Their aim was to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of medium-sized cities.

Within the framework of the programme, which was implemented between 2019 and 2024, the cities, among others, carried out activities in the field of climate change adaptation, improvement of air quality and transport accessibility. They also implemented so-called soft measures - educational or improving the quality of life of particular groups of residents, e.g. students, seniors, people with disabilities. Thanks to excellent cooperation with partners from Norway and Iceland, Polish cities have implemented many innovative solutions.

The ‘Local Development’ programme was an initiative fostering the development of Polish medium-sized cities, offering comprehensive financial, substantive and organisational support.

'The implementation of the ‘Local Development’ programme supported 29 projects in medium-sized cities, 17 of which were implemented in partnership with Norwegian and one Icelandic local governments. The total budget of the project exceeded PLN 561 million and enabled the introduction of innovative solutions that improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of smaller urban centres,' said Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Konrad Wojnarowski, opening the conference, which brought together the representatives of cities participating in the Programme, as well as partners from the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Association of Polish Cities and the Institute for Urban and Regional Development in (en. IURD) Warsaw.

The aim of the project was to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of medium-sized cities by accelerating development processes, the inclusion of residents, and the institutional development of local government administration.

The Association of Polish Cities, together with the KS, the OECD and the IURD, implemented a predefined project, which one of the conference participants called a ‘cocoon’, i.e. a soft support that made it easier for cities to carry out their project tasks.

Participants emphasised the great role of APC's experts, who - as part of the predefined project - developed and transferred the tools and knowledge necessary for the implementation of tasks to the cities, and strengthened bilateral relations between Polish and Norwegian partner cities. These actions allowed for effective planning and implementation of projects and institutional development of the cities. Importantly, even the tools developed as part of the project are subsequently made available to all those who are willing to use them, e.g. the Local Development Monitor (which was already in place before and has been improved thanks to the project) or survey platforms and questionnaires, which make it possible to examine the ability to finance and then maintain investments on an ongoing basis.

What support did the cities receive?

• One-on-one counselling - strategic and on-going in the implementation process of the cities' tasks

• In-depth counselling, e.g. financial - sector advisors

• Workshops, training, strategic development management tools (APC and IURD)

• Knowledge dissemination - ‘Local Development Forums’ (48 on-line editions)

• Exchange of experience - ‘Experience Exchange Networks - Empirie’ and networking meetings in Warsaw for cities participating in LD Programme Phase 3

• OECD recommendations and ‘Self-Assessment of Institutional Development - eSAT’ tool

• Supporting partnerships of Polish cities (17) with Norwegian and Icelandic local governments

• Study visits, internships in Norwegian local governments, international conferences, Polish, Norwegian, Icelandic exchange of experience (beyond partnership relations)

The ‘Local Development’ programme was evaluated exceptionally well by the urban participants, with around 90% of respondents rating it as very good or rather good. This shows that the programme was truly outstanding across a number of evaluated categories.

'The scale of the activities was really high (...) A survey among the most involved 400+ people showed a very good evaluation of both the project's assumptions, implementation and results. The evaluation of the predefined project is even higher than that of the whole programme, which we are very proud of, ’ said Andrzej Porawski, Director of the APC Office.

‘Friends cooperate better than strangers’.

On the first day, the participants summarised the implementation of the Programme: the use of grants to improve accessibility, activities supporting cities, as well as bilateral activities. The meeting ended with the adoption of a cooperation declaration between Polish and Norwegian cities in the next perspective of Norwegian and EEA funds. As the participants emphasised, joint activities, exchange of experiences or study visits have created many warm and cordial relations. In turn, friendship and trust allow for a much more efficient and effective implementation of subsequent tasks.... ‘Friends work together better than strangers,’ emphasised Adrian Kjolo Tollefsen, Mayor of Ovre Eiker in Norway.

The second day was dedicated to a good practice exchange session. The workshop participants, divided into 4 groups, discussed solutions for economic development, social inclusion, citizen participation and environmental protection. Every hour, participants switched groups and presented their solutions one by one, and then listened to others do the same and discussed the solutions of colleagues from different cities. Participants from Norway, while sharing their experiences, were at the same time deeply interested in Polish solutions and declared that they could improve the ones already functioning in Norway.

The third day - for participants from abroad - involved a study visit to Włocławek.  The guests could see, among other things, a pedestrian and bicycle passage connecting two of the most attractive leisure zones in Włocławek - the boulevards and the Henryk Sienkiewicz Park, adapted for people with reduced mobility. They also visited the Old Market Square, to which greenery returned as part of the ‘Green Heart of the City’ project, with 50 large trees and 7,500 shrubs planted. Both investments were made as part of the ‘Local Development’ programme.

They also visited the Browar B Cultural Centre, where they met with the organisers of events for young people, such as the United Forum, an international breakdance competition that this year brought together 600 dancers from 31 countries. The aim of such activities is to build a city that is open to the needs of its young citizens, including creating pride in the city that hosts the largest breakdance festival in the world.