EU Urban Transformation & Project Management: Deeper Literature Review and State-of-the-Art Analysis

EU Urban Transformation & Project Management Deeper Literature Review and State-of-the-Art Analysis Prepared for: Nataliia Yehorchenkova and Oleksii Yehorchenkov Date: September 21, 2025 Executive Summary • EU urban policy has consolidated around mission-oriented, place-based governance: the New Leipzig Charter (2020), Urban Agenda for the EU, Cohesion Policy 2021–2027 (incl. the 8% ERDF earmark for sustainable urban development), and the European Urban Initiative (EUI). • The Cities Mission (112 ‘Mission Cities’) with NetZeroCities as platform marks a stepchange: Climate City Contracts, investment plans, and the EU Mission Label are creating pipeline discipline and attracting blended finance. • Digital interoperability has matured via Living ‑ in.EU ’ s Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs Plus v7.5/v8.0), enabling replication of solutions across cities and supporting digital twins, data spaces, and open APIs. • Yet implementation gaps persist: (a) pilot ‑ to ‑ scale lock ‑ in ( ‘ projectification ’ ), (b) fragmented procurement and vendor lock ‑ in, (c) capacity constraints in small/medium cities, and (d) weak benefits realisation and equity metrics in programme dashboards. • PM² offers a pragmatic baseline for public ‑ sector project/programme/portfolio governance. When paired with benefits management and MIMs ‑ aligned procurements, it can translate mission goals into durable, institutionalised outcomes. 1. Methodology & Scope Cohesion Policy 2021–2027 hard-wires an urban lens into EU funding by requiring that at least 8% of each Member State’s ERDF allocation be devoted to sustainable urban development strategies selected and steered by cities themselves under Article 11, thereby moving decisionmaking closer to place-based portfolios (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX%3A02021R1058-20241224). Framing this shift, the New Leipzig Charter sets out an integrated vision of the just, green and productive city, and it reaffirms multi-level cooperation as a guiding principle for urban governance, with ministers explicitly endorsing this approach in November 2020 ( https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/downloads/EN/eu-presidency/gemeinsameerklaerungen/new-leipzig-charta-2020.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8 ). That cooperation is operationalised through the Urban Agenda for the EU, where thematic partnerships bring cities, Member States and the Commission together to co-produce “Better Regulation, Better Funding and Better Knowledge,” ensuring that urban needs are reflected in policy and implementation ( https://commission.europa.eu/eu-regional-and-urbandevelopment/topics/cities-and-urban-development/urban-agenda-eu_en ). Complementing these governance and funding foundations, the European Urban Initiative (EUI) functions as both a laboratory and a capacity engine: it carries an ERDF budget of about €450 This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U million in 2021–2027 and, through its Innovative Actions, co-finances up to 80% of project costs with grants up to €5 million to test transferable solutions and prepare their scaling and transfer (https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/whats-new/newsroom/16-03-2023-eu-cohesion-policycommission-launches-the-european-urban-initiative_en). From a delivery standpoint, EU public-sector teams can translate these ambitions into practice using the Commission’s PM² methodology and its PM²-Agile extension - guidance designed to introduce agile practices while maintaining enterprise-level governance and compliance - alongside PRINCE2 7, which explicitly incorporates incremental, agile and interactive delivery methods to increase tailoring and adaptability in modern portfolios ( https://pm2.europa.eu/index_en ). 2. EU Policy Architecture & Instruments (What’s new, what’s binding) Cohesion Policy 2021–2027 makes the urban dimension binding by requiring that at least 8% of each Member State’s ERDF be allocated to sustainable urban development selected and steered by cities under Article 11; the law also links this to the territorial tools defined in the Common Provisions Regulation - implemented “in one or more of the forms referred to in Article 28” (i.e., Integrated Territorial Investments and CommunityLed Local Development, among others), which is how many cities operationalise integrated, place-based portfolios (urban-initiative.eu, eur-lex.europa.eu). Framing this evolution, the New Leipzig Charter (2020) sets out the just–green–productive city paradigm and re-affirms multi-level cooperation; its implementation pathway runs through the Urban Agenda for the EU, where