Join us in Mouans-Sartoux to learn how habits’ transformation can lead to a healthier and more sustainable urban food system!
The EU City Lab on Local Food Systems #1 will take place in Mouans-Sartoux, France, on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 March 2024. It is a knowledge-sharing event co‑organised by URBACT and the European Urban Initiative (EUI), with support from the municipality of Mouans-Sartoux.
This EU City Lab lab will focus on Changing Habits for a Healthy and Sustainable Food System. Through discussions and knowledge-sharing, thematic sessions, “walkshops” and group activities, the event aims to explore how transformation of food habits can leverage systemic sustainability transition in European cities.
- Explore how other EU cities followed Mouans-Sartoux’s example through the URBACT BioCanteens and BioCanteens#2 Transfer Networks
- Discover further good practices implemented by other EU cities to foster sustainability in local food systems
- Visit sites in Mouans-Sartoux and exchange with locals about citywide food sustainability, citizen engagement actions and learning communities
- Discuss how local projects towards more healthy and sustainable food habits can be put in place in different national contexts
- Better understand the EU landscape around food systems.
The Mouans-Sartoux event will be the first in a series of three EU City Labs on Local Food Systems, exploring systemic food transition in European cities from different thematic perspectives. The next labs will be organised in the course of 2024:
- Public Procurement for More Local, Seasonal and Sustainable Food – Liège, Belgium, 29 and 30 May 2024
- Sustainable Land Use for Agri-food (place and date to be unveiled soon).
Click here to learn more on the EU City Lab series.
Do you wish to learn more about URBACT cities' past work on building sustainable local food systems? Visit the URBACT Knowledge Hub on Food and read the following articles:
Join [u]s for the EU City Lab on Local Food Systems #1 by URBACT and European Urban Initiative! Scroll down to discover the programme of the event and register now!
J[U]nte-se a nós em Mouans-Sartoux, França, nos dias 21 e 22 de março de 2024, para o #1 EU City Lab sobre Sistemas Alimentares Locais, promovido pelo URBACT e pela Iniciativa Urbana Europeia! Conheça, abaixo, o programa do evento e registe-se agora!
O #1 EU City Lab sobre Sistemas Alimentares Locais terá lugar em Mouans-Sartoux, França, na quinta-feira 21 e sexta-feira 22 de março de 2024. Trata-se de um evento de partilha de conhecimentos coorganizado pelo URBACT e pela Iniciativa Urbana Europeia (European Urban Iniciative, EUI), com o apoio do município de Mouans-Sartoux.
Este laboratório, EU City Lab, centrar-se-á na Mudança de Hábitos para um Sistema Alimentar Saudável e Sustentável. Através de debates e partilha de conhecimentos, sessões temáticas, "walkshops" e atividades de grupo, o evento pretende explorar a forma como a mudança dos hábitos alimentares pode alavancar a transição sistémica da sustentabilidade nas cidades europeias.
- Explorar como outras cidades da UE seguiram o exemplo de Mouans-Sartoux através das Redes de Transferência URBACT BioCanteens e BioCanteens#2;
- Descobrir outras boas práticas implementadas por outras cidades da UE para promover a sustentabilidade dos sistemas alimentares locais;
- Visitar locais, em Mouans-Sartoux, e trocar impressões com os habitantes locais sobre a sustentabilidade alimentar em toda a cidade, sobre as ações de sensibilização dos cidadãos e sobre as comunidades de aprendizagem;
- Debater a forma como os projetos locais, que visam hábitos alimentares mais saudáveis e sustentáveis, podem ser postos em prática em diferentes contextos nacionais;
- Compreender melhor o panorama da UE em matéria de sistemas alimentares.
O evento de Mouans-Sartoux será o primeiro de uma série de três EU City Labs sobre Sistemas Alimentares Locais, explorando a transição alimentar sistémica nas cidades europeias a partir de diferentes perspetivas temáticas. Os próximos laboratórios serão organizados no decurso de 2024:
- Contratação Pública para uma Alimentação mais Local, Sazonal e Sustentável - Liège, Bélgica, 29 e 30 de maio de 2024
- Uso sustentável dos solos para fins agro-alimentares (local e data a revelar em breve).
Programa preliminar (descarregue aqui: Inglês/Francês)
*As refeições durante o programa EU City Lab são oferecidas.
Deseja saber mais sobre o trabalho anterior das cidades URBACT na construção de sistemas alimentares locais sustentáveis? Visite o Centro de Conhecimento URBACT sobre Alimentação e leia os seguintes artigos:
Sobre o percurso da Rede de Transferência BioCanteens e a Boa Prática de Mouans-Sartoux:
Chcesz dowiedzieć się więcej o narzędziach URBACT? Zapoznaj się z zestawem narzędzi i przeczytaj wszystko o Uniwersytecie w Malmö, w szczególności o procesach planowania działań:
Uniwersytet Letni URBACT odbył się w Malmö w dniach 28-30 sierpnia 2023 r. dla ponad 400 przedstawicieli miast zaangażowanych w 30 niedawno zatwierdzonych Sieci Planowania Działań. Od pierwszej edycji w 2011 r. wydarzenie to stało się kamieniem milowym w budowaniu potencjału uczestników programu.
Zaprojektowane dla lokalnych interesariuszy z miast-beneficjentów programu URBACT, wydarzenie ma na celu dostarczenie konkretnych przykładów i wiedzy na temat tego, jak metoda URBACT może być stosowana w praktyce, tak aby uczestnicy byli gotowi do utworzenia Lokalnych Grup URBACT i eksperymentowania z rozwiązaniami w celu współtworzenia własnych lokalnych Zintegrowanych Planów Działania.
Oto co otrzymali uczestnicy podczas tych trzech wyjątkowych dni!
