<< Background >>Business attraction if understood and carried out properly, is a key element for the future of medium size municipalities. The main challenge for these municipalities is not only promoting themselves as a place to visit (tourism and events) but also to become an attractive place where to work and invest.In order to compete for new investments, the partners have identified the need to develop a range of new competences and skills among their employees; nurturing a competitive business climate, create tailor-made place value propositions and put together cross-functional teams with the necessary capabilities to attract and facilitate investments. In addition, in the last years there is a general trend towards the digital transformation of services, made even more evident during Covid emergency, and this also involves the field of business attraction. In fact, place's competition for businesses and investments is moving online.To face this new trend it is necessary to be equipped with the necessary digital skill.The partner organisations through BAS project want to address the need to develop business attraction skills and, at the same time, to fill the digital gap reaching a range of modern approaches to online branding and marketing, helping staff of local authorities to build competitive place value propositions, accessible for a global audience.<< Objectives >>In the light of the identified needs, the general objective of the BAS project is raising the business attractiveness of the European cities through up-skilling of staff of local authorities.The specific objectives of BAS project are:1. To equip managers and civil servants from Municipalities with digital competencies in the field of business attraction2. To exchange and identify innovative experiences on business attraction strategies among municipalities in Europe 3. To develop an online training module to help managers and civil servants to strengthen their skills in business attraction and in building a digital strategy to improve business attractivenessA further result that will be achieved is enhancing the collaboration between Municipalities and local authorities in EU as a way to pool their existing strengths and resources more efficiently, but also address their common challenges in a more coordinated manner and enhance the economic growth of an area.<< Implementation >>To guarantee the achievement of all the objectives and the realization of the three project results, the project partners have identified a series of activities that will be carried out over the 36-month life of the BAS project:- 6 Transnational Project Meetings (3 of them virtual meetings) arranged approximately every 6 months, aimed at steering the project, supervising the implementation of the project, monitor the development of project results and assessing that project activities are carried out successfully and according to schedule.- 1 Seminar in Sweden, aimed at assessing and evaluating the quality of the contents of the toolbox and the relevance it can have in different contexts.- 5 Multiplier events in each of the countries aimed at presenting the project, increasing knowledge on business attraction and promoting the use of its project results, ensuring the sustainability of the project after its duration.In addiction, specific activities will be developed in the framework of the Quality and Evaluation Plan, and in the framework of the sharing and promoting strategy:- Quality and evaluation activities including all the activities aimed at ensuring the quality of all the tasks performed during the project.- Sharing and promoting activities including all the activites aimed at promote the project outcomes within the project's target groups.<< Results >>The expected results of the project are:SO1: To equip managers and civil servants from Municipalities with digital competencies in the field of business attractionR 1.1 Improved digital competencies in the field of business attractionR 1.2 Improved competences in developing a digital business attraction strategy focusing on how attracting and retaining new entreprisesSO2: To exchange and identify innovative experiences on business attraction strategies among municipalities in Europe2.1 Enhanced collaboration between Municipalities and local authorities in EU2.2. Innovative practices transferred and mainstreamedSO3: To develop an online training module to help managers and civil servants to strengthen their skills in business attraction and in building a digital strategy to improve business attractiveness of the cities3.1 e-course and toolbox developed tested and mainstreamed3.2 internal upskilling strategies in relation to digital business attraction for the staff of the municipality developedPROJECT RESULTSThe project foresees three main project results:1- Training needs mapping and analysis: a collection and analysis of the training needs of the target group. This result will constitute the baseline for the development of the following project results 2 and 3, since it will define the training needs and will allow the development of tools which fully tailored to the needs of the civil servants in the different countries.2- Toolbox on Business Attraction Management: the toolbox will focus on how to organize and manage the Business Attractioncapabilities and how bring together different actors in attracting, welcoming and supporting investments.3- E-course on Digital Business Attraction Skill: anonline training path for civil servants of local authorities staff which builds on some key elements of the toolboxOther expected tangible results, related to the Project activities, are:1) Project Website. It will contain information about the projects’ objectives, activities and results. The website will be kept up to date with project information and it will be user-friendly, communicative and easy to find. Presentations and project results, including the e-course developed by the partners will be uploaded for public consultation.3) Quality Management Plan. This document includes the strategy and the tools to monitor and improve the quality of processes and outcomes at different stages and to detect the possible need for changes. It consists in an evaluation framework where all the evaluation procedures and criteria, along with related timetable and tools (questionnaires, forms, evaluation indicator grids, guidelines, etc.), are described in detail.4) Sharing and Promoting Plan. This document covers all relevant aspects about dissemination of the project. It will state the objectives of promotion and exploitation, along with the target groups and the tools to reach them. The Plan will also point out the role of each partner, the timing and the organisation of the activities.5) Mid-term and final Reports. These documents will include all relevant information and data concerning the implementation of the project at all stages.6)Risk Management plan.