GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The URBACT IV Programme is part of the European Territorial Cooperation Objective of the Structural Fund policies for the period 2021-2027. The URBACT IV Programme is financed through the European Regional Development Fund as well as IPA III and NDICI.

URBACT’s mission is to enable cities to work together and develop integrated solutions to common urban challenges, by networking, learning from one another’s experiences, drawing lessons and identifying good practices to improve urban policies.

Depending on the partnership, the co-financing rate can vary depending on the cities forming the partnership:

• 80% ERDF for partners coming from a less developed region,
• 70% ERDF for partners coming from a transition region,
• 65% ERDF for cities coming from a more developed region,
• Up to 50% national fund for cities coming from Norway or Switzerland. Participants are asked to contact their national authority to receive information on the available funds under this call,
• Up to 95% IPA funds for partners coming from the 5 IPA countries -Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. IPA partners can apply as Project Partners provided that their legal status is coherent with the Programme rules and that the legal framework is fully set in the relevant IPA countries. The conditions to participate will have to be checked with the national authorities concerned.

The map showing the categorisation of EU Regions for 2021-2027 can be found here. The full list of regions eligible for funding is available here. 

Cities and public-equivalent bodies from European Union’s 27 Member States, Partner States (Norway, Switzeland), as well as cities from countries benefitting from the Instrument for Pre-Accession to the EU (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia), willing to transfer the experience and know how of a UIA project should go to the URBACT Partner Search Tool and express their interest to the city that has implemented a UIA project.

For transnational exchange and learning activities, the URBACT IV Cooperation Programme identifies the Programme area and defines two categories of beneficiaries: the main beneficiaries (city partners) and other beneficiaries (non-city partners).

The main beneficiaries for Innovation Transfer Networks shall be cities from 27 EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, willing to develop integrated strategies and action plans for sustainable urban development. The beneficiary type “city” refers to the public local authority representing:

• Cities, municipalities, towns;
• Local agencies defined as public or semi-public organisations set up by a city, partially or fully owned by the city authority, responsible for the design and implementation of specific policies (economic development, energy supply, health services, transport, etc.)
• Infra-municipal tiers of government such as city districts and boroughs in cases where they are represented by a politico-administrative institution having competences for policy-making and implementation in the policy area covered by the URBACT network concerned in which they are willing to get involved;
• Metropolitan authorities and organised agglomerations in cases where they are represented by a politico-administrative institution having delegated competences for policy-making and implementation in the policy area covered by the URBACT network concerned.

In addition to city partners, the list of other eligible beneficiaries is defined as follows:

• Provincial, regional and national authorities, as far as urban issues are concerned;
• Universities and research centres, as far as urban issues are concerned;
• Managing Authorities of Cohesion Policy and EU Solidarity Funds.

The partnership may include 1 “non-city partner” maximum.

Only cities having delivered a UIA project can be Lead Partner of an Innovation Transfer Network. Therefore, only cities from the 27 EU Member States can be Lead Partners of Innovation Transfer Networks.

In addition to the Lead Partner, the partnership to be proposed must include from 4 to 6 Transfer partners from eligible countries. Therefore, a network will include from 5 to 7 city partners in total.

There is no limit of population size for cities wishing to participate in URBACT activities.

Cities with no previous URBACT experience as well as cities which have not been yet funded as innovative actions are particularly invited to apply.

Cities working on integrated urban development using integrated territorial investment (ITI) and community-led development (CLLD), so called Article 11 cities, are also encouraged to take part in the Call.

In order to be eligible, non-city partners must be public authorities or Equivalent Public Bodies.