Service delivery in challenging territorial circumstances: How to adapt and innovate in local terms?

The European Pillar of Social Rights stipulates that everyone has the right to easy-to-use and affordable key services, including water, sanitation, energy, transport, financial services and digital communications. The first-ever European Commission’s "Access to Essential Services in the EU" report published in June 2023 highlighted various country experiences and indicated that people at risk of social exclusion and disadvantaged groups face particular challenges

ESPON and OECD have engaged in further understanding the territorial dimension of service delivery; the sessions explored main findings of recent research efforts.

The OECD research (2024) “Getting to Services in Towns and Villages” looked at the interaction between geography and access to services. The study, for instance, concluded that towns and villages located farther from cities tend to provide more services than similar-sized settlements closer to cities, as residents near cities often access services in the city itself rather than in their smaller suburban locations.

ESPON DESIRE project brings in a wealth of innovative examples on how service delivery can be ensured in challenging territorial circumstances. The analysis of innovative solutions applied across European lagging regions shows that while digital technologies play a major role, physical access to services of general interest may still be ensured by effective cooperation, creativity and by thinking out of the box.

The Hungarian Presidency provided a concise overview on the current government's approach in addressing service delivery. The Catching-up Settlements Programme (Felzárkózó Települések Program, known as FeTe programme), was presented which is a large-scale programme to address social issues in marginalized rural settlements and communities situated in lagging regions of the country. It has proved to be an effective instrument thus far, for instance, the component of the FeTe programme, called Health Development Program – Telemedicine for the Most Deprived Settlements won the REGIOSTARS 2024 award of the European Commission in the category of Social and Inclusive Europe.