Looking for data journalists – European Week of Regions and Cities

The European Week of Regions and Cities will again bring together some 6000 regional representatives and experts in Brussels from 6-9 October.

We’ll be hosting a couple of hundred journalists from across the EU at the event, which includes a specially designed media programme. Given the strong focus on the use of statistics to report about European regions and EU Cohesion Policy, we will be extending a special invitation this year to a limited number of data journalists.

Can open data improve the effectiveness of EU funding?

Roncoferraro, a small town in the northern Italian region of Lombardia, has switched to 100% renewable sources for its muncipal energy needs.  A mix of different technologies, including solar power and a high-tech heating network running on locally-produced woodchips, provides heat during the cold winters and air conditioning during the hot summers.  These investments were part-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

Until recently, it was difficult for journalists, researchers and even public officials from the different administrations in Italy to get a comprehensive overview of the way EU funding is allocated to projects in local communities like Roncoferraro.  The relevant information was dispersed across the websites of different managing authorities, and published in formats that made it difficult to access and work with the data.