Please note that European Urban Initiative is dedicated to cities, therefore only urban authorities, associations or grouping of urban authorities located in the European Union, classified as city, town or suburb, and comprising at least 50.000 inhabitants are exclusive eligible applicants of the EUI-IA. For more information about the eligibility rules, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.5 Eligible Authorities where you can find: detailed explanation of each category of eligible authorities, the definition of local administrative units, and the EUI-IA Correspondence table which will serve as the main reference document for the Eligibility Check (you will find there a classification of the local administrative units according to the degree of urbanisation and the figures on the number of inhabitants).

Please note that EUI-IA project proposals must clearly demonstrate that they are in line and are relevant to the topic of the Call for Proposals, as presented in the Terms of Reference available on the Call webpage. The project proposal must demonstrate the potential of the new solution to add value in relation to the topic of the Call. For more information about the topic of the Call, please also refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.6 Thematic Coverage.

Please note that EUI-IA project proposals must demonstrate a clear contribution to policy and specific objectives of the 2021-2027 EU Cohesion policy targeted by the relevant Call for Proposals and listed in the Terms of Reference available on the call page. Please note that concrete contribution elements, referring to priorities from Cohesion policy programmes, initiatives or projects at the regional or national level should be mentioned in your Application Form. For more information, please also refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.4 Main features of a successful innovative solution, as well as to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 3.2.2 Strategic Assessment.

Please note that it is expected that the EUI-IA projects will contribute to the vision of sustainable urban development presented in the New Leipzig Charter. Place-based, integrated, participatory, multi-stakeholder approaches should be embedded in EUI-IA projects’ delivery and visible in the description of the project proposal. For more information, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.4 Main features of a successful innovative solution and the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 3.2.2 Strategic Assessment (especially, please note sub-criteria: 1.3 and 1.7 and criterion 2 in this regard).

Please note that it is expected that the EUI-IA projects, being concentrated on the topic of the Call for Proposals, will also contribute to tackling environmental and climate challenges, in particular the transition towards a climate-neutral economy by 2050, and to harnessing the potential of digital technologies for innovation purposes (e.g. they will include ‘zero carbon’ or greener services, as well as digital components). For more information regarding this topic, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.4 Main features of a successful Innovative Solution as well as to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 3.2.2 Strategic Assessment.

Please note that the proposed innovation must be relevant for the selected urban area and to tackle the identified challenge (data and other evidence allowing to analyse the breadth and depth of the addressed challenge should be presented in the Application Form), target groups which will benefit from the project implementation must be clearly identified, specified and quantified. For more information, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance chapter 2.1.1 Partnership principles for explanation on the involvement of target groups and wider stakeholders.

Please note that EUI-IA is looking for project proposals that are new, bold, creative and experimental. The proposed project must go beyond the present state-of-the-art and business-as-usual. Building on research and benchmarking, urban authorities should demonstrate that the proposed project has not been previously tested and implemented on the ground in the urban area, in the Member State where the urban area is located or elsewhere in the EU. Please note that EUI was established first of all to provide urban authorities throughout Europe with space and resources to identify and experiment (via pilot projects) new innovative answers to the interconnected and complex local challenges related to sustainable urban development. In line with the above, the assessment criterion Urban innovativeness and relevance constitutes 30% of the total assessment scoring, therefore urban authorities wishing to apply for funding should soundly analyse this aspect of their project proposal. For more information, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.4 Main features of a successful innovative solution.  

Please note that a key novelty in comparison to the Urban Innovative Actions projects financed during the 2014-2020 programming period is the embedment of the transnational transfer component as an integral part of EUI-IA projects. It is important to underline that the primary focus of the EUI-IA projects remains on the testing of new innovative solutions in a given place, but with this new component it is expected that the processes and results of experimentation will be followed by partner cities from other countries (Transfer Partners). The Main Urban Authority must be able to explain the conditions (legislative, technical, etc.), resources needed (human, financial, etc.) and potential challenges to overcome, that other urban authorities should consider in order to adapt and possibly replicate, in full or in part, the proposed solutions in their local contexts. Main Urban Authority must also demonstrate in the Application Form that it has identified other European urban areas that could benefit from replicating the proposed solution; how the most suitable Transfer Partners will be/were identified (and specify potential Transfer Partners, if already identified, together with the underlying motivations/rationale). For more information about the transfer activities, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 5 Transfer.

