Self-Assessment Tool for Territorial and Local Development strategies - SAT4TER

Background and objectives

The SAT4TER tool aims to support Local Authorities and relevant actors. It helps them assess the extent to which their strategies build on an integrated and participatory approach, as defined by the Cohesion Policy. Furthermore, it provides guidance when evaluating each strategy’s completeness and quality, from design and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. The tool can also be used by Managing Authorities to assess each strategy’s effectiveness by providing feedback to Local Authorities during the strategy design and implementation processes.

The tool is focused on promoting self-assessment as an important learning practice to critically reflect on the strategy, by recognising its strengths and identifying opportunities for improvement. Moreover, the tool can usefully support and provide valuable information for other activities, such as discussion and working sessions between Local Authorities and relevant stakeholders, peer-reviews, benchmarking, dissemination activities as well as external expert involvement (e.g. TAIEX-REGIO PEER 2 PEER exchanges).
It is important to note that the self-assessment exercise may require time and resources to initiate the process, organise the tasks and collect the information.

The SAT4TER addresses the main elements of the EU integrated approach to territorial development in non-urban areas. According to the Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies these elements include:

• A strategic vision for the sustainable development of non-urban areas.
• Integration across spatial territorial scales, from neighbourhoods to wider functional territories, targeting non-urban areas across the EU.
• Multi-level and multi-stakeholder governance coordinating different actors according to their respective roles, skills and scales of intervention, thus ensuring that citizens are actively engaged.
• Integration across sectors, pushing local administrations to work across policy-areas.
• Integration of multiple sources of funding.

The structure

The Self-Assessment Tool covers a comprehensive set of statements related to the strategy cycle (design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). Statements are articulated around 

the six building blocks of the Handbook of Sustainable Urban Development Strategies:

1. strategic dimension;
2. territorial focus;
3. governance;
4. cross-sectoral integration;
5. funding and finance;
6. monitoring.

For each statement the SAT4SUD offers references, examples for improvement and a space for taking notes. As soon as the strategy is assessed, two charts are created according to each score. The self-assessment can be saved and retaken as it was left in a second moment and all results can be easily downloaded in Excel or PDF format.

How to use the tool

Write the name of the strategy 

If the strategy was implemented during 2014-2020, you should find it and select it from the list.
If you do not find it in the list, you can simply add your strategy name.
By clicking the blue button 'Strategy factsheet' you can access basic information on the strategy mapped in the STRAT-Board dashboard.

Chose the score 

Read carefully each statement and choose the most appropriate score.

The self-scoring goes from 1 to 4, being:
1 = the statement is relevant for the strategy, but currently there are no or very few approaches to comply with it;
2 = the strategy partly complies with the statement, although there is still significant space for improvement;
3 = the strategy complies with all the components of the statement;
4 = the strategy fully complies with the statement and can be counted as a good practice on this matter;
NA = the statement is not applicable to the strategy.

Consult references and recommendations to find help

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Click on this icon to help yourself improving the scoring of each statement. It consists of useful references and recommendations coming from the ‘Handbook of Sustainable Urban Development strategies’ directing you to face most critical challenges. At the same time, examples to draw ideas and inspiration, are offered.

Record the evidence supporting the scores 

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By clicking on this icon you can use this space to record the evidence supporting the scores. Everything you write here will be reflected also in the final pdf to download. Taking note of what has been done and how the related activities have been performed can help fostering transparency and promote informed dialogue and policy learning.

As soon as the user starts the selected rating strategy, two graphs associated to the scoring of the statements appear. Such graphical support, in form of filled-radar-chart and a bar-chart, offer a comprehensive overview of the entire self-assessment process.

Final steps 

If you haven’t finished to assessing the strategy on all statements, click on 'Save your draft' and a file will be downloaded in your device.

Once you want to retake the assessment, click on 'Resume your draft' and you can upload the previously downloaded file, resume the scores and notes and continue the assessment from where it was left.

Once the assessment is completed you can click 'Download your result', this command automatically downloads a PDF or an Excel file with all statements, scores, resources, notes and graphs. Such pdf is precisely thought as a document to be shared among Local Authorities’ departments and between Local Authorities and other stakeholders to foster discussion, peer-reviews, benchmarking and dissemination.

By clicking on the final command 'Send your result to JRC functional mailbox', an email directed to the Knowledge Centre of Territorial Policies JRC-KCTP@ec.europa.eu automatically generates. You can upload here the final Excel file with your results. In addition, you can also choose one of the following options:

• I’m available to be contacted for future knowledge building, communication and capacity-building activities and events related to SUD strategies.
• I want to flag the strategy as a good practice to share with other cities in Europe.

Don’t worry about your scoring! Results will be treated anonymously as sources of aggregate data for research activities only.