Unlocking local potential: Peer Review Reflections from Kalisz

Klaudia Kwapisz, Specialist Officer at AKO, recalls seeing information about the Peer Reviews in a newsletter and being intrigued, having never heard about this kind of process. She applied first to participate as a peer in events in Vicenza and Coimbra and was encouraged to host an event as a City Under Review, to invite participants to share solutions to local challenges.

Klaudia:  ‘We were quite curious and could see potential benefits in meeting experts and researchers all working on Cohesion Policy and sustainable development. As an agglomeration of two core cities we want to increase our visibility on the international stage and are keen to learn from good examples of projects financed by European funds elsewhere. ‘

Klaudia explained that joining initially as a peer was really helpful to understand how it all works. She also sees how the peer role is evolving, as the contributions in Kalisz gave more targeted advice as a result of the better matching and preparation.

In January 46 participants from the 3 cities under review (Pula, Croatia and Pleszew, Poland as well as AKO) arrived to take part in an intense 2 day programme together. AKO chose to focus on challenges related to cooperation with business, multi municipal partnership development and (mis) alignment of local needs with fund criteria.

Having other Polish cities on board in the Peer Review helped to explore the specificities of the national perspective. AKO, as host, were able to bring along other important stakeholders from the national ministry, the regional authority, a transport agency and the university for instance, and this gave these colleagues the chance to discuss issues during both formal sessions and informal breaks and foster better relationships for the future.

AKO is very happy with the results. 
‘We had the chance to showcase three local cities during the Study Visits, to network and exchange with all the participants.’

Ewa Milewska, AKO Director, confirmed that the Peer Review experience had exceeded their expectations. In terms of personal capacity building the team felt they improved critical thinking and communication skills. The methodology gives exposure to diverse perspectives and approaches from which new ideas and collaborations emerge. For example, after a presentation of the EUI Portico platform AKO is thinking about creating something similar for Polish cities implementing Integrated Territorial Investments, as this kind of exchange tool is missing and would be useful for the development of partnership projects. AKO appreciated the presence of the European Commission representative in the opening panel, which turned it into a truly multi – level governance dialogue.

In terms of next steps AKO is now preparing projects for first call for the Strategy under the Integrated Territorial Investments instrument in Poland.  They are also preparing new collaborations in Erasmus+ with the peer from Coimbra, and the Vicenza peer has recommended another partner from a sports organisation in Bulgaria.

The AKO team’s message to other cities is to get involved.

'Being an EUI City Under Review is a unique opportunity to unlock the potential of your city or functional urban area and to enhance governance through the constructive feedback from peers. It's also reassuring to know that colleagues from across the European Union face very similar challenges but are equally committed to sustainable futures.' 

Are you interested to get involved in a Peer Review as well? 

Our call is open until 30 April 2024.

Get all the info you need during our online info session on 9 April