From Local Practice to European Standards
The fifth and final STANDOUT Knowledge Exchange brought project partners together in Munich and Benediktbeuern in May 2026. Hosted by the Technical University of Munich with support from Mountainbike Forum Germany and Outdooractive, the programme combined visits to local examples with final working sessions on the project’s standards, assessment tools and supporting resources.
The Erasmus+ Sport project STANDOUT, coordinated by the European Network of Outdoor Sports, brings together municipalities and outdoor organisations from across Europe. It aims to provide practical tools that help local authorities assess their current situation, engage relevant stakeholders and plan outdoor sport and recreation in a more accessible, inclusive and sustainable way.
Learning from Munich and Benediktbeuern
The programme explored how outdoor sport, nature conservation, mobility and recreation come together in and around urban areas.
The Isar Trails project, presented by the German Alpine Club Munich & Oberland, demonstrated how increasing demand for mountain biking can be reconciled with nature conservation in the environmentally sensitive Isar Valley. Its approach combines plans for an official trail network with ecological restoration, visitor guidance and long-term cooperation between public authorities, conservation organisations, forestry representatives, cycling groups, landowners and local communities.
A walk through Munich’s English Garden explored how one public space can accommodate nature, movement, mobility, recreation and social life. Visits to SURFTOWN MUC and the Eisbach Wave offered contrasting perspectives on purpose-built infrastructure and outdoor cultures that have developed organically within the city.
In Benediktbeuern, environmental education trails provided the setting for partners to review and refine the STANDOUT Standards, assessment process, Quick Check and supporting resources.
Five key STANDOUT results
At the end of June, the project published five major resources:
- STANDOUT Standards for Outdoor Cities and Municipalities: A common European framework of 12 categories and 65 indicators for assessing and strengthening local conditions for outdoor sport and recreation.
- Resources for applying the Standards: Practical guidance for a structured five-phase self-assessment process, informed by pilot implementation in Viana do Castelo, Silkeborg and Sundsvall.
- Stakeholder Ecosystem: A visual model mapping the roles of municipalities, civil society, businesses and institutions at local, regional, national and European levels, with outdoor participants at its centre.
- Online Learning Resource: An interactive journey through the five Knowledge Exchanges in Silkeborg, Lecco, Viana do Castelo, Sundsvall and Munich, showing how local experience helped shape the final framework.
- Carbon Impact and Sustainable Mobility Model: An assessment of the emissions generated by the project exchanges, accompanied by recommendations for more responsible travel in future European cooperation projects.
The pilot municipalities began from different geographical, organisational and policy contexts. However, they reached a common conclusion: the value of the Standards lies not only in completing an assessment, but also in the conversations and cooperation created through the process. The framework helps municipal departments and external stakeholders share knowledge, recognise connections between policy areas and identify local strengths, gaps and priorities.
Bringing the results into practice
STANDOUT is now moving into its final dissemination and implementation phase. Digital tools under development include the STANDOUT Quick Check, a Good Practice collection and the project website, which will make the framework more accessible to municipalities and other interested organisations.
The project will host a dedicated interactive workshop at Euro’Meet in Sundsvall on 9 September 2026. Participants will explore the 12 STANDOUT categories, play the Outdoor City Game and discover how the Quick Check and Good Practice collection can support the journey towards becoming a more outdoor-friendly city.
The STANDOUT final event will then take place in Bajina Bašta, Serbia, from 22 to 25 October 2026, followed by national webinars in the partner countries.
Explore the STANDOUT results:
https://www.outdoor-sports-network.eu/standout-project/
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.