If you have a question that is not contemplated on this page, please get in touch with us at JRC-TRANSFORMING-TERRITORIES
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-TRANSFORMING-TERRITORIES[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Is it possible to download an offline copy of the Expression of Interest, to learn the question in advance?
Yes, the EU Survey, where the application form was made, allows to download an offline copy of the Expression of Interest before submitting it.
Applicants can save a draft of their application, which can be exported as a link or PDF, using the option available on the right-hand side of the page. However, certain sections of the questionnaire may only become visible upon selection.
How does this initiative link with RIS3 that is enabling condition for current PO1 Policy Objective and for sure will be maintained?
Preparatory Action does not directly link with RIS3 and enabling condition of PO1, as based on the challenge it might have connections to other, or more than one POs. However, organically there might be strong connections with RIS3 as territories are applying with their specific challenges that might be already being tackled by interventions under RIS3.
Who is eligible to apply? Can public research organizations / institutions be applicants?
The lead applicant must be public administrations representing territories. Universities and research organizations are welcome as one of the main stakeholders, while the lead applicant must be a public administration.
On which NUTS level should the Expression of Interest be submitted?
The Expression of Interest is open to be on any territorial level (local, regional, national), thus there is no limitation of NUTS level.
If we are multiple regional governments in one NUTS 2 area - can we do a joint application?
Individual territorial expressions of interest are preferred. However, in exceptional cases an application where multiple territories in oneNUTS 2 level area with samethematic focus area are working on the samechallenge could be considered.
Can two NUTS 2 regions from one country participate individually or must all the territories from one NUTS 1 region apply together?
Yes, different NUTS2 regions from the same country can apply individually.
Can regional development agencies be applicants? The guidelines state that "lead applicants must be public sector authorities?"
Yes, any type of public administration institution can be a lead partner, given that they come from the governmental sector. If in some cases regional development agencies are not public authorities, we encourage them to apply in partnership with public administration institutions from the governmental sector.
Can universities apply?
We encourage participation of academia and research institutions in partnership with public administration as lead applicant.
Can a city be an applicant?
Yes. Territories can apply at any territorial level.
Should a city apply under the coordination of the region? For instance, if the region and the city apply separately, you inform both and the project is coordinated by the region?
We evaluate applications based on the description of the challenge and how the territories are responding to it. Should the challenge be the same, we encourage city and region to work together on the application, and then to submit 2 separate applications, as in this case we will require the letter of support from both the region and the city to validate the application.
Are functional regions, like large lake regions (shared partially by two or more NUTS 2 regions) eligible? How do you proceed with such special territories? Or can only statistical-administrative NUTS regions apply?
The territory or region must be represented by a single and identifiable public administration that performs legislative implementation functions. If it is not possible to provide a letter of support at NUTS 2 level, separate applications should be submitted.
My territory is part of an EU network, can we apply together with different territories that are part of the network?
Joint applications among different territories facing the same challenge are not recommended, as the application process is designed for individual territories to apply separately and the JRC cannot guarantee support for their collaborative efforts.
Territories must apply individually, addressing a specific challenge, describing their previous work on the subject, and providing political support, with decisions on the participation being made based on the territory’s expression of interest, proposed challenge and policy initiative, and overall proposal.
It is fundamental that the application is completed by submission of the relevant letter of support, which cannot be signed by the Network but by each individual territory in the right capacity.
Could we suggest a group of territories within our network that we would like to work with?
See the previous question. If a group of territories is already working together to address a common challenge, one (lead) territory can apply and participate individually, while the collaborating regions can indirectly benefit from the lead territory’s participation, leveraging their common efforts.
What is the level of commitment and capacity needed to participate in the three tracks (awareness raising, capacity building, experimentation journey)?
The level of commitment and capacity required to participate varies across the 3 tracks:
- Awareness Raising activities requiring approx. 10 hours of dedication over 18 months.
- Capacity Building involving 60 hours of training and individual work over 18 months.
- Experimentation Journey requiring weekly commitment of 1-2 hours and a clear focus on a territorial challenge.
To participate in Capacity Building and Experimentation Journey – applicants must show a certain level of capacity and commitment – including identifying a territorial challenge and having a mandate (letter of commitment / political support) to participate.
Is it possible to give examples of the kind of problems related to challenges that are envisaged?
