Project name: COALition
Fostering innovation excellence in transforming coal regions to climate-neutral, thriving economies.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Coalition is a project that aims to create a joint sustainable energy strategy among three selected territories in EU countries in transition (West Macedonia - GR, Centru - RO, Southeast - BG) which are also characterized as enlargement.
The project seeks to establish regional Centres of Excellence which will define the regions' joint priorities and action plan to facilitate their transitions, following a bottom-up, multi-stakeholder approach.
The project also aims to establish permanent regional centres of excellence in three selected coal-dependent territories that also belong to countries characterised as less advanced in terms of R&I efficiency.
The Centres of Excellence will be composed of key representatives of the Quadruple Helix approach and their main objective is to facilitate a just transition and transform regions into climate-neutral, thriving economies.
Place-based approaches are collaborative, long-term approaches to building thriving communities delivered in a specific geographic location. This approach is ideally characterized by partnership and shared design, shared governance, and shared responsibility for outcomes and impacts.
Aim of the Project:
The project has four specific objectives:
1) Establish and/or strengthen representative communities (hubs) of key actors in the quadruple helix in a regional SE context in the 3 territories.
2) Preliminary research & mature technology solutions to facilitate regional transition.
3) Create new economic development business opportunities and jobs in areas to attract entrepreneurial activity and talent and create an environment conducive to investment.
4) Increase the capacity of the workforce (researchers, entrepreneurs, employees, etc.) in place-based innovation ecosystems.
Misia:
Our mission is to create a world that is sustainable, just and prosperous for all. To achieve this, we have set ourselves the following goals:
- Build thriving communities delivered in a defined geographic location.
- Promoting sustainable development and environmental protection
- Promoting global cooperation and partnerships for sustainable development
- Eradicating poverty and promoting economic prosperity
- Reducing inequality and promoting social justice
Project components:
The coalition platform consists of several key components, including:
- Network of partners and stakeholders from all sectors
- Online hub for sharing knowledge, resources and best practices
- Campaigns and advocacy initiatives to promote sustainable development
- Capacity building programmes
Partners:
The project involves 16 partners from 3 different countries, namely Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, representing NGOs, educational institutions, public bodies and other interest groups.
Expected results:
The results of the project will have a direct impact on the extension process in three dimensions:
- SCIENTIFIC - Increased scientific and innovation capacity for all actors in the research and innovation system in participating countries
- ECONOMIC - COALition addresses EU policy priorities (Green Deal, Industrial Dual Transition) & national/RIS3 priorities.
- PUBLIC - Strengthening the role of sustainable energy in building equitable societies based on a strategic agenda.
Excellence hubs:
The Excellence Hubs are an initiative to strengthen innovation excellence in localised innovation ecosystems through place-based ecosystems - major cities and industrial zones, agglomeration structures and settlement networks, cross-border cooperation under a common strategy and/or in parallel with value chains. Place-based innovation ecosystems are interconnected companies, research institutions, government bodies and societal actors that mutually reinforce each other in a territorial context and together raise the level of innovation performance in their regional structure. The ecosystem operates in a specific territorial, i.e. regional or local context, and thus benefits from geographical proximity favouring close links between actors, especially academia and business.
Duration of the project: January 2023 - December 2026