Author: ISOCARP Institute

D7.1 Approach and Methodology for Monitoring and Evaluation

Posted on August 6, 2019 by -

The deliverable 7.1, Approach and Methodology for Monitoring and Evaluation, was submitted by Future Analytics Consulting in June 2019 and revised in May 2020. Following, the executive summary of the deliverable:

“This report presents Deliverable 7.1 – “Approach and Methodology for Monitoring and Evaluation” of WP 7 of the +CityxChange project. The task was set to develop a standardised approach and methodology to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) that could be applied to measure the impact of all interventions implemented through the demonstration projects.

This report provides a detailed M&E standardised approach applicable to all eleven Demonstration Projects and the overall project impact, undertaken in close conjunction with the LHCs, FCs, and Solution Providers. This approach will incorporate the defined Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Framework (Section 1.3.6.2) (based on existing Smart Cities projects and programmes and extended with KPIs specific to the +CityxChange project). Moreover, the standardised approach includes transformation of the incoming measurements to KPI measures into a M&E scoring output. In addition, the results from a workshop held during the first consortium meeting will be described. Finally, the report will specify periodic updates of the KPI Framework to ensure most relevant KPIs are being captured and the frequency of collection is appropriate (connected to Task 7.1).

The data requirements for the M&E process were considered by looking into the quality and quantity, focussing on the provision of metadata and project monitoring data through the process of data collection for the different interventions specified by the project. A definition of the parties responsible for the data collection process was derived by looking into the project partners grouped into KPI owners and/or data owners where relevant. The distinction between the relevant KPI and data owners are based on the key responsibilities of each partner – as KPI owners lead the implementation and monitoring of the intervention and take responsibility for its impacts, and data owners provide technical support and expert insight into the data management process. The governance of data is also discussed in line with the data collection process as the parties responsible will need to adhere to the relevant GDPR requirements, Creative Commons data sharing, and H2020 protocols for fair data management and dissemination. The project aims to share as much data as possible with the public while ensuring that sensitive and personal data is protected in line with its Data Management Plan.

Further to the data collection process the relevant project boundaries are defined, using a macro to micro overview, in order to understand the spatial scale at which data is captured and reported. Examples provided give further insight in the way data will be aggregated for the purpose of reporting at a certain scale. To apply the M&E approach in the +CityxChange project, the consortium developed a framework of KPIs, of which some relates to the SCIS, while others were developed to measure specific KPIs that were developed for the project. The document discusses the definition of a KPI, how it is used in the project, and the learnings and initiatives considered in setting up the project’s KPIs. More emphasis is placed on the use of KPIs related to the SCIS and the specific KPIs developed for the project.

Sections 6 and 8 of the deliverables respectively refer to the process of standardisation of project monitoring data to be followed in project M&E, and the importance of maintaining good standards of M&E through reviewing the process of collection and relevance of data capturing procedures and KPIs. A review process is proposed which is to be followed if deemed that a KPI should be amended.

As an annex to the document the KPI information tables are included for the perusal of KPI & data owners. The tables provide an overview of the definition, description and detailed calculation parameters of each of the 33 KPIs. The tables were designed as a ‘go-to’ reference for all partners needing more info on the calculation procedures for their respective KPIs.”

D3.1 Framework for Bold City Vision, Guidelines, and Incentive Schemes (SDG City Transition Framework)

Posted on August 6, 2019 by -

D3.1 Framework for Bold City Vision, Guidelines, and Incentive Schemes (SDG City Transition Framework), was submitted by Trondheim Kommune with contributions from LCCC, MP, MAI, SB, SMO, VORU, EAP and ISOCARP in April 2020. Following, the executive summary of the deliverable:

“The +CityxChange Bold City Vision (BCV) ​Framework, Guidelines and Incentive Schemes helps cities identify and address key opportunities and actions on their way towards becoming smarter and more sustainable. The framework incorporates the process of creating a city ​vision ​and ​goals ​that situate the actions aimed at creating Positive Energy Cities firmly within the cities’ overarching planning and management process. The focus on smart energy needs to be aligned with a broader concern with sustainable development, covering social, financial, technical, and urban aspects, and linking to the overall European Strategies for 2050 as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this reason it carries the action-oriented subtitle ​SDG City Transition Framework​.

The role of cities is growing in importance with 68% of the world’s population estimated to live in cities by 2050, according to The 2018 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects (United Nations, 2019). They are the engines of growth accounting for 80% GDP. However, main parts of our anthropogenic CO​2 emissions occur in cities, thus cities also present one of the sources of the greatest threat to the future of the planet. Managing the growth and development of our cities in a
sustainable manner is therefore critical to the future of the planet. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out on a global scale targets for the future development of the planet. Cities have the most important role in meeting these targets; if they are to transition and meet these targets, we need to leverage smart and sustainable innovation.

