USE-IT! Transfer Mechanism – What have we learned so far?
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26 August 2022The USE-IT! Transfer Mechanism (funded through the URBACT Programme) is seeking to start the process of transferring the principles and activities of the successful USE-IT! UIA project from Birmingham to three other cities. USE-IT! – standing for Unlocking Social and Economic Innovation Together - has predominantly sought to change the way in which Birmingham City Council undertakes regeneration, with a specific focus upon connecting the public and private sectors more effectively to communities in the West Birmingham and Smethwick area, and thus reducing poverty and inequality.
The USE-IT! Transfer Mechanism is seeking over a 20 month period to use the foundations of the success of the Birmingham USE-IT! project to transfer the principles of the project to three Project Partners (PPs) of Poznan (Poland), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Trapani (Italy) and using a network approach encourage them to transfer elements of the project during the UTM lifetime, together with developing an Investment Plan (IP) for future funding to realise a wider transfer into the future. The UTM is also focused upon improving and rolling out USE-IT! in Birmingham, with a Springboard Plan (SP) set to outline how this will happen.
As we enter the final three months of the USE-IT! UTM, it is helpful to reflect upon what we have done so far, what our partners are focusing upon in their IPs and SP, and importantly what we have learnt so far, both from a positive perspective but also in terms of key challenges we have encountered.
Description of USE-IT! Activities and emerging content of Plans
Over the course of the last 17 months, we have undertaken a number of activities through the framework of URBACT’s understand, adapt, re-use methodology. In the understand phase between March 2021 and October 2021, the focus was upon partners beginning to understand the USE-IT! project and its relevance for their city and ULG, and through the Transferability Study developing methodology that would enable learning to be transferred. In the adapt phase between October 2021 and March 2022, we held a number of Transnational Meetings (across Partners) and Individual Partner Workshops with a focus upon organically transferring the principles and activities of USE-IT! to the partner cites and starting the process of developing the IPs and SP. In the re-use phase which has been ongoing since April 2022, we have used Peer Review to update and improve the IPs and SP.
The focus of each of the draft Investment Plans are slightly different. Poznan is focusing their Investment Plan on community economic development and specifically the neighbourhood of Jezyce. They will be utilising community research to identify projects that will enable more effective utilisation of assets in the neighbourhood. Rotterdam is taking forward three aspects of USE-IT! in their Investment Plan. They are looking to build on existing practice around social return and procurement and expand activities to Anchor Institutions. They are going to instigate a programme of community research and they are going to look to further develop neighbourhood cooperatives and social enterprises.
is focusing their Investment Plan on two key existing assets in the city and seeking to apply USE-IT! principles to their regeneration, including utilising them as spaces for social entrepreneurship. Birmingham has shifted the focus of their activities from the West of the city to the East and are seeking to use their Springboard Plan and the principles of USE-IT! to realise the objectives of the East Birmingham Inclusive Growth Strategy. In all of the Plans, there is a common theme of seeking to alleviate poverty.
The Learning
The key learning from the USE-IT! UTM so far can be split down into a number of key themes as follows:
Transfer of a UIA project is complex, but achievable
We found at the outset of the UTM that it has took some time to fully understand the USE-IT! project, its principles and its activities and additionally the end objective of these UTMs, in terms of outputs and expectations. This is largely down to the complex nature of USE-IT! itself and UIA projects generally. It will take time post this UTM for our partner cities to embed the principles of USE-IT! and implement the activities detailed in their Investment Plans. We do however feel it is achievable to shift approaches to and cultures around regeneration.
Each partner brings something different
Whilst the focus of the UTM has been predominantly upon transferring USE-IT! from Birmingham to the three partner cities, the three partner cities have also brought learning and experience for the others and for Birmingham. We have learnt a lot about Rotterdam’s approach to social impact funding, Poznan’s approach to neighbourhood councils, and Trapani’s approach to flexible working space for Social Enterprises, for example.
The UTM process has enabled new relationships to be developed with stakeholders
We have found that the development of project teams and ULGs has enabled partners to engage with new stakeholders in their city and develop a new spirit of collaboration and cooperation, which has also been assisted by the drafting of the Investment Plans. Whilst ULGs have been viewed as a key mechanism in bringing stakeholders together, like in any URBACT Network, it has sometimes been difficult to keep them engaged in the project. It has also been sometimes difficult to explain to political representatives the long term purpose of USE-IT! and these UTMs – however, the upcoming pitching of final Investment Plans should assist with this.
The Investment Plan gives partners an end goal
We have found that the need to produce an Investment Plan on an ongoing basis has been helpful – it has focused partners upon what they need to achieve by the end of the UTM and at various milestones throughout. Whilst valuing the Investment Plans and the Springboard Plan, the PPs and the LP felt the drafts were way too long and needed to be more succinct – a lesson learnt that we needed to focus more on actions and funding than the context around policy.
The method enables learning to be realised
We have found that The UTM has been an opportunity to learn, and the blend of Transnational Workshops and Individual Workshops has enabled this learning to be both general and tailored to the context of each partner city. Partners have welcomed the relatively small size of the UTMs when compared to other types of URBACT Networks and felt in particular that the USE-IT! Roadshow enabled them to examine their Investment Plans and the relevance of their activities in more detail. The UTM timeframe has however been very quick, and it almost feel that we are at the end of the project before it has even started.
An opportunity to look at regeneration and economic development differently
We have found that the USE-IT! UTM has presented the PPs the opportunity to look at regeneration and economic development from a different perspective. Many of the mechanisms of USE-IT! are already in place in each partner city, but the UTM has given partners the opportunity to bring them together and change cultures in their city.
Practical example of ITI (Integrated Territorial Investment) implementation
Whilst the ITI instrument has been around for a while, implementing it right is still considered an achievement. USE-IT! provides a simple logic of three levers: employment, public sector procurement and a social businesses development to benefit local economies that could inform a successful ITI. The USE-IT! UTM has allowed us to test the three levels in the context of three different cities and very different scales and demonstrated a huge potential for transferability.
Towards the conclusion of the UTM
In the next three months, we will conclude that activities of the USE-IT! UTM. Our focus will be upon showcasing the historic and future activities of Birmingham through a partner visit in September 2022, finalising the Investment Plans and Springboard Plan, and capitalising upon and disseminating the findings of our activities at external events in Poznan and Bologna in October 2022. The full learning from our activities will be detailed in our upcoming final report.
This Article has been written by Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson, Lead Expert for the USE-IT! Transfer Mechanism.
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