,,Direction Future – Starachowice Local Development Program’’ 

The City of Starachowice was among 29 winning local governments which, out of more than 200 in Poland, applied for Norwegian funds under the program Local Development. Thanks to this the city get more than 15 mln PLN funded under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism2014-2021 of  the new implementation in city development path.

The main goals and activities of the project

The main goal of the project is to improve the quality of life of residents through the implementation of comprehensive social, educational, environmental, economic and institutional programs and projects.

The main activities are focus of the two major investment. Frist is to build a new construction as a connector at the Palace building along with the development of the surroundings and equipment, where the Social Thought Incubator, the so-called Impact Hub. The second is the activities focused on the “Eco School” banner, i.e., the preparation of Primary School No. 11 for the creation of a specific Center of ecological education for young people and residents, including the development of documentation, renovation, purchase of equipment and development of educational courses.

 The city will additionally prepare technical documentation, strategic documents and concepts of activities that will be used to implement projects in the field of housing, environmental protection, education and institutional development. The social and participatory component is also very important. Because of that a community club and Social Activity Center will be established at Wzgórze district. The projects founds will finance staff remuneration, food and necessary equipment. An interesting offer of a day-room with activities for children and residents will be created including a psychologist and family trainer. In addition, training courses, workshops, and social campaigns will be organized for various social groups, including seniors, young people, non-governmental organizations, teachers, local government employees and people with disabilities.

All the above-mentioned activities are aimed at preparing the city for demographic and climate challenges, and they also assume the professionalization of the work of the local self-government.

Ecology, housing policy, education

Ecology and environmental protection have been a very important factor for the city for several years. The environmental scope of the project is the already mentioned Eco School, but also the development of innovative ecological courses for young people and teachers, the development of the Municipal Low-Emission Program and the Municipal Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, and the purchase of an anti-smog drone to control air quality in the city. In addition, project documentation for the creation of green gardens at municipal educational institutions will also be created.

Housing policy is closely related to ecology. The project will create documentation for two ecological residential buildings and, additionally, documentation of a model housing estate, which is planned on the site of the old hospital, and a new housing strategy until 2030r. 

Education, in addition to ecological courses, also includes workshops for young people called “My own company”, development and implementation of a pilot youth program “Competences of the Future”, a series of trainings for non-governmental organizations.

Institutional development

Financial support from the Local Development Program will allow the City to professionalize the local government, i.e. the organization of training and language courses for the employees of the Commune. We will also take care of the facilities for the blind and partially sighted in the City Hall by providing the equipment used, including, inter alia, overlays with Braille inscriptions and by developing accessibility standards.

A completely new website of the city will be created, adapted to all modern standards. They will be integrated with a new municipal ecological portal and a portal for non-governmental organizations with a new generator of offers and applications. In addition, a new visual identity of the city will be created, brochures promoting the city and local entrepreneurs, and professional equipment for the implementation of the image policy and communication with residents will be purchased.

What is extremely important in today’s situation, an intercultural assistant will be appointed to support the activities of foreigners in our city and to coordinate aid work for Ukraine.

Cooperation with partner’s 

National partners are involved in the implementation of the project – the Warsaw University of Technology, the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Starachowice Poviat ,the University of the Third Age in Starachowice and the Our Health Foundation. We have also established international cooperation with the City of Bergen in Norway.

The project will be implemented until April 2024.