The NEB boost for small municipalities supports small players that are developing projects which are inclusive, sustainable and beautiful. The initiative helps municipalities overcome early-stage barriers by providing financial support, visibility, and recognition. The prizes showcase outstanding local project and give municipalities the necessary boost to continue implementing them, in line with the NEB values and working principles.
Eligible must be municipalities that:
- Are classified by Eurostat as Local Administrative Unit (LAU) in an EU Member State; and
- Are classified by Eurostat's degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) under codes 2 or 3 (towns, suburbs, or rural areas), regardless of population size.
Municipalities classified under DEGURBA code 1 may also apply, provided they have fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
Application may also be submitted jointly by a group of municipalities, even if their combine population exceeds 20.000 inhabitants.
In order to simplify the verification of this eligibility criteria, we provide a list of eligible municipalities in the prizes platform.
The proposed projects should be aligned with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) values (sustainable, inclusive, beautiful) and working principles (participatory process, multi-level engagement, transdisciplinary approach).
They must focus on the built environment - such as the construction, renovation, and adaptation of buildings and public spaces - through the lenses of circularity, carbon neutrality, cultural heritage preservation, affordable housing solutions, and regeneration of rural or urban spaces.
All projects should have achieved a sufficient level of maturity and demonstrate the involvement of the community. If your project is completed, we encourage you to apply under Strand A of the NEB prizes 2026.
A project has attained a sufficient level of maturity when there is clear evidence that it will be implemented. This means that all relevant stakeholders, from the city council to the communities that will benefit from it, demonstrate clear commitment towards its development.
To prove this commitment, it is necessary to provide proof that the project is either referred or fits the development plan of the municipality (provided that the municipality has one) and that, at least some elements of this project were previously financed or are budgeted in the annual budget to the municipality. Finally, showing that the project emerges from the needs of the community and how citizens, end-users and main stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process, provides reassurance on the likeness of the project to be implemented. For detailed information about the required documents, please refer to the Guide to Applicants for the NEB Boost for Small Municipalities.
The Boost for Small Municipalities would like to motivate municipalities to develop projects that are rooted in their communities’ needs and values. It rewards municipalities that listen to their citizens and involve them in shaping the solutions to their problems. In order to demonstrate that the project stems from the community and/or has been intensively agreed with all stakeholders, the applicant may provide any documentation, pictures, letters, agendas of meetings or explanatory notes that can serve to understand how this criterion is fulfilled.
Applications for the NEB boost for Small Municipalities should be submitted through the dedicated platform. The application form should describe the project in detail and explain how it embodies the three New European Bauhaus values. It should demonstrate compliance with the eligibility and award criteria, particularly the steps taken to involve citizens, end-users and main stakeholders in the decision-making process.
The application period opens on 20/02/2026 and closes on 17/03/2026.
Only applications submitted before the official deadline will be considered by the Evaluation Committee.
No. Each application must be submitted either to the NEB Boost for Small Municipalities or to one of the categories of Strand A of the NEB Prizes. However, applicants may submit multiple applications if these relate to different projects.
If your project is completed, we encourage you to apply under Strand A of the NEB Prizes 2026 competition.
If you do not have one yet, please follow the instructions on how to create an EU Login. If you already have one but have troubles in accessing it, please contact the EU Login support.
Applications can be modified and updated while they remain in draft form, up until the submission deadline of 17/03/2025. However, once an application is submitted, it cannot be altered.
Each winner will receive a monetary prize of EUR 30,000.
In addition, winners will benefit from a communications package provided by the European Commission, which includes promotion on official websites and social media channels, the production of a short video, and support in promoting the project more widely.
The selection process takes place in several stages:
- Eligibility check: the Evaluation Committee, composed of Commission representatives, will check that the entries are eligible (the Committee will not evaluate the applications themselves).
- Quality assessment: external experts, selected by the Commission through a ‘'Call for Expression of Interest', will evaluate the applications and attribute points based on the award criteria in the Applicants Guide. The list of shortlisted applications will be established by selecting the 30 highest-scored applications submitted for the Boost, provided they meet all eligibility criteria and achieve the minimum quality, defined as at least 50% of the maximum aggregate score.
- Jury assessment: shortlisted projects are then assessed by a final jury of experts who will will propose a list of 20 winners to the Evaluation Committee.
- Establishment of the results: the European Commission will award the prizes to the selected winners based on the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee.
As outlined in the Guide for Applicants, “the application must include basic information and credits for the project, along with the following documentation:
- A development plan of your initiative that outlines the general timeline, the steps for further development and implementation and demonstrates a commitment to further implement the project.
- At least six photographs with indications on copyright and the authorisation to use them by the European Commission. For projects which cannot be presented through photographs, other types of visual representation can be used (graphs, drawings, etc.). Additionally, a photograph of the specific infrastructure or public space that will be transformed must be included.
- A letter from the political representative of the applying public authority, endorsing the project.
- Evidence that budget has been committed to the development/implementation of at least a part of the project (e.g. approved annual budget of the municipality).
- Evidence demonstrating that citizens, end-users, and main stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process across the different project phases in a meaningful manner (articles, declarations, proofs of meetings and discussions, brochures, online posts). The documentation provided should prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the project originated in the community or it has its full support, there is a clear intention in fostering community engagement and provide spaces to foster community agency and engagement in the future.
You will find specific fields for uploading the required documents in the application form.