Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ENERGee Watch (Peer to peer learning in regional and local authorities to timely and accurately define, monitor and verify their sustainable actions)
Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-02-28
From planning to financing and successful implementation of sustainable energy solutions, public authorities have varying levels of knowledge, skills, and capacity, as well as several needs. In 2017, an extensive study conducted by the European Covenant of Mayors Office showed that local and regional authorities need support on collecting, monitoring and verifying data for their climate and energy plans. Policies for monitoring and verification are often formed on a national level, and cities oftentimes do not have the capacity for setting up proper MRV practices and do not properly monitor the impact of their policies and implemented actions.
ENERGee Watch launched a peer to peer learning programme to enable regional and local authorities to timely and accurately define, monitor, and verify their sustainable actions as well as to strengthen collaboration and engagement among them.
The learning focuses on regional/provincial authorities and their agencies that are responsible for collecting and overseeing the monitoring of mitigation and adaptation measure indicators in order to empower them to make use of best practices. The project builds on the successful H2020 PROSPECT project and goes one step further by enabling accurate and successful data collection, dissemination and validation, monitoring and verification practices, and proper monitoring indicators in cities and regions across EU.
ENERGee Watch is an existing informal European network of regional greenhouse gas observatories managed by FEDARENE whose mission is to collect, monitor, report Greenhouse gas (GHG) Emissions and implement energy saving strategies and policies. The added value of ENERGee WATCH project is that it brings this already existing informal network to a higher level by achieving specific and strategic objectives.
The specific objectives of ENERGee WATCH are:
1. to develop and execute a complete and easily replicable peer to peer learning program addressing at least 79 regional authorities or their associations and agencies. In this way, by building capacity of regional authorities, we would reach a few hundred of their cities and local members.
2. to create effective and productive peer-to-peer groups among regional and local authorities and agencies within and outside consortium partners, in order to ensure the exchange of experience and expertise on MRV.
3. to build partnerships that will stimulate mutual understanding of each other’s issues, situations and challenges with the aim of exploring new ideas, options and solutions.
4. to further improve the replicability and comparability of measurement and verification practices through empowering mentors and strengthening their knowledge.
5. to identify and set up proper replication mechanism for the learning programs available to regions/cities beyond the consortium network and the project’s duration.
The strategic (medium to long term) objectives of ENERGee WATCH are:
a) to build capacity of regional authorities in monitoring and verification practices for adaptation and mitigation actions through peer-to-peer learning activities,
b) to help public authorities and their agencies use the rich experience available, which is yet difficult to appropriate solely on their own, and
c) to link regional authorities and their respective associations along with energy policy makers, associations of planners, technical experts, MRV experts, and local actors in an intra-European network through an innovative peer-to-peer leaning experience about local and regional MRV practices for both adaptation and mitigation policies.
ENERGee Watch launched a peer to peer learning programme to enable regional and local authorities to timely and accurately define, monitor, and verify their sustainable actions as well as to strengthen collaboration and engagement among them.
The learning focuses on regional/provincial authorities and their agencies that are responsible for collecting and overseeing the monitoring of mitigation and adaptation measure indicators in order to empower them to make use of best practices. The project builds on the successful H2020 PROSPECT project and goes one step further by enabling accurate and successful data collection, dissemination and validation, monitoring and verification practices, and proper monitoring indicators in cities and regions across EU.
ENERGee Watch is an existing informal European network of regional greenhouse gas observatories managed by FEDARENE whose mission is to collect, monitor, report Greenhouse gas (GHG) Emissions and implement energy saving strategies and policies. The added value of ENERGee WATCH project is that it brings this already existing informal network to a higher level by achieving specific and strategic objectives.
The specific objectives of ENERGee WATCH are:
1. to develop and execute a complete and easily replicable peer to peer learning program addressing at least 79 regional authorities or their associations and agencies. In this way, by building capacity of regional authorities, we would reach a few hundred of their cities and local members.
2. to create effective and productive peer-to-peer groups among regional and local authorities and agencies within and outside consortium partners, in order to ensure the exchange of experience and expertise on MRV.
3. to build partnerships that will stimulate mutual understanding of each other’s issues, situations and challenges with the aim of exploring new ideas, options and solutions.
