The 7th and last Project Meeting and Steering Committee Meeting of the e-smartec project was held physically, back-to-back with the project’s Final Dissemination Event, on 23 November 2022 and hosted by POLIS Network in Brussels.
The last Project Meeting of e-smartec featured a complete update from the regions as well as the communications results of the project, given that it is coming to an end with the finalisation of the regional Actions Plans.
Here is the update from North Limburg, Lazio, and the Region of Central Macedonia.
Read PART I here.
North Limburg
The AP of North Limburg revolves around Trendsportal as a Policy Instrument (new policy instrument).
The first action of the AP focuses on capacity building for municipalities, seen as a great opportunity for exchanging experiences, knowledge and achievements. Stakeholders from the 8 regional municipalities, stakeholders from other parts of the province of Limburg are also involved. A good partnership has grown between Zuid-Limburg bereikbaar, Roermond bereikbaar and Trendsportal.
The second action relates to location-independent working. There is € 50.000 of funding for this action. Currently, there are no scans performed, as implementation took more time than estimated. The work during e-smartec phase 2 mainly focused on co-designing the location independent working, which allows policymakers to compare the needs of employers and employees. Implementation will take place after the project.
The third action aims at enhancing the regional SUMP with marketing techniques, as during the e-smartec project the regional SUMP (Trendsportal) was reviewed.
Lazio Region
For Lazio, a SUMP with a sprinkle of cycling is defined as the new Policy Instrument. The main objective of the AP is to increase the share of people using micromobility, by promoting cycling. This includes the development of the RomaCorreinBici app, whose users are currently a little less than 4,000.
Lazio also launched a survey for cycling that received 332 questionnaires and plans to develop an Urban Cycling Mobility Plan - Biciplan.
Region of Central Macedonia (RCM)
The Action Plan of RCM concerns 2 actions:
Action 1 is related to the enhancement of SUMPs in the Region through the existing SUMP Competence Centre of RCM. GM presented the enhanced SUMP Competence Centre (initially developed in REFORM project), which now incorporates a dedicated functionality for participatory planning methods and techniques. This includes indicative mapping of regional stakeholders, accompanied with practical advice on how to engage them in SUMP processes; toolbox with practical material for the involvement of bodies and citizens during the SUMP cycle; roadmap regarding the use of appropriate marketing techniques in SUMP cycle.
Acton 2 relates to the establishment of awareness/encouragement activities to promote sustainable school mobility of students. Estimated costs are approximately 20,000 – 30,000 euros yearly (secured funding for 2 years) for the implementation of an awareness mobility action (combining both theory and practice sessions). An online meeting will be also held with the participation of interested Municipalities and relevant stakeholders (such as the public transport authority, police, etc.). For the first year, the event will take place in the regional Unit of Thessaloniki, but for the years to follow, the other units of the Region of Central Macedonia will be reached (8 in total).
