The network’s activities include meetings between members and guest contributors from national or international institutions, universities, research organizations and companies.
The meetings, one and a half days in length, take place in various cities around France at the invitation of a local authority. Since it was founded in 2012, BEST has met 30 times in 22 different cities.
The 30th meeting took place in Bologna in September 2024.
Go to meetingsTopics addressed at meetings
| #30 | Journey to Italy |
| #29 | A) Working time, health and parenting B) Port and industrial challenges of decarbonization |
| #28 | A) Food and agricultural transition B) Artificial intelligence |
| #27 | Immersion in the Swedish model |
| #26 | A) Port issues, brownfields rehabilitation and cultural and creative industries B) Behavioral sciences |
| #25 | The city of tomorrow |
| #24 | Social and democratic issues of urban development |
| #23 | Transition: prospective scenarios and action plans |
| #22 | Metropolises and their academic system + Strategic management of human resources |
| #21 | New urban players and urban services |
| #20 | Long-standing crisis, sudden crisis : how to cope ? (video conference) |
| #19 | Covid-19: crisis management and recovery in local territories |
| #18 | The challenges of the energy and ecological transition for territories |
| #17 | Brussels, un multi-faceted city-region |
| #16 | The making of the city : strategies and managerial challenges |
| #15 | Metropolises, territorial cohesion and administrative simplification |
| #13 | Urban mobilities |
| #12 | Social and region-wide inclusion of vulnerable populations |
| #10 | Local governance reforms: dynamics and repercussions |
| #9 | Human resources, cooperation and public policy |
| #8 | Innovation in the public sector, funding of public investment and administration |
| #7 | Large urban areas and regions in Europe: what kind of strategic partnerships can address regional changes? |
| #6 | Mergers and reorganization of local authorities: implications for management and social partners |
| #5 | Local governance |
| #4 | Public-private cooperation to serve local areas |
| #3 | The role of executives in large local authorities. Running and monitoring satellite entities. Managing water and sanitation |
| #2 | Scenario planning and sustainable cities |
| #1 | Public service performance |
Trips
In 2017, the first meeting was held in a European city outside of France: Barcelona
#11 Seminar / tour on the topic of:
Organization and operation of the city and its satellites
In 2018, BEST went to COLOGNE, invited by the City and its holding Stadtwerke Köln
#14 Seminar / tour on the topic of:
Organisation, operation, achievements and futur challenges
In 2019, BEST went to BRUSSELS, invited by Brussels-Capital Region
#17 Seminar / tour on the topic of:
Organisation, operation, achievements and futur challenges
In 2022, BEST went to BERLIN, invited by the Senate of the Land of Berlin
#24 Seminar / tour on the topic of:
Social and democratic issues of urban development
In 2023, the City of STOCKHOLM hosted a BEST seminar.
#27 Seminar / tour on the topic of:
Immersion in the swedish model
In 2024, BEST was hosted by the Municipality and the Metropolitan City of Bologna.
#30 Seminar / tour on the topic of :
Green and sustainable city, city of knowledge, university
Host local authorities
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Support from France urbaine
Since its 12th meeting, BEST has received steady support from France urbaine, the national reference association that federates French metropolitan areas, large combined urban authorities and cities.
