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Schuman Associates at the European Week of Regions

48864847748_5bdefdf374_c SA at European Week of Regions

During the European Week of Regions and CitiesSchuman Associates took part in the event "Promoting City of the Future organized by the Central Bohemia Region.

The focus of the workshop was on how to change an unprivileged area into a modern citycombining sustainable development and reflecting environmental, modern technology, economic and social needs in a single large-scale project.

Our colleague Anca Calugaru, ESIF Manager at Schuman Associates, mentioned "these are times of change bringing a new EU political era and a new EU 2021-2027 funding generation. The future of cities is not set in stone. We can shape it. EU funding can contribute to this endeavor. We should focus on preparing the ground and getting ready for the new wave of 2021-2027 EU funding!" 

You can follow the interventions of the event in this link.

Below we summarisestatements from the keynote speakers:

The City of the Future – A vision of transformation (Ing. Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová – the Governor of the Central Bohemia Region):

  • A goal of the region is to build modern, clean, green and technologically advanced cities that will be good places to live and work in. . A revitalized territory should offer a new campus space and the construction of an R&D centre for University or research institutions that will attract both students and green tech companies. As the summary of the socioeconomic analysis shows the level of services is low and thus there will be a great opportunity for small and medium service oriented businesses.
  • The preparatory works for this project have already started and the region has launched several feasibility studies.

Matching urban and regional needs with EU and international funding (Anca-Andreea Calugaru – Senior Manager with Schuman Associates):

  • A new political era and new EU funding trends are coming. It is crucial to understand the new institutional set up and the new Multiannual Financial Framework which will provide 37 funding programmes, ninefold budget increase in digitalization, 50% increase in innovation, twofold increase in youth support, 40% increase in security & defence and three-fold increase in external borders protection, migration and asylum.
  • EU funding available for cities: 
    • R&D and innovation – Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe
    • Demonstration & best practice sharing and networking – LIFE+, European Urban Initiative 2021-2027, Interregional Innovation Investments 2021-2027, CEF, Digital Europe, Erasmus+
    • Large scale deployment – ESIF, EIB, EFSI, Council of European Development Bank, European Energy Efficiency Fund, CEF, Digital Europe, Erasmus+.
  • The Czech republic is one of the largest recipients of structural funds in the EU. 42.5% of the total public spending in the country in the period of 2015-2017 came from the Cohesion funds. For the years 2021-2027 the EC proposed an ESIF 2021-2027 allocation of 17.8 billion EUR. 

Maximizing the interest in your Project (Stuart Cairns – partner, Co-Head of International Projects and Procurement Group):

  • When designing a project it is very important to consider the following aspects: programming, ability to influence the design and the outcome, wider impacts of the project, quality of design, possibilities of local investments, risks and challenges, potential of the project and smart development (energy efficiency, smart infrastructure etc.).
  • During the selection of partners the region should have the political support on both, the local and national level and , prepare a realistic timeline and efficient and effective planning system.
  • Pre-market engagement is a crucial step for the successful realization of a project. Forms of pre-market engagement: bidder days, questionnaires, workshops, direct approach to market key players, consulting experts, informal engagement.
  • The key three steps: 
    • 1. PRE-MARKET ENGAGEMENT (information notice, short briefing, meetings) 
    • 2. PROCUREMENT PROCUDURE (negotiation or competitive dialogue, pre-qualification phase to ensure only financially sound bidders with experience of raising significant finance on similar projects are shortlisted) 
    • 3. DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (approach to funding, phasing the development, specification of minimum requirements) usually takes three years

The Rebirth of an Abandoned Urban Structure into an Attractive City of the Future (Ing. Arch. Michal Postranecky – Head of the Centre of City of the Future CIIRC CTU Prague):

  • CIIRC CTU Prague is a university institute of the Czech Technical University which is the seat of the National Industry Centre 4.0, the Centre of City of the Future, the National Competence Centre of the TA CR "Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence". With the German Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), CIIRC forms the basis of the RICAIP centre being built - a centre for the industrial production of the future as part of a European research infrastructure with a starting budget of EUR 50 million.
  • Projects such as the "City of the Future" must be based on a balanced approach and ensure that the urban structure will serve the citizens. New buildings, structures and new connections between spaces will bring added value and will create more content not only in the short term but in long term.
  • The future city should be designed around natural features and services, protecting wildlife habitat and natural resources. Based on a unified vision for the region, the city is compact and dense to limit impacts on the ecosystem.

If you want to learn more about ESIF funding for Smart Cities check this article

For further information please get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Photos: European Commission

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