thematic partnerships co-produce Better Regulation, Better Funding, and Better Knowledge across domains from housing and air quality to circular economy and digital transition (bmi.bund.de). Complementing the regulatory backbone, the European Urban Initiative (EUI) acts as both laboratory and capacity engine: it carries a total ERDF budget of ~€450 million (2021–2027) and - via EUI–Innovative Actions - provides up to 80% co-financing with grants up to €5 million to test transferable solutions that can later be scaled and replicated; EUI also explicitly builds on the legacy of Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) by strengthening city-led innovation and the sustainability/replicability of results (urban-initiative.eu) For delivery, municipalities can safely run hybrid/agile execution while preserving public-sector accountability: use the Commission’s PM²-Agile extension to plug sprints, backlogs, and ceremonies into PM² gates and artefacts (Business Case, Benefits Register), and draw on PRINCE2 7’s updates - which explicitly incorporate incremental/agile delivery, a central people element, and stronger tailoring for digital/data and sustainability - when vendor ecosystems and iterative development are prominent. 3. The Cities Mission: Labels, Investment Plans, and the Financing Gap The Cities Mission positions 112 cities (100 in the EU and 12 in associated countries) as early climateneutrality frontrunners by 2030, using them as testbeds to help all European cities follow by 2050; this framing is explicit in the Commission’s mission description and the NetZeroCities mission portal (https://research-andinnovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizoneurope/eu-missions-horizon-europe/climate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en). At the core are Climate City Contracts (CCC) - living documents that combine 2030 commitments, a multi-year investment plan, and broad stakeholder mandates; when a city’s CCC and investment plan meet the mission’s credibility tests, the Commission awards an EU Mission Label that “unlocks” finance pathways by connecting cities to the Climate City Capital Hub (a platform focused on crowding-in private capital) and to an EIB lending envelope dedicated to Mission-labelled cities (currently €2 billion), alongside tailored EIB Advisory support (https://netzerocities.eu/climate-city-contract/) External finance analyses accompanying the Hub’s launch estimate the aggregate investment need at roughly €650 billion by 2030 across Mission Cities - an order of magnitude that underscores why de-risking and blended-finance structures are central to the Mission’s implementation (https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/eubacks-650-billion-euro-plan-help-cities-reach-net-zero-by-2030-2024-06-25). The Mission Label has rolled out in waves, accelerating pipeline maturation: 10 cities were labelled in October 2023, 23 in This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U March 2024, 20 in October 2024, and 39 more on May 7, 2025 - bringing the total to 92/112 labelled by May 2025 and signalling to lenders/investors that cities have credible action and investment plans (https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/european-commissionawards-eu-mission-label-39-new-cities-2025-05-07_en). From a delivery standpoint, municipalities can treat the Mission Label as a programme-level gate: use PM² (EC) with the PM²-Agile extension to run iterative delivery (sprints/backlogs, increment reviews) within stage-gate governance tied to the CCC’s benefits and investment milestones; where contractor ecosystems and digital products dominate, PRINCE2 7’s updated guidance on integrating agile and digital practices supports hybrid execution while maintaining publicsector accountability (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ed85debf-decc-11eb-895a01aa75ed71a1/language-en ). 4. Digital Enablers & Interoperability-by-Design (MIMs, Data Spaces, Digital Twins) Across the EU, “digital enablers” are shifting cities from isolated smart-city pilots to interoperable, scalable platforms. The Living-in.EU MIMs Plus specifications (v7.5/v8.0) define a minimal-but-sufficient set of capabilities - context information management, shared data models, open APIs, and governance - to make systems talk to each other across departments and vendors (https://livingin.eu/sites/default/files/files/mims-plus-specification-7.5.pdf). Built with and alongside the global OASC MIMs, MIMs Plus adapts these mechanisms to the European policy and standards context, keeping MIMs and MIMs Plus in active dialogue (https://oascities.org/minimal-interoperability-mechanisms). In practice, adopting MIMs Plus reduces vendor lock-in, simplifies integration, and lowers