1. Wypróbowanie metody i narzędzi URBACT
Uczestnicy w trakcie kompletowania Drzewo problemów.
Raz dziennie, przez ponad godzinę, uczestnicy zapoznawali się z technikami i narzędziami, które nie tylko pomogą im stworzyć i utrzymać Lokalne Grupy URBACT, ale także naprawdę zrozumieć lokalne wyzwania, opracować wspólne wizje i zaplanować działania, aby osiągnąć określone cele. Dyskusje w grupach, podzielone na tzw. huby gromadzące kilka sieci, odbywały się w sprzyjającej wymianie bezpiecznej przestrzeni. Następnie uczestnicy szli do sesji Network@Work (sieci w działaniu), gdzie w mniejszych grupach wykonywali praktyczne ćwiczenia i wcielali w życie zdobytą wiedzę z zakresu analizowania problemów i tworzenia scenariuszy, angażowania wszystkich interesariuszy i wreszcie planowania zintegrowanych działań.
Wszystkie wykorzystane materiały są już dostępne w zakładce URBACT Toolbox na stronie programu i z pewnością przydadzą się podczas planowania działań i organizowania spotkań Lokalnych Grup URBACT. Jak powiedział jeden z uczestników, Øystein Leonardsen z miasta Kopenhaga (DK), "im więcej narzędzi masz w swojej skrzynce narzędziowej, tym lepiej jesteś przygotowany do stawienia czoła różnym wyzwaniom". W końcu, jeśli masz pod ręką tylko młotek, wszystkie napotkane problemy będą rozwiązywane w ten sam sposób, niezależnie od ich złożoności lub konkretnej przyczyny. "Z młotkiem, wszystko co możesz zrobić, to wbijać gwoździe w głowę". Różnorodność narzędzi I dostosowanie do kolejnych etapów pracy jest zatem kluczowa.
2. Spotkanie z przedstawicielami miast z całej Europy
Dla wielu osób zaangażowanych w nowo zatwierdzone Sieci Planowania Działań, Uniwersytet URBACT był pierwszą okazją do spotkania się ze wszystkimi partnerami projektu. Poza licznymi przerwami na kawę i okazjami do rozmów, uczestnicy mieli wyjątkową okazję, by być bliżej swoich sieci, zwłaszcza podczas sesji Network@Work. Jak powiedziała Clémentine Gravier, kierownik działu ds. sieci i budowania potencjału w Sekretariacie URBACT, "po dwóch edycjach e-uniwersytetów URBACT w formule online, jednej w 2020 r. i drugiej w 2022 r., miło było wreszcie zorganizować to wydarzenie budujące potencjał miast spotykając się osobiście. Prawda jest taka, że nic nie przebije wymiany doświadczeń i uczenia się od siebie nawzajem przez trzy dni".
3. Doświadczenie niskoemisyjnego wydarzenia
Zbiórka smyczy URBACT do recyklingu
To żadna nowość, że URBACT gustuje w wydarzeniach niskoemisyjnych, a tegoroczny Uniwersytet nie był wyjątkiem. Dzięki całkowicie roślinnemu menu podjęto działania mające na celu zapobieganie marnowaniu żywności. Jak niektórzy mogli zauważyć, nic się nie marnowało, a resztki były bezpiecznie wykorzystane w innych posiłkach. Ponadto, wspierając i prowadząc kampanię na rzecz mało emisyjnych środków transportu, program skutecznie zachęcił uczestników do wyjścia ze swojej strefy komfortu. Jeden z uczestników częściowo przejechał na rowerze z Rotterdamu (NL) do Malmö (SE), podczas gdy wielu innych podróżowało pociągiem na krótkich trasach.
Poza miłymi wspomnieniami, nową wiedzą i pięknymi plakietkami wykonanymi z papieru z recyklingu, pełnymi nasion dzikich kwiatów gotowych do zasadzenia, uczestnicy nie zabrali nic więcej do domu. Nawet smycze do identyfikatorów zostały pozostawione do ponownego wykorzystania podczas przyszłych wydarzeń URBACT. W przeciwieństwie do poprzednich uniwersytetów URBACT, nie oferowano żadnych gadżetów ani pamiątek. Cały ślad węglowy Uniwersytetu URBACT zostanie zmierzony i zrównoważony rekompensatami finansowymi na rzecz zalesiania i innych zielonych inicjatyw lokalnych.
4. Odkrywanie ciekawych zakątków Malmö
Podczas pierwszej sesji plenarnej uczestnicy zostali ciepło powitani przez Sofię Héden, zastępcę burmistrza ds. środowiska i usług wewnętrznych w gminie Malmö. Podczas tej sesji dowiedzieli się również, że główne miejsce Uniwersytetu URBACT, Malmö Arena, będzie gospodarzem przyszłorocznej edycji konkursu Eurowizji. To tylko jedna z wielu interesujących rzeczy, które miasto ma w zanadrzu.
Uczestnicy na dworcu kolejowym gotowi na wizytę "Atrakcyjni i aktywni: Przepis Malmö na tętniące życiem miasto".
Jak w przypadku każdego Uniwersytetu URBACT, miasto goszczące nadaje specyficzny charakter całemu wydarzeniu. Program daje możliwość miastu gospodarzowi do zaprezentowania lokalnych inicjatyw, istniejących projektów i jego planów na przyszłość. Tyczy się to zwłaszcza miasta Malmö które od dawna jest beneficjentem programu URBACT. Było ono zaangażowane w sieci planowania działań RESILIENT EUROPE (2015 - 2018) i LET'S GO CIRCULAR (2023 - 2026), obie sieci nastawione bardzo prośrodowiskowo.
Po południu drugiego dnia uczestnicy mieli okazję zobaczyć niektóre z ukrytych perełek miasta. Nie dziwi fakt, że wśród 12 wizyt w terenie przewidzianych do wyboru w ramach wizyt studyjnych, większość koncentrowała się na gospodarce cyrkularnej. Ale kilka wizyt dotyczyło rewitalizacji miejskiej starej i nowej części portu, równości płci i tworzenia przestrzeni miejskich a także przedsiębiorczości i integracji migrantów.
5. Wydarzenie pełne niespodzianek
Na scenie pojawił się również zespół Krajowych Punktów URBACT
Jak wspomniał podczas wydarzenia Eddy Adams, ekspert ds. metod i narzędzi URBACT, jego ulubioną składową uniwersytetów jest element zaskoczenia. Na Uniwersytecie URBACT w Malmö nie brakowało niespodzianek. Nawet niektóre z Krajowych Punktów URBACT miały do odegrania specjalną rolę. Przebrani za burmistrzów z różnych miast z krajów członkowskich UE, odwiedzali sesje uczestników i zachęcali ich do wzięcia pod uwagę w przyszłej pracy Sieci trzech przekrojowych tematów: zieleni, cyfryzacji i równości płci.
Wydarzenie obejmowało nawet nieoczekiwaną lekcję tańca na dachu jednego z sąsiadujących budynków. Zarówno to jak i nawiązane nowe znajomości i przyjaźnie oraz kontakty a także zdobyta wiedza i umiejętności nie zostaną szybko zapomniane.
Lekcja tańca swingowego na dachu w ostatnim dniu URBACT University
Among its core objectives, the EU cohesion policy has set as a first priority to create a more competitive and smarter Europe. But what does it mean to take the leap towards the digital transition? Read on to get a glimpse of how URBACT cities have faced today's challenges using tech solutions and ideas.
Piraeus (EL)
Blue Growth Entrepreneurship Competition
As part of its efforts to create new jobs and innovation opportunities within the local economy, Piraeus launched its blue growth entrepreneurship competition, which is recognised as an URBACT Good Practice. As a coastal city, with a strong maritime industry, it’s in the best interest of the city and its citizens to explore and take a dive into the blue economy. At the core of its practices it’s a contest, where business plans are prepared and submitted by aspiring entrepreneurs and then compared and judged against a set of predetermined criteria. The aim is to get potential entrepreneurs to explore new opportunities and set up growth opportunities within the digital economy.
One past winner is the Ferryhopper – an online ferry-ticketing marketplace that helps consumers with access to multi-trip tickets, which are sold by a whole range of different transport operators. This competition is an interesting example of how to intersectional priorities, with tech and digital opportunities in mind, can offer a huge potential. Piraeu’s experience has led the city to become Lead Partner in two Transfer Networks: BluAct (2018 - 2021) and BluAct Second Wave (2021 - 2023). The results have been outstanding and this Good Practice has become a source of inspiration beyond the EU. Most recently, the United Nations Development Programme has taken interest in it and the BluAct team has presented its work to citymakers in different countries.
Promotional video for the competition led by Mataro (ES), Project Partner of the BluAct Transfer Network
Jelgava (LV)
Supporting environmental data
As a Project Partner of the IoTxChange Action Planning Network (2019 – 2022), which was led by Fundão (PT), the city of Jelgava uses Internet of Things sensor technology since July 2021 to measure local meteo and environmental data. The municipality has seized the testing activities budget to use IoT as a policy instrument for the city change, with an overall goal to support farmers, other stakeholders and, more broadly, the civil society. As a pilot, Jelgava installed four stations with IoT connections in the downtown and farmers’ premises. Different type of data is collected – air temperature, soil humidity, rainfall, wind speed and wind direction – using two different heights, at 2 and 10 meters high, which is considered as proof of concept for the data validation, which should play a role if new sensors should be put into place.
Bassa Romagna (IT)
An app for sustainable food chain
Comprised by nine municipalities, the Union of Bassa Romagna took part in the FOOD CORRIDORS Action Planning Network (2019 – 2022) to promote sustainable food systems in the framework of health, environment and climate change. Using an integrated approach, this territory has chosen to focus on the local economy by, among other things, enabling the creation of food start-ups and relying on tech to innovate the local value chain. When it came to social and environmental aspects, the concept of proximity, also known as “food to fork” or “0 km”, was key. Together with their URBACT Local Group, the municipalities planned different actions on food redistribution to support NGOs and tackle poverty, while avoiding waste – a surplus for solidarity.
Other actions included territorial marketing initiatives to support responsible and health local food consumption. In addition, during the lifespan of the network, people became increasingly aware of the potential of digital tools, due to the pandemic’s constraints. Such context and ambitions led the network to use its testing activities budget to develop a brand new app. Currently available for Android phones, the app collects the geolocation of local producers, featuring the history of the companies, local markets and even tourism farms and other information for citizens and potential consumers in the area. New features are still on the making, notably for creating a repertory of typical local products. Other functionalities are also under reflection, such as food redistribution.
Saint Quentin (FR)
Engaging all citizens in the digital revolution
Saint Quentin’s has taken part in two Action Planning Networks (2019 – 2022), DigiPlace and ACTIVE CITIZENS. Following a strong political desire to face the main challenges of the future together – and implementing its 2050 strategy with a people-centric city approach – the city has also defined its digital plan. Based upon the principles to use new technologies to promote sustainable development, reduce costs and support local stakeholders in the ownership of digital tools, the city wanted to tackle the digital divide. Even if most public administrative services were made digital – as taxes and health services – about 20% of the local population were still feeling excluded to a lack of digital skills. This has prompted the city to invest, mainly through municipality, regional and state funds and other local resources, in activities to get closer to citizens, in simple but effective ways. The city has established several Solidarity Hubs, community spaces where people can access ICT facilities and support. Social cohesion is at the heart of ACTIVE CITIZENS, reason why the network was an occasion to further explore an involve locals in this inclusion process.
