FAQ Peer Review

Cities Under Review must be European cities, who receive ERDF support for the design and implementation of their SUD strategy under Article 11 of the ERDF Regulation (EU) 2021/1058. They are known as Article 11 cities. You can check if you are an Article 11 city using this link. Up to four representatives of the urban authority of the Article 11 city can participate, all who must work directly on the SUD strategy.

If your city is part of a wider SUD strategy, then you must first coordinate with the other involved cities, before proceeding with your Peer Review application.

Peer Reviewers apply as individuals to take part in a Peer Review. The individual must have relevant experience in the design and implementation of integrated, place-based strategies. Additionally, they must represent an EU urban authority, whose degree of urbanisation is defined as city, town, or suburb (corresponding to DEGURBA code 1 or DEGURBA code 2 of Eurostat). You can check the DEGURBA code of your urban authority using this link. Up to two individuals from any one city may be accepted.

An EUI Peer Review is required to focus on specific challenges related to the design and implementation of SUD strategies. Each City Under Review is tasked with identifying the challenge/s they want to tackle and formulating it into three ‘guiding questions’ to be addressed.

The challenges tackled should align with the key elements of integrated approaches to sustainable urban development identified under EUI Cohesion Policy. To learn more about the required elements of a SUD strategy, consult the JRC’s Handbook for Sustainable Urban Development Strategies.

Applicants are required to fill in the application form on EU Survey.

The Application form is composed of three sections:

1. Applicant Information
2. Challenges and motivation
   • Here the applicant specifies whether they want to apply as a ‘City Under Review’ or a ‘Peer Reviewer’.
3. Endorsement by the urban authority

You can have a look at the exact questions using our courtesy Application form in MS Word format (only applications submitted via EU Survey are eligible).

Typically, two calls for Peer Reviews open each year: spring and autumn. The first call in 2024 was open between 12 March and 30 April 2024. A new call for Peer Reviews is envisioned to open in autumn of 2024.

An EUI Peer Review follows a five-step process adapted from a methodology developed for sustainable development strategies by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. According to it, the Peer Review activity consists of five connected steps:

Step 1: Confirming the scope (2 weeks)

Step 2: Matchmaking (4 weeks)

Step 3: Content preparation (8 weeks)

Step 4: Peer Review event (2 days)

Step 5: Follow-up activities (6 months)

Altogether, each Peer Review lasts between 10 to 12 months, from the notification of approval to the end of the follow-up phase.

Financial support is provided by EUI to cover the following costs related to participation in the Peer Review activity:

1. Travel costs of each participant to attend the Peer Review event (where travel is required).
2. A per diem to cover accommodation, subsistence, and local transport of each participant (where travel is required).
3. Staff costs of Peer Reviewers. (Staff costs of Cities Under Review are NOT covered.)

Reimbursements are made in the form of lump sum payments after the Peer Review upon submission of the Reimbursement Form. Participants are therefore responsible for booking their own travel and accommodation arrangements.