The Bold City Vision Framework connects the global goals of the SDGs to local policy development with a strong emphasis on citizen engagement and citizen driven open innovation and business development. ​One important question still remains: ​How can cities prioritise their goals within the global framework of the SDGs in an open and participatory manner? ​Each city must align itself to the SDGs and establish its own priorities. In doing so the city must first review its current policy objectives and compare these to the outcomes of an evaluation of its own SDG performance and potential. The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) KPIs afford cities the first 1 truly global set of KPIs for evaluating and monitoring progress, at the city level.

This first version of the Bold City Vision Framework has been developed by drawing on the combined insights of work done in +CityxChange Lighthouse Cities Limerick and Trondheim, as well as input from the Fellow Cities. The continued development of the framework will happen as Lighthouse and Follower Cities develop their respective Bold City Visions. The Framework comprises and ensures a continuous and iterative process, beyond the time period of the prevailing +CityxChange project period, to provide future, improved BCVs in cities. 

When structuring the Bold City Vision Framework, and in order to handle the inherent complexity of moving entire societies in a smarter and more sustainable direction (transition process), the Framework has been optimised to deal with the following questions:

  • How can cities maximise their ability to identify and share local high potential solutions to the rest of the city, and beyond, in order to meet their agreed goals? Cities are becoming increasingly aware that they are investing in large
    numbers of research and pilot initiatives that may lack both the ambition and the conditions conducive to large scale impact.
  • How can cities identify and connect to the financial, social and human capital needed to realise large scale socio-technical interventions. There is a risk that ambitions are scaled down to fit local constraints instead of creating
    opportunities to mobilise the resources needed to truly scale the solutions to match the SDG-related challenges facing the city.
  • How can cities best manage the complexity, and thus the opportunities, involved in SDG-planning and action? A fragmented approach could undermine both local impact and the potential for large scale innovation, productive
    partnerships and investments.

The dual purpose of this document is to present the Framework, as well as illustrate how the Framework itself opens a multitude of windows of opportunities to identify and share potential contributions that may add value to the transition process. Each process, and sub-process, offers an array of opportunities to plug in new ideas and solutions.

The Framework will be further developed in common learning processes with cities. For example, the municipality of Asker has, in cooperation with the City of Trondheim, already made a Norwegian edition which will also be used together with the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities to develop and make this available for all municipalities in Norway (Asker Municipality, 2019). This will again be input for the implementation of the Bold City Vision in the +CityxChange Lighthouse and Fellow cities.”

D2.1 Report on Enabling Regulatory Mechanism to Trial Innovation in Cities

Posted on August 6, 2019 by -

The deliverable 2.1, Report on Enabling Regulatory Mechanism to Trial Innovation in Cities, was submitted by Trondheim Kommune in July 2019. Following, the executive summary of the deliverable:

“This report investigates and analyses how EU legislations and national regulations influence the process of establishing positive energy blocks (PEBs), positive energy districts (PEDs) and community grid systems (CGSs) – and how they could be processed and operated within the framework of a local energy market. Within the scope of the report, these terms are defined and understood in the following way:

Positive Energy Block (PEB):​ A compact area including at least three mixed use buildings (> 15.000 sqm) and local production which over a year produce more energy than it consumes. In Ireland the PEB will be referred to as the Community Grid System (CGS) as described below.

Positive Energy District (PED): Mixed-use energy efficient districts that have net zero carbon dioxide emissions and actively manage an annual local surplus production of renewable energy.

Local Energy Market:​ A transparent market accessible for all appropriately metered assets – independent of size – within a PEB or PED. Could be local production or local consumption. The local market operation includes system operation.

Community Grid System (CGS): Community Grid System (incorporating smart-grid PEB’s) is a group of distribution network connected electrical resources, within a clearly defined boundary in the distribution system, with a single defined logical connection point to the wider grid. Unlike a traditional Microgrid, the Community Grid is a logical rather than a physical connection point in which it is obligated to autonomously maintain disturbance-neutrality at that point. The concept of the Community Grid is that of a virtual “microgrid”, where the energy entities (demand customers, generation and energy storage) are connected to the existing DSO network in a similar manner to today.

The project demonstrations will be implemented under actual national regulatory regimes with relevant dispensations. However, an extensive implementation and upscaling of the tested solutions demands compatibility with current and future EU regulations.

The major scope of the project is to identify, describe and support processes that enables positive energy blocks and districts. It is focused on how these rather progressive and innovative processes are challenging established operational routines in the countries of the actual Lighthouse and Follower cities. For the project it is investigated and done through a gap analysis between Norway and Ireland for the Lighthouse Cities of Trondheim and Limerick. It is included an overall comparison with and between the Follower Cities of Pisek in Czech Republic, Võru in Estonia, Alba Iulia in Romania, Smolyan in Bulgaria and Sestao Berri in Spain.

