Opencities Final Report Final Report April 2011 April 2011 PAGE 1

OPENCities OPENCities Final Report Final Report April 2011 April 2011 PAGE 1 II CT URBA OPENCities Final Report April 2011 PAGE 2 PAGE 3 Contents General Introduction 4 1 Introduction 4 2 Crisis 4 3 Network 5 Themes 6 4.1 Leadership and Governance 6 4 4.2 Internationalisation 8 4.3 Integration and Inclusion 10 Partners Experiences & Lessons Learnt 14 5 Conclusions & Recommendations 17 6.1 Becoming an OPENCity: 18 6 6.2 Leadership and Governance: 18 6.3 Internationalisation: 18 6.4 Integration and Inclusion: 19 OPENCities Activities & Outputs 20 7.1.1 Leadership & Governance 21 7 7.1.2 Integration and Inclusion 21 7.1.3 Internationalisation 21 7.2 Available Outputs 22 7.2.1 Leadership and Governance 22 7.2.2. Internationalisation 22 7.2.3 Integration and Inclusion 23 7.2.4 Thematic Papers, Presentations & Reports 23 8 Fast Track Label 24 9 Contacts 24 10 Partners 25 OPENCities Final Report April 2011 PAGE 4 PAGE 5 1. General 2 Crisis 3 The Network Introduction OPENCities rejects any received wisdom As such, OPENCities focuses upon The elephant in the room has clearly The argument OPENCities and its The partner cities are quite diverse, Cities make progress from interaction whereby migration is to be viewed as identifying what makes a city attractive been the economic crisis, which has participants have had to defend – in the with a range of convergence and with other cities – both with ones that a problem to be solved by palliative to international populations and unfolded throughout the period of the face of a harsh new climate of downturn, non-convergence cities, geographical are similar and with ones that are quite measures or barriers, arguing instead on developing practical strategies Urbact OPENCities project, causing a fear and insecurity – is that there is a distribution and economic and social different. Participation in the OPENCities that human diversity offers many for tackling economic and social fundamental paradigm shift, changing need to maintain openness, to various profiles. This diversity, even at times network gave impetus to new potential benefits to society – as a integration issues which can help the priorities of administrations, general skill levels and types; and this, not disparity allowed for significant initiatives and learning that is applied driver of entrepreneurship, creativity and cities better attract, retain and gainfully political discourse and popular concerns. despite the crisis, but rather as part of opportunities to transfer knowledge and in concrete policy and local services: innovation. integrate international populations the way out of it. Openness is a strategy practice. cities revised their use of IT tools, – thus contributing to their overall Regarding non-EU nationals, the for the whole economic cycle; it is a transferred approaches to awareness Thus, rather than a drag on competitiveness, and by extension their impact of the economic crisis has been long-term strategy and view of society, This diversity has also served to highlight raising and developed new approaches performance, migrants are fundamental economic, social and cultural vitality. particularly strong; the employment rate and it is intrinsic to a city’s capacity for that a great degree of creativity and to promotion, business strategy and to any successful strategy for economic of nationals decreased by 2.3% between resiliency and its hopes for recovery. a range of approaches and differing investment attraction. In some cases development and to any city’s chances The British Council and OPENCities have 2008 (q2) and 2010 (q2), while that of scales of action can be effectively change was incremental, improving of success as a competitor in a also developed an OPENCities Monitor third country nationals experienced a Moreover, if the EU’s stated Europe 2020 brought to bear by pro-openness upon existing tools and practices, in continually globalising world. In such a which is an indexing tool for evaluating much stronger decline of 4.3% – as objectives (high levels of employment, policies. In terms of scale, partner others new practices were introduced world, places that underutilise the skills and comparing city openness and which indicated in the Employment in Europe innovation, productivity, social cohesion, actions have involved from local football which were the first of their kind locally or migrants have to offer inevitably suffer will continue on, after the period of the 20102 report. Said report relates these smart jobs and mobility) are really going matches to international Commonwealth nationally. from a reduced competitive advantage project. See: www.opencities.eu migrants’ experiencing the sharpest to be achieved – despite the burden of events or the annual European Cultural (see Greg Clark, Towards Open Cities, falls in employment