The EU-funded project “Research and knowledge building on sustainable infrastructure projects through stakeholder engagement” is happy to announce a second workshop under the title:

What guidance is needed to meet the current challenges for sustainable public infrastructure projects?

on Monday 30th of May 2022 from 10:00am – 12.30pm.

Please find below the tentative agenda. The event will be organised on the online platform, Zoom. Upon registration, the participant will receive the detailed agenda and the information to connect to the workshop.

For any queries, you are welcome to contact:

Hywel Jones hywel.jones@technopolis-group.com

Carmen Moreno: carmen.moreno@technopolis-group.com

The project is carried out on behalf of the European Commission by Technopolis Group, ICLEI, WAAT, and COWI.

Objectives of the event

The workshop, organised in collaboration with the European Commission, will:

• Present an initial draft of the Guidance being developed in the project

• Collect feedback on contemporary challenges facing the sector

• Exchange on existing practices, challenges, lessons learnt on sustainable infrastructure projects that could be added to the Guidance

• Foster the co-creation of new solutions and recommendations for the Commission’s work on a Guidance on public investment into sustainable infrastructure projects.

Background

Limited administrative capacity, awareness, and sustainability expertise of public administrations at national, regional and local level in Member States are major barriers holding back investment in sustainable infrastructures and environmental protection, which are areas with great potential to attract private investors.

Through this project, the European Commission wishes to develop a Guidance to support national authorities in implementing major infrastructure projects receiving recovery funding subject to public procurement, especially with respect to two contexts:

• The EU Green Deal, including the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (SEIP), aiming to create a comprehensive approach towards investment, and within this, the SPSI

• Public infrastructure projects receiving additional financing under the reinforced EU Budget (Next Generation EU and in particular the Recovery and Resilience Facility) and their contribution to the objectives of a green, digital and resilient Europe.

Further priorities include the professionalisation of public procurers, improving access to procurement markets and increasing transparency, integrity and better data, digitalisation of public procurement and cooperation for public procurement.

The engagement of relevant stakeholders in the preparation of the Guidance is essential to ensure it responds to their needs, and that it is able to sustain and boost its impacts. The Guidance will serve to support the national authorities for implementing major infrastructure projects, which will receive recovery funding subject to public procurement.