Les participants sont donc munis avec les outils pratiques nécessaires pour créer leurs propres groupes locaux d’URBACT. Chacun de ces groupes multilatéraux, avec la ville bénéficiaire, seront en charge d’expérimenter des solutions et co-développer leurs propres plans d'action intégrés locaux. Découvrez ce qui était réservé pour les participants lors de l’Université d’URBACT !

1. Expérimenter la Méthode et les outils d’URBACT

Une fois par jour, pendant plus d'une heure, les participants de l’événement ont été introduits aux techniques et outils pour créer et maintenir leurs groupes locaux URBACT.  Répartis dans des hubs avec différents réseaux de planification d'action, les participants ont eu l’opportunité d’apprendre différentes façons de comprendre réellement leurs défis locaux, à développer des visions collectives et à planifier des actions pour atteindre leurs objectifs. Ensuite, chaque réseau passait aux sessions Network@Work, où les participants ont pu faire des exercices pratiques. Ils ont pu mettre en œuvre les outils pour l'analyse des problèmes et l'élaboration de scénarios, l'implication de toutes les parties prenantes et, enfin, la planification d'actions intégrées. Tous les outils utilisés sont disponibles dans l’URBACT Toolbox et les réseaux de planification d’action ne manqueront pas d’occasions pour s’en servir de ces matériaux ! Comme l'a dit un participant, Øystein Leonardsen de la ville de Copenhague (Danemark), "plus vous avez d'outils dans votre propre boîte à outils, mieux vous êtes équipé pour faire face à différents défis". En effet, si vous n'avez qu'un marteau, tous les problèmes que vous rencontrerez seront traités de la même manière, indépendamment de leur complexité ou de leur cause spécifique. Après tout, "avec qu’un marteau, tout ce que l'on peut faire, c'est taper sur des clous".

2. Rencontrer les représentantes d’autres villes européennes

Pour de nombreuses personnes impliquées dans les nouveaux réseaux de planification d'action, l'Université d’URBACT était la première fois qu'elles pouvaient rencontrer tous les partenaires de leur projet. Outre les nombreuses pauses café et les occasions d’échange, les participants ont eu la chance unique de se rapprocher de leurs réseaux, notamment lors des sessions Network@Work. Comme Clémentine Gravier, Chef d'unité - Réseaux et renforcement des capacités au Secrétariat d’URBACT, a déclaré, "après deux éditions des e-Universités d’URBACT en ligne, l'une en 2020 et l'autre en 2022, il était agréable de pouvoir enfin organiser cet événement de renforcement des capacités en présentiel. La vérité est que rien ne se compare aux échanges dans la vie réelle et l'apprentissage mutuel pendant un événement de trois jours".

3. Connaître un événement à faibles émissions de carbone

Ce n'est pas un secret que le secrétariat d'URBACT est engagée à l’organisation des événements à faible émission de carbone. L’Université d’URBACT de cette année n'a pas fait exception ! Avec un menu entièrement végétarien, des mesures ont été également prises pour éviter le gaspillage alimentaire. De même, en faisant campagne pour des moyens de transport alternatifs à l’avion, le programme a effectivement encouragé les participants à sortir de leur zone de confort. Un participant a fait une partie du trajet de Rotterdam (Pays Bas) à Malmö (Suède) à vélo, tandis que beaucoup d'autres ont voyagé en train, y compris un participant depuis la ville de Liège (Belgique).

Au-delà de bons souvenirs, de nouvelles connaissances et de magnifiques badges en papier ensemencé made in France à planter après usage, les participants n'ont rien emporté d'autre chez eux. Même les cordons des badges ont été laissés sur place pour être réutilisés lors de futurs événements URBACT. Contrairement aux précédentes Universités d’URBACT, aucune marchandise n'a été offerte. L'empreinte carbone de l'Université URBACT sera mesurée et compensée financièrement par des projets de reboisement et d'autres initiatives locales vertes.

