Overview
The focus of the project was based on the assumption that the decoupling of environmental degradation and economic growth can only be achieved through a better management and governance of the largely inter-dependent issues of urban development. Indicators and information systems, efficient and effective policy processes, and innovative public participation were the main instruments to set ambitious targets, gain wide acceptance, and implement behavioural changes in society.
The PRIMUS project has been designed to bridge the gap between research on the European level on one hand, and policy-making at (and for) the local level on the other hand.
The theme chosen for this 36-months coordination action is 'sustainable urban management', thus covering the way how the various policy areas of urban development (energy/water/waste, transport, planning and design, social inclusion, etc.) are integrated, rather than one of these themes in particular.
The project was built around a series of events of different nature - Connection Fora, Linkage Fora and Implementation Fora - linking into and building upon each other. They convene local governments from across Europe, researchers in the field of urban sustainability management, and national ministries and agencies dealing with sustainability policies directed at the local level in their respective Member States.
A pilot dimension of the project was the 'explorative application' of two selected research-based tools for sustainable urban management by some 100 local governments throughout Europe. This application should explore the connectivity between research and policy-making and deliver criteria for its general enhancement in other thematic areas and in the future. With the European Report on Urban Sustainability - the first of its kind and derived from this explorative application - PRIMUS set out to demonstrate the fascinating potential of a better connectivity between research and policy-making.
Funding
Results
Final Report Summary - PRIMUS (Policies and Research for an Integrated Management of Urban Sustainability)
The Informed Cities initiative was a European project which aimed to enhance connectivity between research and policymaking in sustainable development, with a focus on tools for urban sustainability management. The initiative was funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the...
Executive Summary:
The Informed Cities initiative was a European project which aimed to enhance connectivity between research and policymaking in sustainable development, with a focus on tools for urban sustainability management. The initiative was funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the EU, under the acronym PRIMUS (its full title being ‘Policies and Research for an Integrated Management of Urban Sustainability’), and ran for three years, from 1st May 2009 to 30th April 2012.
Informed Cities has two separate but linked elements: improving processes for knowledge brokerage for urban sustainability, and the explorative application of two European monitoring tools for local governments: Local Evaluation 21 (LE21) and Urban Ecosystem Europe (UEE). Ultimately, 57 local governments from 18 European countries applied LE21, and 53 local governments from 16 European countries applied UEE. 32 local governments applied both tools.
The project was built around a series of events aimed at improving links between researchers and policy-makers: Informed Cities Fora, European Round Tables, and Implementation Workshops.
All of the events and meetings within the initiative gave practitioners (staff from local, regional and national government) and academics the chance to explore discourses around knowledge brokerage for local sustainability.
To present the outcomes of the explorative application and the knowledge brokerage process, the PRIMUS Final Report: Making research work for local sustainability (to be published as a book) was prepared. The report contains extensive details and analysis of data obtained via the explorative application of LE21 and UEE by European local governments which has been analysed and aggregated by the project Partners. The report combines findings on both policy processes (qualitative data) and indicator-based data on urban sustainability (quantitative data). In addition, two brochures were produced: a knowledge brokerage guide entitled Knowledge brokerage in action in European cities, which functions as a ‘how to guide’ and contains key insights for five successful local brokerage initiatives; a brochure on European Frameworks for local sustainability. The role of researchers, policy-makers and European institutions in shaping local commitment, exploring the usefulness of European schemes in supporting the local sustainability process and presenting recommendations on the role of researchers in shaping local processes.
List of Websites:
http://informed-cities.iclei-europe.org/