Barnsley (UK)
Adapt or die
As a British medium-sized city with big ambitions, the city has long been keen to develop a “new” economy based on innovation and the Industry 4.0, following the contracting of the mining industry in the 1980’s. A story many European cities and towns can relate to. To this end, for more than a decade the city has committed to growing higher value jobs, particularly within its creative, tech and digital sectors. At the heart of recent successes are the Barnsley Enterprise – an entrepreneurship programme, providing a one-stop-shop for local businesses that seek the City Council’s support – and the Digital Media Centres, physical hubs for creative and digital initiatives.
Barnsley was awarded an URBACT Good Practice label and has led three URBACT projects: the TechTown Action Planning Network (2015 – 2018) and the Transfer Networks Tech Revolution (2018 – 2021) and Tech Revolution 2.0 (2021 – 2023). Thanks to these experiences, the local council has developed beyond the town itself and, in 2022, was asked to pilot a regional digital strategy. Such achievement will allow the city to carry on its principles, while expanding its activities including in universities, residential, retail and travel facilities.
Barnsley (UK) interview during the Lisbon URBACT City Festival in 2018
Nyiregyhaza (HU)
An active business system to support the digital economy
Through its participation in the TechTown Action Planning Network (2015 - 2018) and, later, in the Tech Revolution Transfer Network (2018 - 2021), Nyiregyhaza has witnessed big transformations. The city has set up an active – and coordinated – business support service within its arms length Industrial Park Company. The city is now home to a new Technology and Innovation Centre with a stable operating budget, provided by the municipality, and with six full-time staff members, working on economic development, business support and investment promotion. The mayor now lists economic development and job creation as key priorities and seeks to focus on growth within the digital economy.
Oulu (FI)
Smart bins and digital twins
During its participation in the DigiPlace Action Planning Network (2019 – 2022), the city of Oulu (FI) collaborated with a start-up to develop an app for enabling waste collection on-demand for citizens as well as active monitoring of municipal waste bins. The on-demand option allows residents to use the app to request a collection when their bin is getting full, which leads to a collection being dynamically scheduled into the waste company’s collection route. This uses AI algorithms to calculate the optimal route for waste collection vehicles to move around the bins that need to be collected in the most efficient manner, only visiting bins when needed. A similar algorithm is linked with the municipal bin monitoring system, which tracks how much waste is in over 1 000 of the city’s bins using sensors, and schedules bins into the collection cycle when they become close to being full.
This experience has resulted in a 40% reduction in both the number of collections and of the number of vehicles needed in the fleet, with the associated reductions in cost and carbon emissions. Similarly, the Lead Partner of DigiPalce, the municipality of Messina (IT), has active management of its waste services using a network of sensors, cameras and associated machine learning and AI algorithms. These are both great examples of existing technology and know-how – IoT sensors, route optimisation, machine learning and video recognition – being combined to tackle real city challenges or to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of city services, while also learning from peers.
Bielsko – Biala (PL)
Creating a digital economy
Through their participation in the AS-TRANSFER Network (2021 – 2023) – a pilot collaboration between URBACT and the Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) to mainstream the lessons learnt from previous project – the municipality of Bielsko-Biala has drawn inspiration from the AS-FABRIK initiative in Bilbao (ES). The original project consisted of developing a comprehensive concept that offered new training schemes, partnerships and actions to accelerate digitalisation and boost innovation startups in the Spanish city. Throughout the pilot, the Polish city has developed in a participatory way an investment plan to further seize the Industry 4.0. The city has long been a pioneer when it comes to tech. Back in 2014, Biesko-Biala opened its first creative space and Poland’s first ever FabLab. If successful, the investment plan will enable the city to create a well-connected and vivid local innovation ecosystem with its existing Digital Innovation Hub at heart.
Aveiro (PT)
A card to simplify local services
Following Aveiro’s participation in the CARD4ALL Transfer Network (2018 – 2021), the city has become known as a digital cluster, a territory of innovation with a strong knowledge economy, dynamic university, centre for telecoms R&D, and innovative firms in the digital and traditional sectors. However, the increasing development of new digital solutions had created a complex system of providers, interfaces and information sources for various services around the city, which was increasingly hard for local people to navigate.The Municipality has been wanting In an attempt to simplify citizens’ access to public services and transform Aveiro into a smarter, more open, resilient and inclusive society, the municipality an Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) project in 2018. The Aveiro STEAM CITY, supporting the adoption of 5G and Internet of Things technologies. Based on the URBACT Good Practice of Gijon (ES), the Lead Partner from CARD4ALL, Aveiro has started by introducing a common card for all students across its different schools.
All services provided by the municipality and schools can be managed and paid with it. This includes the cafeteria, school supplies, photocopying, even access to the buildings and school-day extensions. Crucial preparatory actions included mapping different systems to ensure compatibility and ease of use. Almost simultaneously, the city also activated new online services, with a wide range of options. Today, different municipal departments are working together to create a broader citizen card system covering almost all sectors of local life, including mobility, education, sports, culture, tourism and IT. Each department acts as an intermediary with their own external service providers and concession holders, encouraging strong cross-sectoral cooperation.
Keeping up with the Digital Transition
URBACT's brand new online course
URBACT is committed to improving the digital transition in all programme activities: in EU responses to urban challenges and in the planning processes of all URBACT cities. Unsurprisingly, digital is among the three crosscutting priorities for this programming period (2021 - 2027) – alongside the green and the gender themes. Time after time, the programme has supported the knowledge dissemination on the subject, with TechPlace and, most recently, the Keeping Up with the Digital Transition Moodle, which is open to anyone who takes an interest in this topic.
