Urban cooperation for sustainable development in Europe: a co-designed methodology to foster multi-level governance

Purpose This paper presents and discusses the process employed to co-design and implement a participatory methodology for fostering multi-stakeholder governance within a European Interreg project, named UrbanCOOP. It aims to show how a stakeholder-oriented approach can be operationalized through co-created tools and routines that help regional and local authorities work with their stakeholders on sustainable urban cooperation. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an action-research design within the Interreg Europe UrbanCOOP project, involving six European regions. The methodology was developed in two main phases: a co-design phase, leading to the co-construction of a stakeholder assessment template (SAT); a joint implementation phase, including progressive stakeholder mapping. Findings The methodology provides a structured process for organizing stakeholder relationships in multi-level governance. It supports continuous engagement rather than one-off consultations, serves as a legitimation tool, functions as a prioritization mechanism by clarifying which stakeholders must be involved and how and broadens the spectrum of actors considered relevant to urban policies. Research limitations/implications The study is based mainly on self-reported data from project partners and on a single Interreg Europe experience with six regions. Future research could test and adapt the methodology in other urban and non-European contexts, apply quantitative analyses to the produced data and follow the longer-term institutionalization of the routines. Originality/value The paper offers an empirically grounded and adaptable methodological framework that enriches multi-level governance by operationalizing key theoretical pillars of the stakeholder approach, such as stakeholder empowerment and engagement, into the everyday work of institutional bodies at the European level.