A Peer-Review Exercise has been organized by the City of Reggio Emilia, Italy, on the 11th November 2014. The invited Peer Reviewer were the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and the City of Odense, Denmark.
The detail description of the activity, the agenda and the presentations are available in the download area (below).
Peer-review methodology
The methodology adopted for the CIVITAS peer-review exercise follows the rationale that a group of experts from different cities working in similar issues can evaluate local policies, programmes and practices being implemented in a particular city and based on this can give recommendations on possible areas of improvement. The assessment is done in a structured and focused way, following a common standard (‘benchmark for integrated learning’). Those making the evaluation are called peers or ‘equals’ reviewer because they come from backgrounds similar to colleagues whose work is reviewed. A key strength of the process is that – as peers – they can readily understand the goals of the practitioners whom they visit, the pressures on them, and the complexity of their environment. Peer-reviewers share their wealth of knowledge with the municipalities which they visit and review. They take back to their municipalities knowledge from the places they visit, strengthening their understanding. This methodology thus offers them an opportunity to exchange skills and experiences, and to reflect on their own work.
