Programme name
Local Development
Programme objective
Strengthening social and economic cohesion by improving the quality of the environment, entrepreneurship, efficiency of public administration and living standards for all residents (including disadvantaged groups) of small and medium size towns
Programme Area
- Local development and poverty reduction
- Good governance
- Responsible institutions
- Transparency
Programme budget
EUR 117.6 million, including:
- EUR 100 million from the EEA and Norway Grants
- EUR 17.6 million - national contribution
Programme Operator
Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy (MFiPR)*
*Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy was created on November 15, 2019 by transforming the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development
Donor Programme Partners*
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities / Kommunenes Sentralforbund - KS
International Partner Organization:
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
*Donor States of the EEA and Norway Grants: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein
Eligible Beneficiaries
small and medium size towns qualified by the Strategy for Responsible Development among 255 towns with the most difficult socio-economic situation
Project funding
Grant amount
from EUR 3 million up to EUR 10 million per project selected for funding
Project funding level
up to 100% of eligible costs
Partnership at the project level with institutions from the Donor States
It is recommended to implement projects both in cross-sectoral and cross-local-government partnership (domestic and foreign – with units from Donor States).
Method of selecting projects
I. Calls for proposals
Subjects of the calls
- Complex development projects (infrastructural and soft), including actions to strengthen / increase the capacity of local administration, serving the implementation of the town's long-term integrated development goals
Projects should contain multi-faceted and complementary actions. Therefore, it is recommended to take into account activities from many related fields so as to obtain a synergy effect with an increased impact on the local development of a given city. As a minimum, projects must relate to the environmental, social, economic and institutional dimensions. It is also possible (optional) in the project to refer to the dimensions: spatial, financing the city's development, cultural and intelligent city management.
Schedule of calls for proposals under the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021
All calls for proposals have been launched and closed (as of October 2022).
- The first stage of the call ended on July 22, 2019 – 55 project outlines were selected
- The second stage of the call: January 13 – October 30, 2020 – 54 complete project proposals are currently being prepared, out of which 15 projects will be selected for funding under the Programme
Detailed information about calls for proposals under the Programme
Programme Operator's website (MFiPR)
II. Pre-defined projects
In the frame of the Programme, one pre-defined project is financed in the field of strengthening the broadly understood management capabilities of Polish municipalities.
Project title: Strengthening the capacity of medium and small towns in Poland to implement effective development policies
Project description: The project provides expertise support for cities taking part in the call for proposals, implementation of modern real estate and financial management tools in municipalities, updating strategic documents, etc.
Project promoter: Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy
Donor project partner: Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS)
Polish project partners: Association of Polish Cities, Institute of Urban and Regional Development
International partner organization: OECD
Grant amount: EUR 13 million
More information
Events
1. Signing the agreement on the "Local Development" Programme (March 25, 2019):
2. Conference launching the "Local Development" Programme (April 25, 2019):
- Report on the conference on the website of the EEA and Norway Grants
- Information (in Polish) on the Facebook profile of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy
3. Inauguration of the second stage of the call under the “Local Development” Programme (January 13, 2020):