Award criteria

The award criteria for the assessment of the applications are divided into six categories corresponding to the provisions laid down in Article 5 of Decision No 445/2014/EC and all six categories have the same weighting:

1. Contribution to the long-term strategy
2. European dimension
3. Cultural and artistic content
4. Capacity to deliver
5. Outreach
6. Management

Note: Financial Regulation of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (Official Journal L 298 of 26.10.2012)

1. As regards the "contribution to the long-term strategy", the following factors shall be taken into account:

that a cultural strategy for the candidate city, which covers the action and includes plans for sustaining the cultural activities beyond the year of the title, is in place at the time of its application;
the plans to strengthen the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors, including developing long-term links between the cultural, economic and social sectors in the candidate city;
the envisaged long-term cultural, social and economic impact, including urban development, that the title would have on the candidate city;
the plans for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the title on the candidate city and for disseminating the results of the evaluation.

2. As regards the "European dimension", the following factors shall be taken into account:

the scope and quality of activities promoting the cultural diversity of Europe, intercultural dialogue and greater mutual understanding between European citizens;
the scope and quality of activities highlighting the common aspects of European cultures, heritage and history, as well as European integration and current European themes;
the scope and quality of activities featuring European artists, cooperation with operators or cities in different countries, including, where appropriate, other cities holding the title, and transnational partnerships;
the strategy to attract the interest of a broad European and international public.

3. As regards the "cultural and artistic content", the following factors shall be taken into account:

a clear and coherent artistic vision and strategy for the cultural programme;
the involvement of local artists and cultural organisations in the conception and implementation of the cultural programme;
the range and diversity of the activities proposed and their overall artistic quality;
the capacity to combine local cultural heritage and traditional art forms with new, innovative and experimental cultural expressions.

4. As regards the "capacity to deliver", the following factors shall be taken into account:

the application has broad and strong political support and a sustainable commitment from the local, regional and national authorities;
the candidate city has or will have an adequate and viable infrastructure to hold the title;

5. As regards "outreach", the following factors shall be taken into account:

the involvement of the local population and civil society in the preparation of the application and the implementation of the action;
the creation of new and sustainable opportunities for a wide range of citizens to attend or participate in cultural activities, in particular young people, volunteers and the marginalised and disadvantaged, including minorities, with special attention being given to persons with disabilities and the elderly as regards the accessibility of those activities;
the overall strategy for audience development, and in particular the link with education and the participation of schools;

6. As regards "management", the following factors shall be taken into account:

the feasibility of the fund-raising strategy and proposed budget, which includes, where appropriate, plans to seek financial support from Union programmes and funds, and covers the preparation phase, the year of the title, the evaluation and provisions for the legacy activities, and contingency planning;
the envisaged governance and delivery structure for the implementation of the action which provides, inter alia, for appropriate cooperation between the local authorities and the delivery structure, including the artistic team;
the procedures for the appointment of the general and artistic directors and their fields of action;
the marketing and communication strategy is comprehensive and highlights that the action is a Union action;
the delivery structure has staff with appropriate skills and experience to plan, manage and deliver the cultural programme for the year of the title.

Note: These criteria are explained and illustrated by examples in the Guide for candidate cities, available on the websites of [the Managing Authority designated by the Ministry of Culture for the organisation and management of the competition and/ or Ministry of Culture

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Award criteria