costs, because cities can demand portable data and documented interfaces in procurement - an intention stated directly in the MIMs Plus guidance and commitment notes (https://living-in.eu/sites/default/files/files/approved-mimsplus_li.eu_v6.0.docx_1.pdf). These building blocks underpin emerging data spaces and local digital twins (LDTs). The European Data Space for Smart Communities (DS4SSCC) provides governance and technical blueprints for cross-sector data sharing among public authorities and their providers, and is now moving through deployment under the Digital Europe Programme (https://www.ds4sscc.eu/). On the digitaltwin side, the European Commission’s LDT initiative explicitly targets planning and operations - e.g., mobility, energy, climate adaptation - with cities applying twins to transport design, energy scenarios, and 15-minutecity assessments (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/smart-cities-and-communities). Technically, MIM1 (Context Information Management) is commonly implemented via the ETSI NGSI-LD standard, which ETSI describes as an API “of choice” for accessing digital-twin data; ETSI guidance further details how NGSI-LD models and APIs represent and operate twins across urban domains (https://www.etsi.org/committee/cim). Geospatial alignment for twins is addressed by MIM7, which bridges the OGC/INSPIRE geospatial ecosystem with NGSI-LD entities so that 3D/geo data and sensor context can be combined in city twins and urban platforms (https://www.e-prostor.gov.si/fileadmin/Inspire/dogodki/03_01-Slovenia_inspire_8th_November_2022.pdf). Taken together, a MIMs-by-design approach - written into tenders and platform roadmaps - creates a vendorneutral foundation for replication and scale (mobility, buildings/energy, planning), while DS4SSCC and LDT actions provide the European policy and funding scaffolding to operationalise those capabilities in real services (https://interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu/collection/portal/document/minimalinteroperability-mechanisms-plusmims-plus-living-ineu-technical-specifications). 5. Project, Programme & Portfolio Management in Cities (PM² and PRINCE2 7th) Project, Programme & Portfolio Management in Cities (PM² and PRINCE2 7th, with Agile) For municipal organisations, the European Commission’s PM² offers an auditable, public-sector-ready baseline with clear governance roles (e.g., Project Owner, Steering Committee), phase/decision gates, and core artefacts such as the Business Case and Benefits Register - and it is explicitly published as a family of methods covering Project, Programme, Portfolio, and PM²-Agile so cities can lift governance to the level where urban transformation actually happens (https://pm2.europa.eu/index_en). The Commission’s companion guides extend PM² to Programme Management (boards/charters, benefits-led oversight across multiple projects) and to Portfolio Management (prioritisation, capacity/funding allocation, aggregate This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U risk/benefits tracking), giving municipalities a coherent line of sight from policy intent to delivery (https://pm2.europa.eu/pm2-methodologies/pm2-programme-management_en). The most recent PM² guide refresh also introduces appendices on sustainability, data protection, IT security and UX, aligning project assurance with contemporary public-sector requirements (https://pm2.europa.eu/news/pm2-projectmanagement-guide-v31-now-available-2023-12-18_en). In parallel, PRINCE2 7 updates strengthen peoplecentred leadership, tailoring, and digital/data & sustainability guidance; crucially, PRINCE2 7 positions the method as delivery-agnostic, making it straightforward to operate predictive, agile or hybrid approaches inside a common governance framework (https://www.peoplecert.org/products/prince2certification-family). Operationally, we recommend a Mission → Programme → Portfolio → Projects cascade: mission charters (e.g., climate-neutrality commitments) drive benefits-led programmes; portfolios balance resources, risks and interdependencies; and projects deliver increments under stage-gate control. PM² supplies the boards, roles and artefacts at each level; programme boards own the Benefits Register and equity-sensitive KPIs, while portfolio dashboards expose progress, risk and benefit realisation for public accountability (https://pm2.europa.eu/pm2-methodologies/pm2-programme-management_en). To add agile without losing compliance, use the Commission’s PM²-Agile extension to plug sprints, product backlogs, reviews and retrospectives into PM² governance - explicitly designed to “introduce Agile practices while maintaining enterprise awareness and compliance ” (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ed85debfdecc-11eb-895a-01aa75ed71a1/language-en). In practice, align quarterly PM² gate reviews with every two or three sprint cycles; treat the product backlog as a controlled PM² artefact linked to the Business Case and Benefits Register; and require “definition-of-done” evidence at each gate (including accessibility, security and data-governance checks). Where supplier ecosystems and digital products dominate, PRINCE2 7’s delivery-agnostic stance helps teams tailor hybrid patterns while keeping a single, auditable governance layer (https://www.peoplecert.org/news-and-announcements/2023/PRINCE2%207%20- %20A%20Process%20of%20Evolution ). 