4. to further improve the replicability and comparability of measurement and verification practices through empowering mentors and strengthening their knowledge.
5. to identify and set up proper replication mechanism for the learning programs available to regions/cities beyond the consortium network and the project’s duration.
The strategic (medium to long term) objectives of ENERGee WATCH are:
a) to build capacity of regional authorities in monitoring and verification practices for adaptation and mitigation actions through peer-to-peer learning activities,
b) to help public authorities and their agencies use the rich experience available, which is yet difficult to appropriate solely on their own, and
c) to link regional authorities and their respective associations along with energy policy makers, associations of planners, technical experts, MRV experts, and local actors in an intra-European network through an innovative peer-to-peer leaning experience about local and regional MRV practices for both adaptation and mitigation policies.
Since September 2020, until March 2022 the ENERGee Watch Consortium created and initiated a peer to peer learning program for regional authorities consisting of four different courses:
Course 1: Data collection (acquisition and treatment)
Course 2: Monitoring, reporting, verification: follow up on the implementation of actions
Course 3: Indicators and strategies on adaptation to climate change
Course 4: Data display, dissemination, and validation by local authorities
The first of the three learning cycles was successfully launched with a Masterclass in July 2021 and completed with total of 25 mentees from 19 organizations from 15 different MS. Mentees in cycle 1 came from different backgrounds and organisations, such as energy agencies and local authorities (cities, municipalities and counties).
Alongside the leaning program, activities were organised targeting experienced local associations / possible mentors, in order to further improve the replicability and comparability of measurement and verification practices. Necessary materials have been made to aid the learning programme and, by the end of the project, best practices will be collected from both the learning programme and the national and EU-level activities and synthesised into a guidebook that will facilitate other associations of cities / local actors through the entire process, from data collection to the measurement and verification of those practices.
Course 1: Data collection (acquisition and treatment)
Course 2: Monitoring, reporting, verification: follow up on the implementation of actions
Course 3: Indicators and strategies on adaptation to climate change
Course 4: Data display, dissemination, and validation by local authorities
The first of the three learning cycles was successfully launched with a Masterclass in July 2021 and completed with total of 25 mentees from 19 organizations from 15 different MS. Mentees in cycle 1 came from different backgrounds and organisations, such as energy agencies and local authorities (cities, municipalities and counties).
Alongside the leaning program, activities were organised targeting experienced local associations / possible mentors, in order to further improve the replicability and comparability of measurement and verification practices. Necessary materials have been made to aid the learning programme and, by the end of the project, best practices will be collected from both the learning programme and the national and EU-level activities and synthesised into a guidebook that will facilitate other associations of cities / local actors through the entire process, from data collection to the measurement and verification of those practices.
By involving experts from all Europe upstream in the knowledge production process, we aim to strengthen ENERGee WATCH’s impact by gradually working on useful knowledge and communication that is salient, legitimate, and credible and enables policymakers to better inform their policies and plans. Through the learning programme process and the knowledge exchange between the mentor and the participants, each participant will review the current situation in his/her region with respect to data sharing and identify key energy data providers and users. Mentors will use their expertise to guide participants on how to develop and implement collaboration models with energy data stakeholders in their region and define specific technical aspects (such as format of data, periodicity of data provision, etc.). The participants will analyse the specific sustainable projects they want to monitor and verify and discuss it within the learning group pointing out barriers and difficulties they are facing or may face. A learning programme document will be created for participants to ensure systematic data gathering and information flow.
During the peer-to-peer learning process there is a detailed action plan for each participant including the learning objectives, key steps to enhance their MRV procedures as identified and activities to disseminate the knowledge gained with other colleagues. A commitment letter is signed by the highest representative of the organization of each participant to ensure the commitment of the organisation to be an active stakeholder in the project and make use of the results. The approach of ENERGee Watch facilitates the development and monitoring of SEAPs and other energy plans.
During the peer-to-peer learning process there is a detailed action plan for each participant including the learning objectives, key steps to enhance their MRV procedures as identified and activities to disseminate the knowledge gained with other colleagues. A commitment letter is signed by the highest representative of the organization of each participant to ensure the commitment of the organisation to be an active stakeholder in the project and make use of the results. The approach of ENERGee Watch facilitates the development and monitoring of SEAPs and other energy plans.