<< Objectives >>The project will equip C-VET professionals with modular and flexible training tools likely to support the rethinking of organizational models towards the effective implementation of smartworking by local entities in rural and peripheral European areas. The initiative will allow users to acquire key skills for the proper adoption of agile work models, developing digital, soft skills, but also eco-considerations referred to the impact of the work models adopted.<< Implementation >>- Transnational collection of virtuous tools and approaches for the implementation of agile work in the public sector- Transnational co-creative workshop involving the staff of the partner organizations, organised in MK- Development of a modular distance learning C-VET tool (Podcast) and supporting materials usable in m-learning mode- Definition of strategies to maximize and scaleup the project results at EU level, also towards new sectors and targets<< Results >>The tools developed will support the continuous professional development of staff (administrators, but also technical staff) of peripheral local authorities, for an effective implementation of smartworking, capable of accompanying the digital and green European decade, as well as the post-Covid recovery era, thanks to the provision of high-quality public services for the general interest of EU citizens.Partners will improve the ability to conceive and develop flexible and modular VET materials.

NOMAD gathers partners from China, Greece, the UK, Italy, Romania, Malta and the Netherlands to develop an innovative, small-scale tech solution designed to recover fibre and specific nutrients from digestate for formulation into high performance bio-fertiliser products. It addresses key digestate issues including environmental and health risks, handling, variable composition and the increasing volume being produced. Currently, turning digestate into bio-fertiliser products is not feasible for most small plants due to lack of available, cost-effective equipment, and the expense of achieving end of waste standard PAS110. Building on partners’ previous work, the proposed technology will utilise heat from combustion of waste timber and recovered energy from a collection vehicle to improve energy efficiency while simultaneously addressing regulatory compliance. Specific nutrients will be extracted from the liquid fraction and water recovered for reuse. The remaining sludge will be blended & composted with ash (derived from waste timber combustion) and biochar to produce optimised, nutrient-balanced soil conditioners. The model rests on the solution’s mobility and modularity as one unit could serve multiple plants, tackling digestate from a range of feedstocks with shared costs making it more viable than installing systems at individual plants. Other project activities include stakeholder engagement; field trials across contrasting regions; policy recommendations; a comprehensive impact assessment of the business model; and dissemination of key outputs. The project aims to replace non-renewable mineral fertilisers with low-carbon, organic equivalents; minimise environmental and health risks associated with digestate; create a new, disruptive business model for rural decentralised AD; and achieve a more favourable climate for circular economy development through successful stakeholder engagement.

SCALIBUR creates a holistic consortium to cut urban biowaste and replace it with a new production chain of biomaterials, forming a partnership of end users to recover and transform biowaste from three municipalities, namely Madrid (ES), Albano (IT) and Kozani (EL), into value added products. During SCALIBUR a complete study of the quality, logistics and management schemes for municipal solid waste (MSW) and urban sewage sludge (USS) will be performed, to integrate innovative systems and technologies and obtain high-value biobased products. In SCALIBUR, HORECA waste will be transformed to proteins, lipids and chitin from insect rearing, while the organic fraction of MSW will generate biopesticides and bioplastics by high-solid enzymatic hydrolysis followed by fermentation. The resulting biogas from MSW and USS will be upgraded by bioelectrochemical treatment to produce commodity chemicals and bioplastics, such as PHBV. By cutting traditional linear waste management, new business models are created for the resulting circular value chains, applying a sustainable approach to generate new activities and benefits. These new profit sources will be created from a baseline analysis of existing waste management data and business models for each municipality, generating social innovation and favouring the adaptation and uptake of new opportunities along the entire urban value cycle. Continuous tests and development along SCALIBUR will create and fine tune new business models based on innovative processes, and feedback will be obtained from all stakeholders, in order to improve the definition, performance and integration of value, to minimize waste and maximize its benefit. With social engagement strategies, key communities will participate in all aspects of the new value creation, calibrating the returns of the project both for the generation of jobs and improved urban welfare, such as reducing the dependence from outside materials and the environmental impacts.

The HOOP Project will help to unlock bio-based investments and deploy local bio economies in Europe through a systemic and cross-cutting approach. It will offer Project Development Assistance (PDA) to a group of 8 lighthouse cities and city clusters - to build the technical, economic, financial and legal expertise needed to develop concrete investments to valorise OFMSW (Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste) or UWWS (Urban Wastewater Sludge) with the aim of obtaining safe and sustainable bio-based products. Each PDA will contain detailed implementation assistance and a defined Circular Business Model tailored to each participating lighthouse city, as well as financing mechanisms to be used for mobilising investment. Moreover, HOOP will launch stakeholder engagement and citizen science initiatives to allow for the co-design of an improved collection of OFMSW for its later optimum valorisation. It will promote behavioural change and acceptability of biowaste-based products, as well as food waste prevention. The HOOP Project will also feature the HOOP Urban Circular Bioeconomy Hub (UCBH), an online platform that will provide opportunities to replicate the PDAs of the lighthouse cities in other follower cities (currently composed by 26 committed cities from all around Europe) – under the launch of the Network of Follower European Cities. HOOP continues the work of the projects VALUEWASTE, Scalibur and WaystUP!, funded under topic CE-SFS-25-2018 and coordinated by the three technical leaders of HOOP. The HOOP Consortium covers the whole value chain, from biowaste recovery to valorisation and characterization of the final products and unites complementary stakeholders with the deep multi-disciplinary knowledge crucial to PDA creation and the achievement of project objectives. It includes partners from 10 EU member countries, 5 municipalities and 3 clusters of cities.