What is it?
URBIS is a new dedicated urban investment advisory platform within the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH). URBIS is set up to provide advisory support to urban authorities[1] to facilitate, accelerate and unlock urban investment projects, programmes and platforms. URBIS has been developed in partnership by the European Commission (DG REGIO) and the EIB in the context of the EU One Stop Shop for Cities and in support of the ambitions defined in the EU Urban Agenda.
Existing advisory services are often organised on the basis of specific programmes and specific sectors, whereas urban authorities can require more urban specific and place based advisory support, addressing both city wide investment planning and financing needs for projects as well as integrated urban development programmes comprising a number of smaller projects within a strategic framework. Such an approach often requires an integrated/packaged advisory offer – and this is what URBIS will provide. Other existing advisory programmes, such as JASPERS, ELENA and fi-compass, which are also providing support to urban authorities, will continue to be available.
In its initial phase, URBIS will consist of the following three modules, implemented in parallel:
- Increased awareness raising of existing instruments, programmes, services;
- Tailor-made technical and financial advice to cities, and
- Exploring innovative financing approaches for city investments
It will thus simplify access to existing advisory programmes and services and also address some of the current gaps in the provision of advisory support. To do this, URBIS is resourced by a specially created task force within the European Investment Advisory Hub, which will work with interested urban authorities[2] on eligible advisory support assignments. URBIS will build upon existing EIB advisory support packages including the local presence of EIB in Member States and technical assistance programmes focussed on municipalities like ELENA.
This service will be provided in line with the current EIAH pricing policy (where currently public sector promoters receive support free of charge).
The Commission and the EIB will evaluate the initial phase in the second half of 2018, providing its assessment and recommendations for a potential continuation and/or scaling up.
What can it do?
URBIS will provide support in three key areas.
Increased awareness raising
The already established One-Stop-Shop for Cities of the Europa website remains the main entry point for cities to find all relevant information on EU initiative, regulation, knowledge, funding possibilities or networks. It is envisaged to be further developed to include a guide assisting cities in finding the appropriate EU programme/advisory service to prepare, develop and implement their projects.
To further spread knowledge among cities and to help them share best practice (peer to peer) in relation to investment, all relevant initiatives and networks will be used, including for example the Urban Development Network, JASPERS Networking Platform, URBACT, CIVITAS, Member States expert group on Urban mobility, Covenant of Mayors, CEMR, Eurocities, ICLEI, Polis and fi-compass.
Types of tailor made advice
- Support for developing/improving a city's investment strategy by advice in strategic planning and tailoring, prioritising and optimising investment programmes/ projects to meet the goals of urban development strategies
- Provide an assessment of the existing and potential project pipeline and prioritising key projects, and options analysis of urban investments
- Technical analysis on specific projects at most stages of the project cycle,
- Advice to enhance the quality of investments (e.g. building up positive components) or their bankability (e.g. strengthening credit quality). Where cities are considering requesting EIB funding, analyse the possibility to co-finance with EIB funding including potentially through application of EFSI support.
- Helping cities fill specific “gaps” in project/investment programme preparation to bring a project/investment programme to a bankable stage, for example in areas such as financial and economic analysis, demand analysis, review of draft grant applications, quality review of documentation and advice on establishment of a project implementation unit.
- Advise cities in investment-related areas arising from the Urban Agenda partnerships[3] and other relevant initiatives either directly or through the partnerships,
Types of advice to support innovative financing approaches
- Advice on the application (and combined use) of different financing opportunities, including, where appropriate the European Structural and Investment Funds and EIB financing (including under the guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investment - EFSI). Also including the exploration of new areas of urban financing to address the challenges for municipal lending as identified by the cities, such as need for risk capital, financing of municipal companies or financing for social enterprises.
- Market demand/feasibility studies for investment platforms, facilities combining funds, or other financing facilities
- Support in tailoring financing solutions to investment needs, for example through financial structuring support
- Support in relation to structuring and developing combinations of ESIF financing with other financing in particular under EFSI
- Support in the selection of financial intermediaries for investment platforms and other financing facilities
- Development of financing approaches which help reduce the burden on municipal debt.
