Multidisciplinary Energy-Efficiency Think Tank for Supporting a Multilevel Governance Model in Energy Policies and Measures: MEETHINK Energy Project

MEETHINK_Energy is an european research project leaded by Tuscany Region under Horizon 2020 call for proposal, involving 30 municipalities of 6 different European countries (Albania, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, and Spain). The project will stimulate a multilevel governance model by joining regional with local authorities and involving policy makers, technicians, stakeholders in a bottom-up integrated approach. The core of the project focuses on the definition of a common protocol and on the identification of common criteria and energy efficiency performance indicators, as well as on a pilot phase during which the multilevel governance model will be tested in collaboration with small and medium-sized city partners. Several potential scenarios will be evaluated and the multilevel governance model will allow to improve the quality and the effectiveness of energy policies and measures as well as the connection among different key-actors and levels of government. A common ICT platform, supported by a peer to peer methodology, will by structured with three different access levels (free access, policy makers, technicians) and it will include a data sharing tool, open data repositories, a decision support system and a communication website. This platform will support public authorities in monitoring and evaluating the current situation with the aim to identify its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in order to identify the most suitable policies and measures. The platform will allow to involve public/private stakeholders and promote a multidisciplinary Think Tank network across the EU. With a focus on three thematic priority areas (energy efficiency in buildings & districts, in particular public bodies’ buildings; renewable energy sources & distributed energy generation; energy in urban mobility), the aim of the project will be achieved by sharing activities through large-scale networking, peer-to-peer learning and best practices, by assessing the training gaps and needs of the participating municipalities in reference to energy efficiency planning and implementation; by developing a detailed capacity building strategy for public authorities at different levels of government.