EU Programme:
Contact EMRA
Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly
3rd Floor North, Ballymun Civic Centre
Main Street, Ballymun
Dublin 9, D09 C8P5
Ireland
+353 (0) 1 8074482
URBACT is a European programme which promotes integrated sustainable urban development in cities and towns across Europe. It is primarily funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Programme Summary
Since 2018, the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) has been the National Contact Point (NCP) for the URBACT programme. In our role as NCP, EMRA helps guide Irish towns and cities across the 31 local authorities in building networks with other towns and cities across Europe in applying to funding calls, which enable partners to learn from one another, including in the exchange of best practice.
As well as this, the NCP helps in a range of other ways: by being a bridge to the Secretariat in Paris; to help cities and towns identify future funding opportunities at the local, regional, national and European level; to help communicate developments via social media/newsletter; to provide support in engaging with URBACT Local Group/stakeholders; in helping identify capacity building needs for Irish local authorities; and in helping to identify and deliver other training as necessary e.g. on financial and activity reporting connected with the projects.
Two of the traditional types of projects funded under URBACT are Action Planning Networks and Transfer Networks. Both see partners work to develop an integrated action plan for their locality. A new project type was launched in early 2024 – Innovation Transfer Networks, a collaboration between URBACT and the European Urban Initiative.
In mid-2023, following the first call for Action Planning Networks under URBACT IV, Clare, Fingal, Limerick (2), Longford, Meath and Sligo were announced as partners in seven newly funded transnational networks which began on the 1st of June 2023, with Fingal as Ireland’s first ever URBACT Lead Partner.
Between 2021-2022, EMRA in its role as NCP coordinated the National Practice Transfer Initiative (NPTI). This NPTI experience saw EMRA work alongside Cork City in the transfer of its experience and best practice developed on the Playful Paradigm network, seeing this practice on play and placemaking passed on to five towns: Donegal, Laois, Rathdrum, Rush, and Sligo. The NCP managed the financial and activity reporting to the Secretariat, allowing Cork City to focus on the policy.
Find out more
Reach out anytime to learn more about URBACT and how your city or town might get involved.
Karl Murphy can be reached at:
kmurphy@emra.ie or by phone on +353 (0)1 8074482
You can visit the URBACT programme page here: https://urbact.eu/
The URBACT Ireland webpage contains articles focused on Irish activity in URBACT and features some Networks and Good Practices: https://urbact.eu/ireland
