If we want to have a chance of achieving the SDGs, we need to get our cities right.
– Maimunah Mohd Sharif (2018), Executive Director of UN-Habitat
This transformation isn’t easily achieved; it requires urgent transnational attention in the fields of urban innovation and technological development. JPI Urban Europe responds to this urgency by committing itself to ambitious intra- and interdisciplinary research on a transnational scale. We function as a gateway and a hub for urban research, facilitating research on a scale which simply could not be carried out by any one nation alone.
JPI Urban Europe – the knowledge hub for urban transitions
JPI Urban Europe was created in 2010 to address the global urban challenges of today with the ambition to develop a European research and innovation hub on urban matters and create European solutions by means of coordinated research.
JPI Urban Europe welcomes anyone with a drive and concern to improve 21st century urban life. Our task is to connect public authorities, civil society, scientists, innovators, business and industry to provide a new environment for research and innovation. We offer experimental zones and long-term research infrastructures in a broad sense. Our mission is to develop knowledge, tools and platforms for dialogue on urban transitions.
We function as a gateway and a hub for urban research, facilitating research on a scale which simply could not be carried out by any one nation alone.
Currently, JPI Urban Europe engages 20 countries out of which 14 are members: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and six are obeservers: Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey, as well as the European Commission. More countries are involved in specific JPI Urban Europe activities.
Members and observers in the JPI Urban Europe Governing Board
Joint programming
Joint Programming is an instrument which was launched by the European Commission in 2008. It was designed for the implementation of the European Research Area (ERA) which aims to promote strategic cooperation between EU Member States and associated countries. The instrument is designed to focus on reducing fragmentation in research whilst simultaneously strengthening research and innovation projects by having European countries and actors voluntarily work together and align their national interests.
This way they can achieve outcomes on a much larger scale, leading to much more complex research results which can be compared and contrasted across nations. Researchers will be able to learn a lot from this cooperation and comparison of different case studies. We will provide the structures and facilities which will make international cooperation in urban research possible.
With 111 funded projects, bringing together 765 beneficiaries from 35 countries throughout Europe and the world, JPI Urban Europe has contracted EUR 116.8 million.
Long-term Strategy
A Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) was developed to identify and agree on research priorities and define joint implementation measures. The SRIA thus aims to consider the diversity of urban and regional research and innovation needs across Europe and also opens the door for small and less RTDI intensive countries to work together in JPI Urban Europe’s activities. To ensure the highest commitment and relevance for all JPI Urban Europe partners, a co-creative process was applied, involving representatives from all stakeholder groups and regions – scientists, funding agencies, cities, business, industry, and civil society.
The Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe is now presenting its updated Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, SRIA 2.0. The agenda will guide the activities and research priorities in the programme until 2026. The launching took place during the policy conference “Urban Transitioning – A Joint Adventure” at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels, February 2019.
Explore JPI Urban Europe by the numbers
JPIs and the European Commission
The website of the European Commission ‘European Research Area’ provides information about Joint Programming Initiatives and related subjects: