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THE ADVISORY HUB IN NUMBERS

We provide support in three key ways: we offer comprehensive information and guidance via our website; we give tailored assistance to develop and implement projects and investment platforms; and we offer light advisory support when projects just need that little extra push to move forward. Additionally, we build clients’ and partners’ knowledge by hosting events, workshops, training and coaching across a breadth of topics.

NOT ONLY A POWERFUL COMMUNICATION TOOL

Our website not only guides the requests for advisory support, but it also encourages our clients to explore a range of advisory alternatives and funding programmes offered across the European Union.

We had almost 30 000 visits to our website in 2020, more than double that of the previous year. Our online feedback form showed that more than 90% of users were satisfied with the information they received. This gives us a clear indication that we are on the right track and providing the information they need.

LIGHT STRATEGIC ADVISORY SUPPORT

Though we tend to concentrate our resources and efforts in support of larger assignments, in some cases clients only require a couple days of advice to get their projects on the right track. We call this light strategic advice. The Advisory Hub has provided such support to more than 1 400 project promoters in the transport, energy, innovation, and circular economy sectors.

IN-DEPTH SUPPORT

Since its launch, the Advisory Hub has received almost 2 000 direct requests for more in-depth support. In 2020, cohesion countries continued to submit the highest number of requests, seeking assistance to identify, prepare and implement many innovative investment projects.

When a request is received at the Advisory Hub, we work closely with the client to design a tailor-made support package. An expert will be delegated to establish the details of the assignment, including the sector, scope, development stage and nature of the underlying investment. Achieving a clear overview of the project and determining the advisory needs are vital for an assignment to be impactful. This background allows us to customise each advisory package to the needs of the requesters and reach out to EIB experts, local consultants and partner organisations to deliver.

The graphs below show the breakdown of those assignment requests that have received specific EIB and/or partner in-depth support.

BREAKDOWN BY SECTOR

The European Investment Bank and the European Commission join forces to support investments in transport safety with special focus on roads.

Apart from direct support for project promoters, the Advisory Hub also engages in more “horizontal” initiatives, often in collaboration with the European Commission. It also supports other sector-specific mandates by providing complementary or reinforcing assistance. We also work with local partners to strengthen our local presence and ability to help smaller promoters and their projects. What follows is an example of some of these.

SAFER TRANSPORT

In spite of great progress in the reduction of road deaths and injuries, there are still too many accidents, causing not only human suffering but also negatively impacting the economy. The Advisory Hub was approached by the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission (DG Move) to establish a one-stop shop for road safety investment advisory, called the Safer Transport Platform.

The Safer Transport Platform—Road Safety Advisory offers guidance to the public and private sectors. We help promoters identify sources of funding for their projects, such as grants from European Union programmes, including the European Structural and Investment Funds and the Connecting Europe Facility.

Project promoters can access many advisory services to improve the quality of their projects. From feasibility studies and the development of project concepts, to improved bankability and increased eligibility to receive European Union funding, our support is a game changer for road safety.

ENERGY-EFFICIENT PROJECTS BOOSTED BY ELENA

EIB experts, funded by the Advisory Hub, are helping many clients get support from the ELENA programme. ELENA, which stands for European Local Energy Assistance, provides grants for technical assistance in energy efficiency and urban transport, primarily for cities and regional projects.

Applicants who need help preparing proposals for ELENA grants can request guidance from the EIB experts, who will give a helping hand to prepare a sound application. This increases the applicants’ chances of eventually receiving the ELENA grant.

Most projects relate to energy efficiency in public and private buildings. In 2020, 17 ELENA grant contracts were signed, worth €35.2 million and supporting over €1 billion in underlying investment.

RESIDENTIAL REFURBISHMENT IN HELSINKI, FINLAND

An ELENA grant helped Heka, the municipal housing company of Helsinki, improve the condition of its rental housing. Heka manages the city’s rental property and is financed by the state. A €1.83 million technical assistance grant will help the company renovate nearly 170 residential buildings containing around 4 200 apartments. The additional support provided by the ELENA grant will make a stronger business case for investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy, ensuring that the refurbishment of these buildings is more sustainable. The total investment in this project is expected to be around €70 million. The renovations, encompassing building envelope, heat recovery systems and solar panels, should cut energy use by about 40%.

A glazier working on an energy-efficient, triple-gazed window.

ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE HOMES FOR ZUID-HOLLAND

As part of a national effort to phase out natural gas, the Province of Zuid-Holland will help nine local authorities offer cleaner heating in residential areas. The existing gas heating will be replaced with low-temperature, renewable energy heating networks. An ELENA grant of €2.7 million will support the complex coordination, stakeholder engagement, feasibility studies and procurement for the project. The total investment is estimated at nearly €94 million. In addition to helping 3 600 homes become energy- efficient, the grant will help install 28 km of district heating networks.

A SENSE OF SECURITY

Security threats are rapidly evolving, complex and often cross-border in nature. These threats can be handled more effectively with a unified response to investments in security projects. The EIB responded by setting up the European Security Initiative at the end of 2017. The Bank defined three focus areas under this initiative: research, development and innovation for civilian and defence-related activities; cyber security; and civilian security.

To help identify projects for the initiative, the Advisory Hub established a benchmarking system to ensure a common definitional approach to parts of projects related to security. Bank experts developed a method to identify security-related investments for each sector and project type, and show how these projects’ elements might qualify for the initiative and be eligible for support under other relevant EU programmes.

With the help of EIB experts mobilised by the Advisory Hub, project promoters will be able to more consistently report the security components of projects, and their costs, defining the best way to measure returns on security investments across different sectors.

URBIS—SUPPORTING URBAN INVESTMENT

URBIS is an urban investment advisory platform established within the Advisory Hub. A joint initiative by the European Commission, the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, and the European Investment Bank, it was launched in 2017 to provide a more holistic advisory service to cities, recognising their very diverse sectoral and project cycle needs, and the importance of integrated territorial development.

Despite the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on municipal investment priorities, by the end of 2020 URBIS had received around 45 eligible requests for support from municipal authorities in some 20 Member States. So far, 15 of these have already been completed. URBIS has helped large and small cities with projects in areas such as energy efficiency, the circular economy, urban mobility, smart cities, social housing and urban regeneration.

Warsaw, Poland.