6. Evidence Gaps & Risks (Deep Dive) Pilot-to-Scale (“Projectification”). Many EU-funded urban innovations still stall at pilot stage: evaluations of Horizon 2020 “Lighthouse” projects found limited replication, weak business models, and insufficient plans for long-term operation—classic symptoms of projectification rather than transformation. Remedy: elevate governance from projects to programmes with a PM² Programme Board, lifecycle costing, and an adoption/operations plan agreed at gate reviews; where applicable, use the EU Mission Label as a programme-level gate that signals credibility to financiers and anchors a multiyear pipeline linked to the city’s Climate City Contract (https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/sr2023-24). Capacity in Small/Medium Cities. Smaller municipalities face thin in-house expertise for due diligence, procurement, and benefits tracking—an issue flagged across Cohesion Policy beneficiaries and Urban Agenda actions (e.g., language and professionalisation barriers for local procurers). Remedy: pool services across municipalities; build an “Urban PM Academy” for PM², procurement, and data engineering; and use EU platforms that provide structured support and peer learning (URBACT capacity-building; NetZeroCities knowledge and city-guide services) (https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/building-beneficiary-capacity-under-eu-cohesionpolicy_c2efa2e2-en/full-report/understanding-the-beneficiaries-of-european-union-cohesionpolicy_7ff5c795.html). Digital Lock-in & Interoperability. Non-standard data models and closed APIs keep cities dependent on single vendors and complicate replication. Remedy: embed Living-in.EU MIMs Plus requirements in all ICT tenders (context information management, shared data models, open APIs, governance), use the official procurement support notes when drafting clauses, and publish a city data-model catalogue to enforce portability and reuse across departments and suppliers (https://living-in.eu/). Benefits Realisation & Equity. Reporting still skews to outputs, while distributional impacts are undermeasured; climate-risk and environmental-inequality briefings show that vulnerable groups often bear disproportionate burdens and can be overlooked in adaptation and implementation. Remedy: maintain This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U a programme-level Benefits Register with equity-sensitive KPIs (e.g., neighbourhood heat exposure, energy-poverty reduction) and review them alongside budget/risk on a public dashboard; align indicators with EU climate-risk and environmental-equity evidence so that “who benefits?” is tracked, not assumed (https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/sr-2023-24). 7. Case Vignettes from Recent EU Actions Košice (Slovakia) — EUI-IA Call 3 (2025). Košice’s SAM-SUD project targets a large stock of vacant or under-used public buildings and the shortage of fit-for-purpose premises for social, cultural and communal services. The city will use AI-enabled tools (NextUse AI, AZGARD), integrated digital systems and community engagement to accelerate adaptive reuse into a portfolio of sustainable, multifunctional assets, with an initial pilot at Hlavná 57. The approved ERDF budget is €4,870,894.08, within the EUI-IA rules of up to 80% co-financing and ≤€5 million per project; EUI explicitly selected the Call 3 winners for their transfer potential across EU cities (https://www.urban-initiative.eu/news/discover-20-selected-projects-third-eui-innovativeactions-call). Lyon, Lisbon, Malmö, Seville, Florence — Mission Labels (2024–2025). These five cities are among the Mission-labelled cohort under the EU Cities Mission: the Commission’s March 2024 batch included Malmö, Lisbon, Florence, Marseille and Lyon, while Seville was also confirmed in that wave; the October 2024 and May 2025 rounds expanded the labelled group further (https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/new-group-20-citiesreceives-eu-mission-label-their-efforts-towards-climate-neutrality-2024-10-08_en). Research and innovation The Mission Label links each city’s Climate City Contract (CCC) and investment plan to structured finance pathways: access to the Climate City Capital Hub (set up June 2024 to crowd-in private capital) and EIB support, including advisory and a €2 billion lending envelope earmarked for Missionlabelled cities. The Mission’s overall investment need to 2030 has been estimated at ~€650 billion across the 112 Mission Cities, underscoring why the Label functions as a bankability signal and programmelevel gate that accelerates pipeline maturation (https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-financereporting/eu-backs-650-billion-euro-plan-help-cities-reach-net-zero-by-2030-2024-06-25/). 