Challenges must be a shared important societal / environmental / technological / ecological problem that needs ongoing, collective work and policy attention. For example, a territory is aiming to:
- find a solution for lack/quality of water (climate adaptation),
- change unhealthy behaviour in a group of citizens (healthcare),
- introduce sustainability through automation in the food industry (food security),
- inspire economic life in specific sparsely populated area (New European Bauhaus),
- encourage broader usage of batteries (reducing reliance on fossil fuels).
Would the grouping of territories be done on a challenge basis only, or would there be other methods of grouping territories, such as (for example) those deemed to have complementary industrial profiles, though might be dealing with different challenges?
All applications will be analysed and screened for complementarities in taken and planned actions, coordination, stakeholders etc., which might be an additional element for grouping.
Will the activities organized within the PA (e.g., capacity building) be held in Brussels?
It can be held in the territory of the successful applicants if they expresswillingness to host the activity.
What is the level of commitment and capacity needed to participate in awareness raising?
The level of commitment and capacity required to participate varies across the 3 tracks, for Awareness Raising activities requiring approx. 10 hours of dedication over 18 months.
Is it possible to do different applications for the awareness activities and the other 2 modalities?
Please submit one application for preferred combination of tracks.
Could you specify the format of the workshops for Capacity Building, in particular the volume of distance learning and face-to-face sessions? How many workdays per person?
The Capacity Building will be designed on the basis of the ACTIONBook being the main reference and will be adapted to the current capacities, needs and expectations as identified by the applicant territories in their self-assessment. This self-assessment is one of the main elements of the application process for the call for expressions of interest.
The modules are expected to take approx. 20-30 hours of engagement and will be delivered online. The duration and amount of work could vary for each module depending on its content. We estimate an average of 7-8 hours total commitment per module (training + individual work). In the case of face-to-face sessions, we expect to organize two of them. We expect to hold them back-to-back with other relevant events and visits, so the total duration could be 1.5 days.
What will be the working methods within the Capacity Building modules?
The Capacity Building consists of 8 basic modules, following the dimensions of the ACTIONBook and 3 additional advanced modules. The advanced modules will be based on the evolution of the territorial needs after the basic modules and the Experimental Journeys.
The Capacity Building modules aim to teach participants through hands-on experience, focusing on transforming their approach to the policy cycle and acquiring new skills.
The program will rely on a blended learning approach and combine online and offline activities. For instance: co-creation sessions, masterclasses, podcasts, interactive workshops, work in break out rooms, online repository of resources, webinars, video tutorials, panel discussions, living labs, etc., to engage participants in experiential learning and encourage active participation.
What is the working language of the Capacity Building activities?
The working language is ENGLISH.
In the capacity building program, do we expect 60 hours of training plus 88 hours of individual work, or do the individual work hours already comprise the hours of the training?
The 88 hours already include individual work. Bear in mind that each Module may be different, and hence, one Module may take more or less time than another. Especially, there might be a difference between the time one needs to put into foundational and advanced modules.
If we choose capacity building, can team members from different institutions related to the topic participate (e.g., university, county, agency, perhaps a non-health institution or a clinic)?
Yes, provided that the lead applicant is a public authority. Given that this condition is satisfied, we encourage applicants to form teams up to four people, including key representatives of stakeholders who will be engaged in addressing the identified challenge.
Is it necessary to create a more detailed plan for participating in the Capacity Building after the application, considering that the application requires nothing more than selecting an area and providing a letter of support?
The Capacity Building program will take into account in its scope the territories’ challenges. Therefore, we ask applicants to describe their challenge and carry out a self-assessment.
We expect participants to apply with a challenge that they are already working on addressing, regardless of their current level of progress. What matters most is the commitment to actively pursue this challenge throughout the duration of the programme, and beyond.
Can we apply both capacity building and experimentation journeys in the same application?
Yes, one territorial applicant can apply for more than one activity in one application provided that they share a common challenge.
If two departments in the same region apply for both the Capacity Building and Experimentation Journey, must they address the same challenges?
We encourage territories to submit one application as one territorial team working on the same challenge within different departments of the same territory.
Regarding the Capacity Building, is it compatible or complementary with the S3 CoP Targeted Support? Would you recommend applying to one or the other based on the current state of the Open Discovery Process in our regions?
Preparatory Action is not connected with S3 CoP, however there might be unique synergies for each of the participating territories.
Beyond the letter of support, to what extent do the territories need to evidence how they are ‘’already experimenting’’ on a particular challenge as part of their journeys?
To participate in the Experimentation Journeys, territories must demonstrate their existing efforts to address the identified challenge by carefully and thoroughly completing the specially designed application form.
