Connecting cities Building successes

Today opens in Krakow the first URBACT Summer University.

Dedicated to members of the URBACT Local Support Groups (ULSG), the URBACT Summer University will be the opportunity for all the participants to learn more and apply tools of participative urban policy making.

Local Support Groups are one of the key innovations in the URBACT programme allowing participative policy making at the local level.

A Local Support Group gathers in each city the local stakeholders most concerned by the main issue addressed by the URBACT Project.

The topics differ from project to project: from sustainable transport means to involvement of the youth in urban policy making or innovation hubs.

That is why their composition is never pre-set. Each city creates its group according to its local characteristics and it depends on the theme and on the type of project. But they often include local elected officials, representatives of various local administrative departments, representatives of residents, NGOs, associations, etc.

Today The URBACT Local Support Groups represent a community of nearly 4 000 people around Europe.

Local group members work on a European project at local level

URBACT Local group members are key players in each URBACT project: they are then by definition part of a European experience!
However their work is focussed on the delivery of a Local Action Plan, in which the Local group applies the lessons learnt in the whole project and adapts guidelines and ideas to local characteristics to produce a sustainable development plan for their cities.
Chances to meet up with people involved in a similar experience in other European countries is therefore limited.

The URBACT Summer University offers a chance to work directly with other Europeans on methods and tools of participative policy making.

In Krakow, more than 300 members of Local Support Groups from 27 countries will meet.
They will, in large and in smaller transnational groups, work together through the participative process of elaborating a local action plan. The challenge will be to work not only with people from various professional backgrounds but also with people used to other methods in their countries.
Participants will listen and learn from key speeches, for instance on ‘participation of local stakeholders in EU programmes’ and on ‘participative approaches to policy making’. But they will also and above all work!
The key methods and tools studied will be the stakeholders’ analysis method – aimed at identifying key players on one issue at local level – and problem solving tools, in order to change problems into strategies. Then each group will focus on action planning and on the co-creation and delivery of Local Action Plans. This process will be accompanied and followed by a team of experienced urban professionals and experts.

In a few words, over three days, 300 members of URBACT Local groups, from various backgrounds and countries, will confront and enrich their experience of stakeholders’ group work and investment.
They will also get a chance to participate to the design of the European project there are part of by proposing improvements to the functioning of URBACT Local Support Groups during the URBACT Café.

You can follow the process day by day on this blog, and through social media tools such as URBACT Facebook page and Twitter!
Learn more:

• Listen to Rachel Nicholson from the Local Support Group of Stoke on Trent about her experience – URBACT Daily motion
• URBACT Summer University WIKI exchange platform – wiki.urbact.eu
• Follow the conference with twitter: #ULSG