A Positive Energy Block or District is possible where the annual energy production within an area is greater than energy consumed within the same area. To make this possible it is crucial to address all existing and new incentives including how these incentives should be amplified by using new technology and business models. For a basic understanding of all the implications in the process towards this scope, how the power market is operated is addressed – both as an electric and a financial system. Within the EU framework the power market includes the following six r​ oles​:

Power producer​ – generates and sells production through market operator or bilaterally. Market operator​ – receives bids and clears the market (neutral).
System operator​ – ensures that the system is operated electrically correct/optimal.
Grid operator​ – transports electricity to customer.

Supplier​ – buys or generates electricity and sells it to a customer. Customer​ – buys electricity for consumption.

The roles interact digitally for metering, system services, settlement and payment services. For the local market as demonstrated in the +CityxChange project, these interactions are simplified, and the roles are reduced from six to four due to that the operation is local and partly automated.

The identified incentives for setting up a PEB will be strengthened due to that local energy resources are given a real-time market value. The incentives will vary for the players within the local energy market. The main tasks to be executed within the PEB demonstrations are:

  • Generate electricity – as an independent power producer – locally without any upper limits.
  • Sell produced electricity to a local market operator or bilateral.
  • Third parties allowed to own and operate local storage of electricity and heat.
  • Sell storage products either as energy, capacity and system service from battery to local market or local system operator or local grid company.
  • Sell surplus energy to the global market through a local market operator.

The gap analysis from Norway and Ireland has identified that to be able to operate a local market including a community grid system special permissions are required. For the Trondheim demonstrations, the Distribution System Operator (DSO) TrønderEnergi will act as the operator of the PEB – the Community System Operator (CSO). The DSO is already granted with the necessary dispensations, thus most likely only a few applications to the regulator is necessary in order to perform the demonstrator. The gap analysis identifies need for changes that are crucial to be able to operate a sustainable PEB within a local power market – after the demonstration period.

The gap analysis for Limerick is more extensive, due to the fact that a new entrant – Community System Operator(CSO) – will operate the local energy market on a pilot basis for the duration of the project, under the supervision of the current DSO. Several dispensations need to be granted to the third party CSO. At the replication level of the project the role of CSO, in many jurisdictions, will conflict with the DSO role under Law.

DSOs are funded under the “Common Good” Principal – in this way freeing up their “Commons” type system for use by producers, system services providers and others. Meantime DSO have, in most jurisdictions, the primary objective of providing the best value possible to all consumers, as determined annually by the Energy Regulator.

DSO-power is not naturally symbiotic, or under regulations, with the strict obligations of CSOs, who must deal with the enabled of ever increasing levels of new Renewable & Recycling Energy Electricity Generators connected under Disturbance Neutral Prosumer Group (Franchised Local Energy Communities – FLEC).

For the Follower Cities, the basic regulatory and policy conditions are mapped, with a focus on replication of the processes and enabling the GAP analyses for the respective countries.“

ERRIN Smart Cities Working Group Meeting, Brussels

Posted on May 16, 2019 by - Cities, News

ERRIN (European Regions Research and Innovation Network) had invited for a workshop of their Smart Cities Working Group around the key topics of the two new Lighthouse Projects, titled Smart Cities WG Meeting: Latest developments on PEDs and the future of Smart Cities.

As the main contribution, the two new Lighthouse Projects funded through the H2020 SCC1 calls for 2018 were presented. Both +CityxChange and MAKING-CITY presented their project with presentations from their respective coordinators and cities. For +CityxChange, the Project Manager from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Lighthouse City Manager for Trondheim Municipality held a joint presentation, titled +CityxChange – Developing a Lighthouse Project for Positive Energy Districts, on the approaches of the project and the background and motivation for the application process, highlighting the city needs, co-creation of a project proposal, and implications for collaboration. MAKING-CITY was represented by its Project Coordinator CARTIF, the Lighthouse City of Groningen, and the Follower City of Bassano del Grappa.

There were four breakout discussion sessions on the topics of PEB/PEDs, Citizen Engagement, Follower cities, and Scaling up, financing and dissemination. The PEB/PED sessions were co-moderated by CARTIF and NTNU, the Citizen Engagement sessions were co-moderated by the City of Groningen and Trondheim Municipality.

The details and the presentations are available from the event page.

