regions, so that they may stand stronger together, and grow in a space of best practice exchange. A milestone at the Spring plenaries was the development of the Committees work programmes: all regions were invited to share initiatives they would like to develop within the network, with the AER priority “A democratic, cooperative, inclusive and sustainable Europe of Regions”. The plenaries are the perfect place to find partners to develop new collaborations and projects and their implementation.

The Committees’ plenaries: it’s all about sharing & learning

Across wider Europe, regions engage in multilevel cooperation to support the development of innovation ecosystems either within their own territory, or in collaboration with neighbouring regions and cities, in national and cross-border frameworks. This kind of approach of regional policy is not something new to our members, just to mention two of our main topics in our committee: Arctic Light Conference focused on e-health, and Silver Economy (SEED).

At the core of our activities are two major topics: health and social affairs, which nowadays translates in Youth Mental Health which is a good example of Committee 2 and Committee 3 cooperation and Artificial Intelligence, that shows the cooperation between Committee 2 and Committee 1.

Migration and integration are not new to Europe, but the current refugee and migrant crisis is on a scale unseen for decades. Europe’s institutions and national governments have yet to forge proper responses – but rising tensions point to the need for a realistic and comprehensive policy that addresses both challenges and opportunities.

Integration issues, if not addressed effectively, will only serve to fuel discontent and create divisions. Policymakers need to avoid emotion and quick-fixes, and see migration and integration as an asset rather than a threat. Member regions address this topic ever since 2015 and an ongoing project I would like to highlight is AMiD, project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities. This project will provide opportunities for experience sharing and capacity building in this area for all AER members.

Contact

President of Committee 2 for Social Policy and Public Health

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Food, Sustainability and Governance in the Digital Age

A collaboration for policy learning and advocacy

Smart City Expo World Congress, an international benchmark

How to participate?

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Presentations & background articles

Joint Plenary meeting

Debate on Open data

Regional Business forum

Plenary meeting of the Committee on Economy & Regional Development

Plenary meeting of the Committee on Social policy & Public Health

Plenary meeting of the Committee on Culture, Education and Youth

Workshop on Using the SDGs as a policy framework

Workshop on sustainable urban mobility

Breakfast Debate “Welcoming unaccompanied migrant children”

Workshop on waste management in rural areas

Summer Academy Organising Committee meeting

Evaluating progress

Projects

SCIROCCO Exchange project – Personalised knowledge transfer and access to tailored evidence-based assets on integrated care

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

HOME4LIFE – Certified smart and integrated living environments for ageing well

INTEGRATE PERMED project – The inter-regional linking infrastructure for implementation in personalised medicine (reserve list)

PATHWAY project – Pathway to social entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneur Key competencies – SEK project

PIKTOGRAMA project – Visual thinking for social innovation

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! project

Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA): ongoing

AMID project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: ongoing

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions

Good Practice Sharing

Welcoming unaccompanied migrant children

Exchange of experiences on social entrepreneurship (ongoing)

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy (ongoing)

Leadership programme for policy makers on e-health, integrated care systems and health innovation (planned)

AER e-health network activities (planned)

Equal access to healthcare (planned)

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

AER Bureau Task Forces

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

Health innovation ecosystems & the deployment of integrated care systems

Assessing a region’s maturity to implement integrated care systems

Learning from the best

What are integrated care systems?

The sharing economy: reshaping the way we do business

A need for public action

Mutual learning event on the sharing economy

Back to basics, what is the Sharing Economy?

A reality that spans from “very social and green” to “rather cynical”

A concept still under construction

Having access to, not owning

Business support in a changing world

Discussion at AER plenaries

AER & the MOCHA project

Gathering & analysing data on child healthcare

Final conference

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Why is this interesting for regions?

How to benefit of this training?

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

The Silver Economy Awards

The Awards Ceremony

Pictures from the event!

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: planned

Citizens for Cohesion. 351 times closer to Europe: cancelled

Brokerage event in Partnership with ERRIN on health innovation: finished

Development of an environment project based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): in progress

MULTIPLE, MULTI-layer Governance PoLicy-making for the Environment: cancelled

Migrant Entrepreneur Support Scheme Against Gap of Economic System: cancelled

From local to global: Connecting the Dots in the EU’s 2030 energy transition: cancelled

RAINBOW project – Raising Awareness INitiative for a Beautiful Open World: cancelled

Committees Autumn Plenaries in Nancy: finished

Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad: finished