Hi Everybody - This is my first time on the IMAGINE blog. I would like to share some news concerning the IMAGINE Campaign project proposal that was submitted in mid January to INTERREG IVC. Please note that this is a proposal and we will only know in June this year if it will be accepted or not.

Below is a summary of the proposed project - Please if anyone has any questions concerning the project do not hesitate to blog!

Today, it is acknowledged that climate change and energy issues are a major source of concern. Local Authorities (LAs) have a strategic role to play as a significant gap remains between current trends of urban development and the desired sustainable energy future. This is due to 2 territorial tendencies:

  1. Schizophreny - LAs are aware what direction they have to take (reduce energy use and increase RES), but the majority are not active enough.
  2. Sporadic initiatives - Some initiatives are showing us the way forward. However, these examples are still isolated and to change the current trend, it is crucial that thousands of LAs be involved!


These are the very foundations of IMAGINE.
The objective is to reduce the gap between current trends of urban development and the desired territorial energy future by a bottom-up process where local stakeholders co-imagine an attractive and sustainable future, co-designing IMAGINE-orientated integrated territorial development visions and plans.
Partnership
The IMAGINE project consists of a powerful combination of:

  • 12 pilot local authorities (PLAs)
  • 3 key European networks with their combined 2,000 LA members promote sustainable energy policies and practices in local authorities across Europe (Energie-Cités, Eurocities, Climate Alliance)
  • 1 academic partner (TU Delft) with a strong track record in applied research and advice in the area of energy policy and transnational learning.


Thus the IMAGINE project benefits from:

  • extensive geographical coverage of PLAs in Europe: Scandinavia (Odense-DK), New Member States (Koszalin-PL, Presov-SK, Varna-BG), Southern Europe (Modena-IT, San Sebastian-ES), Western Europe (Echirolles-FR, Heidelberg-DE, Leicester-UK, Lyon-FR, Munich-DE, Sutton-UK)
  • a broad mix of experienced and less advanced (Lisbon Agenda) partners, but all highly motivated
  • proven experience in European communication and dissemination


The main activities include:

  • Exposing PLAs to relevant existing tools and methods to achieve a new energy paradigm and create attractive, secure and sustainable living and working environments (via an extensive and interactive exchange process)
  • Supporting and coaching these PLAs to test, adapt and create tools (if necessary) that work for them and thus allow them to take ambitious steps to achieve their sustainable energy futures


Cheers Ian