RegioStars Awards 2015 Presentation of the finalists Regional and Urban Policy Foreword It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the 17 finalists of the RegioStars Awards 2015. This year’s edition is my first RegioStars Awards since being appointed Commissioner for Regional Policy, and I was amazed by the excellent quality and innovative nature of the many projects that were proposed. For this eighth consecutive edition of the RegioStars Awards, the focus has been specifically put on highlighting achievements which relate to the challenges faced by Europe today. The selected projects showcase the important contribution that the cohesion policy funds make to meeting the targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers The projects you will discover in this brochure should serve as an inspiration for other regions to your questions about the European Union. and cities, and as an indication of the kind of investments we would like to see more of in the Freephone number (*): future. This year’s finalists are model projects when it comes to SME growth, energy efficiency, social inclusion and urban development, and all aim to improve the quality of life of citizens. 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Being a RegioStars finalist not only brings international recognition to the regions and cities (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to selected for their innovative and creative approaches in the use of the European Structural and 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. Investment Funds, but it also serves as a quality label to designate a great project. Finally, I would like to thank the RegioStars Jury, presided over by Lambert van Nistelrooij MEP, for their hard work and dedication in selecting the finalists. Composed of 8 practitioners and academics in their respective fields, this independent group of jurors has come together from all over the EU to use their valuable expertise to select the most innovative and inspiring pro- jects from among the 143 applications received. I hope that these projects will provide great examples to those working with cohesion policy funds across the EU, and I would like to warmly congratulate the managing authorities, project managers and all partners who have been involved in making these projects a success. European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy Communication Ana-Paula Laissy Avenue de Beaulieu, 1 – 1160 Brussels Corina CREŢU Email: [email protected] European Commissioner for Regional Policy Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.htm More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Photos courtesy of European Commission ISBN 978-92-79-49559-5 doi:10.2776/268500 © European Union, 2015 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. Printed in Belgium REGIOSTARS AWARDS 2015 Foreword It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the 17 finalists of the RegioStars Awards 2015. This year’s edition is my first RegioStars Awards since being appointed Commissioner for Regional Policy, and I was amazed by the excellent quality and innovative nature of the many projects that were proposed. For this eighth consecutive edition of the RegioStars Awards, the focus has been specifically put on highlighting achievements which relate to the challenges faced by Europe today. The selected projects showcase the important contribution that the cohesion policy funds make to meeting the targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The projects you will discover in this brochure should serve as an inspiration for other regions and cities, and as an indication of the kind of investments we would like to see more of in the future. This year’s finalists are model projects when it comes to SME growth, energy efficiency, social inclusion and urban development, and all aim to improve the quality of life of citizens. Being a RegioStars finalist not only brings international recognition to the regions and cities selected for their innovative and creative approaches in the use of the European Structural and Investment Funds, but it also serves as a quality label to designate a great project. Finally, I would like to thank the RegioStars Jury, presided over by Lambert van Nistelrooij MEP, for their hard work and dedication in selecting the finalists. Composed of 8 practitioners and academics in their respective fields, this independent group of jurors has come together from all over the EU to use their valuable expertise to select the most innovative and inspiring pro- jects from among the 143 applications received. I hope that these projects will provide great examples to those working with cohesion policy funds across the EU, and I would like to warmly congratulate the managing authorities, project managers and all partners who have been involved in making these projects a success. Corina CREŢU European Commissioner for Regional Policy REGIOSTARS AWARDS 2015 Foreword RegioStars Jury 2015 Lambert VAN NISTELROOIJ Member of the European Parliament President of the Jury In this brochure you will find the descriptions of 17 excellent projects, which have demonstrated the potential of EU funding to address challenges related to competitiveness, social integration and sustainability in European regions in innovative ways. It was truly a pleasure and an honour to be invited to preside over this year’s RegioStars Awards jury. As a politician, it is always an enriching experience to see in practice how regional policy can facilitate innovative solutions by providing funding to local actors so that they can turn their Constantine Karamanis visionary ideas into reality. Darinka Czischke Production and Management I warmly thank the members of the jury for their dedication and excellent work in selecting these Assistant Professor at Engineer for PRAXI Network, finalists from among a large number of very high quality applications. the Faculty of Architecture member of the Enterprise and the Built Environment, Europe Network and chairman It has been an inspirational experience to discuss these projects with the jury members, and it Delft University of Technology of its ICT Sector Group has convinced me that European regions can learn a lot from each other by sharing how they have addressed challenges and fully utilised existing opportunities. The 2015 RegioStars Awards ceremony, during the European Week of Regions and Cities, will be a great moment to put the spotlight on these projects and for the winners and finalists to meet each other and share experiences. Åsa Lindholm Dahlstrand I would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists, and indeed all the applicants, for dem- Ádám Kullmann Professor in Innovation Studies onstrating how much can be achieved with EU funding. Economist and expert at CIRCLE, Lund University and on EU funding visiting professor at Birkbeck, and Roma inclusion University of London Lambert VAN NISTELROOIJ Member of the European Parliament President of the Jury Georgette Mulheir Dirk Otte CEO of Lumos, an interna- Advisor at IWT (Flemish tional organisation, founded Innovation Agency): manager by J.K. Rowling to end the of PhD Grants programme and institutionalisation of children ‘Living Lab’ initiative for the globally by 2050 energy renovation of housing Ana Pinho Architect, Assistant Professor Erik Vermeulen of Urban Regeneration at the Professor of Business and Financial Catholic University of Portugal, Law at Tilburg University and advisor at Augusto Mateus Tilburg Law and Economics Center & Associados and consultant (TILEC) and Senior Counsel for several urban authorities Corporate of Philips (Netherlands) REGIOSTARS AWARDS 2015 REGIOSTARS AWARDS 2015 Foreword RegioStars Jury 2015 Lambert VAN NISTELROOIJ Member of the European Parliament President of the Jury In this brochure you will find the descriptions of 17 excellent projects, which have demonstrated the potential of EU funding to address challenges related to competitiveness, social integration and sustainability in European regions in innovative ways. It was truly a pleasure and an honour to be invited to preside over this year’s RegioStars Awards jury. As a politician, it is always an enriching experience to see in practice how regional policy can facilitate innovative solutions by providing funding to local actors so that they can turn their Constantine Karamanis visionary ideas into reality. Darinka Czischke Production and Management I warmly thank the members of the jury for their dedication and excellent work in selecting these Assistant Professor at Engineer for PRAXI Network, finalists from among a large number of very high quality applications. the Faculty of Architecture member of the Enterprise and the Built Environment, Europe Network and chairman It has been an inspirational experience to discuss these projects with the jury members, and it Delft University of Technology of its ICT Sector Group has convinced me that European regions can learn a lot from each other by sharing how they have addressed challenges and fully utilised existing opportunities. The 2015 RegioStars Awards ceremony, during the European Week of Regions and Cities, will be a great moment to put the spotlight on these projects and for the winners and finalists to meet each other and share experiences. Åsa Lindholm Dahlstrand I would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists,