The strategic vision of the selected policy instrument is as follows: West Region to become a competitive region with a high level of RDI and digitalisation, capable of attracting and capitalising on investments, internally and internationally connected, whose citizens have an increased quality of life and benefit from efficient public services provided by municipalities.
Recognising the importance of cities for regional development, West RP has allocated 570.44 M Euro (half of the Programme’s budget) for integrated investments under Sustainable Urban Development strategies (SUD), in accordance with the Urban Agenda of the EU (Leipzig Charter).
Under PO 5, Priority 7” A region for the citizens”, West RP aims to support development of liveable, smart and modern cities. Interventions will contribute to implementation of the New European Bauhaus. In this specific objective, West RP will support placed-based interventions such as:
• Integrated revitalisation of public spaces: central and historical areas, neighbourhoods, green and blue spaces, bike and pedestrian routes, playgrounds, combining principles like: sustainability, aesthetics, accessibility and territorial and social inclusion.
• Urban regeneration, which aims to reinvent public spaces and buildings and return them to the citizens.
• Innovative investments in cultural heritage and cultural infrastructures.
All the above will involve the community in all stages, in the format of quadruple helix type of cooperation.

“Green Growth Region Kanta-Häme 2022-2025” Regional Development Programme (RDP) is a new way of thinking and doing things, developed in cooperation with key regional players.
RDP´s ambition is to systematically consolidate regional RDI activities and expertise and develop related support infrastructure, leaning on leading businesses and cooperating with the corporate interface. It combines RDI activities; skills and expertise; and infrastructure including housing and living spaces as a working system.
Kanta-Häme RDP contains the region´s S3 strategy. It is based on regional strengths: bio and circular economy, advanced sustainable food system; smart digital services and production processes in renewing business as well as smart, responsible and sustainable design. This is premised on a business-oriented approach, climate objectives and decarbonisation. Green transition will support structural adjustment of the economy and underpin a carbon-neutral welfare society.
FutureECOS focuses on the measure Green Growth Infrastructure and sub-measure New ways of housing, living and working. This measure takes advantage of region’s location, accessibility, cultural heritage and nature as pull factors for diverse forms of housing and living spaces. Opportunities of multi-local living, remote work and affordable housing are possible means to secure regional competitiveness in the context of region´s location between the South-Finnish metropolitan growth centres and growth corridor.

The 2021-27 EU funded Operational Programmes for the Republic of Croatia are designed to promote the economic, social and territorial cohesion of its regions and its green and digital transitions.
Within the Integrated territorial programme 2021-2027, EUR 1.569 billion is available, of which EUR 1.384B from ERDF and EUR 185M from the Just Transition Fund. 31% of ERDF resources are dedicated to climate objectives (energy efficiency, renewables, circular economy, climate resilience and biodiversity). The programme also supports Croatia's innovative and smart economic transformation.
The funds aim to strengthen the regional economy through industrial transition, development of smart and sustainable islands and cities and mitigating effects of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. Planned investments will be implemented through 4 priorities: 1. Industrial transition of Croatian regions; 2. Strengthening green, smart and sustainable city transport; 3. Development of urban areas as drivers of regional growth, functional areas and sustainable and green islands; 4. Fair transition.
The programme includes the concept of smart regions and sustainable living. It has a focus on "Reducing regional disparities”, helping to ensure that all parts of Croatia to catch up with the more socio-economically developed capital, Zagreb. 12% of ERDF is dedicated to urban development and 3% to developing smart and sustainable islands. Mountainous areas also receive increased support.

The overarching objective of the Regional, Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) is to build on Ireland 2040 for the betterment of the Southern Region. The RSES is a statutory 12-year strategic development framework for the physical, economic and social development of the Southern Region.
The RSES priority is to achieve balanced regional development with the overall objective to become one of Europe’s most creative, innovative, greenest & liveable regions.
As the regional tier of governance, the RSES will ensure coordination between local government, regional government and national policy.
The RSES embraces and promotes the concept of place-making and emphasises the linkages between planning and well-being/quality of life. It highlights the importance of networked towns as a mechanism to drive economic growth. The RSES challenges us to consider how a town, city or region successfully prepares itself for the challenges of the 21st century and how it provides its citizens with a liveable, sustainable and innovation-oriented environment.
The concept of ‘Smart’ cuts across the entire RSES agenda formalising in the ambition to achieve a Smart Southern Region. This will be delivered via a dual-track strategy “that builds on the cities, metropolitan areas as significantly scaled engines of growth, and supports opportunities for sustainable competitive advantage by repositioning the Region’s strong network of towns, villages and rural areas in an imaginative and smart manner”.