Digital solutions and ideas are coming at us thick and fast, and it can be hard for city staff and politicians to keep up. It’s therefore important for cities to be able to navigate around this universe and take advantage of its full potential. Cities have a vital role to play in the digital transition, alongside the private sector. From green matters to participative governance, from education to economy, digital solutions can help urban practitioners to deliver better and more integrated approaches at local level. Start the course now and build your capacities!
The topic of linking public procurement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) becomes ever more important for cities when challenges are increasing and public resources are limited. So how can city leaders actively use strategic procurement to encourage businesses to fulfil their social and environmental responsibilities? Dr. Steffen Wetzstein, Lead Expert for the URBACT CITIES4CSR network, shares recent experiences from URBACT cities…
Linking up strategic municipal procurement and Corporate Social Responsibility
The link between strategic municipal procurement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may seem complex. On the one hand, city governments are under pressure to procure important goods, services and works in the name of the public good, and on the other hand, CSR is about businesses donating and contributing to worthwhile ‘beyond-profit’ causes in return for publicity and marketing gains. But can city leaders actively and effectively use procurement processes and practices to make businesses fulfil their social and environmental responsibilities? And could this direct influence made our world a better place after all?
The answers to those questions are a resounding YES! Procurement can directly boost CSR outcomes by municipalities telling their local enterprises not just what they need, but how they want it to be made, delivered, built and implemented. This dual added value has not just inspired our URBACT Lead Partner team in Milan (IT), but really constitutes a great opportunity to both supporting our communities and saving our planet. But the idea is spreading slowly. Too many obstacles need tackling, ranging from unawareness, prioritisation issues and lacking competencies to legal constraints, missing management capacities and under-developed monitoring practices. Untapped potential everywhere!
But there is hope for change, because the European urban procurement communities and CSR communities have recently started to link up. Well-known experts representing these networks – Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson as Lead Expert behind the URBACT networks Procure and Making Spend Matter, and Valentina Schippers-Opejko on behalf of the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement – have been sharing their experience and wisdom with URBACT cities. They both joined meetings with the 10 city partners in our URBACT CITIES4CSR network, the first ever URBACT network building municipal capacity for promoting urban CSR ecosystems and practices.
This article asks what – after two and a half years of dedicated URBACT project work – is the local state-of-play regarding municipal procurement, what has been achieved so far, and what kind of barriers had to be overcome.
Lessons from our URBACT partner cities
1. Budaörs, Hungary: room for advancing local practice
Two institutional procurement frameworks shape local decisions in Budaörs. There is the national Public Procurement Act that applies to purchases of goods/services above HUF 15 000 000 (about EUR 40 000), and construction investment above HUF 50 000 000 (about EUR 132 000). Decisions under this act are slow, heavily regulated, and come with a significant administrative burden. In contrast, the municipality's own management rules come into effect for purchases below the abovementioned thresholds. These are more flexible, perceived as transparent, accompanied by less administrative burden and enable faster operational processing. The current municipal management regulations are considered sufficient.
For its URBACT Small Scale Action – tree planting and ‘green’ public awareness and education – the current procurement framework was considered adequate. Less satisfying, however, is the fact that the municipality currently does not give any consideration, preference or advantage to companies that have demonstrated good CSR practices. Part of the problem is that there is no useful administrative system in place to meaningfully compare and evaluate companies’ CSR activities.
2. Nantes, France: successfully linking CSR and SDGs
For long-term CSR-directed procurement decisions, Nantes builds on three strategies. First, general social and environmental criteria are initially being determined to select companies during calls for tenders. Second, a responsible purchasing plan incorporating social and environmental aspects will be widely communicated to inform companies of expectations to be met. Third, and as indeed required by French and European law, social and environmental criteria will have to be adapted to fit into more specific and relevant purchasing families, such as building and public works, provision of services and so forth.
Nantes’ Small Scale Action, a digital observatory monitoring businesses’ performance concerning progress on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is currently being assembled utilising best practice procurement. Despite being below the necessary threshold, it was decided to proceed as a call for tender precisely to allow the promotion of good practices. Broad digital advertising was followed by constructing an objective analysis grid that besides social and environmental criteria also incorporated competency aspects, quality dimensions, costs and deadlines. Finally, the assessment of the offers from potential service providers was assigned to selected URBACT Local Group (ULG) members in the name of openness and transparency.
3. Guimarães, Portugal: learning to be alert and flexible
The ULG in Guimarães seeks to build and run a digital platform that will connect the well-established economic development and social development networks. The almost autonomous operating municipality-managed platform is to become a modern, efficient and responsive digital mechanism to link organisations representing social and community needs with businesses that have vital resources to offer in response. Overall the project has progressed quite well, having attracted an initial municipal financial commitment of EUR 18 000 and reached its current advanced testing and feedback phase.
Yet, three lessons had to be learned along the way. First, keep your options open concerning your supplier. Early on, the project team noticed feedback issues and failed deadlines with their preferred supplier, and were eventually forced to work with an alternative organisation. Second, in the teams’ own words “one must have a political champion, for every project, and must try to stay ahead of the political changes”. Having unexpectedly lost their project champion, the Councillor for Economic Development, officers eventually had to convince the Mayor directly, but lost four weeks into the process. Third, project management has to try to keep ahead of the game by anticipating and responding swiftly and adequately to almost unavoidable delays triggered by the fiddly specificities of procurement procedures. Luckily, a dedicated administrative department successfully helped to navigate those tricky roadblocks.
4. Vratsa, Bulgaria: taking risk more seriously
The municipality of Vratsa stated that the internal rules for managing the procurement cycle are prescribed by the Public Procurement Law. While this process is perceived as clear and smooth, the local project team problematised the inflation risks stemming from the long time lag between calculating project costs, and implementation time. Inflation – surely a vexing and pressing future topic globally – leads to budget inadequacies and, consequently a lack of participants and unabsorbed funds because of insufficient financial resources.
