Integrated territorial development in action

Pier Saraceno (), Carlotta Fioretti, Simone Landucci, Eleftherios Stavropoulos and Annalisa Spalazzi
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Pier Saraceno: European Commission - JRC, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/index_en

No JRC145955, JRC Research Reports from Joint Research Centre

Abstract: This report presents an EU-wide stocktake of Integrated Territorial Development Strategies (ITDSs) implemented under Cohesion Policy 2021–2027, drawing on data from STRAT-Board, the JRC–DG REGIO platform monitoring integrated territorial approaches. The dataset covers 87 Managing Authorities, 110 programmes and 1,426 strategies - around 70% of all ITDSs - representing the most comprehensive evidence available for this programming period. Integrated Territorial Development (ITD) accounts for EUR 41.3 billion (~11% of total EU Cohesion Policy contributions), with uptake varying considerably across Member States due to differences in governance systems, administrative capacity and strategic interpretation. Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) is the most widely used delivery mechanism, followed by Other Territorial Tools (OTTs) and Community-led Local Development (CLLD). While Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) remains central, most strategies target small and medium-sized territories: 85% cover areas below 250,000 inhabitants and nearly half focus on territories under 50,000. Over half span mixed urban–rural geographies, reflecting the importance of functional territorial linkages. Financially, SUD strategies mobilise substantially higher per-capita investments than non-SUD strategies, which tend to support smaller-scale, community-oriented interventions. Thematic priorities concentrate on integrated territorial development, biodiversity, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility. Governance arrangements are generally formalised, though practices vary in strategy selection, project identification and monitoring. Overall, the findings highlight the growing importance and heterogeneous implementation of ITD, underscoring the need to strengthen local capacity and enhance place-based impact.

Date: 2026-05
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