Financing Poland’s local energy transition: Cities’ Partnership Initiative 

Poland’s Cities’ Partnership Initiative (Partnerska Inicjatywa Miast, PIM) is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy designed to translate national urban policy goals into finance-ready local projects. Building on two previous editions and methodologies adapted from URBACT, the EU programme dedicated to expanding cities’ competences, the third edition of PIM began in 2024 and runs until April 2026. It is co-organised with the World Bank as a strategic partner, which supports project activities while providing expert assistance to all participants. Throughout the process, the Mazovia Energy Agency (MAE) contributes technical expertise to help ensure project feasibility and coherence with broader energy efficiency goals. 

Transforming urban ideas into actionable investments  

PIM offers municipalities hands-on support along their path toward sustainable development, while fostering peer-to-peer learning across Poland. Each edition works through three thematic networks that group municipalities facing similar challenges. Following earlier emphases on digitalisation, green transformation, city mobility, climate adaptation and PPP, the current edition focuses on affordable housing, compact city and energy efficiency. 

The model combines a top-down policy framework with bottom-up problem-solving. Cities and functional urban areas develop tailored solutions, refine technical scopes, set KPIs and align their projects with national and EU instruments. Working in networks, the 29 participating cities and functional urban areas, from regional capitals to small municipalities and multi-municipal areas, translate their concepts into bankable pipelines supported by realistic delivery models, including blended finance, ESCO/PPP options and robust evidence packages. Leading the energy efficiency network, MAE supports this process by assessing feasibility, advising on cost-effective measures and mapping funding opportunities to facilitate later due diligence.  

Structured workshops, study visits and a growing alumni community ensure that knowledge circulates and strengthens the wider ecosystem of urban practitioners. 

Building stronger cities and smarter national policy 

Each municipality prepares two core outputs: an Improvement Plan and an Urban Action Initiative (UAI). The UAI sets out a roadmap to address local challenges identified at the start of PIM and outlines concrete actions and priority projects. As one participant, Aleksandra Gałuszewska from the municipality of Rumia, noted, cooperation within PIM and the exchange of experiences with other local governments “revealed how much potential lies in Rumia’s team working on the energy transition and helped shape the Urban Action Initiative by turning intentions into concrete steps.” 

Improvement Plans, prepared for each network, serve as a bridge between local insights and national policymaking. Drawing from the experience of participating cities, they provide recommendations for central authorities on how to fine‑tune regulatory and financial instruments to better support urban development. With methodological assistance from the World Bank, these plans help ensure that lessons from the ground influence future legislation and programmes. 

What PIM has delivered and how it moves forward  

Over the past two years, PIM has delivered substantial outputs: national and international study visits, five in‑person working sessions and a set of energy efficiency individual plans. These include projects on district heating modernisation, energy management systems in public buildings, and an energy‑efficiency manual for public and private buildings. The network also identified three common challenges and developed two national pilot plans offering comprehensive legal, financial, administrative and organisational recommendations. 

By the end of PIM, the participating entities will have durable cooperation networks, finance‑ready UAIs for priority investments, and Improvement Plans that strengthen national frameworks. The result will be replicable roadmaps enabling cities to build internal capacity, assemble credible funding mixes and bring forward mature, scalable projects that accelerate Poland’s local energy transition while reducing investment risk. The programme’s outcomes are already proving to be inspirational for municipalities across the country facing similar challenges. 

This best practice is extracted from our publication ‘Sustainable Regions in Action‘. Discover more best practices here!