4. Découvrir la ville de Malmö (Suède)

Lors de la toute première séance en plénière de l'événement, les participants ont été chaleureusement accueillis par Sofia Héden, l’adjointe au maire chargée de l'environnement et des services internes de la municipalité de Malmö. Au cours de cette session, ils ont également appris que le lieu principal de l'Université d’URBACT, la Malmö Arena, accueillera l'année prochaine le concours de l'Eurovision. Ce n'est qu'une des nombreuses activités intéressantes que la ville a prévu !

Comme dans toutes éditions de l’Université d’URBACT, la ville d'accueil est une particularité de l'événement lui-même. Le programme est très fier de mettre en valeur les initiatives locales, les projets existants et les plans futurs de la ville. Malmö (Suède), en particulier, est depuis longtemps un bénéficiaire d'URBACT. La ville a participé aux réseaux de planification d'action RESILIENT EUROPE (2015 - 2018) et LET'S GO CIRCULAR (2023 - 2026), deux réseaux axés sur l'environnement.

Au cours de l'après-midi du deuxième jour, les participants ont eu un aperçu des différents coins de la ville. Parmi les 12 visites d’étude proposées aux participants, la vaste majorité des visites portait  sur la question de l'économie circulaire. Toutefois, certaines visites ont évoqué d’autres questions urbaines, notamment des questions autour de la régénération urbaine des anciennes et nouvelles parties du port ; l'égalité entre hommes et femmes, et l'aménagement du territoire ; ainsi que l'intégration des immigrés.

5. Une pluie de surprise !

Comme Eddy Adams, expert méthodologique d’URBACT, l'a évoqué lors de l'Université, son aspect préféré des événements d’URBACT est l'élément de surprise. Dès les décors inattendus derrière les rideaux jusqu’aux participants qui ont monté sur scène pour prendre des photos, l'Université URBACT à Malmö (Suède) n'a pas manqué de surprises. Même certains points nationaux d’URBACT ont eu un rôle particulier à jouer. Déguisés en maires de différents pays de l'UE, ils ont visité les hubs et ont invité les participants à réfléchir à propos des thèmes transversaux, tels que les questions environnementales, numériques et d’égalité de genre.

 L'événement a même compté avec un cours de danse surprise sur le toit d’un bâtiment aux parages de la Malmö Arena. Ce fut une activité qui, avec les nouveaux liens qui ont été créés et les connaissances et compétences qui ont été acquises, ne sera pas oublié de sitôt par la communauté URBACT.

Vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur les outils d’URBACT ? Consultez la Toolbox et découvrez tout sur l'Université à Malmö, en particulier sur les étapes du processus de planification d'action :

• Comprendre les racines des problèmes locaux et créer des visions collectives (article en anglais)

• Reconnaître les parties prenantes et renforcer les partenariats locaux (article en anglais)

• Passer des problèmes à la planification d'actions intégrées (article en anglais)

A vital aspect to any action-planning journey is the development of coherent and well described actions that are framed by the policy challenge facing the city. As a matter of fact, it’s the most time-consuming part of the process for any municipality that is willing to pilot actions and operationalise them in the long run. This is no exception for URBACT cities. As the Integrated Action Plans study, which was conducted in 2022, points out municipalities can only benefit from a document that sets out coherently why, when, how and by whom a policy challenge associated with urban development can be addressed.

The recording of actions is the straightforward bit

Particularly for the new round of Action Planning Networks, whose cities’ core focus is to co-develop Integrated Action Plans with their respective URBACT Local Groups, the stage of developing actions is the one that stakeholders will spend most time upon, will have the most fun with, will engage with most people on, and will face the greatest scrutiny upon from their transnational and local peers. But, what do good actions look like, how are they developed, and how can they be recorded?

Leveraging on the URBACT tools

As a part of the Toolbox, the programme seized the occasion of the URBACT University 2023, which took place in Malmö (SE) from 28-30 August, to launch a new tool. The Action Planning Canvas enables any city to record progress  of their action planning-journey, while highlighting details and key information. Composed by four inter-linked sections, the Action Planning Network's cities experimented this tool to gather content for their Integrated Action Plans on the last day of the event.

The first section sets out the local context, needs and shared vision, all things that have been explored by the participants of the University during the first day of the event. The second section sets out the overarching logic framework, as well its link to an integrated approach. The las two remaining sections, aim at setting out further detail of specific activities and an implementation framework for any integrated action plan.

