Panel 2050

For a low-carbon community in cee

Panel 2050 is a project funded from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The aim of PANEL 2050 project is to create durable and replicable sustainable energy networks at local level, where relevant stakeholders collaborate for the creation of a energy visions, strategies and action plans for the transition towards low carbon communities in 2050. The PANEL 2050 project focus on the creation of these networks in CEE countries, where this type of networks at local level is almost completely absent and therefore additional support is needed.

What is CEESEN?

The Central and Eastern Europe Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN) is an online platform created as a result of the PANEL 2050 project to facilitate communication and  unite different energy actors in the regions. CEESEN was created as a result of the PANEL 2050 project. With the support of the project partners and wider involvement of CEESEN network the organizations and individuals can start to design the sustainable future for their community.

Cooperation – Building the Partnership

An important step on the project proposal development process is forming the partnership of organizations and selecting the lead or applicant organization. CEESEN’s Platform can be useful way to identify potential partners by looking at the previously supported projects of the funder. These partners have the added benefit of already having experience with the funder; it is also a way for you to connect your project to what the funder has supported in the past.

Communication

CEESEN unite all actors in the energy field: individuals, cities, municipalities, regions, scientists, NGOs, energy agencies and public institutions. It facilitate communication between members in English and in national languageLearning

Platform enables  sharing of best practices, articles, interests, experience. It is a great low-carbon economy knowledge base. All materials related to project activities are published on the Platform, among others, curriculum and training materials – a guide, presentations, reports and slides from regional stakeholder trainings on the transition to a low-carbon economy, a guidebook on energy efficiency, regional energy profiles, visions, strategies and action plans for the energy future 2050 also project  PANEL 2050 replication model

Promotion

At CEESEN you can create profile of your organization, post for job openings and give an update on your present activity.

Digital democracy

CEESEN in Platform for local dialogue, it is Central and Eastern Europe voice spread at EU level. It is the place when stakeholder engagement and cooperation can make a difference.

Aims of Panel 2050

PANEL 2050 seeks to reach this goal by supporting communities in 11 Central and Eastern European Countries to transform into low-carbon economies by equipping energy advocates with the tools needed to mobilize local stakeholders to face the challenges of sustainable development in CEE and post-soviet countries.

Help CEE Communities Develop Roadmaps for Reaching Sustainability

Each of PANEL’s 10 partner regions will develop local Energy Roadmaps and Action Plans promoting and supporting the transition towards a low-carbon community. The CEESEN roadmaps on energy future 2050 will be designed in comprehensive process encompassing the process of generating a baseline, setting a regional vision, drawing up the roadmap itself including several action plans. The roadmapping model, which all partners are ask to follow is divided into different steps building on each other from the first initial data collection to a complete implementation plan. This 4 stages-model should help structure the process for the roadmapping teams. The following figure shows the CEESEN roadmapping model.

Help PANEL Partners to More Effectively Engage their Stakeholders

PANEL 2050 has developed a process for helping its partners engage their stakeholders in the long-term energy planning process. The PANEL 2050 Energy Advocacy Training Programme is a structured and integrated approach that combines theory with practice for this purpose. It was created by the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu to help PANEL partners analyze their local market to identify which stakeholders should be involved and then implement strategies for engaging them using various methods. This includes guidance on:

  • Identifying staff appropriate for serving as Stakeholder Engagement Persons (SEPs) who can provide training, technical assistance and support to stakeholders within their community.
  • Analyzing and prioritizing stakeholders within their region.
  • Developing strategies for engaging stakeholders via a range of different actions
  • How to train stakeholders in their region on sustainable energy planning and advocacy – achieved via Train-the-Trainers workshops held with partners
  • Identifying important stakeholders who can act or are already acting as Forerunners in their region – opinion leaders who can influence the actions and decisions of others
  • How to develop the skills and abilities of “Forerunners” to engage in effective sustainable energy advocacy at the local, regional, national and European levels

 

Engage Stakeholders in CEE Countries Through Training and Capacity Building

In October 2017, PANEL 2050 partners began to provide training and technical assistance in each of our 13 CEE regions to increase the capacity of stakeholders to effectively participate in and advocate for the Roadmaps and Energy Visions described above. To date, 14 trainings have been held with 379 stakeholders. Training is based on the curriculum designed by the University of Tartu’s Skytte Institute in consultation with fellow PANEL Partners the Tartu Regional Energy Agency (TREA), ConplusUltra, the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU) and WWF Bulgaria/Hungary as well as experts in the fields of politics, stakeholder engagement, marketing and advocacy. The curriculum has been developed by bringing together the practical working experiences of its creators with an extensive review of theoretical literature.  The themes and information presented in these trainings were compiled into the Guidebook on Advocating Sustainable Energy in Central and Eastern Europe. The Guidebook Although the Guidebook covers different topics that can also be used and followed separately. However, we do recommend using it as a whole if possible as the benefit from the support of different topics is considerable

 

