We already know the list of 54 municipalities, whose projects were selected for the second stage of recruitment from 213 submitted ones, under the "Local Development" Program, financed from EEA and Norwegian funds.
Among the qualified 54 municipalities were 4 cities-members of our Association: Ełk, Piastów, Jasło and Cieszyn. Congratulations!
Now they are starting the intensive work on the preparation of a complete project proposal (together with the Local Development Plan and the Institutional Development Plan) with comprehensive support from the experts of the Association of Polish Cities and the Institute of Urban and Regional Development.
The duration of this phase will depend on the pace of work of the Applicants and the course of cooperation with the abovementioned experts. It will take at least 6 months.
The financing support under the program is related to activities that improve the quality of inhabitants’ life in small and medium-sized cities. This includes, among others the projects in the area of air quality improvement, transition to renewable energy sources or low-emission public transport, reduction of unemployment and economic migration to large urban centers, supporting entrepreneurship and the local economy as well as strengthening the local labor market.
"Although only some projects will receive grants, all local government officials using advisory support have a chance to prepare high-quality documentation of development projects. Advisory support will help them achieve the goals set out in the application qualification phase. And this will allow to find funding for development activities from various sources in the future" - said Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, Minister of Funds and Regional Policy during a meeting with representatives of the centers selected in the competition, in Warsaw on January 13 this year.
Launched in April 2019, the "Local Development" Program, with a total budget of EUR 117.6 million (of which EUR 100 million are the resources of the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, and EUR 17.6 million is a national contribution) is implemented by the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, as the Program Operator, in cooperation with the Program Partner from the Donor State: Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) and an international partner - the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Under the program approximately15 best projects will be selected and implemented in a two-stage recruitment process, and they will receive grant funds for the implementation of comprehensive and model development projects worth EUR 3-10 million each (they will be implemented until the end of April 2024).The project aims to improve the quality of urban residents’ life. Another objective is to develop tools and solutions, that will be disseminated among all local governments - the "Local Development" Program and projects implemented under it will constitute a development model for small and medium-sized towns.
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