Cities throughout North West Europe (NWE) welcome the challenge to increase public involvement in decision-making and planning. However. the major problems facing Europe cannot be addressed using entirely local approaches. This also requires strategic. coordinated responses. VALUE+ will demonstrate how cities can best integrate bottom-up and top-down approaches. It will show how we can both deepen local participation and broaden involvement in strategy development. We will take this opportunity to generate valuable improvements to local growth. innovation and resilience strategies. VALUE+ will work transnationally to involve citizens in spatial planning. It will train-up an international team of Local EU Champions. involving them directly in the projects delivery and promotion. Public engagement will be ramped-up over time. so that residents. businesses and politicians also become champions of the wider EU Project. This will create an air of excitement and opportunity. VALUE+ will help local communities realise their ambitions and potential. In this way. VALUE+ will improve territorial cohesion and enhance the social and economic performance of 2nd rank NWE cities. VALUE+ develops and implements novel tools and techniques to support integration. yielding more legitimate and efficient decisions. and delivering results outperforming more traditional approaches. VALUE+ combines local participation with technological innovations (interactive 3D visualisations. social media and advanced GIS decision-support). The project involves citizens directly in this process. thereby generating new enterprise opportunities. It draws together organisations representing urban interests. working across all scales and sectors to deliver highly integrated activities. The VALUE+ partnership – which includes cities. social enterprises and universities – creates and cements the collaborations capable of achieving these exciting and vital aims. Achievements: Peer-review plans for smart green growthAn overarching theme of VALUE+ is to help local communities realise their ambitions and potential. During delivery of the project, organisations representing urban interests met to peer review strategic plans for green infrastructure investment. Tools and collaborative approaches were discussed openly, sharing information and learning first-hand how other parts of North West Europe approach multiple-pillar masterplanning and co-financing. This knowledge is used to develop and deepen local involvement in sites and projects supported by VALUE+ so that benefits will be long term and transnational.Social media platforms to engage stakeholdersThe use of social media can be the first step in involving stakeholders in the development of green infrastructure projects. VALUE+ project partners have developed online fora which support local involvement in investment. Use of social media ranges from familiar platforms such as Facebook, to all new blogs developed for specific investments and linked to existing websites. The overarching aim for VALUE+ is to provide a test case for the use of social media in decision-making processes. Stakeholders become involved through manageable steps. Partners share their experiences, resulting in transnational cooperation and better value for all.Cross-sector strategies and partnerships to sustain engagementStakeholder involvement in green investments typically waxes and wanes. This pattern can often be linked to cycles of regeneration brought about by financial investment. In this current period of reduced funding opportunities and increasing demands on our green investments, VALUE+ has examined which cross-sector strategies consistently sustain stakeholder engagement. A collaborative report examines how long-term management is delivered via enterprise partnerships and community capacity building projects. The results of this study will lead to wide reaching behavioural change among project partners, with implications for the management of green investments across North West Europe.