- Support in setting up implementation arrangements for financing facilities including investment platforms, financial intermediaries, co-investors, etc.
What it cannot do
These are proposed services which will not normally be provided by URBIS:
- Initial preparation of urban development strategies
- Preparation of full scale feasibility studies
- Preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments
- Preparation of grant applications
- Funding of detailed designs
- Procurement of goods and services
- Ex-ante assessment for financial instruments under ESIF
- Procurement and legal advice
- Interpretation of ESIF regulations
Who can request support?
Cities have a vast range and volume of advisory support needs. Urban Investment Advisory Support (URBIS) offers its service to cities of all sizes, small and large and from all regions of Europe. It aims to support cities in different stages of the investment programme/ project life cycle, and across the priority themes of the Urban Agenda. It will prioritise cities seeking support related to an integrated sustainable urban strategy, with a view of developing, financing and implementing urban investment programmes.
The following eligibility criteria will be applied:
- Advice should be given on sustainable urban investments, in particular smart, green and socially inclusive investments as addressed in the EU Urban Agenda, with a planning led approach and building on integrated urban strategies
- The assignment should be investment related
- The support should be for or on behalf of urban authorities (and may involve either public or private entities) in an EU Member State
- Advice will be given for integrated urban investment programmes, with a short to medium term time-horizon, typically 3-5 years. Investment programmes typically group several smaller projects together, covering different urban sectors, which could be financed from various/different sources. Ideally investment programmes given support should have an overall (multi-annual) indicative investment target of at least EUR 20M [4]
- Advice may also be given to stand alone projects of significant size, typically over EUR 20M.
The programme/ project is able to demonstrate additionality for example by:
- helping to address a capacity gap or funding need (URBIS should not be requested where urban authorities have secured access to alternative forms of technical assistance), responding to clear public policy goals or suboptimal investment situations and not being capable of being carried out to the same extent or on the same time frame without the support from URBIS; or
- supporting the use of different funding sources; or
- an activity that is replicable in other urban areas (to the extent that new solutions are developed)
Requests will be assessed against each of these eligibility criteria before an advisory assignment request is taken forward through URBIS.
A number of requests have already been agreed and started, examples of which are described in short case studies in the “Get Inspired” section below.
How to ask for support and what needs to be provided?
Urban authorities wishing to access the service should first submit a request form, describing the proposed assignment, the project, programme or investment platform that it will support and sets out how the assignment will meet the eligibility criteria set out above.
Prior to submitting a request urban authorities should preferably have completed some preparatory documents, such as urban development strategies, feasibility studies, Environmental Impact Assessments and ex-ante assessments. The request should attach the relevant preparatory documents and demonstrate how the advisory support requested from URBIS will help take forward the urban authority’s investment projects or programmes. Projects or programmes deemed appropriate may also then be referred to the European Investment Project Portal.
Urban authorities must confirm with the relevant request that they are not in receipt of other forms of technical assistance for this particular assignment, such as from Technical Assistance support provided through programmes of the European Structural and Investment Funds.
Events
Get inspired
[1] Including urban authorities which administer large and small cities and towns and other urban areas with responsibility for substantial investment through individual projects and programmes;
[2] Including those public entities that contribute to sustainable urban development
[3] The Urban Agenda for the EU brings together EU initiatives on urban development and aims for better funding, better regulation and better data in 12 Priority Themes, i.e. Inclusion of migrants and refugees; Jobs and skills in the local economy; Urban poverty; Housing; Circular economy; Air quality; Climate adaptation; Low carbon energy transition; Sustainable use of land and Nature-Based solutions; Urban mobility; Digital transition; Innovative and responsible public procurement.
[4] Based on past experience, it should be noted that even quite small municipalities in some cases below 50,000 people have investment programmes of this size; also, through investment facilities such as financial instruments intermediated through banks or urban agencies smaller towns even below 10,000 can be reached on an intermediated basis.