The goals of the European Innovation Council are:
• Putting Europe at the forefront of market-creating innovation (fundamentally different from existing markets, e.g. through a new combination of physical and digital issues, of products and services, of technologies and business models).
• Providing EU added value by focusing on innovators / companies with the potential to scale up at European and/or international level.
• Intervening where private investors are unable to get a loan (e.g. due to higher technology, market, regulatory risks associated with market creating innovation), with the aim of crowding in private investment
• Complementing existing EU innovation initiatives that focus on established markets / technologies / sectors (e.g. through public-private partnerships, development of technology roadmaps/ sectoral strategies, etc.).

ICLEI supports the EIC by connecting procurers with unmet innovation and sustainability needs with EIC companies through market engagement events.

SOLUTIONSplus is coordinated by the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI) and joined by 45 worldwide partners. The project aims to enable transformational change towards sustainable urban mobility through innovative and integrated electric mobility solutions.

Project cities will be able to demonstrate different types of innovative and integrated e-mobility solutions, complemented by a comprehensive toolbox, capacity development and replication activities. SOLUTIONSplus works closely with the UN Environment and the International Energy Agency (IEA) on a joint global urban e-mobility program that will significantly boost replication and impact of this innovation action.

>> See also project description.
ICLEI organizes five strategic workshops for the network members on four thematic vision clusters (future proof, 100% renewable, zero waste, human scale) and on the organization of an EGCA laureate year.
Develops a set of well-structured toolkits, combining print and online resources that inspire cities to embark on or further advance local sustainability transitions.
ICLEI also assesses a potential enlargement of membership of the Network of the European Green Capitals as well as provides recommendations for the inclusion of and/ or increased collaboration with other networks.
ICLEI further promotes the European Green Capital Network and highlights the benefits of sharing the inspiration through the dissemination of the latest information on the project developments and the toolkits to at least 150 other ‘target cities’.

The project aims to support the integration of climate change and air pollution at the city level through capacity building. It contains four consequential activities:

1) Convene focus group discussions with city policymakers and experts (health, transport, infrastructure) for needs assessment regarding the knowledge and tools cities should obtain in integrating SLCP reductions into policies and practices;
2) Develop a training curriculum drawing from existing materials to support the integration of SLCP reduction into policies and practices for cities in Asia;
3) Work with 3 cities to integrate SLCPs reduction into relevant policies and practices;
4) Gather inputs to report on the CCAC DI indicators and associated data collection questionnaire/initiative reporting template.

Learnings will be well documented and shared in major regional events, such as the Beijing International Forum for Metropolitan Clean Air Actions, the Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change, and the ASEAN High-Level Seminar on Environmentally Sustainable Cities.

ICLEI analyzes participating cities’ policies and existing initiatives, maps and engages with stakeholders in the food system, and identifies opportunities and barriers. As the project outcome, ICLEI will publish a report to demonstrate the initiatives taken by cities in East Asia, to develop narratives of the circular food system, as well as providing policy guidance and suggestions.

ICLEI will carry out desk-based research, interviews, discussion workshops, and generate case studies in investigating the activities that have been taken by cities, and further explore the potential for improving circularity. East Asia local governments participating in the project, will be provided with systems thinking to review the initiatives taken in their food systems and further optimize them. They will also be engaged in discussions with stakeholders across the value chain to better understand the barriers and potentials of implementing circular economy approach and strategies in the food system.

ICLEI is in the consortium to provide technical assistance on business modeling and stakeholder engagement. Under the project, ICLEI has recruited a local staff in Ulaanbaatar to carry out workshops and consultation meetings and surveys with households and homeowner associations, wisely utilize resources and knowledge from the TAP program, and structure business models on the basis of the knowledge of local energy politics and financial deadlocks.
Through the project, Ulaanbaatar City Government and the consortium will co-develop a feasible financial solution and a reasonable technical scope to kick-off precast residential retrofitting systems thinking. It is estimated that building retrofits can reduce 49-52% energy loss compared to the business-as-usual scenario and significantly contribute to Mongolia’s INDC target and enhance citizens’ living quality.

ICLEI will work on the Communication, outreach and inter-project collaboration and engagement area, which includes: Support to project communication (incl. communication strategy, 4 fact sheets, 4 policy briefs, 4 webinars, other specific events and presentations); Organisation and moderation of 4 city workshops and Organisation and moderation of 2 stakeholder workshops and one conference (incl. development of programme). These activities will help to ground the policy discussion, enable learning and develop targeted and operational recommendations for policy makers, practitioners, potential investors, and other relevant actors within and outside of the study regions to improve the design and implementation of GBI and highlight opportunities in creating markets for innovative solutions.

ICLEI is in particular involved in Replication-Exploitation and Dissemination-Stakeholder Engagement tasks. In order to identify additional markets, feasibility studies will be performed to replicate the concept in specific contexts such as Emergency and Reconstruction sites. Specific business model to foster the commercialization of the FC gensets will be developed also through the commitment of industrial stakeholders and local authorities, who will interact with the consortium through webinars and workshops. In order to foster project replication, EVERYWH2ERE will involve industrial and public stakeholders alike from early on in the project within two dedicated Interest Groups. ICLEI will be leading the regions and cities interest group to promote project replication, the deployment of gensets and advancing urban hydrogen agendas. The presence of ICLEI, will guarantee a strong interaction with EU local authorities which play a fundamental role for the promotion of these technologies through specific policy and regulatory schemes.

ICLEI will publish policy guide for upscaling the use of hydrogen gensets in European cities.

ICLEI leads EXCESS’ communications and dissemination work package as well as specific replication activities with the aim of raising awareness of the benefits of PEBs, engaging industry and the public sector and roll out rapid replication of PEBs in Europe. The additional role of ICLEI in the project is to assess the proliferation of Plus Energy Buildings across the EU, by means of stock taking, interviews and statistical analyses.

The project aims to improve the NDCs, including increasing ambition, as part of the Paris Agreement NDC update process; In addition to assisting in the accelerated implementation of NDCs, providing knowledge and technical training in the country. CAEP will provide support to countries through existing support programs of its institutional and associate members and through a dedicated Technical Assistance Fund that will use funding where existing support is not sufficient to meet the needs identified by countries. The Technical Assistance Fund is a joint financing mechanism with contributions from various development partners that will allocate resources to institutional members and Associates of the Partnership to respond to requests for updating and implementing the NDC.The World Resources Institute, as host of the Fund, will administer the contract, while the Partnership Support Unit is responsible for programmatic implementation.