The application form assesses the territory’s readiness to participate in the Experimentation Journey and includes targeted questions that evaluate their capacities, achievements, experience, coordination mechanisms(vertical and horizontal), stakeholder engagement, and the obstacles/difficulties that they are currently facing.
What do you mean by transformative innovative policy (TIP)? How should the final political output look like?
Transformative innovation policy (TIP) approach seeks to tackle complex problems by incurring and sustaining transformations within the socio-technical system. The results of the Experimentation Journeys are expected to be practical, applicable, policy-relevant outputs.
Could you give examples of the ‘implementation of a policy initiative’ in the experimentation journey?
New or improved instrument design, joint initiative, new legislation proposal, new standard, new coordination scheme etc.
During the grouping of the territories for Experimentation Journeys, are joint applications among 4-6 like-minded territories (facing the same challenge) advantageous or pointless?
Joint applications among territories facing the same challenge are not recommended, as the application process is designed for individual territories to apply separately and the JRC cannot guarantee support for their collaborative efforts.
Territories must apply individually, addressing a specific challenge and providing political support, with decisions on the participation based on the territory’s expression of interest, proposed challenge and policy initiative, and the overall proposal.
If a group of territories is already working together to address a common challenge, one (lead) territory can apply and participate individually, while the collaborating regions can indirectly benefit from the lead territory’s participation, leveraging their common efforts.
What is the extent of the ‘description and self-assessment’ requirement?
The self-assessment of capacities and accomplishments will be done through a specific dedicated table in the application form (requesting to evaluate capacities and accomplishments following each dimension of the ACTIONBook).
The self-assessment is done by selecting the level of capacity development (emerging, developing, expanding, or mastering) for engaging and envisioning aspects of the challenge. This assessment helps to tailor the capacity building program to the needs of regions.
To ensure a consistent and standardized application across the various dimensions, an evaluation framework of levels has been developed specifically for this application form. The levels provide a clear reference for applicants to evaluate their progress when completing the table.
How can the 'start-level' of a territory/region be described? (being either at the stage for awareness raising, capacity building or experimentation).
We have developed an assessment tool based on progressive learning / skills. This can be found on the application page.
What kind of financial contribution is needed, if any?
The JRC provides training and expertise, but the PA does not provide any financial support (for example, there are no travel costs for the participants from the territories to participate in the on-site meetings).
Participating territories must cover the costs of overheads, travel and own staff costs associated with the participation. That is why the regions are asked to declare that they can secure resources (i.e. human resources, time, travel costs etc.) to participate in the Preparatory Action.
What is expected from participants after the workshops and meetings? Do we have any obligations or outputs that we must achieve?
Ideally for Experimentation Journeys that would be producing an applicable and relevant policy output for the participating territory. For Capacity Building the main output will be your learning and readiness to implement place-based transformation.
What will happen after the PA?
The PA will inform the ongoing dialogue on transformative innovation policies, experimentation and inter-regional collaboration. It is in everyone's best interests that altogether we create a positive impact on the future EU legislation and encourage place-based transformations. The results of the Preparatory Action will be presented to the European Parliament with an intention to have a role in the continuation of place-based approach and policy experimentation.
Does the challenge selected need to match the challenge identified in the RIV Label?
No, the selected challenge does not need to align with the one identified in the RIV label. However, choosing the same challenge may create opportunities for synergies to arise, given the parallel participation in both initiatives.
How PA approach of JRC relates to RIVs? Is there any cooperation?
The EUPA relates to RIVs by addressing the innovation divide, regional overlaps, sharing similarities in the expression of interest, with both initiatives focusing on strengthening innovation ecosystems and promoting collaboration between high and low innovation regions. Both initiatives aim to increase regions’ capacities for vertical and horizontal coordination, engage stakeholders, and raise awareness on transformative policy approaches.
Our region has been announced as the EU Regional Innovation Valley. Does this mean we are already in the last phase? Could you maybe give more insights regarding the connection to the EU Regional Innovation Valley program if there is any?
Having the RIV label does not guarantee automatic participation in the EUPA, as this is a separate initiative, and participants are selected through a different Call for Expression of Interest.
Nevertheless, having the RIV label serves as a strong foundation for submitting a successful EUPA application and is therefore highly encouraged. As highlighted earlier (see answer above) the two initiatives make RIV participants well-positioned to leverage their experiences in the EUPA context.