City impressions of CIVITAS Initiative are in!
Image by Lucy Russell / ICLEI Europe
Earlier this year, a survey was launched by CIVITAS MUSE, the Coordination and Support Action of the CIVITAS Initiative, to assess how much cities value the CIVITAS Initiative. A lot of useful feedback was received from CIVITAS city members who completed the survey, and this feedback will be referred to continuously in the coming years. Some of the most interesting survey results are summarised below.
In total, 75 city representatives filled in the survey, indicating a 20% response rate when considering the entire city network. Of the respondents, one out of three represented small cities. More than half of the respondents stated that they have a signed City Declaration. Interestingly, 13 respondents mentioned that they did not know whether they have a City Declaration in place.
CIVITAS received a positive overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. When asked as to why they are CIVITAS members, respondents mentioned several reasons: networking and collaboration with other cities, knowledge sharing, conference and capacity building opportunities, political support, information about funding opportunities and project calls.
As for the different support mechanisms CIVITAS offers, conferences and capacity building workshops were highlighted as most appreciated. Policy support was less used. Respondents are indicated that they would appreciate, among other things, more information about funding opportunities and matchmaking with innovative suppliers. Finally, nearly half of the respondents mentioned that they would like to network more often, especially with other similar cities and the European Commission.
For more information about the results of this survey please contact Sanne Vanderstraeten (sanne [dot] vanderstraeten [at] mobiel21 [dot] be).
Author: Mobiel21
