Within the EU-funded 2iSECAP project, ENCO is working with partners from 8 European countries, as well as the Swiss City of Thun, to co-create an Institutionalized Integrated Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (2iSECAP) with Thun.
The key objective of the project is to support five participating municipalities, including Thun, improve their energy and climate policy outcomes and to engage more regional stakeholders through a modified integrated and participatory planning and implementation process – involving Living Labs (LL) – to contributing more successfully to the energy transition.
The proclaimed energy and climate targets of the EU – as well as those of the Swiss Energy Strategy – are not achievable by most cities and municipalities if they act within their municipal scope of action. Local authorities need more leeway and greater stakeholder participation. Based on this need, ENCO supported Thun in collaboration with HES-SO to develop the “Climate Action Living Lab”, which brings together the city government with the interests and capacity of local and regional initiatives, entrepreneurship and the population in a multiple-level participatory co-design process: top down meets bottom up for fruitful collaboration, social innovation, less social resistance and better results.
By evaluating the experiences gained in all participating cities and municipalities, opportunities and risks of the 2iSECAP approach will be identified and guidelines will be developed to guide and support the European municipal sector on its path towards a more sustainable and effective energy and climate future.
Our main tasks:
- Support Thun in installing and institutionalizing a long-term participatory co-design process, including the establishment of a Living Lab
- Facilitate the development of a Municipal Energy and Climate Action Plan
- Assist the city staff in planning and implementing priority projects (e.g. Service & Support Package for Sustainable Heat)
- Support the city in performing LL sessions
You can find an introduction to the topic of participation in municipalities and the processes in Thun in the brochure “Kompass Partizipation für Städte und Gemeinden” from SwissEnergy for Municipalities/Smart City in German language.