"ANALYSISBoth one of the causes of the climate change and one of the first victims of its effects, the contemporary city is at the epicentre of the ecological and climate crisis. The Covid19 crisis reveals in particular the fragility of our socio-economic structures and the excessive length of supply chains. The stakes of the relocation of our production (food and industrial) and of the Energy Descent arise now with new acuteness. How can we finally implement the ecological city? Over the past two decades or so, we have been observing the rise of a social dynamic that is changing the way we live in cities: urban agriculture. This transnational citizen dynamic (along with others, like metropolitan hiking) is now converging with the theoretical productions resulting from research (particularly in the fields of bioregionalism, """"agritecture"""" and ecological humanities). These practices and theories, which are mutually reinforcing, give us a good ground to design now with the citizens the ecological city.OBJECTIVES
In this historical situation, which seems mature, and which involves many social actors (citizens, decision-makers, researchers), the project intends to build affordable, cross-cutting, land-based educational tools to provide decision-makers with tools that will enable them to better support the emergence of the ecological city: 1) theoretical skills, 2) field methodologies and 3) a complete and coherent vision of ecological urban planning. The project aims to contribute to a new, ecological, city-making.TARGETSThe project targets 1) in the private sector: entrepreneurs (town planners, architects, landscape designers, ecologists, researchers, economists...) and not-for-profit managers (infields related to town planning, ecology, citizenship...), and 2) in the public action: elected officials and technicians from local authorities and agencies (and in priority to those related to town planning and ecology).CONTENTSThis educational project is based on a concept of ecological urbanism rooted in the land.Its singularity consists in articulating citizen dynamics with theoretical contents. In particular, the project will bring together 1) urban agriculture and contemporary research in""""agritecture"""" (Sébastien Marot, Rem Koolhaas), and 2) the dynamics of metropolitan hiking with the work of bioregionalism.This project is the result of the partners' prior experience in ecological urban planning education, their regular contacts with decision-makers and inhabitants, and access to cutting-edgetheoretical resources.INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTIONS1) The Trainer's BookletThe booklet formulates the general structure of the training (pedagogical sequencing, pedagogical field protocol), which guarantees the coherence of the 3 other productions and promotes thereplicability of the project.2) The learning manualThis handbook is the reference document, linking a corpus of emblematic concrete initiatives with the theoretical issues of ecological urban planning.3) Awareness-raising videosBased on the manual, the videos are attractive introductory materials, which help to attract a large and unconvinced public to the project.4) The gameHow to implement the Energy Descent and Relocation of Production? This """"serious game"""" is an essential tool to transmit the fundamental elements of the """"Terrestrial Cities"""" project in an efficient way, adapted to each urban territory.KEY SKILLSThe skills that the project wants to pass on are:1) Basic knowledge in """"ecological urban planning"""".2) Training in the territorial approach to the urban project via a field methodology based on Metropolitan Trails.3) A comprehensive and coherent presentation of the ecological city of tomorrow, in order to go beyond the status quo and stay the course.IN SUMMARY1) Method: """"Walking and gardening""""The project crosses the networks of urban agriculture and metropolitan hiking - in an educational protocol rooted in (peri-)urban territories.2) Contents: """"Theory and practice"""".By articulating research (in urban planning and ecology) and a representative selection of emblematic concrete initiatives, the project transmits """"situated knowledge"""".3) Beneficiaries: """"Decision-makers and citizens"""".By targeting decision-makers and facilitating their access to cutting-edge theoretical content and innovative social practices, the project promotes better synergy between citizens andelected officials.At the intersection of these 3 stakes, are the territories – our living places – which we need to know better, to get to inhabit them better."

BIOCIRCULARCITIES aims at supporting the development of innovative and comprehensive regulatory frameworks and roadmaps aligned with circular bioeconomy principles, centred on ‘bio-based waste’ and based on feedback from multi-actor participatory processes. The project has been designed to i) explore the circular economy potential of unexploited bio-based waste streams generated in 3 European urban contexts around the cities of Barcelona (ES), Naples (IT) and Pazardzhik (BG); ii) identify and analyse circular bioeconomy best practices across the EU that could be used as successful example to use in the pilot areas; iii) detect regulatory and business opportunities and shortcomings for the introduction of bio-based processes and products into local and international markets, and iv) propose proactive instruments and policy roadmaps for supporting the circular bioeconomy and expand it to the European context. The strength of the project lies in the capability to bring together multiple actors belonging to the quadruple helix (businesses, research institutions, public authorities and civil society) to build the collaborative knowledge needed to map the different perspectives about legal and market limits/potentials for developing circular bioeconomy. Having a holistic picture of the legal and market opportunities and barriers in the 3 case study areas will make it possible to check the applicability of the identified best practices and other feasible solutions. The fiscal and economic impact due to the introduction of specific regulations will be considered to foresee the investments needed to support industry in making changes towards a more circular use of bioresources. Results obtained at local level will be a source of contents to develop generic guidelines to be exploited and further developed through communication, dissemination and exploitation actions at local and international levels.