rates to their being aging demographics and the ravages Capital. Investment attraction has Conceptually, in some cities local 2008). employed in precarious, low-skilled jobs, of the current economic crisis – it is pursued investment flows from within understanding of openness was, Timeframe which were generally the first to go when imperative that European cities pursue Europe and beyond – from key global through OPENCities participation, Given the current conjuncture, marked Project launch: April 2008 the crisis hit. a vigorous agenda of openness for players such as Japan, China and India. better articulated in terms of its practical as it is by the pursuit of economic End of the project: June 2011 attracting and creating new opportunity application and in identifying what an recovery and an expected future demand Moreover, the impact of the crisis and for activating the full potential of a In terms of variety of approach, actions individual city’s policy options were in for skilled labour, it is crucial to maximise has significantly conditioned the diverse population. have worked with NGOs, multinational terms of an openness agenda. In other the value of Europe’s human capital Partners receptiveness of general populations and corporations, police, trade unions and cities, the idea that migration, diversity and to encourage economic dynamism. Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK) – Lead their political leadership to the arguments a panoply of other actors. They have and openness are assets which benefit Consequently, it is vital for Europe to find Partner OPENCities presents. Importantly – Openness is a addressed a range of issues from a city – rather than being a problem to ways to make the most of the human Bilbao, Spain OPENCities initial conception dates from entrepreneurship, health, language, solve, manage or minimise – came as a resources of its migrant population, Cardiff, Wales (UK) prior to the crisis, in what was obviously strategy for the participatory approaches, gender, IT novelty and broke entirely new ground present and future. Dublin, Ireland a very different climate, and has had whole economic cycle; tools and more. Action Plans have relied in their communities. It was generally Düsseldorf, Germany to be nimble in adapting to the urgent it is a long-term strategy on the principle of complementarity, found among all partners that in European society must understand, and Nitra, Slovakia challenges of an economic and social and view of society, and building on existing initiatives and pushing forward such a project, leadership must make the argument, that Poznan, Poland crisis of historic proportions. resources, and working within larger those driving it must find a concise it is not only important for immigrants Sofia, Bulgaria it is intrinsic to a city’s policy frameworks – such as broader and fact-based way to explain to themselves to realise their full potential Vienna, Austria capacity for resiliency strategic plans, large-scale regeneration stakeholders and decision-makers – which it clearly is – but that such The British Council – special non-city and its hopes projects or through mainstreaming into they depend on why openness is an empowerment effectively benefits the partner and initiator of OPENCities other policies and into administrative asset, in terms that are meaningful to collective self-interest. As the OECD for recovery structures and norms. them and their own priorities. Secretary-General puts it “it is an act of sheer economic rationality”1. Overall, the diversity among the partners was particularly evident in how the three themes of OPENCities were developed. 1 Speech of OECD Secretary-General, http://www.oecd.org/document/ 2 http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp OPENCities Final Report April 2011 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 4.1 Leadership 4. Themes and Governance OPENCities was structured around three One of the key By ‘leadership’ OPENCities means City leadership includes both elected The Leadership Task: key themes which provided the focus for conclusions that making the case for, and setting an city leaders, senior officials of the city, exchange of learning and best practice. agenda for openness, developing long- and the civic leadership of business, Local government typically does These are: emerged from OPENCities term vision and strategy for an open city institutions, and non-governmental not control immigration policies and was the structural need that is compelling, and influences the organisations in the city. Higher levels dynamics, labour market regulation, Leadership and Governance to forge greater linkages actions and behaviours of others. of government also play their own universities, major employers or leadership role, as do influentialmedia

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