One of the priorities of European integration is building a common space through the cohesion and convergence of Europe’s regions. European structural and investment funds therefore fund projects that reinforce this economic, social and territorial cohesion and drive sustainable, intelligent and integrating growth throughout the whole of the European Union (EU).

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is the EU’s main instrument for promoting this cohesion policy. Together with the European Social Fund (ESF) it constitutes the Structural Funds for investing in the economic restructuring of the EU and reducing the imbalances between Europe’s regions.

Eurpean Regional Development Fund (ERDF) opened in the City of Barcelona

“A way to make Europe”

ERDF funds: ISUDS (Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategy) 

Project funded: Sustainable urban development of the Eix Besòs

The purpose of this project is to improve the social and urban inequality indicators in the Ciutat Meridiana, Vallbona, Torre Baró, Roquetes , Trinitat Nova, Baró de Viver, Bon Pastor, Verneda - La Pau and Maresme-Besòs neighbourhoods, with a population of 114,014 inhabitants that could potentially benefit .

It is designed to meet the following challenges.

• Economic challenges: eliminating the imbalances between family incomes, reducing the unemployment rate and generating commercial activity.
• Environmental challenges: creating a quality environmental and heritage space in the Besòs area, reducing the use of private vehicles (17% share of transport) and getting more businesses to revalue their waste.
• Social challenges: reducing educational failure and dropout rates, cutting the number of people at risk of social exclusion and increasing the number who do sport.
• Demographic change challenges: increasing the number of people covered by telecare and other programmes, as well as the number connected to the internet.
• Climate change challenges: increasing climate change resilience.

The project is planned to last four years and is equally funded by the EU and Barcelona City Council, with a total investment budget of €30 million.

Related links

• Spanish Ministry of Finance and Civil Service
• ERDF Operational Programme

ERDF funds: URBAN INNOVATIVE ACTIONS

Project funded: B-MINCOME

Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) provides urban authorities across Europe with spaces and resources to try out innovative ideas not previously tested in order to tackle inter-related challenges and study how these ideas respond to the complexity of real life. These projects must be high-quality, innovative projects that are designed and developed with the participation of any interested parties and geared towards results that are transferable.

B-MINCOME is the winning project submitted by Barcelona City Council, which is led by the Area of Social Rights. The aim behind it is to analyse how all the city’s residents can be guaranteed the minimum income required for a decent life and it is based on the premise that the current social assistance system is insufficient for achieving that aim.

The project will be implemented over the course of the next two years with the following partners:

• Ajuntament de Barcelona 
• The Young Foundation (London)
• IVALUA
• Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
• NOVA - Centre per la Innovació Social Nova - CIS

Related links

• EU Regional Policy
• UIA

Project funded: GBG_AS2C

Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) provides urban authorities across Europe with spaces and resources to try out innovative ideas not previously tested in order to tackle inter-related challenges and study how these ideas respond to the complexity of real life. These projects must be high-quality, innovative projects that are designed and developed with the participation of any interested parties and geared towards results that are transferable.

The GBG_AS2C project will address the heat island effects in the City of Barcelona and prepare the city to face predicted increasingly high temperatures in summer, by transforming 10 pilot schools into climatic shelters.

Considering their low degree of adaptation to heat, but also their spatial distribution throughout the city as well as their great level of penetration within communities, schools are relevant spaces for adapting the city to climate change for the benefit of all. The project will implement a package of measures designed through a participatory process, introducing blue (aquatics playgrounds), green (greening playgrounds) and grey (traditional) components in schools in order to convert them into climatic shelters - not only for students, but also for summer school camps and all citizens outside of school time, as a refreshing and shaded leisure facility. In parallel, a climate change educational project will be adopted to contribute to climate change awareness, including the involvement of children and school professionals in the health assessment process.

The project will be implemented over the course of the next two years with the following partners:

• Ajuntament de Barcelona 
• Public Health Agency of Barcelona
• Barcelona Consortium of Education
• Barcelona Cycle of Water
• Barcelona Institute for Global Health
• Institute for Environmental Science and Technology UAB
• Vila olímpica School

Related links

• EU Regional Policy
• UIA

RIS3CAT Agreement

Barcelona City Council signed a collaborative agreement with the Catalan government (Generalitat) in November 2015 to carry out operations as part of the Research and Innovation Strategy for smart Specialisation in Catalonia (RIS3CAT), jointly funded through the ERDF Operational Programme under the Investment in Growth and Employment Objective for Catalonia 2014-2020.

The agreement provides joint funding for various activities that come under three working programmes:

Barcelona City Council is working through several departments and with its own means to put forward various actions as part of the process of implementing EU funds in Catalonia.

Related links

• EU Regional Policy
• ERDF Operational Programme
• RIS3CAT