The term ‘Fast Track Network’ means that it aims at bringing best practice ideas faster into the mainstream by linking the action plans produced to the finance available in the Operational Programmes of the European Structural Funds.   Different elements combined to ensure successful implementation of the MILE project.

Some of them can be summarized as:  

• The use of a process approach rather than a blueprint approach
• Continuous evaluation of the process for learning and taking “rapid adaptive action”
• Active involvement of MAs and Local Support Groups in all stages of the project
• Experts individualized support for project partners

Taking part in URBACT II projects requires the participation of the European Structural Funds Managing Authorities (MAs) to work together with cities in order to mainstream transfer good practice into the Operational Programmes. For this, the mechanisms of cooperation need to be clearly set atestablished at the outset of the project. While the role of cities is the production of action plans to address the needs identified in relation to the theme of the project, the contribution of MAs to the action plans is less clear.. Defining the role MAs can play in the project, beyond solely financing the action plans and the form that this role will take, are is a crucial task to start withthe necessary starting point.

Conditions need to be set to ensure a successful City-MA cooperation City-MAs. These include:  

• Iidentifying and Uunderstanding/ identifying the expectations of MAs from the project and from the city and vice-versa, and adapting project implementation to meet these expectations
• Ensuring that the themes addressed in the project are relevant to the priorities of the MAs
• Ensuring that representatives of the MAs and cities who are participating in the project have the power to make decisions and bring about change
• Maintaining active involvement of MAs in all stages of project activities

What motivates you to be part of the urbact adventure?

From the Lead partner point of view, Mile has been a very interesting challenge mainly:

• To develop jointly with the Managing Authorities a local action plan capable of maximizing opportunities for  the urban areas. This represented the real “added value” dimension” of the project, trying to match  the lack of institutional for a for exchanging ideas between different levels of government and maximinzing impacts of projects according to real opportunities spelled out in Operational Programmes.
• To share experiences with other cities on the Immigration issue
• To experiment the innovative elements of a Pilot project within Urbact II programme in close connection with EU directorates and Secretariat

Who would you like to benefit from the work achieved in your project?   The 24 local action plans produced in MILE project have created an impact at local level, in terms of:

• Rethinking the provision of services to migrants and ethnic minorities and undertakinge the necessary organisational changes to adapt these services 
• Building the capacities of cities to intervene in the management of migration and integration, and transferring the knowledge acquired in the MILE process to local policies, programmes and actors
• Scaling-up local action plans to policy level and integrating them into mainstream services
• Raising awareness and access of cities to the Operational programmes of the European structural funds
• Securing funding through the Operational Programmes of the structural funds in order to guarantee implementation of the local action plans, as a path to affecting migration and integration policy  

Most importantly, the process contributed in creating enduring partnerships, vertically between different levels of government as well as horizontally with sister departments and municipalities, thus strengthening thus governance.