The Project - Scientific Objectives

Phase I of this project consisted of preparing an effective programme based on trans-national partnerships in order to promote information exchange on strategies used to improve the housing provision of risk groups on urban housing markets through new forms of cooperation in housing stock policy.

This main objective was selected because in the respective countries and cities where the partners in this project are based, various strategies have been developed based on different original local conditions to make use of available stock for the housing provision of risk groups. Therefore there is great potential for learning from the various experiences in different countries and cities. This potential should be used in the context of a common effort for the advancement of the strategies and measures used.

In Phase II we continue in an enlarged partnership with additional cities in selected countries and further develop and implement the method of approach to dialogue and co-operative partnership between institutions providing housing assistance in cities facing challenging needs of special help for different target groups.

The preparatory work in Phase I confirmed that the choice of the issue of this project has been useful. It has proved that sufficient examples of evidentially effective forms of cooperation exist in the different countries, and that these show different kinds of organisational structure and orientation towards target groups and partnerships. This forms a promising basis for exchange and mutual learning.

The main objective already chosen for Phase I is therefore kept up and insight will be deepened by qualitative investigation.

Specific aims Phase II

Six specific aims are derived from the main objective:

Enlarge partnership (on national and international level)

Exchange knowledge about local policies and practices

Develop qualitative criteria for good and best practices in cooperative methods in view to meet the housing needs of risk groups

Identify examples of good and best practice of integrated co-operation

Examine the transferability of examples that have proven to be effective in one specific urban context

Disseminate the findings in the respective fields often not acting jointly but parallel and initiate an integrated approach

Ad - "partnership"

Broadened and deepened exchange by an enlarged partnership (more partners than in Phase I) for long-term trans-national and wide-ranging cooperation for exchanging information and developing strategies in the area defined by the main objective -

On national level, the composition of the national teams already chosen in Phase I formed by One research institute responsible for the national cooperation and collection of information, as well as for the trans-national coordination, as well as three groups of institutions and organisations working together in forms of cooperation for the housing provision of risk groups (local authority, housing association, social service providing housing accommodation or organisation of people concerned) now is extended to up to three further partners.

A sufficiently broad inclusion of relevant actors (for example representatives of different housing stocks, other cooperating municipal departments, NGOs attending to special target groups and others) was decisive.

Objective of the enlargement is a project-related deepening of knowledge within the national teams, extensive communication between the national teams and to shape a broad basis for the planned dissemination activities concerning the contents of the project on the national and international level planned during Phase II and after the end of the project period.

On international level the project consortium of Phase I has estimated as useful an enlargement by four national teams - two further present members of the European Union; Belgium (Brussels) and UK (Leeds) (starting from the first year of the proposed project, lasting for two years) and two new members of the European Union, the Czech Republic (Prague or another Czech city) and Poland (Crakow) (in the second year of the project - 2004 - 2005).

Ad - "Working towards good and best practice"

Our network will work towards developing a comprehensive definition of good and best practice in integrated cooperation between the different actors who share the specific tasks to assist people in housing need.

A set of standard-setting principles will be developed in the form of a user-friendly manual as general guidelines for cooperation methods to assist people in housing need.

Objective is the exchange of "good and best practice" of strategies and forms of cooperation for the housing provision of risk groups on big-city housing markets by measures of housing stock policies used in the countries and cities covered by the project, based on the stocktaking of Phase I.

Ad - "dissemination in various fields"

Publication and dissemination of the results obtained by the project are directed to fields usually acting disjointedly and approach the task of co-operation under very different motives and tasks (local authorities, housing providers, non for profit associations). But our national project consortia integrating actors of all fields and important stakeholders have far-reaching possibilities at their disposal to disseminate in their respective special field and to initiate an integrated approach.
In the whole course of the project we will focus on the results of research and learning of Phase II as well as those of common reflection over the findings

to raise wider public awareness of the requirements of optimal housing provision for risk groups and
to pass the findings to organisations that are active in the relevant fields but not part of the partnership in the respective home cities as well as relevant active organisations in EU cities and countries not covered by the partnership.

For more detailed information about the project framework see "Reports and Papers" COOP2_cooperation forms_project description.pdf download.