What do good actions look like?

Whilst the Action Planning Canvas is a key tool in recording the findings of the action-planning cycle, it can also be used as a mechanism to inform the creation of actions. There are five key factors that cities should consider when creating actions and to make them logical, coherent and good.

For starters, the actions should be framed by a clear and concise presentation of the problem and context. This could be a presentation in the Canvas, using the Problem Tree tool as a reference or it could be another visual representation of the context and focus of the project, such as this example from Razlog (BG) from the IoTXchange network. In the example below, it clearly details how the key considerations or problems facing Razlog around technological change have informed the focus areas for the city's Integrated Action Plan.

Second, the actions should be framed by a clear and coherent intervention logic. Below, the problems identified previously should flow into a clear overarching vision and a set of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound) strategic objectives. These set out clearly what the city is looking to achieve. Again, using the example of Razlog, there is a clear link between vision, focus areas and strategic objectives:

Then, the actions should be reflective of URBACT’s integrated approach. Cities should be asking themselves (amongst other things) whether the actions will address economic, social and environmental challenges; whether they are reflective of URBACT’s three cross-cutting themes of gender, digital, and green; and whether they apply at all spatial levels of neighbourhood, municipality, region. Fundão (PT) from the SIBdev network have a really interesting way of demonstrating visually their integrated approach and link their overarching objectives to stakeholders to key sectors, and then to their actions:

Following these steps, the actions themselves should be presented in a clear, succinct and structured way. From previous experience, URBACT cities will generally detail three types of actions: there will be practical and project-actions, such as the hosting of events or the installation of new street signs; there will be process-actions, such as developing the capacity of social enterprises to bid for procurement opportunities or developing new technological systems; and there will be cultural change-led actions, as the development of Citizen Panels.

La Rochelle (FR) from the Genderedlandscape network provides a good example of an Integrated Action Plan, which presents each action on one page, using the principles of the Canvas as the basis. The action of hosting a Workplace Gender Balance Webinar is well described and is accompanied by information about the format of the webinar, who the webinar will be provided by, and the key stakeholders that the webinar will be targeted at. It also includes wider information around the action owner, the finances needed to deliver the action and risks to implementation, as the image to the left illustrates. 

Similarly, the city of Fundão presents a clear description of an action focused upon developing a transport on demand system that seeks to link the elderly population to wider services in the city. This is accompanied by expected results, potential resources and responsible organisations and wider stakeholders.

At last, each action should be accompanied by an indicator that enables a city to measure progress in the future. Indicators can either be quantitative – a number or percentage, or qualitative and change in perception or process. At the URBACT University, the GenProcure network used the Action Planning Canvas to create a specific action around supporting female-owned enterprises to access training to access procurement opportunities, with an accompanying indicator of % increase in female-owned enterprise delivering procurement contracts.

Developing actions

There are a number of tools that a city can use to develop their local actions in an integrated way, these can include:

1. OPERA is a technique used for brainstorming within a multi-stakeholder group, like the URBACT Local Group, where members think of their own ideas, then discuss in pairs, then explain their ideas to the wider group, before ranking the most important, and finally arranging in order of potential delivery.
    
2. Exploration and inspiring walks is a technique used to create new and inspirational ideas – most often undertaken on physical projects, it can be an informal way of recognising something that has not been thought of before.
    
3. Lego and Playmobil can be used as a way of modelling out what neighbourhoods could look like in the future and a way of including stakeholders of all ages in action planning.
    
4. Forecasting is a technique used to look into the future and think in a both quantitative and qualitative way of what the problem may look like in 10 or 20 years time, for example.
    
5. Implementation Labs are often used once objectives and actions have been created and a way of exploring who should be involved in delivering them, funding them, and monitoring them.

Final thoughts

The Action Planning Canvas is a really helpful and straightforward to use tool, for the Action Planning Network's cities but also beyond. It will can help cities and networks to start to think logically about local Integrated Action Plans, to present succinctly the outcomes of exercises undertaken to identify problems and stakeholders, and to link together the different stages of the action-planning cycle. As cities start to develop their actions, it will also be helpful in identifying and prioritising specific actions for testing, and in then developing implementation plans.  

