HÉTFA Research Institute will participate in an international project in the framework of the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme. The project will be coordinated by EM Normandie Business School (FR). The project partners will investigate the „Territorial impacts of COVID-19 and policy answers in European regions and cities”. The project held its kick-off meeting on 7th May, where researchers from the 11 participating partners from 9 countries, and representatives of the ESPON EGTC took part. The project partnership includes research institutes such as the NordRegio research centre (SE), universities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.
The project aims to identify the social impact of the pandemic and its territorial implications in the European Union focusing at the regional and local level. The objective of the project is to model the geographical spread of the pandemic and its drivers, and to identify policy instruments that have been able to address the societal challenges of the pandemic effectively. The project will create policy recommendations at the regional and the local level. HÉTFA will be involved in data collection, indicator development and create dynamic maps and spatial analyses as well as conduct a case-study.