PLH is part of the Agreement Action Cœur de Ville (2018) which was the subject of an amendment (2020), allowing the definition of a Territorial Revitalization Operation (TOR) for a period of 5 years on the territory of Saint-Brieuc Armor Agglomeration – Amendment to the multi-annual framework Agreement Action Cœur de Ville Saint-Brieuc/Quintin/PLH TOR. It has 5 axes, aiming to realize a territorial project in the urban and socio-economic fields, fight against downtown devitalization and create an attractive living location for long-term territorial development. PLH is also part of the Petite Ville de Demain’s program. Many actions have already been carried out or are in the process of being implemented. PLH realized that the management of the policy for the issues in its charge, especially within the axis 5-Provide access to equipment, public services, and cultural and leisure offerings, needs to be improved by stressing the dimensions of local cooperation and digitalization. Also, after the 5-year period dedicated to TOR, an achievements’ evaluation will be carried out in order to know the impacts of the projects on the territory, followed by a new diagnosis of the territory to propose a new TOR, composed of new projects to meet the new challenges of the territory. So, PHL seeks keys to capitalize on the experiences and resources available at extended local level to improve both the management of its current policy and the policy instrument itself for the new period to come.

Međimurje County Development Plan for the period up to 2027 is a strategic document elaborated for the purpose of planning the economic and social development of Croatia’s northernmost county, being a coherent and comprehensive document aiming to promote the balanced development of all parts of the county. The strategic and planned approach to the further development of the county will ensure the integrated development of all parts of the county, with an emphasis on ensuring opportunities and conditions for a quality life for all its residents. It is structured on public policy priorities such as: sustainable development, economy’s competitiveness, human resources’ development, preservation of cultural heritage, protection of the environment and the achievement of higher quality of life and satisfaction of citizens. Several components of the policy instrument, especially Priority 2-Promoting a healthy, inclusive and resilient society, with the Specific objective 2.8-Fostering good governance within the public sector as well as Priority 3-Green and digital Međimurje, with the Specific objective 3.13-Urban and rural areas with high quality of life, needs to be reanalyzed and improved in order to be able to better respond to environmental changes and guarantee the achievement of the expected results. This involves mainly the Measure 2.8.1, aiming to enhance the efficiency of public administration and the Measure 3.13.1, aiming to develop smart and sustainable villages and cities

The policy instrument is a mid-term territorial development planning document, defining priorities that the municipality has committed to implement for the purposes of sustainable, integrated and coordinated development. It transposes, for 2022-2028, the vision of the wider Smiltene development strategy until 2035, which defines the vision, strategic goals, long-term priorities and spatial development perspective. The policy will lead to the creation of a socially secure society, development of effective management, an economic environment and cooperation, balanced development of environment and infrastructure. The first strategic goal – Social active, educated and inclusive local community, sets as long-term priority the Self-sufficient and growing society, having as result Social provided society and effective management, which determines the direction of action RV2 Services and management. Within RV2, the objective “To develop modern and customer-oriented municipal services”, consists of 6 tasks: Development of municipal service, Public information and communication about available services, Development of electronic service, Development of Website, Availability of digital information, Information and open data development. The Policy instrument brings added value for each entity component of the municipality, in terms of diversification and quality of the delivered services on the one hand, and an integrated approach at the level of the territory, on the other hand.

The strategic objective of the Regional programme 2021-2027 South-West Oltenia is to improve the economic competitiveness, social cohesion and accessibility of the region in order to increase the quality of life of its citizens by providing public services based on their corresponding needs. The project will focus on RP’s Priority 2 - Digitalization for the benefit of citizens and companies - RSO1.2. Reaping the benefits of digitalization for citizens, companies, research organizations and public authorities. The objective of RSO1.2. is to support the digitalization of public services, the digital interaction between citizens and public administration, the provision of public services for businesses, as well as the digital transformation of SMEs through the RP 2021-2027. Investments made by public authorities must be designed to encourage sustainable economic activities, reduce environmental impact and improve life quality of inhabitants, based on information technology. Regarding the eligibility of the beneficiaries, the municipalities associations that provide public services, which in Romania are under private law, but of public utility, are usually assimilated to NGOs, having different treatment from public bodies, although they must meet the same requirements for the provision of public services. On the other hand, some cooperations such as administrative consortia were regulated in Dec. 2022 and were not considered as possible beneficiaries when drafting the RP.

The Administrative Code of Romania, elaborated by MDPWA, and adopted in 2019, is the general legal framework for public administration and is meant to ensure the stability and efficiency of central and local governments. The Code addresses the role, attributions, organization, and functioning of the central and local administrations, as well as the main pillars of their activity: staff, public and private property, and public services. The Code's approach regarding cooperation between local governments was focused mainly on the inter-community development associations (in charge of delivering primary public services like sewage or sanitation in member communities), basic rules for administrative consortia (the minimum required for establishment and organization) and international cooperation, with no specific and detailed framework to facilitate development on up-to-date issues such as digitization, joint delivery of services, accessibility of public services, transparency and public information or efficiency of delivery. Thus, although the last changes of the legal framework in terms of cooperation took place in December 2022, when administrative consortia were introduced (an innovative cooperation mechanism involving staff sharing), there is a clear need to improve it, to strengthen the premises that facilitate investments, increase the quality and efficiency of public services and expand the positive effects of cooperation to mitigate disparities at the territorial level.