8. Action Agenda for Municipal Leaders (PM²-Aligned, Agile-Enabled) 1) Stand up a City Mission Programme Board that links political leadership, finance, utilities and delivery units, and adopt PM² roles and decision gates across the cascade. Use Programme and Portfolio boards to take investment decisions, manage interdependencies, and own the Business Case and Benefits Register; escalate only the few decisions that require political steering. This is directly supported by the Commission’s PM² family (Project, Programme, Portfolio) and the v3.1 refresh that adds assurance lenses (sustainability, data protection, IT security, UX). For agile execution under public-sector governance, plug in PM²-Agile (hybrid PM² + sprints/backlogs) and, where vendor ecosystems are large, align tailoring with PRINCE2 7’s delivery-agnostic guidance (https://pm2.europa.eu/index_en). 2) Publish a Mission Benefits Register with 8–12 equity-sensitive KPIs and make them public via an open dashboard fed by operational data (transport, energy, environment). Use the Cities Mission architecture—Climate City Contracts (commitments, action and investment plans)—and the NetZeroCities indicator framework as your reference set so that benefits tracking is consistent with Mission Label expectations and finance due-diligence (https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/fundingopportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/climateneutral-and-smart-cities_en). 3) Mandate “interoperability-by-design.” Require Living-in.EU MIMs Plus conformance in all digital tenders—at minimum: context information management, shared data models, open APIs, and governance—to avoid lock-in and make later replication and digital-twin use straightforward. Reference OASC MIMs (the “minimal-but-sufficient” capabilities) in technical schedules and ask bidders to show how their solutions meet NGSI-LD/semantic data and API portability commitments. Maintain a public city datamodel catalogue to guide suppliers. Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities+3living-in.eu+3livingin.eu+3 4) For every pilot, document the “institutionalisation route.” Before grant signature, decide whether the outcome becomes a city service, sits in a municipal company, or moves to a PPP/concession—and attach lifecycle costs and funding sources. For capital structuring, align with available EU instruments: This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U ERDF/EUI-Innovative Actions (up to 80% co-finance, ≤€5 m ERDF) for testing/transfer; use the Mission Label to access the Climate City Capital Hub (private-capital engagement) and EIB support, including the €2 billion lending envelope for labelled cities and EIB Advisory. For revenue or aggregation needs, explore InvestEU and EIB investment-platform models that blend EU, national and private funds (https://livingin.eu/sites/default/files/files/mims-plus-specification-7.5.pdf). 5) Build capacity with an “Urban PM Academy” track. Combine PM² / PM²-Agile foundations with modules on procurement, local digital twins, and co-creation. Reuse EU offers rather than building from scratch: PM² Essentials/PM²-Agile courses (Interoperable Europe Academy), URBACT’s strategic procurement curriculum, and NetZeroCities’ portal for peer learning and tools. For the built-environment skills gap, link staff to the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Academy hubs and materials. Pair small/medium municipalities with a Mission City through structured twinning/mentoring (https://pm2.europa.eu/trainings_en?prefLang=hr). 