Securing resources for cities: practical tips from the URBACT Toolbox

Discover new tools in the URBACT toolbox

While financial landscapes shift, and local needs evolve, URBACT offers practical, accessible tools that provide clarity and support in developing effective funding strategies.

As cities across Europe navigate transformative urban changes, finding the right resources to fund and support these ambitions remains a significant challenge for city administrators and project managers. While financial landscapes continue to shift, and local needs evolve, the need for practical, accessible tools that provide clarity and support in developing effective funding strategies is becoming increasingly essential. This is where the URBACT’s toolbox comes into play - offering a comprehensive range of tools designed to guide cities in refining their action plans, analysing local conditions, and developing robust funding strategies.

Zooming in: a selection of useful tools for cities

To highlight the value of these tools, let’s explore a few key examples from the URBACT toolbox.
All these tools have been robustly tested and used by the cities involved in the Action Planning Networks as part of their training at the “URBACT Campus”, that crossed 18 countries in the autumn 2024, bringing together partners at national or macro-regional level to prepare them for the last steps of their Integrated Action Plans co-production process.

Here’s how these key tools can support cities in building sustainable and well-funded strategies.

1. iPESTLE

The iPESTLE method is a simple tool to help cities understand their local delivery context, considering which are their local conditions and what challenges they may be facing across multiple dimensions - political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental. It will also help to see which options for solutions might be open and which might not be.

Distinctive Feature: iPestle fosters a comprehensive and strategic outlook, by encouraging cities to consider external factors that may impact their plans.

In practice: iPestle helped uncover critical environmental regulations that shaped a city’s approach to funding.

Try the iPestle tool

2. Refining an Action Table

This tool helps cities in developing concrete actions by planning them in detail: thinking about activities, timescale, outputs, stakeholders, resources needed and obstacles.

Transforming a city’s action plan into a clear, actionable table is crucial for securing funding and to turn one’s vision into reality, in an efficient way.

Distinctive Feature: It bridges the gap between high-level strategies and concrete actions, increasing the likelihood of successful funding applications

In practice: Refining the action table is a game-changer—it brings clarity and accountability to a funding strategy

Try the Refining an action table tool

3. Cost Estimation Challenge

The Cost Estimation Challenge tool assists cities in estimating costs more accurately, helping them identify funding gaps and plan accordingly.

This activity helps groups review all potential cost components involved in delivering an action, as well as reflect on costs that were underestimated, overestimated or completely unforeseen.

The challenge requires you to be quick and think on your feet, and can be perfectly used to kick-start the conversations within a team or a group on the funds needed to carry out the desired action.

Distinctive Feature: It combines practical budgeting techniques with scenario analysis, ensuring cities are prepared for financial uncertainties.

In practice: This tool encourages a participatory approach by involving multiple stakeholders in the cost estimation process.

Try the Cost Estimation Challenge tool

4. Nested Wholes Diagram

The Nested Wholes Diagram helps to create a map of the funding sources of interest for the city and in visualising the way different funding types contribute towards the same action.
This visual framework will help you understand the interconnectedness of funding sources at different “levels” and with different scopes, as well as visualise the potential relationships among them.

Distinctive Feature: It emphasises systems thinking and provides insights on how different funding streams can complement or influence each other.

In practice: Using the Nested Wholes Diagram, you can identify key partnerships essential for securing funding.

Try the Nested Whole Diagram tool

Zooming out: a wider map of tools

These tools aren’t standalone solutions—they’re part of a broader map designed to support cities in developing and maintaining a funding strategy. URBACT’s “Funding and Resourcing Metro Map” provides an overview of this comprehensive framework, guiding cities through each step of their funding journey.

Funding and Resourcing metro map

The “Funding and Resourcing Metro Map” presents a series of step-by-step guides and tools from the URBACT Toolbox, which can be used in sequence or as stand-alone support elements for cities to turn plans into reality.
It is organised in 5 “metro lines” to cover all the key steps for successful implementation:

Inventory Line – to keep track of all the essential aspects
Funding Strategy Line – to design a strategy for your funding search
Project Line – to assess and design your project
Costing Line – to check and prepare your project budget
Application Writing Line – to ensure a high-quality funding bid

Going further: additional resources

If you want to go further in ensuring that you have the right assets to bring your plans to life, you can check out the following resources:

Watch the recording of the URBACT’s e-University session on “How to develop a Funding Strategy”, offering you insights to master the art of securing sustainable funding.
Find out how public procurement can be a strategic lever that cities can use to implement their wider economic, social and environmental strategies. The “How to use public procurement in a strategic way?” guide can help cities in designing smart public procurement frameworks.
Read the “Preparing for Implementation” guide, which helps cities in becoming “implementation ready”
Looking for some examples on how to keep a participatory approach in implementation? This guide helps cities to organise joint decision-making processes while implementing.
Keeping an integrated approach is paramount also while delivering actions. This guide helps cities to identify the most relevant contextual elements for implementation.
Are you concerned with measuring performance? Find out through this guide how to set up a framework to design efficient monitoring systems.

Submitted by on 20/03/2025

Maria Laura Mitra

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