Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EXCITE (Award Excellence, Invest in Trust: Tailored Energy Management Services for East European Local Authorities)
Período documentado: 2020-09-01 hasta 2022-02-28
As achievement this goal requires broad public support, the project will invest significant efforts in developing interface capacities for engagement with the civil society and incentivize local communities to proactively use the available opportunities, becoming a driving force in the European energy transition. The actions will also support the implementation of the Covenant of Mayors, enabling more municipalities to join the initiative and serving as major data input and result monitoring tool for the actual implementation of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) of the involved municipalities. Last but not least, the embracing of the eea methodology will become the basis of an action-oriented peer learning platform, transferring experience and know-how from already well-developed Austrian, Swiss and French municipalities but also enabling peer to peer learning between cities in Eastern Europe, gradually shifting to more sustainable practices in their economic and social development.
Several supportive activities have been completed in parallel to the main project activities. A review of business and financing models relevant to eea methodology (D 3.1 Toolbox for innovative business models) was completed, featuring the analysed financing programmes accessible in the 5 participating countries, along with potential innovative financial schemes (including crowd funding and energy communities). Furthermore, civil engagement strategies for the pilot municipalities were prepared (D4.2 Local civil engagement strategies) incorporating a review of existing civil engagement strategies and best practices from Smart Cities and Communities actions and Covenant of Mayors with reference to the eea methodology.
In addition, the results from the CoME EASy project related to the compatibility between the eea and the Covenant of Mayors’ SECAP methodology were used in two trainings in Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Ukraine, addressing CoM signatories. To encourage the application of eea methodology a review of the existing capacity building programmes and training materials regarding eea was performed (D5.1 Training programmes available off- and on-line). An e-learning course for further training for the energy managers and relevant departments in using eea as an energy management tool was developed in the Moodle platform, which will be operational for the peer-to-peer activities that will follow in the implementation phase of the project. The online learning platform will also be used to involve stakeholders in terms of methodology and feedback, as well as these strategies implemented in pilot municipalities.
Within this framework, the second half of the project offers active peer learning experiences and local implementation actions, which are expected to result in final eea assessment, and in case of success, awarding of the most progressive pilot cities. Among the immediate implementation actions are a training for local authorities in Cluj-Napoca in July 2022, a study visit in Austria in September 2022, finalisation of pilot evaluations of the participating cities in the autumn of 2022, participation in the eea award ceremony in Luxemburg and in the EUSEW (subject to approval) in October 2022, and many local events, information about which will be available in the social media channels of the project and the national project partners.
In the long-term, the implementation of the eea methodology is expected to serve as a basis for an action-oriented peer learning platform, transferring experience and know-how from well-developed EU municipalities, and enabling peer to peer learning between cities in Eastern Europe, with the aim to significantly increase the quality of their strategies, to stimulate proactive local action, and to boost the international reputation of the participating cities, thus attracting innovative businesses and investors. From the point of view of public entrepreneurs, new market opportunities will be enhanced by the application of the energy management methodology and tools and increased recognition of local authorities. In addition, the establishing of a network for connecting active municipalities with training and consultancy services will significantly broaden the market opportunities for eea consultants and qualified energy experts.