Reflections, recommendations and potential actions
CITIES4CSR case studies highlight at least three key lessons regarding effective municipal CSR-directed procurement.
Rigid and bureaucratic national procurement frameworks may hinder CSR-directed goal setting and implementation. Effective lobbying for more flexible national laws may help to innovate.
Local-level project management capacities need to match vision and aspiration, including adequate legal competencies and solid administrative skills. Awareness-raising, targeted training and good practice dissemination may improve this situation.
Politics both enables and restricts innovative approaches to embedding local economic, social and environmental considerations in procurement. So changes in political leadership may cause the biggest risk. Strategically anticipating and skillfully navigating these risks may prove essential.
Our divergent findings on how CSR-mediated municipal procurement has progressed locally reinforce one of Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson’s primary messages: partners should take their time when using procurement to realise CSR outcomes, because it takes strategic foresight and incremental implementation to change the state-of-play. Our partner lessons also underscore a second of his messages: that any evolution of procurement activities requires inclusion of a range of stakeholders, including politicians, strategists, technical staff, procurement officers and contract managers. We may actually require a well-functioning CSR procurement capacity system across municipal departments.
Clearly, strategic municipal procurement and CSR capacity building belong together. Procurement is potentially a powerful tool to directly influence CSR-mediated actions, practices and outcomes. Municipalities really are in the driver seat. Boldly and creatively confronting key barriers promise two inter-related outcomes. Guimarães (PT) illustrates how we may aspire to achieve a local win-win between business/economic and social/community stakeholders in terms of responding to needs quickly, competently and effectively. Let’s call this ‘small win-win’. Yet, if we look to Nantes (FR), we can aim even higher. Eyes could be set at a ‘big win-win’ by aligning our collective urban practices with reaching our global Sustainable Development Goals.
This article demonstrated the value of thinking and doing municipal CSR capacity building, and strategic municipal procurement, together. So mutual engagement, co-learning and shared capacity building should be intensified in challenging post-pandemic years. Improved two-way communication would be a starter and a more conceptually grounded debate desirable. Common initiatives may produce powerful shared messages to stakeholders and the wider public – perhaps already at our planned CITIES4CSR outreach event in Brussels on 30 June and 1 July 2022! Longitudinal and strategic project formats both locally and transnationally should be the ultimate goal. Let us unlock together the potential of strategic procurement for much needed social and environmental progress now!
Find out more about URBACT’s support to towns and cities looking for better ways to buy goods and services – with articles, practical advice, and a free online course on strategic procurement: URBACT strategic procurement Knowledge Hub.
Over the last seven years, the URBACT programme has sought to adapt the ways in which towns and cities across the EU think about their purchasing. The URBACT networks Procure and Making Spend Matter, our online course on Strategic Procurement, and our representation on the EU Urban Agenda Partnership for Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement have all sought to shift the perception and practice of procurement away from something very boring and bureaucratic to something that is exciting and effective in addressing the challenges that cities face.
Cities, including their municipalities and other institutions, use procurement every day to buy goods and services, ranging from construction projects to school catering. The process is framed by legislation from the European Commission in the form of the European Procurement Directives – and the choice of suppliers to provide a good or deliver a service has often been on the basis of price alone, with the cheapest offer winning the contract.
Purchasing for recovery: choose quality and wider benefits
Our work at URBACT helps local governments move beyond price as the primary decision-making factor in procurement. We encourage a much broader consideration of both the quality of the good or service being provided, and its wider economic, social and environmental benefits. How can the procurement of that good or service help tackle youth unemployment? How can the procurement of that good or service contribute to reducing health inequalities? How can it reduce environmental impact and mitigate climate change?
Our thinking at URBACT on procurement continues to evolve. In particular, and as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been involved in developing a new Action Paper for the EU Urban Agenda Partnership for Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement, published in January 2022 for public feedback. We identified ten ways in which public procurement can be utilised to stimulate and enable economic recovery in a post-Covid world. Municipalities and other institutions should:
Pay suppliers quickly, enabling the circulation of money within the economy to be quicker and reducing the risk of businesses facing cash flow and liquidation challenges.
Use social criteria to create jobs, as this contributes towards addressing the key challenge of unemployment, particularly among young people.
Encourage suppliers to upcycle products using a circular approach. This reduces waste, both in cost and environmental terms.
Encourage suppliers to adapt their products and offer, enabling businesses to diversify and grow.
Raise awareness among local businesses of upcoming procurement opportunities. This both enables the growth of local economies and reduces carbon emissions.
Connect withSMEs – the largest component part of the economy. Towns and cities benefit from supporting these businesses and the jobs they provide.
Give consumers a say. Citizens are the people who pay for procurement spend through the redistribution of their taxation, and they should have a voice in how that money is spent.
Be strategic. Develop a coherent procurement strategy, outlining in a clear way the types of economic outcomes the city is seeking to achieve.
Support innovation, as it enables new goods, services and works to be developed.
Enable group bids. Bringing organisations together to bid for procurement opportunities enables smaller businesses to deliver economies of scale.
Linking the ten ways to the cycle of procurement
A new, healthier economic recovery
In all of the above, there is a need to consider how we think about ‘economic recovery’. Traditionally, economic recovery would have been predicated by a return to economic growth in the form of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Covid-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for a new type of recovery which is framed not only by considerations of economy, but also by addressing social, cultural, health and wellbeing, and environmental challenges.
In terms of the resources that cities have at their disposal to realise this more integrated approach to recovery, we at URBACT firmly believe that procurement is core. Existing money can be levered in different ways to support not only high-quality goods and services, but also contribute towards realising more effective local economic, social and environmental outcomes.
