Happy New Year to you all. A busy and exciting 2024 has begun for us here at URBACT Ireland following the launch of the URBACT Secretariat’s call for Innovation Transfer Networks (ITN). The ITN call is the second of the URBACT IV programme, following on from the Action Planning Networks call which saw 30 new projects announced last May, featuring seven Irish towns and cities.
The ITN call began on January 10th and will remain open until March 20th. See the above Infographic for an immediate overview of what the call has to offer.
It is envisaged that ten ITNs will be formed upon the topics of Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) projects that were implemented between 2016 and 2023. Those cities that implemented the UIA project will automatically become ITN Lead Partners if selected for funding following the closure of the call.
You can read much more about the call at urbact.eu/get-involved. There you will find important documentation such as the call’s Terms of Reference, the Applicant Guide, as well as information on a number of info sessions organised by the programme secretariat. The first one, presenting the call in a nutshell has already taken place but the recording is available alongside the schedule of other sessions at the link above or you can click here for the recording and here for the presentation.
At urbact.eu/get-involved, you can also conveniently access the partner search tool to discover the potential 21 Lead Partners, the themes of their intended networks and a one-liner on the policy challenges.
In summary, the thematic angles include culture and heritage; migration integration; urban security; nature-based solutions; urban poverty; demographic change; digital transition; jobs and skills; renewable energy; housing; and air quality.
Also, a reminder that the URBACT Ireland Information Day occurs at the Custom House, Dublin on January 25th between 10h and 15h. You can read more details here. Click here to register.
We at URBACT Ireland are keen to see the best possible uptake of this call among our 31 local authorities and we would welcome the opportunity to speak to you and support you on this. Reach out anytime to Karl at kmurphy@emra.ie to arrange a chat.