URBACT cities and networks have been very active in the development of innovative approaches and solutions when it comes to public procurement and gender-sensitive responses. Their practical insights and experience are told in the different modules of the Strategic Public Procurement Online Course. Some municipalities have also taken advantage of it to re-think the ways we produce, distribute and consume food. Read on to see how cities are taking matters into their own hands.

Food Public Procurement: what and why?

Food procurement relates to the provisioning of food, via catering services (with or without supply), canteens, and vending machines. It targets the public sector and sectors managed by public authorities: school and childcare centres, health and welfare centres (including hospitals), senior or retirement homes, and public administrations.

Paying attention to the way this food is purchased by public authorities is crucial.  The overall environmental impact of the food system is undeniable: it contributes to 1/3 of GHG emissions globally and drive up socio-economic and health inequalities. In addition, within the agricultural sector in Europe, livestock farming is responsible for 78% of biodiversity loss and 81% of global warming. Food waste of the catering sector is also estimated to account for 14% of all EU waste, accounting for almost 12.5 million tonnes. Energy produced effectively by the catering sector could, for example, achieve savings of more than 20% leading to a saving of EUR 95 million (80 million GBP) per year and reducing national energy consumption by over 4 000 million kWh per year.

In terms of economic impact, the current food system sustains unfair working conditions practices for farmers and their respective difficult to access land and to sustainable production. Not to mention the working conditions of migrant workers. With regards to the fact that, on average, 85 million meals are catered every day in the EU (over 50% through contract catering), and that there are about 3.7 million vending machines in Europe that are run by around 10 000 different companies (mostly SMEs and family businesses that employ directly more than 85 000 people and many more in supportive industries), sustainable food procurement in public institutions provides an enormous potential to push market demand for greener products.

In terms of social and health-related impact, the current mainstream food system has led to a higher risk for disease and mortality in Europe: unhealthy diets are responsible for 49% of cardiovascular diseases, with an estimated annual cost of EUR102 billion for health systems and society; and with 16-22% of EU school-age children are overweight, 1/4 of them are obese. Last but not least, 36.2 million people, including children, cannot afford a quality meal every second day, which could be compensated by healthy school meals to a certain extent.

As such, using food procurement strategically can impact the whole society directly. First by promoting the purchase of certified (ideally organic) products, seasonal products, reducing the called "food miles", and reducing packaging and food waste. Procurement can lower pesticides and antibiotic residues in food air and water pollution and greenhouse emissions. Then by promoting the purchase of certified (ideally fair trade) local products. Procurement can support the fair retribution of producers, boost local economy and employment, supporting local entrepreneurship and innovation, increase or convert organic production. And finally, by promoting the purchase of sustainable products and healthy meals and raising awareness. Procurement can contribute to the reduction of obesity, health problems, boast local communities’ prosperity and wellbeing.

The EU Framework for Sustainable Food Procurement

When addressing food procurement, the first strategic frameworks which come to mind are those related to the EU (green) Public Procurement: the EU public procurement directive, the EU Green Public Procurement criteria, the Communication on public procurement for a better environment, Public Procurement for a Circular Economy. Good practice and guidance, and the  Food & catering – GPP Product Sheet.

Yet, Food Procurement can also rely on a range of other EU initiatives, to further develop innovative solutions:

1. European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy
2. The Action Plan for the Circular Economy, the EU waste directive, the EU Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy, the Directive on single-use plastics, and the Directive on packaging and packaging waste
3. The EU Strategy on nutrition, overweight and obesity-related health issues
4. Food 2030 research and innovation policy framework

Key URBACT cities’ solutions

Some URBACT cities have been exemplary in seeking to identify practical solutions for the transition of their food procurement processes. Below some city cases:

Engaging users and the market in Liège

The city of Liège (BE), partner in the BIOCANTEENS#2 Transfer Network developed a strong knowledge of their local producers, while adapting the needs of their local canteens to their local offer. The city starts all its tendering processes by an analysis of the needs with the food users, such as canteens managers and cooks: products used, their quantities, frequencies and other relevant factors. The research then focuses on local producers and enterprises that could potentially respond to these needs, leading to drafting specifications corresponding to both needs and offer.

