Call for Proposals: Networks of Towns

This is a call for proposals for EU action grants in the field of Citizens’ engagement and participation under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Value Programme (CERV).

Objectives

• To promote exchanges between citizens of different countries, to reinforce mutual understanding and tolerance and give them the opportunity to broaden their perspective and develop a sense of European belonging and identity;
• To enable towns to engage citizens and communities in discussions and actions on the climate and the environment, including energy-related issues, and on solidarity and migration. To give citizens the opportunity to discover the cultural diversity of the European Union and to make them aware that European values and cultural heritage constitute the foundation for a common future;
• To encourage cooperation between municipalities and the exchange of best practices;
• To support good local governance and reinforce the role of local and regional authorities in the European integration process.

Themes and Priorities (scope)

While maintaining a bottom-up approach, specific focus could be given to:

• Promoting awareness and building knowledge of the role of minorities, such as people with a minority and racial or ethnic background (for instance Roma and migrants), in European society and their contribution to Europe’s cultural development;
• Identifying ways to further strengthen the European dimension and democratic legitimacy of the EU decision-making process and fostering free, open and healthy democratic governance in an era of low turnout in elections, populism, disinformation and challenges facing civil society, by supporting citizens’ active involvement in European political life and the exercise of their electoral rights;
• Bringing citizens together to discuss actions on the climate and the environment, including energy-related issues, solidarity and sharing best practices, and thus contributing to increasing citizens’ engagement in society and ultimately their active involvement in the democratic life of the Union.
• In addition to this specific focus, Networks of Towns projects may also more generally, but not exclusively, reflect on any impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on life within their local communities, on the way in which their communities function and on the forms that civic participation and solidarity took under the COVID-19 crisis and how these forms could become sustainable in the future. Projects may also draw inspiration from or be related to the New European Bauhaus initiative.

Funding Information

• The available call budget is EUR 6.000.000.
• The availability of the call budget still depends on the adoption of the budget 2024 by the EU budgetary authority.
• They reserve the right not to award all available funds, depending on the proposals received and the results of the evaluation.

Activities that can be Funded (scope)

• Activities may include, among others: workshops, seminars, conferences, training activities, expert meetings, webinars, awareness-raising activities, high-visibility events, data gathering and consultation, development, exchanges and dissemination of good practices among public authorities and civil society organisations, development of communication tools and the use of social media.
  • Under this measure, municipalities or regions and associations working together in a long-term perspective are invited to develop networks of towns to make their cooperation more sustainable and to exchange good practice.
  • Networks of Towns are expected to integrate a range of activities around subjects of common interest related to the programme’s objectives, to involve community members active in the subject area and to aim for sustainability.

Expected Impact

• An opportunity for towns and municipalities to develop larger-scale projects in order to increase their projects’ impact and sustainability;
• Possibility for beneficiaries to develop more thematic and policy-related projects;
• Greater citizens’ engagement in society and ultimately a more active involvement of citizens in the democratic life of the Union;
• Lasting links with partner organisations;
• Greater awareness of the benefits of diversity, gender equality and the tackling of discrimination and racism;
• Increase in and encouragement of mutual understanding and acceptance of European minorities, such as Roma;
• Better information on the rights conferred by EU citizenship and their improved implementation in Member States.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications will only be considered eligible if their content corresponds wholly (or at least in part) to the topic description for which they are submitted.
• Eligible participants (eligible countries)
  • In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries) must:
    • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
    • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
      • non-EU countries:
        • countries associated to the CERV Programme
  • lead applicants and co-applicants must be non-profit making towns/municipalities and/or other levels of local authorities or their twinning committees or other non-profit organisations representing local authorities.
  • Other eligibility criteria:
    • Activities must take place in at least two different eligible countries.
    • The application must involve at least four applicants (lead applicant (i.e. ‘coordinator’) and at least three co-applicants not being affiliated entity or associated partner) from at least four different eligible countries of which at least two are EU Member States.

For more information, visit European Commission (EC).