6) Make agile the default at delivery level—under PM² gates. Timebox delivery in sprints with backlog-driven scope; align gate reviews (e.g., quarterly) to assess value, risk, benefits evidence, and compliance (accessibility, security, data governance). Keep the backlog as a controlled PM² artefact linked to the Business Case and Benefits Register; insist on “definition-of-done” proof per increment. Where multisupplier digital product teams are involved, apply PRINCE2 7 tailoring (people, sustainability, digital/data) to keep a single, auditable governance layer while teams iterate (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/- /publication/ed85debf-decc-11eb-895a-01aa75ed71a1/language-en). Acknowledge This work was co-funded by the European Union under the projects PM4U No. 101126659-PM4UERASMUS-JMO-2023-HEI-TCH-RSCH and the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the projects No. 09I03-03-V01-00024 and No. 09I03-03-V01-00025. . References Core EU policy & funding (binding/legal + programmes) • Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 on the ERDF & Cohesion Fund (consolidated; see Article 11 on sustainable urban development) — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1058/2024-12-24 • The New Leipzig Charter (2020) — https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/downloads/EN/publikationen/the-new-leipzig-charter.pdf • Urban Agenda for the EU – overview (European Commission) — https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/themes/urban-development/agenda_en • Urban Agenda for the EU – official portal — https://www.urbanagenda.urban-initiative.eu/ • Ljubljana Agreement (2021) — https://www.urbanagenda.urbaninitiative.eu/sites/default/files/2025-05/Action%20Plan%20UAPP%2020252028%2002042025%20-%20final.pdf (Action Plan 2025–2028) and https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information-sources/publications/brochures/2021/ljubljanaagreement_en (brochure) • Pact of Amsterdam (2016) — https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/themes/urbandevelopment/agenda/pact-of-amsterdam.pdf European Urban Initiative (EUI) & Innovative Actions • EUI – About Innovative Actions — https://www.urban-initiative.eu/eui-innovative-actions • EUI – Programme overview — https://www.urban-initiative.eu/about • EUI budget indication (ERDF ~€450m, 2021–2027) — https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2021/10/Laurila_EWRC_urban_integrated_approaches_CP_EUI-v09102021.pdf • EUI IA funding rate/ceiling (up to 80% ERDF, ≤€5m) — https://www.uiainitiative.eu/sites/default/files/2022-05/JD_Project_officer_June22.pdf • 3rd EUI-IA Call: 20 projects selected (incl. Košice) — https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/whats-new/newsroom/31-03-2025-european-urbaninitiative-20-innovative-projects-selected-to-transform-cities-across-europe_en This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U • EUI-IA 3rd Call: selected projects list — https://www.urban-initiative.eu/calls-proposals/third-callproposals-innovative-actions/selected-projects EU Mission: 100 Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities (Cities Mission) • Official mission page — https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/fundingopportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizoneurope/climate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en • Commission news: 39 new Mission Labels (7 May 2025) — https://research-andinnovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/european-commissionawards-eu-mission-label-39-new-cities-2025-05-07_en • Climate City Capital Hub (Commission press release, 25 Jun 2024) — https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_3482 • Capital Hub (NetZeroCities) — https://netzerocities.eu/capital-hub/ • Mission Cities list/overview (NetZeroCities) — https://netzerocities.eu/mission-cities/ • Investment needs (~€650bn to 2030; news coverage) — https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/eu-backs-650-billioneuro-plan-help-cities-reach-net-zero-by-2030-2024-06-25/ Finance instruments (EIB, InvestEU) linked to Mission Labels • EIB lending envelope (€2bn) for Mission-Label cities (project page) — https://www.eib.org/en/projects/pipelines/all/20240437 • Commission press: EIB €2bn envelope confirmation — https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_3482 • EIB Advisory Hub explainer — https://advisory.eib.org/stories/cities-path-to-climateneutrality • Commission news (Labels page mentions €2bn envelope) — https://research-andinnovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/european-commissionawards-eu-mission-label-39-new-cities-2025-05-07_en Climate City Contracts (CCC), indicators & investment plans • Climate City Contracts (overview) — https://netzerocities.eu/climate-city-contract/ • NZC Comprehensive Indicator Framework (D2.4) — https://netzerocities.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2023/11/D2.4-Comprehensive-indicator-framework_v3.pdf • NZC Comprehensive Indicator Framework (update D2.14, 2025) — https://netzerocities.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/D2.14-Comprehensive-IndicatorFramework.pdf • Investment Plan Framework (D7.4) — https://netzerocities.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2023/11/D7.4-Investment-Plan-Framework.pdf • City Finance Framework (2025) — https://netzerocities.