The article reviews the integrated territorial investments carried out in the Opolskie Voivodeship in the financial perspective 2014-2020. The object of the analysis was the Opole Agglomeration as the only of five functional areas of the Opolskie Voivodeship, where beneficiaries of funds from European Funds are located within this investment policy development policy.

The emphasis on the territorial dimension of the public policy can be reduced to transition from a sectorial approach to an integrated territorially approach, which is based on the integration of activities of various public entities towards the territories referred not so much administratively as functionally. The functional areas (FA) is defined as spatially separated territory, which shares a common geographical differences, spatial and socio-economic conditions and the system of functional relationships and on this basis shares the uniform development objectives, ensuring effective use of its space. This understanding of the functional areas are to be the subject for intervention of the public policies. The regional development policy implemented by the voivodeship governments closely follows the findings of EU and the national strategic documents and intentionally uses a territorial approach to developmental challenges and problems. Such policy is focused (and will be focused) on the use of endogenous potential, including the territorial resources and knowledge, and will also allow for the interventions adapted to the local conditions. Thus, implementation of policy conceived in that matter is associated with geographic and thematic concentration with respect to the areas and key issues in achieving goals of the regional development. Identification of areas for which public intervention is necessary to fully exploit their endogenous potential – will be pursued with the assumption that they can have a problem character, but they can also be the potential poles of regional growth. The aim of the paper is to identify the integration processes between territorial units forming urban functional areas on regional level. In particular, it focuses on clarification the intensity of existing relationships and on the attempt to create and verify a list of criteria for delimitation of functional areas at the sub-regional level (by k-Means and Huff’s methods), assuming that each urban centre on metropolitan, national and regional level also carry-out the functions at sub-regional level.

Local development, based on the use of endogenous potentials, requires the cooperation of muni-cipalities in urban functional areas (agglomerations). However, conducting joint activities in the area of building and running local development policy is a serious challenge. On the one hand, there is a shortage of experience in this area (not counting the short period of functio-ning municipal unions in the years 1920-1939 and intentional inter-communal relations after 1990). In addition, there are still no legal solutions needed (in addition to the act passed in 2017 for the metropolis of Silesia and Zagłębie). In recent years, however, projects of integra-ted territorial investments and other project partnerships have been implemented under the European Union and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism Programs, which result in prac-tical conclusions and legislative recommendations. The most important of them concern the introduction of a new form of partner cooperation and the adoption of a new urban code. Their quick implementation will enable more eff ective cooperation for development.