Get familiar with REFOCUS

Decision-making in mobility planning is not easy. It requires a clear vision, sustained political commitment, continuous efforts to ensure that all voices are heard and data to evidence the success (or failure) of the decisions. Despite numerous European efforts to support inclusive and data-driven sustainable mobility planning (with the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan – SUMPs - guidelines being a key milestone of these efforts), challenges persist, while the pressure to reach the EU’s ambitious climate, environmental, digital, health and societal objectives continues to grow.

REFOCUS aims to improve regional/local policies related to sustainable urban mobility (SUM), to:

1. fast-track implementation of planned SUM interventions and
2. update of SUM planning with enhanced decision-making capacities

REFOCUS will take a step forward by proposing novel – for the participating cities/ regions – and affordable decision support tools/mechanisms/processes that will allow them to implement innovative forms of governance for SUM(P), harmonised data collection and effective monitoring.

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CERTH

REFOCUS is structured around a learning and exchange of experience process that includes:

1. Needs assessment >> we began with a survey among partners to better understand the gaps in data-driven decision-making in our 7 regions and cities
2. Good Practices identification >> we expect to identify at least 17 Good Practices related to novel decision support tools/mechanisms/processes related to mobility and/or relevant sectors (i.e. environment, urban planning, etc.).
3. Interregional events that allow exchange of experience to take place >> we plan for 7 study visits and 3 interregional events/ workshops for matchmaking, policy co-creation and impact estimation of policy improvement.
4. Local events that upscale interregional knowledge to local communities >> we plan for stakeholders’ consultation, learning and consensus-building workshops and conferences in all 7 regions/ cities of ours.

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CERTH

Eventually, actions for the improvement of 2 Regional Operational Programmes and 5 Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) will be defined and implemented. Improved policies for SUM will allow for positive impacts on zero-carbon urban mobility to take place, which we will also qualitatively estimate through a structured stakeholders’ consultation process.

Our project will be implemented in 2 phases: the core phase will host all the exchange of experience and learning activities, reaching policy improvement at its end. The follow-up phase will allow monitoring of the policy improvement to take place and a clear connection to the zero-carbon urban mobility goals to be identified.

For more information on the project we have provided a short ppt. presentation here.