- Policy Area
- Prosperous and creative cities
Innovation, jobs and culture at the core
Prosperous and creative cities drive local growth by combining entrepreneurship, skills and cultural life. They foster conditions for small businesses, creative industries and innovators to thrive, while strengthening local value chains and job creation. By bringing economic opportunity and cultural creativity together, they support thriving communities.
Key policy areas of action include:
- Local business and innovation: support for small firms, start-ups, innovation hubs and business incubators.
- Skills and job transition: reskilling, apprenticeships and measures for green and digital jobs.
- Culture and creative industries: heritage, creative spaces and cultural entrepreneurship.
- Local investment and finance: access to financial instruments, public-private partnerships and business support services.
- Place-based economic development: local value chains, social economy and measures to boost neighbourhood revitalisation.
On this portal, you can:
- Plan: Shape your strategy with EU policy frameworks for local economy, skills, culture, and innovation.
- Apply: Access information about EU funding opportunities and advisory support for small firms, circular economy projects, skills development and cultural projects.
- Deliver: Use EU toolkits and operational guidance to roll out innovation programmes, training schemes and cultural initiatives.
- Connect: Build partnerships with other cities and stakeholders to boost local enterprise, innovation and culture.
- Learn: Explore success stories, evaluations and lessons from other cities, boosting your own creativity, skills and prosperity.
Plan
“Shape your local strategy or project idea”
→ Access EU policy frameworks, needs assessments, strategy guides, and examples of city action plans.
(For cities starting from planning or project preparation)
The Circular City Centre - C3 is a competence and resource centre led by the European Investment Bank and co-funded by the European Commission as part of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). It offers a Circular City Advisory (CCA) programme and ...
The EIB Climate Adaptation Investment Advisory Platform (ADAPT) is a new initiative developed as part of the EIB Climate Adaptation Plan, with the aim of directly contributing to the objectives of the EU Adaptation Strategy. ADAPT is an advisory platform that ...
The European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC) is an initiative of the EIB, involving the European Commission and many European countries established since 2008 as a unique public sector knowledge platform for public-private partnerships (PPPs). It is also a ...
Apply
“Identify and seize funding and support opportunities”
→ Discover open calls, grants, co-financing tools, technical assistance offers, and practical guides for applications.
(For cities seeking resources to fund their actions)
This annual EU prize recognises cities that have taken outstanding steps to become accessible for persons with disabilities. It focuses on practical improvements in buildings and public spaces; transport and related infrastructure; information and ...
The Affordable Housing initiative supports the renovation of social and affordable housing to improve energy efficiency, create green jobs, and enhance living conditions. It helps local projects access technical expertise, innovation capacity and funding ...
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) helps cities and regions speed up their transition to a circular economy. Funded by Horizon Europe, it supports demonstration projects, project development, and innovative solutions to reduce waste ...
Deliver
“Deploy solutions with hands-on tools and services”
→ Find toolkits, peer-learning initiatives, service offers, and operational support to put plans into action.
(For cities in the rollout or operational phase)
The Affordable Housing initiative supports the renovation of social and affordable housing to improve energy efficiency, create green jobs, and enhance living conditions. It helps local projects access technical expertise, innovation capacity and funding ...
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) helps cities and regions speed up their transition to a circular economy. Funded by Horizon Europe, it supports demonstration projects, project development, and innovative solutions to reduce waste ...
The Circular City Centre - C3 is a competence and resource centre led by the European Investment Bank and co-funded by the European Commission as part of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). It offers a Circular City Advisory (CCA) programme and ...
Connect
“Build partnerships and join networks”
→ Access EU city networks, matchmaking platforms, partnership events, and collaborative opportunities.
(For cities wanting to work with others, scale up, or share experiences)
This annual EU prize recognises cities that have taken outstanding steps to become accessible for persons with disabilities. It focuses on practical improvements in buildings and public spaces; transport and related infrastructure; information and ...
The Citizen Energy Advisory Hub (CEAH) offers support and technical assistance to local authorities, citizens, small firms, small NGOs, third sector bodies, households and energy communities, through project support, capacity building and sharing experience of ...
The CIVITAS Awards recognise cities and individuals for their achievements in mobility across various categories, including bold measures, technical innovation, resilience, stakeholder involvement, and citizen engagement or public participation.
Learn
“Draw lessons from city success stories and evaluations”
→ Explore best practices, city stories, evaluated projects, replication toolkits, and lessons learned.
(For cities improving, replicating, or refining actions)
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) helps cities and regions speed up their transition to a circular economy. Funded by Horizon Europe, it supports demonstration projects, project development, and innovative solutions to reduce waste ...
Clean Energy for EU Islands is a platform which supports Europe’s islands communities in their transition to clean energy, by connecting them with peers and experts, and providing guidance to help develop and advance sustainable projects.
The Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) provides expertise, resources and support to tackle energy poverty and encourage stakeholders, local and regional authorities to promote a fair energy transition. Participants can benefit from direct guidance, learning ...