Second ECoPP Meeting

About the conference

2nd Plenary Meeting of the European Community of Practice on Partnership, 16 February 2023.

In order to further improve the quality of partnership in the implementation of the European funds across Europe and promote the exchange of good practices – in view of Article 18 of the European Code of Conduct on Partnership – the European Commission set up the European community of practice on partnership (ECoPP) 2021-2027. This Community covers not only all Common Provision Regulation funds, but also the CAP Strategic Plans, funded by the EAGF and the EAFRD under the Common Agriculture Policy. This group consists of the programme authorities and members that are mentioned in Article 8 of the CPR 2021-2027.

The community was launched on 26 April 2022 by Ms Elisa Ferreira, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms.

The partnership principle is an intrinsic part of the shared management funds at all levels of their implementation. Therefore, the European Commission will continue the concept of the European Community of Practice on Partnership (ECoPP) for the programming period 2021-2027 and turn it into a genuine forum for practitioners at all levels of the funds’ implementation to exchange good practices.

The tasks of the community shall be to:

• a) facilitate exchange of experience with regard to partnership;

• b) stimulate capacity building;

• c) disseminate relevant outcomes, in particular good practice and innovative approaches;

• d) review the application and functioning of the European Code of Conduct and prepare proposals for its possible update.

The ECoPP operates in the setting of plenary meetings to be held at least once per year. The group shall not exceed 200 members, composed of the following types of organisations: Managing Authorities; regional, local, urban authorities; social and economic partners, Civil Society Organisations, and research organisations and universities. The main activities of the the ECoPP take place in the format of the six sub-groups composed of Managing Authorities and stakeholders, which provide more flexibility and ensure a bottom-up approach in the discussion.

• Sub-group 1: Complementarity of funds: Synergies in partnership approaches among different EU programmes and projects, European regions and governance levels

• Sub-group 2: Co-creating meaningful partnership: Partners as co-designers of strategies, documents, exchanges and feedback mechanisms

• Sub-group 3: Partner selection: Ensuring that the process is transparent, balanced and representative

• Sub-group 4: Stakeholder capacity building: Building the capacity of stakeholders to actively participate in partnership programmes and projects (including support from technical assistance)

• Sub-group 5: Different forms of collaboration: Experiences and insights from other forms of collaboration, including social and civic dialogues, public-private partnerships, networks, consortia, etc.

• Sub-group 6: Partner facilitation: Facilitation of better stakeholder engagement in implementation programmes and projects