Cities of Equality Partnership launches survey on equality in EU funding
About the survey
Developed under Action 2 of the partnership's Action Plan (Mainstreaming equality in result-based funding instruments), the survey is a governance diagnostic instrument. Rather than measuring perceptions, it maps where equality criteria are formally present, whether they influence funding decisions, and what happens when conditionalities are not met. It covers all 27 EU member states, as well as European Economic Area and acceding countries, and addresses multiple fund types.
The survey was presented at an online workshop on 29 April 2026, alongside preliminary findings from a desk research and case study mapping exercise drawing on ESPON's People and Places for All programme. The research examined 38 funding instruments across nine case studies and found recurring patterns: a gap between formal equality commitments and their operational implementation, weak enforcement of conditionalities, and limited use of multi-scale spatial analysis to assess territorial impacts. Across the cases studied, formal criteria alone did not guarantee outcomes, and failure patterns are rarely documented systematically.
Who is this survey for?
The survey is available in two versions tailored to different respondent profiles. Managing authorities, intermediate bodies and programme designers are invited to complete the full version (approximately 20–30 minutes), while recipients, evaluators and auditors can respond to a shorter version (approximately 10–12 minutes).
Responses can be saved as a draft and shared with colleagues for collective completion. Results will be triangulated with desk research findings and presented at a validation workshop in June 2026, feeding into a practical guidebook for managing authorities and cities.
Join the survey by 15 May, 2026:
About the Cities of Equality Partnership
Launched in January 2024 under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU), the Cities of Equality Partnership brings together 12 members, including national authorities, metropolitan and urban authorities, umbrella organisations, and European institutions, to work towards fairer, more inclusive and more accessible cities. It is jointly coordinated by the French National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) and the Metropolitan City of Rome.
The partnership places intersectionality at the heart of its approach, recognising that inequality in cities is multi-dimensional and that effective responses must account for the specific needs of diverse communities. The Cities of Equality Action Plan addresses spatial segregation, access to services, equality in EU funding, and participatory governance. Action 2 is co-led by the Metropolitan City of Rome and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).
Find out more about the Cities of Equality Partnership on the dedicated web page.