Market engagement also enables the city to build the capacity of the market to meet their requirement(s), inform on the design of the procurement and contract, and help suppliers to submit quality bids. This process also tests the maturity of the market, the feasibility of the procurement, the level of technical and product innovation, the type of exiting composition and the concern about sustainability. Once the city is certain that producers can deliver healthy and diversified meals, the tenders integrate a new selection criteria.

It is important to note that market engagement is legally possible under Article 40 of Directive 2014/24/EU, provided that legal consideration are taken into consideration, as transparent and non-discriminatory process, not providing unfair advantage, keeping a record of all market engagement activities, giving equal access to all suppliers and treat all suppliers equally.

Training, supporting, monitoring and control in the Region of Brussels-Capital

The Region of Brussels-Capital (BE), was the Lead Partner of the URBACT II Sustainable Food in Urban Communities Network, which designed a complete training and support for school canteens and caterers: awareness-raising for future catering professionals, pilot projects with catering companies, training schemes, support with communication tools and equipment, and access to a help desk. This scheme is linked to the Good Food labelling of canteens, part of the Region Sustainable Food Strategy – the Good Food Strategy that is now in its second version.

The Region also published detailed Guidelines for canteens which stress the importance of control and monitoring, in order to ensure that the contractor commitments are respected in the delivery of contracts. It can take the form of an administrative monitoring (e.g. on a trimester basis), as well as -surprise (bi-)monthly check at the place of production (in case of on-site production). A third check is only necessary if there is any doubt about a possible problem. The guidelines also distinguish canteens with food prepared on the spot or delivered, describing criteria in concrete details and technical clauses.

Combining procurement solutions for more sustainability in Torres Vedras

As part of its Sustainable School Food Programme, which aims to provide healthy school meals in a social, ecological and sustainable way, the city of Torres Vedras (PT) a partner of the BioCanteens original Transfer Network looks out at food procurement concerns for its municipal kitchens, which prepare 1 400 meals per day. The city seeks to purchases raw food material exclusively and directly from local producers and suppliers, with the following combined solutions:

1. Lots for raw food material: organic fruits, conventional fruits, organic vegetables, conventional vegetables, meat, fish, grocery, bread and eggs.
2. Decision criteria applicate a percentage for: price, samples for quality evaluation, technical data sheets of the products, freshness related to the food transport time (minutes).
3. Mandatory conditions for supply: bulk products (if applicable), specific capacity of the suppliers, and replacement of non-acceptable products by quality issues.
4. Mandatory documents: price, products data sheets, document to evaluate freshness through the distance of the food production/storage.

Indeed, the 2014 Directives allow contracting authorities to both: exclude companies from tendering for not meeting certain conditions (exclusion criteria); and select the most suitable companies to bid based on technical ability and previous experience in relation to the subject matter of the contract (selection criteria).

Creating a whole food ecosystem using procurement as a lever in Mouans-Sartoux

Mouans-Sartoux (FR), is a flagship URBACT city that has achieved and shared its secret recipe for years now, especially as the Lead Partner of both editions of the BioCanteens Transfer Networks. As part of its overall transition, it has used procurement as a main tool to ensure the coherence of its entire food ecosystem. By combining lots, market engagement, use of labels, weights and criteria, in its tenders it has sought the pave the way and leading role cities can play. Yet, procurement is only one of the tools used to this end, and the dynamics go beyond food itself (see the image below). The experience of this city has been told using different formats (kitchen micro-good practices, Education Micro-good practices, set-up of a Maison de l’Alimentation Durable, among many others) and stories.

What if my city wants to go further?

Then above-mentioned examples are all accessible for interested readers to consult. And the cities that were used as examples for this article will undoubtedly be happy to share more about their experience. Other material can be found as part of the StratKit Interreg Baltic Sea project, the EU Food Policy Coalition paper on sustainable public procurement of food, and, the Manifesto for establishing minimum standards for public canteens across the EU.

Last but not, least, URBACT will carry on the debate and reflections on the subject of food procurement in the course of this year. So, stay tuned and be sure to check the URBACT Knowledge Hub!

Get more food for thought in the URBACT Knowledge Hub!