Nearly 90 local government officials and experts participated in the 1st Experience Exchange Forum (FWD). The two-day conference was part of the Masovian Advisory Support Center (MCWD) project. It was organized by the Cooperation Fund Foundation and the Association of Polish Cities. The conference, held on October 28th and 29th in Zegrze Południowe, was intended for local government officials from the six Municipal Functional Areas (MFA) (Płock, Radom, Ciechanów, Ostrołęka, Siedlce, and Żyrardów), where the MCWD project is being implemented. The main topics of the meeting were the energy transition and the new provisions of the Spatial Planning and Development Act. Conference participants also discussed the criteria for awarding funding for external project applications and how to increase their chances of receiving funding. “Investments in development are crucial to improving the functioning of local government units,” said Daniel Prędkopowicz, Director of the Cooperation Fund Foundation. “As the Association of Polish Cities, we believe that without strong local government partnerships, it is difficult to solve complex problems,” added Jarosław Komża of the ZMP.
Representatives of all six MFAs also participated in the panel discussion. Integrating our city and neighboring municipalities is essential if we want to effectively implement the tasks for which the local government was established,” argued Łukasz Molenda, Deputy Mayor of Radom. “We are implementing numerous projects, including Polish-Ukrainian ones. When we started the Eastern Poland program on our own, we did not receive funding; we only succeeded in partnership with other municipalities,” commented Tomasz Kluczek, Head of the External Funds Department at the Siedlce City Hall.
The MCWD is an opportunity to develop the competencies of local government employees and build lasting relationships between Masovian local government officials. Such meetings and discussions within local government are extremely important precisely because they allow us to understand the needs of local governments and their residents,” concluded Agnieszka Buła-Kopańska, Head of the ERDF Programming Office in the Department of Regional Development and European Funds at the Marshal’s Office of the Masovian Voivodeship. The MCWD initiative is a continuation of the Advisory Support Center (CWD) and CWD+ projects. As part of the project’s planned activities, nearly 90 municipalities and counties in the Masovian Voivodeship will receive support from May 2024 to April 2026. The project is being implemented using European Union funds.
The Cooperation Fund Foundation and the Association of Polish Cities are implementing the Masovian Advisory Support Center (MCWD) project.
Total project value: PLN 3,029,212.79
EU funding: PLN 3,029,212.79
Implementation period: May 2024 – April 2026