Building the Capacity of Forerunners to push for Sustainable Energy

A key element of the PANEL 2050 concept is that broad change across Central and Eastern Europe is only possible as the result of local change in communities throughout the region. Furthermore, like many social changes, for this transition to be successful, local leaders must act as champions to educate others about the importance of the issues and to motivate them to change their behavior in ways that would enable a low-carbon future. These champions we call ‘forerunners’ and they are people and organizations with a high interest in promoting sustainable energy, have a willingness to act and are capable of influencing others.Forerunners in our targeted regions benefit from many of the outputs described above  – they will be able to make use of the data compiled from the local/regional Energy Profiles, they will participate in regular trainings and will make use of the guidebook that has been developed. However, to further enhance this, PANEL 2050 also host the Forerunner Bootcamp which is a a week-long, intensive, practical and hands-on skills training for key stakeholders who can play leadership roles in their communities. Participants were given opportunities to develop and pitch concepts, strategize on how they will reach key stakeholders, role play scenarios on dealing with different stakeholders (government, energy producers, end users, etc.) and be given advice regarding the development of funding proposals. The Bootcamp is being organized by many of the same PANEL partners who developed the guidebook, including the University of Tartu, ConplusUltra, the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU) and WWF Hungary. The Bootcamp was held in Spring of 2018 and will be documented and recorded, so that it can be replicated by others seeking to empower forerunners in their community.

 

Bring Together Sustainable Energy Stakeholders from throughout the CEE Region

Whereas much of the PANEL 2050 project is focused on the local level – our goal is to scale up our efforts to achieve lasting change throughout the Central and Eastern European Region. To achieve this goal, the project was also used to launch the Central and Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network (CEESEN) to bring together stakeholders, share ideas and information and create networking and collaboration opportunities.  In October 2017, CEESEN held its first conference in Prague, with over 150 regional stakeholders participating. To learn more about the Conference, visit here.

Biggest outcomes and deliverables

Project manual (D1.1)  – The Project Manual comprises the project description, an overview of relevant specifications , the instructions for the realization of the project.

Curriculum (D2.1) – Guide for Trainings designed by the University of Tartu’s Skytte Institute in consultation with fellow PANEL Partners the Tartu Regional Energy Agency (TREA), ConplusUltra, the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU) and WWF Bulgaria/Hungary as well as experts in the fields of politics, stakeholder engagement, marketing and advocacy. The curriculum has been developed by bringing together the practical working experiences of its creators with an extensive review of theoretical literature. It is intended that the curriculum will address the needs of project partners, sustainable energy stakeholders and identified forerunners.

Training Materials (D2.1)- Package of training agenda, presentations, reports and  training slides of regional Trainings conducted in: EstoniaLatviaLithuaniaPolandCzechSloveniaHungaryBulgaria, Romania, Macedonia

Guidebook on Energy Efficiency Advocacy (D2.2) – Compiled information about the themes and information presented in regional trainings

Regional energy profiles (D3.1)-  Overviews of the various dimensions of energy consumption and production in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romunia, Macedonia

Synthesis report on REP (D3.2) –  Profiles of each participating region compiled into a synthesis report written in English

Regional visions for sustainable energy future (D3.3) Vision for Energy Roadmaps in PANEL 2050 model in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romunia, Macedonia

Synthesis report on Regional Visions (D3.4) – Visions of each participating region compiled into a synthesis report written in English

Roadmaps for Energy Future 2050 (D3.5) Roadmaps for Energy Roadmaps in PANEL 2050 model in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romunia, Macedonia

Synthesis report on Roadmaps(D3.6) – Roadmaps of each participating region compiled into a synthesis report written in English

Regional Action Plans (D3.7) – Action Plans for Energy Roadmaps in PANEL 2050 model in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romunia, Macedonia

Communication plan  (D4.1) – our approach to providing stakeholders with information. The plan formally defines who should be given specific information, when that information should be delivered and what communication channels will be used to deliver the information.

CEESEN Conference (D5.3) – In October 2017, CEESEN held its first conference in Prague, with over 150 regional stakeholders participating. Agenda, presentations, videos available here:  https://ceesen.org/conference/

Energy Efficiency Forerunner Model Evaluation Report (D5.4) – Presentation of findings from process and input/output evaluations based upon the data from implementation of Stakeholder/Forerunner training and implementation of Roadmapping

Energy Efficiency Forerunner Model Replication Guidelines (Long term energy planning & Forerunner Training) in English (D5.5) – created to offer guidance to other organizations interested in carrying out similar activities

Dissemination Conference ( D5.6) – In January 2019, CEESEN held its second conference in Tartu. Agenda, presentations, videos available here: http://ceesen.emu.ee/

Consortium

Tartu Regional Energy Agency (Estonia)
University of Tartu (Estonia)
University of Life Sciences (Estonia)
Vidzeme Planning Region (Latvia)
IAERPA (Lithuania)
Mazowia Energy Agency (Poland)
AgEnDa (Czech)
ConPlusUltra (Austria)
Local Energy Agency Spodnje Podravje (Slovenia)
WWF Hungary
Local Energy Agency of Bucharest (Romania)
WWF Bulgaria
Balkan Development Solutions (Macedonia)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 696173.