URBACT procurement support for cities
URBACT provides tools, capacity-building and exchange opportunities to ensure procurement is integral to a strong, integrated recovery in EU towns and cities. As well as taking the ten steps described in this article, we invite city hall staff and other urban practitioners to:
Sign up to our quarterly newsletter to join a growing community of peers and keep up-to-date on how to apply procurement more strategically in cities!
Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson is an URBACT Lead Expert and represents URBACT in the EU Urban Agenda Partnership for Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement.
How can city authorities make gender equality a fundamental, integral part of public procurement? Is it possible to combat gender-based inequalities through procurement processes? These key questions are the focus of a new conversation launched at the June 2021 URBACT City Festival, connecting URBACT’s work on Gender Equality and Public Procurement.
URBACT city and network representatives showed how cities can financially embed their commitments to equality. Or as Kate Raworth put it in the keynote on Donut Economics at the same event: how can cities “buy with their values”?
What is Gender-Responsive Public Procurement?
Accounting for a trading volume of EUR 2 448 billion (about 16% of the 2017 EU GDP), European public procurement is a major driver for economic growth, job creation, and innovation. Although procurement is an essential vehicle for delivery of policy, strategic procurement remains low, with over half of contracts in the EU still awarded on the basis of lowest price.
Gender-responsive public procurement (GRPP) is a form of gender mainstreaming that aims to contribute to a more gender-equal distribution of economic resources. An important lever to use public funds in order to achieve public policy goals related to gender equality. For example, authorities can consider social aspects such as fair pay, number of women hired, or promotion of work-life balance when selecting public contractors. But how do we get there at local level? What did the experts say at the URBACT City Festival?
GRPP – a long-term process
José Costero, Head of Strategy, at Pamplona City Council (ES)
Embedding equality into public procurement strategies then operationalising them takes time. José Costero is Head of Strategy, at Pamplona City Council (ES), a city with a legacy of 25 years of working on equality. Pamplona joined the URBACT Making Spend Matter network to learn and improve specifically on social procurement. The authority has developed a guide for staff on socially responsible procurement, with suggestions on how to include equality considerations, which has been recognised as a good practice by the European Commission.
Local actions to make it happen include a training plan, gender impact studies undertaken for all new policies, collection of gender disaggregated data, and integration of gender into grants and budgets. Pamplona has an annual monitoring system and is designing an evaluation tool to see how public procurement impacts on citizen wellbeing, efficient management and gender equality.
Integration across departments
Magnus Jacobson, Communications Strategist, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions
As with all sustainable urban development there is a need for integration across municipal departments, and especially bringing together gender strategists with procurement expertise. Equality perspectives have to be knitted into all processes. Magnus Jacobson, Communications Strategist at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, emphasised that procurement professionals are taught to think about price and quality, not so much about social, economic, environmental considerations and equality. He said: “procurement is a quite technical legal process and procurement professionals don't necessarily have a clue about gender equality or understand why it has a relevance to their work.”
Partnership between teams helps to reduce these barriers. It also helps to improve awareness of existing gender inequality, and of the key role buying teams can have in addressing it.
Political commitment
Local authorities are governed by elected officials who adopt guidelines, policies and plans. It therefore follows we need clear political demand and follow-up to make sure gender equality is considered a priority and mainstreamed across policy areas. Cities need public servants who are committed to equality and politicians who ask: “Did we reach the goals we set?”.
Legal frameworks and mindsets
Valentina Caimi, Head of the Employment, Entrepreneurship and Inclusion Unit, AEIDL
According to José Costero, many local authorities in Spain are reluctant to innovate, or change procedures. He said: “it takes a lot of time to change that mentality, to increase the knowledge and capacity of technical staff.” Magnus Jacobson noted this reluctance can be exacerbated by an exaggerated cautiousness related to EU, national and local legal frameworks, and a lack of understanding of what is to be gained from applying a gender perspective. In Pamplona one solution has been to provide back-up with legal texts to reduce perceptions of risk.
Valentina Caimi, Head of the Employment, Entrepreneurship and Inclusion Unit at the European Association for Information on Local Development, AEIDL, and author of the Buying Social report, flagged ongoing European Institute for Gender Equality research which has also identified that the institutional frameworks at national level for Gender-Responsive Public Procurementcan be weak.
Re-phrasing the question
Magnus Jacobson proposed rephrasing the URBACT session’s central question, and indeed the broader debate, saying: “it’s not about whether it is possible to combat gender-based inequalities through procurement processes. But rather how do we make sure that public expenditure meets the needs, interests and priorities of women and men alike?”
“How do we ensure that our infrastructure, such parks or elder care services suit both women and men’s priorities? It’s an issue of equality and quality. To get a bigger bang for our buck, we should be making sure that what we buy is the best for all our citizens,” he added.
Re-framing the question then can become part of the solution: responsible public procurement can be used to tackle a range of inequalities. It’s about the needs of all, not just women’s rights. Strategically and practically, in order to address inequality and level out conditions, men also need to be on board, and this perspective can have wider appeal.
Valentina Caimi agreed. “Maybe more people will fall in love more with gender equality if they stop thinking it’s just women’s issues. It’s fundamentally about promoting more balanced societies and opportunities and responsibilities between women and men. We should all frame our thinking about spending public money in that way."
Things are moving
Valentina Caimi sees a growing recognition of the potential of public procurement to tackle gender inequalities, an “unstoppable process”. Although improvements made in green procurement are the most advanced, a lot of work has been done in European Structural Investment Funds to mainstream gender issues. More initiatives are underway on gender equality, with new tools being created such as the upcoming European Institute for Gender Equality Toolkit. Policymakers can overcome lack of awareness and fear of legal challenges by boosting confidence in the possibilities of Gender-Responsive Public Procurement and highlighting its potential to make cities better for all.
