EIBURS provides grants to University Research Centres working on research topics and themes of major interest to the Bank. EIB sponsorships, of up to EUR 100 000 per year for a period of three years, are awarded through a competitive process to interested University Departments or Research Centres, associated with Universities of EU, Accession or Acceding Countries. Call is open until November 30th, and for the academic year 2009/2010, the EIBURS programme has selected a new line of research: Urban Development Funds in Europe: Opportunities, Structures, Operations

The European Investment Bank channels most of its institutional relations with universities through an EIB-Universities Research Action consisting of three different programmes:

• EIBURS, the EIB University Research Sponsorship Programme.
• STAREBEI (STAges de REcherche BEI), a programme for financing young researchers working on joint EIB-University projects.
• IB University Networks, a cooperation mechanism for university networks showing characteristics that are of particular relevance to supporting the objectives of the EIB Group.

Urban Development Funds in Europe: Opportunities, Structures, Operations

Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA), a policy initiative of the European Commission and the EIB, is designed to promote Urban Development Funds (UDFs), i.e. financial engineering instruments supporting investment in sustainable urban development. JESSICA responds to the need to assist the renewal and transformation of European cities, and address the scarcity of investment funds for PPPs and projects complying with integrated and sustainable urban development criteria.

The initiative boosted by this EIBURS call for proposals is meant to foster the growth of a new segment in the European investment fund market, populated with investment vehicles specialised in identifying and investing in sustainable city assets and supporting urban transformation operators capable of achieving sustainable urban development outcomes.

This emerging segment of the fund market shares some similarities with existing instruments, such as infrastructure funds, real estate funds and ethical funds, but combines some of their features into new organisational structures relying on specific governance modes, professional skills, analytical and networking capabilities.

The proposed research programme is expected to lead to deliverables, including:

• Papers for publication in academic and professional journals.
• Organisational/operational templates for UDFs, including legal structures, performance principles and criteria, methods and benchmarks to assess and manage asset portfolios.
• Training modules for long-term investors, including specialists and professionals engaged in UDF-type urban operations and projects, financial structuring and advisory/technical assistance.

Deadline for submission of proposals ends on November 30th, and they must be sent to the following adress: 

EIB-Universities Research Action
100, boulevard Konrad Adenauer
2950 Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG