Five new calls for proposals have been published in order to develop European observation network for territorial development and cohesion, an initiative to study the conditions for the development of areas of the EU.

The Official Journal of 10 September announced the publication on September 16, four calls for proposals and expressions of interest under the ESPON Programme (Observation Network of the European Spatial Planning). The deadline for submitting proposals and express their interest regarding these calls will end on 11 November 2009.

The total budget available is EUR 14,910,000 and can be selected up to 31 proposals.

ESPON is an initiative that aims to study the conditions for the development of several areas in the EU. The calls will reflect priorities 1 to 4 of the programme:

1. Applied research on territorial development, competitiveness and cohesion: evidence on territorial trends, perspectives and policy impacts.
2. Targeted analyses based on user demand: a European perspective on the development of different types of territories.
3. Scientific platform and tools: comparable regional data, analytical tools and scientific support.
4. Awareness raising, empowerment and involvement: capacity building dialogue and networking.

The ESPON 2013 Programme shall support policy development in relation to the aim of territorial cohesion and a harmonious development of the European territory. It shall provide comparable information, evidence, analyses and scenarios on framework conditions for the development of regions, cities and larger territories.

The text and the conditions of these calls ESPON are available in our section of calls for proposals.

The launch of the ESPON 2013 and the announcement of the first series of calls for proposals and expressions of interest took place last January in Brussels. The aim of the observation network of European Spatial Planning (ESPON) is to provide information, evidence, comparative analysis and scenarios about the best conditions to encourage the development of regions, cities and larger territories of the EU.

The program involves the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The ESPON budget 2007-2013 is EUR 45.4 million euros, of which 75 percent are financed by the European Regional Development Fund.