UniverCity is a 36-month project to empower universities to enter into new strategic partnerships to engage with local communities, build stronger neighbourhoods, and support future employability, address the challenge of breaking down the barriers between higher education and the 'outside world' in local communities as identified within the renewed EU strategy for higher education. This will be achieved by developing 18 partnerships between universities, businesses, charities and local authorities in Bulgaria, Italy and Romania, by piloting and testing two annual cycles of Community Research Awards (CRA) per country as innovative methodology for local cooperation based on existing experience in the UK. A CRA is a competition launched among researchers to develop research projects triggered by community needs elicited by citizens and stakeholders. Following this approach we will engage 300 and reach 8,000 academia, businesses and community leaders in these local university-led alliances tackling real-life community issues. UniverCity will promote innovation, exchange of experience and know-how in education and training fields through European cooperation at both policy and practice levels and empower key stakeholders to develop and mainstream policy innovation. Recommendations and toolkits will be disseminated amongst EU universities and policy makers at local, regional, national and EU levels.