Please note that urban authorities should be able to anticipate and explain how the solution will be sustained and scaled-up once successfully tested. The project proposal should be able to demonstrate (i) that the proposed solution will provide a significant and durable contribution to solving the challenges targeted in the identified local context; (ii) that the questions of ownership and potential funding sources for the solution to be continued beyond the project’s end-date were addressed; (iii) how its main outputs and investment elements (if applicable) will be durable beyond the project end-date (and has identified by whom and how outputs could be used after its end); (iv) that the proposed solution is directly linked to relevant local/regional/national strategies and policies, ensuring the use and sustainability of projects outputs and results beyond project’s end; and (v) how up-scaling of the project can be done (including identifying potential funding sources for the scale up). For more information, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 3.2.2 Strategic Assessment.

Please note that given the complexity and the interconnected nature of the challenges to be addressed, urban authorities cannot act alone when designing and implementing innovative, sustainable and effective solutions. The Main Urban Authority is expected to play a strategic leading role in the development of the EUI-IA project by establishing and chairing a strong Project Partnership to make it technically, scientifically, and financially viable. Ideally, the quadruple helix (representatives from all members of society: i.e. public authorities, industry, academia and civil society) is represented in the Partnership. For more information, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 2.1 Partnership for the European Urban Initiative – Innovative Actions.

Please note that the Main Urban Authority and its Partnership will be expected to prepare and implement their project according to certain EUI-IA framework. It’s important that timeline constraints (project phases, and especially: 6 months of the Initiation Phase; 3,5 years of implementation and 3 months of Administrative Closure), budget and funding principles (maximum 80% co-financing rate, structure of ERDF payments, eligibility of expenditure), obligatory  transfer component (3 Transfer Partners being part of the Project Partnership, Work Package Transfer with its requirements, attention to general transferability and replicability of the project proposals), as well as communication, capitalization and evaluation requirement are properly analysed before submitting the project proposal. For more information about the EUI-IA project design requirements, please refer to EUI-IA Guidance and especially Chapters: 1.7, 1.8, 2, 4, 5 and 7.

Please note that the Intervention Logic of the EUI-IA project must be a representation of clear and well-thought-out understanding how planned actions are expected to lead to the desired change and intended results. Project proposal must present a logical sequence between initial needs, inputs, projects activities, outputs, results, and ultimate impact. While preparing the project proposal the project is encouraged to answer the following questions: What is the rationale for the intervention/project? What are the challenges/needs that triggered the intervention? What problems is the intervention meant to solve? What is the “desired change”? How are these changes to be achieved? For more information about the Project’s intervention logic, please refer to EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 2.2 Project Work Plan.

Please note that the project proposal must comply with the EUI-IA budget and funding principles, which means: requesting up to a maximum of EUR 5 million ERDF; co-financing up to 80% of the eligible costs; every Partner (Main Urban Authority and Associated Urban Authority, Delivery Partners and Transfer Partners) receiving ERDF must secure 20% at least of public or private contribution to complete its budget; and eligibility rules must followed. For more information about the EUI-IA financial rules, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 1.8 Funding principles and EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 7 Eligibility of expenditure.

Please note that measurability is one of the key features of a successful innovative solution and will be assessed during the assessment process. Submitted project proposal should have: (i) their objectives properly described (specific) and realistic (achievable during implementation timeframe); (ii) expected results reflecting the change in the local situation that the project will generate if being successful, properly described (specific), realistic (achievable during implementation timeframe), relevant, and of sufficient scale to answer the identified challenge; (iii) expected results measurable and properly quantified through proposed indicators; (iv) outputs under Thematic Work Packages relevant and of sufficient scale to achieve expected results and benefit identified target groups; (v) a robust methodology for data collection and measurement of results proposed together with relevant monitoring and evaluation activities for analysing and assessing the progress towards achieving the planned outputs and results. For more information about the measurability of results and impact, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance 2.2.4 – Work Package Monitoring and evaluation as well as to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 3.2 Selection process.

Please note that it is strongly recommended that the applicants will analyse and clearly identify potential obstacles or resistance they expect regarding the general implementation of the innovative solutions proposed in order to proactively foresee mitigation measures. Obstacles and resistance can for example refer to: national or legal framework not mature yet for the overall innovation and project, changing financial and political conditions that would make the project obsolete, lack of long term sustainability, lack of political commitment, opposition from organised groups of inhabitants, undesired outcomes fostered by the project (uncontrolled urban sprawl, gentrification, environmental impact, etc.). For more information about the EUI-IA project readiness check, please refer to the EUI-IA Guidance Chapter 4.2 Project readiness check (including ex-ante audit) and Application Form Part G Risk management.