A comparison report providing an overview of the state of the art of 26 operational and financial models enabling large-scale energy efficiency programmes from 11 different European countries was published. All the models involve public authorities working closely with the private sector and/or their citizens. The selection of models also covers the full range of public authorities, ranging from small municipalities to national governments, through the regions, provinces, large cities and county councils. The models generalisation coupled with the materials and lessons learnt from the capacity building programme allowed the preparation of a step-by-step guidance on how to design, implement and monitor large-scale energy efficiency programmes. The guidance details the key steps to follow and includes links to a set of useful tools and other resources developed in the frame of CITYnvest.
In the three pilot regions, the activities started gathering the support and engagement of the stakeholders which are needed to put in place the energy efficiency programmes planned. In collaboration with the CITYnvest experts, action plans for each pilot region for the concrete implementation of the programmes were prepared, teams dedicated to the implementation are identified, and ad hoc structures in the form of Project Development Units (PDU) set-up. In order to effectively monitor the progress of in the regions, a data collection methodology and respective templates were developed. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in each pilot region. Based on the analyses of these data recommendations and further guidance improvements were made, including indications on PDU requirements, success and failure factors.
In the frame of a large scale capacity building programme 16 national events in 10 European countries were organised. A detailed follow-up strategy was implemented in order to ensure a long-lasting engagement of all concerned actors. At the end of the project is estimated that over 650 local actors were trained and over 2000 local authorities were provided with guidance material via on-line and off-line actions. All materials developed as part of the capacity building activities are available open source on the CITYnvest website.
In order to stimulate the creation of a better policy framework, a booklet with policy recommendations was prepared. The booklet was translated in the languages of the focus countries to ensure all relevant policy stakeholders were reached.
To widely disseminate the project results, achievements and lessons learnt, CITYnvest partners were present at a number of regional, national and EU-wide events to promote the CITYnvest materials and tools to a large audience as well as in expert circles on these issues. A final dissemination event was organised in Brussels, gathering some 100 participants over two days.