"CONTEXT OF THE PROJECTUrban and peri-urban agriculture is a matter of growing importance on a territorial scale. It is reflected in actions aimed at reconnecting the urban population to agricultural production and relocating food systems by promoting short circuits.Its development is based on entrepreneurs who carry agricultural projects and on the public authorities and planners who will put in place favourable strategies on their territory.THE PROJECT'S GOALSThe main objective of the SESAME project is to promote the deployment of agricultural projects in urban and peri-urban areas of the partner countries through developing innovative training adapted to key players in the sector, taking into account the skills-based approach and the digital transition challenges.1. Encourage entrepreneurship through the creation of an ""Entrepreneurship in urban and peri-urban agriculture"" training module to validate this competence within Level IV vocational training.2. Raise the awareness of public authorities and territorial planning executives at the levers of actions aimed at facilitating the development of urban and peri-urban agriculture at the metropolitan scale. This is done through a micro-learning training ""Challenges and opportunities for urban and peri-urban agriculture"".3. Promote synergies between these two audiences through providing cross-training.4. Decompartmentalize practices on a transnational level and pool experiences.DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES- Project management: several transnational meetings are scheduled throughout the project. The monitoring committee will ensure compliance with the operating charter.- Design phase: we will conceive the pedagogical engineering of both courses and will design innovative pedagogical tools.- Experimentation phase: we will implement the training modules for the two targeted audiences through face-to-face teaching and digital tools. We will include a complementary transnational training activity. - Dissemination phase: several local dissemination events (mid-term and at the end of the project) reaching civil servants and agricultural training trainees will be planned in each partner country as well as a major final transnational dissemination event.EXPECTED RESULTS AND IMPACTS, POTENTIAL BENEFITSSHORT AND MEDIUM TERM1. Upskilling of target audiences- Vocational training contractors on the subject of urban agricultural installation (6 to 15 trainees)- Elected officials and executives of the territorial function on the subject of project support (20 to 30 participants in the pilot cities of Bologna, Barcelona and Aix-Marseille) 2. Integration and dissemination of SESAME training- Integration of the SESAME module within existing training courses* In France, integration of SESAME modules within the “BPREA” diploma (in the form of UCARE or Specialization Certificates) of Antibes CFPPA* In Spain, integration of training modules within the “Grau mitjà Tècnic diploma in Produccio Agroecologica” (in the form of an optional module) of the Escola Agrària d'Amposta * In Italy, integration of training modules within the diploma “Gestione dell'Ambiente e del Territorio” (in the form of Optional Module) of the Istituto Agrario Serpieri - Dissemination of the ""Challenges and opportunities of urban and peri-urban agriculture"" training by public authorities and training actors3. Strengthening training adaptation to digital transition4. Strengthening a multi-stakeholder approach (training actors, civil service and economic stakeholders)5. Pooling and sharing best practices on Mediterranean, European and transnational level- Common design of training courses to European standard (competence block approach, ECVET method)- Transnational learning activity paving the way for European mobilityLONG-TERM 1. Capitalisation of the results on the territories (increased number of projects to be carried out by the trained entrepreneurs, reinforcement of a network of actors) 2. Capitalisation of the SESAME training - SESAME training module spin-off within vocational training centers, first on a regional scale via the Unis-Vert network (FR), Servei Agrari network (ESP) and Rete Agrari Emilia Romagna network (IT), and then on a national and European scale. - Spinning and capitalisation of SESAME training with specialised actors and networks - Diversification of the target audience of SESAME courses (people in need of social inclusion, private companies ...) - Initiating reflection on setting up mobility European projects between agricultural vocational training centers."

procuRE brings together 6 procurers from 6 countries, responsible for over 21,000 public buildings, to invest over €7 million in R&D to tackle their common challenge of achieving 100% Renewable Energy Supply (RES) in existing stock. Consortia bidding are expected to deliver a comprehensive package of tools enabling delivery across Europe and beyond of customised full-renewable building renovation. The systemic packages comprise services from design to implementation, and day-to-day operation, and contracting/financing, ensuring that the building continues to perform as designed over the full life-cycle. procuRE packages must ensure the following: enable optimal selection of cutting-edge components and configurations for RES generation, storage and management, fully addressing the challenges of on-site RES and eliminating off-site supply; increase SRI by integration across technologies and BEMS providing good occupant control; must deploy advanced BIM to model outcomes in advance in an assessment framework which at speed and low cost delivers procurers and investors with transparent choices of their options to maximise value delivery across the complete life-cycle; must provide simple configuration to match regulatory differences; and must include innovative, embedded and cost-efficient training services to impart necessary skills to both operators and to occupants, whose behaviour is a growing factor to be taken fully into account. PCP competitive tendering and the three phases of R&D and supplier selection is expected to ensure delivery of reasonably mature renewables renovation packages and their entry onto the international market within the expected timescale. Package efficacy will be demonstrated in the types of building which dominate public portfolios and promise replication in the private sector, in a multi-country public demonstration of solutions meeting building stock decarbonisation targets - six configurations achieving 100% RES throughout the year.

V2Market is an innovative service to incorporate the Electric Vehicles’ (EV) batteries into the electricity system as storage and flexibility capacity, using Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) technology combined with energy efficiency (EE) and price forecasting ICT tools. V2Market puts together all the relevant actors in the value chain to work on the definition of the role and the contractual arrangements of a new business case, the aggregator, and its different possibilities with the other key stakeholders: the EV owners, and the flexibility buyers (DSO, TSO, BRP). V2Market will tackle energy efficiency at different levels: - Efficiency at the system level, by providing flexibility services to the grid. - Efficiency at the building/end user level, by optimising energy management thanks to the incorporation of the EV battery, which will also facilitate an optimisation of the energy produced by local RES. - Efficiency resulting from the substitution of older fossil-fuel based vehicles for electric vehicles. - It will make the EV battery an independent asset (as a major cost item that needs to be managed separately). This will result in measurable energy savings and performance improvements for the overall energy system. To respond to these EE needs, V2Market will develop a comprehensive business case for aggregators based on two types of service: A – Provision of ancillary services to the grid (frequency regulation, spinning reserves, peak shifting). B – Integration of flexibility services with EE at buildings’ level. V2Market will help the aggregator to develop its business model, and use big data to tailor its services to the patterns of its pool of EV owners. This is intended to consolidate a more predictable pool of EV batteries, which can be useful to develop also contractual arrangements with the flexibility buyers and provide stability to all the transactions within the value chain.