1. City Deals, Contracts and Agreements in selected European countries Sara Davies Presentation to the Department of Regional Policy, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Oslo, 22 November 2016

2. Overview EU Cohesion policy Long-standing approaches
Integrated Territorial Investments
Community-Led Local Development
EU Cohesion policy
France – City Contracts (& other contractual approaches)
Long-standing approaches
Germany – Regional Budgets under the Regional Joint Task
Experimenting in regional policy
Netherlands – City Deals
UK – City Deals & other Deals
New approaches outside RP
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

3. EU Cohesion policy 2014-20 Strong emphasis in 2014-20 Complex EU rules
Key issues
MS must allocate >5% ERDF
Local authorities must be responsible for project selection
Integrated sustainable urban development
Can combine different EU funding sources
Managing authority can delegate powers to a local authority
Integrated territorial investments (ITI)
Similar to LEADER
Led by broad Local Action Groups
Community-led local development (CLLD)
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

4. France – Urban & regional policy
Focus on socio-economic difficulties of deprived urban areas
Aim to bring together actors & policies to address complex urban problems eg housing, jobs, justice, environment, social…
Urban policy
State funding for Regions
Regenerating defence areas
Regenerating central towns
Rural areas
Long-standing contractual approach
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

5. France: City Contracts 2015-20
Structure
State sets framework (goals, areas …)
Inter-Municipal Association -> develops a strategy for a smaller ‘priority area’ -> negotiates contract with the State
Other public & private entities also sign
Citizens’ Council active in all stages
Finance
Contract includes a financial plan
Limited new funding
A way of focusing State, Region & local funding on an area
Themes
State requires a focus on 3 themes:
Social cohesion
Living environment & physical urban regeneration
Economic development & employment
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

6. France – City Contracts in practice
Tutoring during school holidays
Awareness eg health, recycling
Support for job-seekers & start-ups
Regeneration of social housing
Local events - bring people together
In practice: 435 signed
(Larger) inter-municipal strategy for a (smaller) priority area
Local strategy vs 3 State-set themes
Administrative capacity
Citizen Councils
Evaluation & indicator-setting
Challenges
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

7. Germany – Regional Joint Task (GRW)
Joint policy of federal govt & Länder for structurally weaker areas
Multi-annual agreement ( ) between federal level & Länder
Projects draw on equal federal & Land funding
Governance
Each Land selects from options:
Business investment aid
Business-oriented infrastructure
Bottom-up instruments, including Regional Budgets
Themes / instruments
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

8. Germany – Regional Budgets
Structure
Land decides whether to fund RB -> call
Functional areas with population >100,000 – ie between Land and local authorities
Existing regional structures & consensus-based strategy
Finance
Region manages a block of funding: <€300,000 annually for <3 years (can be extended)
Projects can receive <80% of costs
Themes
Themes agreed between federal level & Länder
Improve regional cooperation
Strengthen regional growth potential
Strengthen regional marketing
Ensure the supply of skilled workers
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

9. Germany – Regional Budgets in practice
RB for 14 Regional Growth Clusters
Agreement between the Cluster & local authorities
<€150,000 annually for each Cluster
Themes: skilled labour; knowledge transfer; regional cooperation
Brandenburg
Regions with >250,000 inhabitants to ensure enough firms & partners
Involve firms, chambers, sectoral associations & local banks
Region-specific opportunities & risks
Ensure well-functioning structures
Lessons from Thüringen
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

10. Netherlands: Urban policy & Contractual approaches
Shift from neighbourhood regeneration to cooperation between cities to maintain competitive position
Dialogue between State, cities, firms, knowledge institutes & CSO
Urban agenda
Aim to remove barriers to help get sustainable initiatives off the ground
Supplements existing instruments (legislation, incentives…)
176 Deals agreed in (1090 partners); c.20 new Deals each year
Green Deals
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

11. Netherlands – City Deals
Structure
Group of Cities makes a proposal to State -> negotiation (9 signed); also businesses & CSOs
Workplan: specific tasks, quantified inputs & outputs, who does what
Finance
Pool existing funding
State aims to enable & accelerate new partnerships (inc temporary adjustment of regulations)
Themes
Integrated approach to growth, innovation & welfare
Innovative solutions to urban problems
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

12. Netherlands – City Deals in practice
Hague Security Delta: cybersecurity
Groningen : bicycle parking at stations
Eindhoven: combined care, housing & unemployment services
Utrecht Health Campus: research entities & firms
In practice e.g.
More strategic Deals with more partners have more potential for upscaling & knock-on impact
Good for putting new ideas into practice - a phase when projects often encounter barriers
Success factors
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

13. UK – Regional policy context
27% of UK population & 38% of GDP is in London & South East
Maintain London’s financial sector vs rebalance to other regions/sectors?
Economic & demographic concentration
Elected parliaments & more powers in Scotland, Wales & N. Ireland
Devolution of powers
Abolition of Regional Development Agencies & Regional Government Offices (except London)
Initiatives for functional areas e.g. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP)
England’s regional policy since 2010
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

14. UK – Growth Deals, City Deals & Devolution Deals
Structure
Local authority/ies or LEP makes proposal to State for funding & powers ie each Deal is different
State may require new structures to manage new powers in combined Local Authority areas
Long-term approach eg 30 years
Finance
Elements of State funding devolved to local actors
Local area may gain power to retain higher % of local business tax or increase borrowing powers
Themes
GD mainly local economic/business development
CD eg transport, skills, infrastructure, business
DD eg transport, business support, further education, housing, planning, health & social care
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

15. UK – Growth, City & Devolution Deals in practice
40+ Growth Deals; 30 City Deals; 10 Devolution Deals
Stimulus to strategy-building, local cooperation, new structures, & tools for priority-setting
In practice
Complex governance & negotiated decisions -> accountability & transparency?
Diverse themes & powers -> hard to assess
Cuts to Local Authorities’ funding – how manage complex policies?
Challenges
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

16. To sum up: Looking across countries
Negotiation between State & Local
Generate new solutions
Bottom-up decision-making
Strategy building
Need for administrative capacity
Commonalties
Theme/s: broad vs specific
Cooperate with firms & civil society
Consistent vs differentiated
Coordinate across policies
Detailed plan with inputs & outputs
Differences
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

17. In thinking about City Deals, what is most important?
Target a specific theme
Negotiate between Ministry & City
Cooperate with firms & civil society
Bottom-up decision-making
Administrative capacity
More efficient use of funding
Coordinate across policies
Generate new solutions
Detailed plan with inputs & outputs
Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde