Co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, coordinated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs (DEUA) as the project coordinator and main beneficiary, in collaboration with co-beneficiaries the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT), the Union of Provinces (UP), and the Directorate General for Local Authorities of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, PACE has two specific objectives:
- Improving the quality-of-service delivery of local authorities affected by the February 6 earthquakes
and - Ensuring the participation of civil society and the business world in socio-economic green development.
The project has a total budget of €13.6 million.
Providing technical expert support to local governments in restructuring their services constitute an important element of the project. Another key pillar of the project will be allocation of grant support for small-scale projects developed in the earthquake-affected areas by civil society, the business community, and local governments. The project will be Technical support for project implementation will be provided by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The support provided within the project is structured under three components:
- Technical Support for Local Authorities: The needs of 24 local governments selected across 11 earthquake-affected provinces will be identified; support will be provided for the preparation of local roadmaps/strategies; and expertise will be provided for the restructuring of local services that are stalled, disrupted, or in need of renewal.
- Grant Support for Collaboration between Civil Society Organisations and the Local Authorities: Support will be provided in determining the role of civic participation in local policy, implementation, and monitoring processes; grant support will be provided for joint projects developed in civil society-local authority collaboration in thematic areas included in, but not limited to, the list below. Local or national CSOs operating in the earthquake-affected provinces can apply for the grant component by partnering with local authorities or relevant public institutions.
- Community rehabilitation, restoration of community activities
- Environment rehabilitation, climate action, biodiversity protection
- Climate action
- Psychological counselling
- Medical and social and need-driven assistance to vulnerable groups (particularly women, people with disabilities, and refugees)
- Education services
- Volunteerism
- Cultural heritage rehabilitation and protection
- Women and girls’ empowerment
- Awareness raising about Disaster risk reduction
- Grant Support for Collaboration between Business Support Organisations (BSOs) and the Local Authorities
Similarly, support will be provided for local and sectoral current situation and needs analyses, and grants will be awarded for joint green and sustainable projects to be developed through business-local government collaboration in the thematic areas below
- Revitalising economic activity in earthquake-affected regions
- Increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of businesses
- Strengthening the resilience of SMEs through green transformation.
Civil society organisations (business support organisations) operating at the local and national levels as part of the SME development ecosystem, such as business associations, chambers of commerce, commodity exchanges, regional development agencies, clusters, business incubators, co-working spaces, science and technology parks, and cooperatives, can apply for this grant program as applicants, while local governments and other public institutions can apply as project partners.
There is no co-financing requirement for the grant program which has a total budget of approximately €4.8 million. Applications could be submitted in Turkish.
GIZ Project Page
Project Factsheets:
PACE Factsheet – Türkçe
PACE Factsheet – English
PACE News and Announcements: News / Announcements – Sivil Toplum Sektörü
PACE Stakeholders
The main beneficiary and coordinator of the PACE Project is the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs (DEUA). DEUA has the overall coordination role for Türkiye’s accession negotiations with the EU and responsible for steering and monitoring collective efforts of Türkiye towards the membership of the European Union (EU) and ensuring the coordination of post-accession work.
DEUA is also responsible for overall coordination, monitoring and evaluation of Instrument for Pre-Acession Assistance (IPA) funds provided to Türkiye by the EU in addition to coordinating the work on participation of Türkiye in EU Programmes and Cross Border Cooperation Programmes.
For more information: www.ab.gov.tr https://ipa.gov.tr
Türkiye
Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT), co-beneficiary of the PACE Project, is the only local authority association authorised to represent municipalities in Türkiyeat national and international level and of which all municipalities are natural members. Among the responsibilities of TBB is to protect the interests of municipalities while providing guidance to them, and to monitor global developments in local governments, supporting them in adapting their structures and providing services accordingly.
In addition, TBB collaborates with public institutions, local authorities, universities, non-governmental organisations, professional organisations and chambers, and similar international organisations, pursuant to parliamentary resolutions, on matters that contribute to the development of municipal services and local services. It also carries out joint service projects and supports the development of sister city relationships.
For more information: www.tbb.gov.tr/en
Union of Provinces (UP), co-beneficiary of the PACE Project, is the official national representative of the Provincial Special Administrations (SPAs), currently operating in 51 provinces (all provinces in Türkiye except for the 30 provinces with Metropolitan Municipalities). With Law No. 5355 on Local Administration Unions, which entered into force on June 11, 2005, the UP gained the right to be the sole national union representing all SPAs.
The VB contributes to the activities and preparations in the EU accession process that Türkiye needs to carry out about local administrations and investment monitoring and coordination directorates. It also works to assist Union members in benefiting from European Union grants, technical assistance, twinning and similar programs and opportunities of the EU.
For more information: www.vilayetler.gov.tr.
Another co-beneficiary of the project is the Directorate General for Local Authorities of the the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. The duties of the General Directorate for Local Authorities include carrying out, monitoring, finalising, and developing the duties and services assigned by legislation regarding the work and operations of local governments; overseeing the implementation of local government investments and services in accordance with development plans and annual programs; conducting research to improve local governments; and collecting, evaluating, and publishing statistical information.
For more information: https://yerelyonetimler.csb.gov.tr/en
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, responsible for the project’s implementation, provides services in the field of international cooperation. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is the primary agency commissioning GIZ. Having established its Ankara Office in 1998 and its Gaziantep Office as a project centre in 2014, GIZ carries out projects with Turkish public administrations, the private sector, and civil society organisations.
For more information: https://www.giz.de/en/regions/europe/turkiye.
The project is co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The contracting authority for the project is the Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU).
