Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI)’s circular systemic solutions
Proposals are expected to implement and demonstrate circular systemic solutions for the deployment of the circular economy (including the circular bioeconomy) in cities, regions or their groupings.
The implemented circular systemic solutions should address economic, social and environmental dimensions of the transition towards a circular economy and include science, technology and governance components. They should demonstrate circular governance models and support the active participation of all relevant actors in cities, regions or their groupings. Examples of relevant actors are: public administrations and utilities; private sector services and industries, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs); scientific and innovator communities including incubators and accelerators; financial intermediaries with a focus on environmental and social impact; venture capitalists and business angels; civil society, including citizens; and non-governmental organisations and philanthropy.
The implemented circular systemic solutions may consider applying the circular economy principle not only to waste and water management, but also to other sectors including, for example, one or more of the new circular economy action plan key product value chains, i.e.: batteries and vehicles, electronics and ICT, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings, food, water and nutrients.[[https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/]] The circular systemic solutions may also include nature-based solutions. Circular systemic solutions and the economic sectors involved in them should be selected and based on a detailed analysis of the cities, regions or their groupings’ socio-economic and environmental needs to be addressed, circular potential to be exploited and challenges to be tackled.
Circular systemic solutions should identify, analyse and, when feasible, quantify the economic, social and environmental benefits and trade-offs/challenges related to their implementation and demonstration. They should include the monitoring and evaluation of the transition towards a circular economy, identify their strengths and weaknesses as well as causes. They should analyse the experimented regulatory obstacles and drivers and provide clear and precise policy recommendations to improve circular economy. Each circular systemic solution should address environmental externalities and contribute to preserving and, where possible, increasing the well-being and the health conditions of the local communities involved in the transition towards a circular economy.
It is crucial that the circular systemic solutions implemented and their business models have a high replicability and scalability potential. This is fundamental to facilitate that circular systemic solutions demonstrated in specific areas will be replicated in others. During their implementation and by the end of their life cycle, the selected proposals are expected to share with all stakeholders clear and comprehensive guidelines on the circular systemic solutions adopted, including their strengths and weaknesses experienced.
It is essential that proposals also ensure complementarity and cooperation with existing and future relevant European projects on the circular economy and the circular bioeconomy, with special reference to those on local and regional scale, and avoid overlaps and repetition. In particular, cooperation and complementarity should be ensured with the projects under the European Green Deal Call’s topic ‘LC-GD-3-2-2020 - Demonstration of systemic solutions for the territorial deployment of the circular economy’.[[https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-3-2-2020;freeTextSearchKeyword=green%20deal;typeCodes=1;statusCodes=31094501,31094502,31094503;programCode=H2020;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=31087050;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;callCode=H2020-LC-GD-2020;sortQuery=submissionStatus;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState]]
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.