Hands-on Learning Processes to build Multi-stakeholder Energy and Climate Assemblies towards a Just and Clean Energy Transition - HANDS-ON

HANDS-ON will strengthen cross-sectoral capacities and multi-stakeholder governance of Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) across Europe by developing and delivering life-long, participatory learning-by-doing processes. This learning will take place through the creation and institutionalisation of inter-departmental Institutional Working Groups and Multi-stakeholder Energy and Climate Assemblies in each pilot municipality. These novel meso-level spaces are complementary and designed to accelerate timely, mission-oriented, cross-sectoral, data-informed, and impact-driven policies for a just and Clean Energy Transition (CET).

The project will introduce novel dynamics and practices to foster strategic ideation, complex debates, iterative transdisciplinary learning, agreement-building, awareness raising, and continuous evaluation to improve just and CET policy implementation. Institutional Working Groups, composed of technical and political municipal officials, will lead decision-making processes, while Multi-stakeholder Assemblies will fine-tune analyses, propose actions, socialise just and CET policies with the public, and support innovative public-private-civic partnerships.

Concrete plans and governance routines will be institutionalised beyond the project’s duration, ensuring continuous improvement and active stakeholder engagement. These novel policies framed within inter-departmental and multi-stakeholder collaboration will transcend sectoral thinking and approach the just and CET integrating the interrelations between climate mitigation and adaptation, energy poverty and sociocultural norms. 

To facilitate implementation and replication, HANDS-ON will design, test, and validate a comprehensive Toolkit compiling innovative methodologies and participatory techniques. This approach is expected to enable LRAs to overcome barriers to just and CET, align municipal energy and climate plans with broader EU climate and social frameworks, embed long-term participatory spaces that connect technical planning with community knowledge and needs, and provide practical tools to manage complex, cross-cutting challenges. Accessible learning materials and methods will ensure that the process can be widely replicated.

Within the lifetime of the project, the learning-by-doing process will be applied in three pilot municipalities and replicated in over 35 municipalities across Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, and the Netherlands. By the end of the project, pilot municipalities are expected to have strengthened governance structures and enhanced skills to implement socially fair energy policies, bridging gaps between departments and local communities. 

Some key performance indicators (KPIs) include:

Skills and competencies: 
•    Number of policymakers with improved capacity/skills: (>100 officers).
•    Ranking of capacity/skills of technical and political officers of LRAs: Improved score in Y3 and Y8.
•    Average number of training hours per participant: ≥144 hours
•    Number of organisational structures created/reinforced: 
9 by Y3; 13 by Y8

Innovation uptake:
•    Number of institutionalised dialogues/cooperations within and beyond public authorities: ≥15 by Y3; ≥ 21 by Y8.
•    Number of public and private stakeholders engaged: ≥60 by Y3
•    Number of representatives of groups traditionally excluded: ≥20% by Y3, sustained in Y8

Legislation and policy:
•    Number of policies/plans/strategies established: 5 policies co-designed by Y3, implemented by Y8
•    Percentage of proposals effective implementation by LRAs: >25% agreed by Y3, up to Y8
•    Number of clean energy transition actions implemented (or initiated): 3 policies designed by Y3, implemented in Y8
•    Demonstration of secured political commitment and necessary resources: 100% of proposals agreed by Y3

Energy KPIs
•    Primary energy savings: 42.90 GWh Y3 (within project) / 81.47 GWh/year Y8 (after project)
•    Renewable Energy Generation (24.38 GWh/year Y3/ 47.09 GWh/year Y8)   
•    Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (7061 t Y3 / 13336 t Y8)

Economic KPIs
•    Financial resources dedicated or earmarked for the implementation of CET plans/strategies and specific CET actions (55 Mio € Y3 / 43 Mio € Y8)

The partners of the project are:

1. TRAZA, Spain
2. TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT,  Netherlands
3. SOFIA ENERGY AGENCY ASSOCIATION, Bulgaria
4. KOBENHAVNS KOMMUNE, Denmark
5. R2M SOLUTION SPAIN SL, Spain
6. COLLECTIVE FUTURES,  Denmark
7. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY AISBL, Belgium
8. AYUNTAMIENTO DE PARLA,  Spain
9. OBSHTINA VIDIN, Bulgaria.