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2025/09/SGA2-NZC-D2.11-City-Finance-Framework.pdf • CCC “Quick Reads” (investment component) — https://netzerocities.app/QR-CCC • Example Investment Plan — The Hague (EN) — https://denhaag.raadsinformatie.nl/document/13931842/1/RIS318170_Bijlage_ClimateInves tmentPlan_TheHague • Example Investment Plan — Eindhoven–Helmond (NL) — https://www.helmond.nl/Media%20Helmond.nl/Documenten%20Helmond/Bewoners/Duur zaamheid/Klimaatmissie/CCC%20Eindhoven-Helmond%20- %20Climate%20Investment%20Plan%20-%20FINAL.pdf • Example Investment Plan — Riga (EN) — https://rea.riga.lv/wpcontent/uploads/2025/06/CCC_Riga_Investment_plan_v.2_EN-08Jan2025.pdf Digital enablers: MIMs, Data Spaces, Digital Twins • Living-in.EU MIMs Plus Specification v7.5 (PDF) — https://livingin.eu/sites/default/files/files/mims-plus-specification-7.5.pdf • Living-in.EU MIMs Plus Specification v8.0 (2025) — https://livingin.eu/sites/default/files/files/mims-plus-v.8_1.pdf This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U • Living-in.EU Technical commitments / downloads — https://livingin.eu/groups/commitments/technical • OASC: Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (overview) — https://oascities.org/minimalinteroperability-mechanisms/ • Interoperable Europe portal explainer on MIMs Plus — https://interoperableeurope.ec.europa.eu/collection/portal/document/minimal-interoperability-mechanisms-plusmimsplus-living-ineu-technical-specifications • Common European Data Spaces (overview) — https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/dataspaces • European Data Space for Smart Communities (DS4SSCC) — https://www.ds4sscc.eu/ • Local Digital Twins (EC library page) — https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/local-digitaltwins-forging-cities-tomorrow • ETSI GR CIM 017 (NGSI-LD for Digital Twins) — https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gr/CIM/001_099/017/01.01.01_60/gr_CIM017v010101p.p df • ETSI GR CIM 020 (NGSI-LD smart city platform guidelines) — https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gr/CIM/001_099/020/01.01.01_60/gr_CIM020v010101p.p df Governance, project/programme/portfolio management (incl. Agile) • PM² Methodology – Resources hub (EC) — https://pm2.europa.eu/resources_en • PM² Guide v3.1 (Publications Office) — https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/- /publication/97cc2f12-c648-11ee-95d9-01aa75ed71a1 • PM² Guide v3.0.1 (Publications Office) — https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/- /publication/b8458be2-821d-11eb-9ac9-01aa75ed71a1/language-en • PM²-Agile Guide v3.0.1 (mirror PDF) — https://www.nfp4health.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2023/11/the-pm%C2%B2-agile-guide-3-0-1-NO0221822ENN.pdf • Interoperable Europe Academy – PM²-Agile Essentials — https://academy.europa.eu/courses/pm-a1-pm-agile-essentials • PM² trainings (incl. Agile Essentials) — https://pm2.europa.eu/trainings_en • PRINCE2® 7 overview (PeopleCert) — https://www.peoplecert.org/products/prince2certification-family • PRINCE2® 7 Foundation page (PeopleCert) — https://www.peoplecert.org/browsecertifications/project-programme-and-portfolio-management/PRINCE2-2/PRINCE2-7foundation-3579 • PRINCE2® 7 announcement / what’s new — https://www.peoplecert.org/news-andannouncements/new-prince2-7 Evidence gaps, procurement & replication • European Court of Auditors — Special Report 24/2023 “Smart cities – Tangible solutions, but fragmentation challenges their wider adoption” — https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/sr-2023-24 • Commission replies to ECA SR 24/2023 — https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECAReplies/COMReplies-SR-2023-24/COM-Replies-SR-2023-24_EN.pdf • URBACT Knowledge Hub — Strategic Public Procurement — https://urbact.eu/knowledgehub/procurement • Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative & Responsible Public Procurement — https://uapublicprocurement.eu/ and Action Plan 2025–2028 (PDF) — https://www.urbanagenda.urban-initiative.eu/sites/default/files/202505/Action%20Plan%20UAPP%202025-2028%2002042025%20-%20final.pdf Case vignettes • Košice featured in EUI-IA 3rd Call (repurposing vacant public buildings) — https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/whats-new/newsroom/31-03-2025-european-urbaninitiative-20-innovative-projects-selected-to-transform-cities-across-europe_en This course has been developed within framework of Erasmus+ Jean Monnet project PM4U • EUI-IA 3rd Call: selected projects page — https://www.urban-initiative.eu/callsproposals/third-call-proposals-innovative-actions/selected-projects Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.