D10.5: List of targeted media and partnerships

Posted on May 4, 2019 by -

The deliverable 10.5, List of targeted Media and Partnerships, was submitted by ISOCARP in April 2019 and contains the description and list of targeted media (channels) and partnerships. Following, the executive summary of the deliverable:

“This deliverable identifies the target audiences, media channels and media partnerships. The objective of WP10 is marketing and communication of the project at the local/regional level and broad dissemination of the project outcomes across Europe. Furthermore, the activities related to dissemination, marketing and exploitation are described.

By using appropriate media and tools in each city and for each target audience, project results are shared and promoted through adapted dissemination activities. An analysis of media channels and how to reach them are described in section 3.

Chapter 05 contains an excerpt of the working document in the internal project environment which lists targeted media channels and partnerships at the international and local level. The list will be reviewed and updated constantly by the task lead in collaboration with all project partners.

D10.4: Project leaflet in local languages

Posted on May 4, 2019 by -

The deliverable 10.4, Project leaflet in local languages, was submitted by ISOCARP in April 2019 and contains the English general project flyer, and the city-specific leaflets in both English and respective local language. Following, the executive summary of the deliverable:

“The main objective of WP10 is the effective communication and dissemination of the +CityxChange project across stakeholders and the general public. A wide range of working dissemination tools and materials will be established within the first year, serving as a support for both internal project communication and reaching out to external stakeholder and the general public.

This document describes the context of the deliverable 10.4; project leaflets in local languages. It is an initial flyer about the project for an overall project overview and an adapted localised version for all cities within +CityxChange. The dissemination material of deliverable 10.4 is translated by the LHC and FC and made available in all project languages. Two types of leaflets are created: The first is a general flyer which describes the broader context of the project. The second consists of one general page about the project and a back with city-specific information of each individual city and the context and project location. The produced flyers are the first part of the press kits which will be developed in deliverable 10.7 (M12) and regularly updated. The English versions of the leaflets are mainly for international presentations of +CityxChange, while the local language versions can be used for local and national events.”

D10.3 Project website and social media

Posted on May 4, 2019 by -

The deliverable 10.3, Project website and social media, was submitted by ISOCARP in April 2019 and contains the concept and structure of the project website and social media. Following, the executive summary of the deliverable:

“The project website of +CityxChange is the central tool for general dissemination of the project. It was extended from the initial status of the proposal stage to incorporate further information, more detailed structure, and the different project elements and to provide comprehensive and user-friendly information and knowledge sharing platform. The updated website will be constantly adapted and expanded throughout the project. Furthermore, a concept for the use of social media is developed, centred around the project Twitter account: +CityxChange (@plusCities).

The website development and upkeep is located in WP10 Communication and Dissemination and is directly linked to Task 10.2. The process is led by ISOCARP, building upon the information and news provided by all project partners. The use of social media is a project-wide activity which is also led by ISOCARP but highly relies on the widespread participation among the partners.

This deliverable provides an overview of the goal and target groups of the website, the content structure, as well as the already implemented and planned elements which will be added to the website when they are formally launched. While the primary framework of the website shall remain consistent over the course of the project, it shall not be understood as a static product but instead as one which is flexible and evolves and adapts over time through new additions and alterations based on the overall project development. Furthermore, the concept and target groups for social media are further elaborated.

Simultaneously to this description, a guideline is produced and shared with all partners which specifies the procedures to submit information and share news through the different channels, as well as how to submit and track attended events, both internally and public on the website.”

+CityxChange at European Smart Projects Summit, San Sebastian

Posted on April 5, 2019 by - News

Organised by the Lighthouse City of our sister-project REPLICATE, Donostia/San Sebastian, the European Smart Projects Summit took place on 26-27 March 2019. Several consortium partners of +CityxChange were together with representatives from 14 SCC01 projects and 90 cities in Spain to learn from the other projects, exchange experiences. Among other topics, it was discussed how districts can be transformed towards more sustainable ones and how the future of sustainable cities can look like. Further, funding and business models for the implementation of smart solutions, as well as smart and sustainable mobility, and methods to support the process, such as citizen engagement and data governance, were on the agenda.


Read more about the event

Alba Iulia

Posted on February 27, 2018 by - Cities

With a population of almost 74,000 and an urban area of 104km2, Alba Iulia has a population density of 713 per km2. Alba Iulia is located by the Mureş River in the heart of Transylvania in the central part of Romania. Cultural heritage and tourism are of significant importance for Alba Iulia. The historical centre is highlighted as a geometric centre and also as the core of the urban organisation. The Alba Carolina Citadel, the most representative Vauban Citadel in Romania, outlines the city of Alba Iulia. After a series of large rehabilitation projects over the last decades of more than €70m, financed by EU funding (ESIF), the Municipality has enhanced the city’s cultural heritage and provide the opportunity for both citizens and tourists to explore an area.