European Urban Initiative (EUI)

There are three main strands of assistance:

1. Innovative Actions: Urban authorities are supported with up to 80% direct co-financing and up to €5m in ERDF, permitting cities to experiment as testbeds for their innovative idea and then transferring it to other cities. Innovative Actions are organised under themes and these projects give urban authorities the space to take a risk and experiment on innovative and creative solutions to their urban challenges, figure out how they work in practice, before transferring this scalable solution to other EU cities. Innovative Actions’ projects must be participatory and can include agencies, private sector, research institutions, NGOs, academia, industry, civil society, and other levels of government.
2. Capacity Building: cities’ capacity can be strengthened through the design of sustainable urban development strategies, policies and practices in a way that is integrated and participative. Peer-learning activities are organised to provide targeted and short-term support, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, good practices and solutions via its peer reviews and city-to-city exchanges.
3. Knowledge environment: cities are also provided with avenues through which horizontal and thematic knowledge and knowhow can be accessed. The knowledge collected and related communication will help ensure support for Urban Agenda cooperation between Member State governments so that evidence-based policy on sustainable urban development can be acquired and developed.