For the past few years URBACT has been at the forefront of supporting cities in using public procurement as a strategic tool. And the success of the URBACT online course on Strategic Procurement, launched earlier this year, confirmed that there is a growing community eager to learn from each other. The next step? A new course module showing how to factor in gender into public spending decisions – with more events happening alongside!
This article is part of a series exploring the latest challenges in sustainable urban development, drawing on discussions with cities and experts at the 2021 URBACT City Festival. Topics range from innovative ways to help disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and solutions for managing urban commons, to how cities are tackling climate change, and building sustainable food policies. View recordings of Festival highlights.
Article written by Nouhaila Bouhout, Communication Intern at the URBACT Secretariat. One of her main projects is monitoring the digital communication strategy of the URBACT Online Course on Strategic Procurement.
Since 2015, URBACT has been at the forefront of supporting cities in using public procurement as a strategic tool to tackle their social, economic and environmental challenges.
In his recent article on URBACT and Public Procurement, URBACT expert Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson notes that the perception of public procurement is changing, “from something… shrouded in bureaucracy and challenges, to something which is integral to ‘integrated urban development’ and exciting”.
The recent URBACT Online Course on Strategic Procurement confirmed that there is a growing community eager to learn from each other on how to apply procurement more strategically in cities. URBACT is committed to supporting this community in collaboration with the European Commission, EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative & Responsible Public Procurement, EUROCITIES and many more players!
What happened in March 2021?
The first ‘learning cycle’ of URBACT’s online course was a great success! It ran over a three-week period and was followed by more than 600 registered participants from over 40 countries and 150 cities across the world!
The course comprises seven modules covering the whole procurement process from recognising why procurement is important and analysing your city’s spending… to deciding contracts and monitoring those that have been awarded.
Every week, new modules were released on the URBACT Toolbox – allowing participants to learn about each step of the procurement cycle based on city case studies.
Matthew explaining the Importance of Procurement and the structure of the course in Module 1
As part of this first learning cycle, the modules were supported by weekly live events. While the modules remain accessible to everyone at all times, these live events provided participants a moment to network, meet their trainers and discuss the learning outcomes. More than 150 people from over 30 countries and 70 cities took part in the live events!
URBACT pushing the debate on public procurement
One week after the launch of the online course, URBACT organised the first live event in collaboration with the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative & Responsible Procurement. This event invited speakers from EUROCITIES and the European Commission for a panel discussion on the different dimensions of the EU policy framework.
Speakers emphasised some of the key messages of the course. For example, the “importance of having a different vision of public procurement and using it as a lever to develop a better quality of services to our citizens,” was mentioned by Ivo Locatelli, from DG GROW, European Commission.
Ieva Cerniute, from DG REGIO, added that “around 50% of the EU cohesion policy is channelled through public procurement” and highlighted the work of the Commission in “promoting a strategic way of using public procurement in the cohesion policy while investing in EU funds”.
Anja Katalin de Cunto, coordinator of the Big Buyers Initiative at EUROCITIES, insisted on how important it is to “continue working and collaborating with the market not only with big suppliers, but also the local suppliers because the dialogue has to be in both directions”.
While there are no plans to update the current EU Directives on public procurement, speakers agreed that there is room for improvement within the current framework. Investing in capacity-building for public buyers to maximise existing possibilities, for example, was said to be a priority.
The speakers also indicated that food procurement is another critical area for improvement to allow cities to buy more locally and use procurement as a lever towards developing local food systems. This can help protect citizens’ health, the environment and support the local economy – closely aligning with the work of URBACT’s Transfer Network Bio-Canteens and URBACT’s wider influencing efforts leading to COP 26.
Finally, Matthew announced that URBACT is currently researching on the impact that public procurement has on women. Building on the great collaborations developed in the framework of Gender Equal Citiesand the momentum of this online course, URBACT is organising a thought-provoking session on ethical and gender-responsive procurement at the 4th URBACT City Festival, taking place online on 15-17 June 2021.
What did participants think of URBACT’s first learning cycle on strategic procurement?
The feedback on the course was overwhelmingly positive! Participants praised both the content of the course and the structure of the learning cycle. More than 95% of the participants felt that they could put what they learned on strategic procurement into practice within their city and would recommend the course to others. Participant feedback included the following quotes:
“The URBACT Online Course on Strategic Procurement is a great learning [resource]. I found it a great opportunity to learn and update my knowledge... I enjoyed the course from the beginning till the end...”
“I liked the possibility to watch courses when it suited me… [Since] there was a possibility to watch them when you wanted, that was really helpful in times when there are a lot of online meetings to schedule.”
What is also striking is the diversity of the participants, including not only urban practitioners looking to undertake strategic methods in their procurement processes, but consultants, researchers and students engaged in the topic. Interestingly enough, while numerous URBACT beneficiaries took part in the course, most registered participants were not previously involved in the URBACT programme, either as experts or as city partners. URBACT will continue to facilitate learning exchanges among this community to keep the course content alive.
Wish you’ve had the chance to join?
The first learning cycle may have ended, but the opportunities to benefit from the wealth of URBACT knowledge on strategic procurement are far from over.
All seven modules of the online course are available at the click of a button at any time. Just visit the URBACT Knowledge Hub page on Strategic Procurement to find out more.
Interested in further expanding your knowledge on public procurement? Sign up for the session on Ethical and Gender-Sensitive Procurement at the 4th URBACT City Festival, taking place online 15-17 June 2021. Make sure to save the date already and click here to register!
Don’t miss out on these opportunities to build your capacity on the topic of strategic public procurement – an ever-more-important lever to drive positive change within cities and communities. We hope to see you online soon!
