The transformative potential of co-governance in the green transition of neighbourhoods

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Policy makers, local administrations and neighbourhood^[1] actors across Europe and beyond have access to evidence-based guidance and recommendations to support public participation in the green transition^[1] of neighbourhoods, including their nature-positive^[3] transformation.
• Co-governance^[1] approaches aligned with NEB help balance interests, power and knowledge asymmetries and adopt more-than-human^[1] approaches at the neighbourhood level; and inform policy, legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks at the national and EU levels.

Scope:

Public participation in the governance of the green transition of neighbourhoods presents an opportunity to improving inhabitant’s quality of life while addressing climate, biodiversity, and pollution challenges. For instance, co-governance may contribute to enhancing representation, legitimacy, transparency and accountability, but also to balancing interests, flattening knowledge hierarchies, fostering inclusion and equity, and building a more balanced human-nature relationship. However, despite robust evidence, the connection between culture and democracy remains underused in co-governance approaches. As platforms for civic participation, cultural institutions and actors can have a key role in fostering engagement and cohesion among diverse participants and communities^[1]. Digital tools (such as AI-supported participatory platforms, open data environments, and interactive modelling systems) can facilitate co-governance by enabling real-time feedback, broader engagement, and evidence-based decision making.

This topic will investigate how co-governance can support a fair green transition in neighbourhoods while also provoking positive changes in society, culture, the arts, the natural environment as well as the public perception and reputation of those neighbourhoods.

Proposals are expected to address all of the following:

• Refine and demonstrate co-governance approaches in at least ten neighbourhoods. The selected neighbourhoods are expected to be located in at least three different Member States and/or Associated Countries, as well as comprise a variety of contexts (i.e. urban, peri-urban and rural areas) and experiences (i.e. neighbourhoods with and without experience in public participation in governance of transition processes).
• Ensure that the co-governance approaches facilitate the inclusive, cultural, environmental and sustainable^[1] development of neighbourhoods by:
  • Giving nature a voice, using more-than-human approaches, and addressing climate, biodiversity, and pollution challenges.
  • Balancing interests, power and knowledge asymmetries among the different neighbourhood actors (e.g. inhabitants, real estate developers, cultural institutions, social economy actors, businesses, etc.).
  • Empowering inhabitants (especially groups in a vulnerable situation and/or marginalised) to actively participate, in the green transition in their neighbourhood.
  • Making use of digital technologies (such as civic tech, open data platforms, other participatory digital tools) for all neighbourhood actors to make participatory processes more inclusive, transparent, accessible and efficient.
  • Engaging cultural actors and making use of informal and local^[3] forms of knowledge systems (such as those embedded in cultural heritage, communities, etc.).
• Evaluate and compare the extent to which the demonstrated co-governance approaches effectively and measurably deliver on the aspects listed under the previous point.
• Based on the evidence collected, produce guidance and recommendations for policy makers and neighbourhood actors on co-governance (including on best practices; the benefits of co-governance for the green transition of neighbourhoods, including their nature-positive transformation and climate resilience, as well as for other levels of governance; administrative, legislative and regulatory changes to facilitate co-governance)

To achieve this, project consortia may provide financial support to public administrations, SMEs, education or research institutions, and other relevant actors (such as not-for profit entities) in the form of Financial Support to Third Parties. Given the type of action and its level of ambition, the amount to be granted to each third party may be a maximum of EUR 150 000 to allow for the demonstration of the co-governance approaches in neighbourhoods.

Proposals are expected to follow a participatory^[1] and transdisciplinary^[1] approach through the integration of different actors and disciplines.

This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH)^[1] disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

Proposals are expected to allocate at least 0.8% of their budget for engaging with the Horizon Europe-funded 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' to share their intermediate and final results, findings and learning, as well as to contribute to impact assessment.

[1] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[2] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[3] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[4] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[5] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[6] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[7] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[8] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[9] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[10] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

[11] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.