Open Invitation to Submit Proposals for Targeted Analyses

Policymakers and practitioners at all administrative levels and territorial scales are key stakeholders for the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme. Through direct investments and policy implementation they contribute to the achievement of European policy goals related to territorial development and cohesion.

The ESPON EGTC is therefore pleased to announce that the next cut-off date for the submission of proposals for Targeted Analyses is on 23 June 2017. Using existing territorial evidence from ESPON, these projects shall directly contribute to informing policy decisions and territorial development strategies.

How does it work?

Stakeholders develop their project proposal and submit it to the ESPON EGTC by filling in a digital application form (see below). In their proposal, stakeholders outline the policy issues that they would like to have addressed by an ESPON Targeted Analysis. When doing that, stakeholders need to make sure that their proposal:

  • Relates to their specific territorial context and the policy opportunities and challenges there;
  • Reflects a wider European perspective;
  • Relates to existing territorial evidence produced by ESPON.

Selected stakeholder proposals are implemented in close cooperation between academic experts, carrying through the analysis, stakeholders and the ESPON EGTC. For a smooth implementation process, stakeholders need to consider the following in the development of their proposal:

  • The analysis needs to be feasible in terms of methodology, indicators and data provision;
  • Active stakeholder involvement is key throughout the entire implementation process to receive meaningful and useful results.

Finally, concerning the follow-up of a Targeted Analysis, stakeholders also need to be aware of the following points when drafting their proposal:

  • The use of the analytical results in their policy-making processes;
  • The added value of their project idea for themselves as well as for stakeholders in other countries, regions or cities.

The process of developing and implementing an ESPON Targeted Analysis is visualised in the figure below:

TA Selection Criteria (2017 11 01) ESPON Font
 

How to apply?

Proposals can be submitted by groups of stakeholders sharing a common analytical need as well as by individual stakeholders. It is also possible to include relevant umbrella organisations from European, national or regional level in the steering of a Targeted Analysis.

Stakeholder proposals must be submitted electronically with a digital application form (see below). The application form includes information on how and to whom the stakeholder proposal needs to be sent to and which documents need to be enclosed. A guidance document is available below for download to support stakeholders in preparing their proposals.

Stakeholder proposals for ESPON Targeted Analyses can be submitted at any time. The ESPON EGTC evaluates twice per year all stakeholder proposals received by certain cut-off dates. The exact deadlines will be advertised on the ESPON website and the Official Journal of the European Union. The next cut-off date for the submission of stakeholder proposals is on 23 June 2017.

How will stakeholder proposals be selected?

It is important that applicants carefully consider their project proposal in the context of the selection and eligibility criteria and complete the application form in full. The eligibility and selection criteria are outlined in the guidance document available below.

If a proposal is not selected, stakeholders have a possibility to improve their proposals and resubmit them at a later stage.

Who to contact for further advice?

Staff at the ESPON EGTC is available to field queries on developing stakeholder proposals. Please email any queries you may have to [email protected].

More information

This invitation will be published at the Official Journal of the European Union.

Documents

Guidance - Version 17 January 2017

  • Acrobat Document | 673KB

FAQ - Version 16 January 2017

  • Acrobat Document | 86KB

Application Form

  • MS-Word Document | 832KB

Letter of Commitment

  • MS-Word Document | 35KB

Declaration of No Conflict of Interest

  • MS-Word Document | 30KB

Stakeholder Cooperation Agreement

  • MS-Word Document | 836KB