The main objective was to overcome the fragmentation between academia and public management, equipping universities and municipalities with a common framework (Co-creation framework) to address urban challenges. We aimed to achieve four specific objectives: 1. Systematize Knowledge: Map successful city-university collaboration practices (WP2). 2. Methodological Development: Design, test, and validate an operational and transferable Toolkit to facilitate real co-creation (WP3 and WP4). 3. Empowerment and Participation: Train researchers and municipal technicians to foster active citizen participation in local policy definition. 4. Sustainability and Networks: Consolidate a transnational network (Community of Practice) committed to the practical implementation of Local Urban Agendas and the SDGs.
We applied for the project to address the urgent need to connect universities with their local ecosystems and bridge the science-policy gap. We identified that local governments and academia operated in silos, lacking agile frameworks to collaborate on complex challenges such as the climate transition. Traditional research tools proved insufficient for the university's 'Third Mission'. Urban Imprint addressed this gap by developing a Toolkit and a validated methodology to co-create solutions aligned with Urban Agendas and the SDGs.