On March 15-16, 2023, Spring Networking Workshops organized by the Association of Polish Cities took place in Warsaw, addressed to coordinators and members of city teams, implementers of the "Local Development" Program in each city.
In addition to representatives of city teams, the event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy as well as city advisors, strategic advisors and sector advisors of the Association of Polish Cities - as moderators and workshop participants.
The guests were welcomed by Mr. Maciej Aulak - director of the Department of Aid Programs at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy. In his speech, he encouraged all those present to strengthen the exchange of experiences between the cities and to use the workshops to create a space for joint analysis of the key goals and challenges for the program implementers.
Representatives of the ZMP encouraged the gathered to dialogue with representatives of the Ministry and to report their doubts, problems and suggestions regarding the implementation of projects. The workshops were an excellent platform for the exchange of information not only with the Ministry of First and foremost, but also between municipal teams that had the opportunity to exchange experiences on the implementation of Local Development Programs and Institutional Development Programs.
The first day of the workshop was devoted to discussing current implementation issues. The topics covered, among others: first conclusions from annual reports and changes in projects. This panel was led by Mr. Kamil Wieder from MFiPR. Then, the participants of the workshop had a chance for an individual meeting with representatives of the Ministry, during which they could discuss the most important issues regarding the implementation of projects under the Local Development Programme. The first day ended with integrating workshops allowing participants to get to know each other better as well as establishing new contacts between the cities.
On the second day, networking workshops were held, during which we discussed, looked for solutions and asked questions. These talks focused on the issues of participation, entrepreneurship, project management and implementation, public procurement, cost eligibility, bilateral cooperation, institutional development and spatial policy.
