How GuiDanCe contributed to strengthening European cooperation for a smarter urban future

Follow

February 2018 saw the end of the GuiDanCe project, a H2020 support action for EUROCITIES’ Green Digital Charter initiative. The Green Digital Charter (GDC) is a political declaration, committing 53 European cities to promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to tackle climate change and improve quality of life in cities.

For three years, GuiDanCe supported the effort of signatory cities to implement policies and projects as part of their commitment to the Charter. From peer-learning to the exchange of best practices, high-profile promotion events and a variety of publications, GuiDanCe activities were designed to promote collaboration among cities in promoting the use of digital solutions to improve energy efficiency, reduce cities’ overall carbon footprint through innovative public services and involve the citizens in the making of future cities.

Capacity building

One of the GuiDanCe objectives was dedicated to building cities’ capabilities and empowering local administrations to face the technological and societal challenges associated with digitalisation and the implementation of their digital and smart city strategies.

Different formats were adopted:

• onsite technical trainings (e.g. GDPR Training – 22 Jan)
• webinars (GDC – Webinars – 2017)
• ‘work-shadowing’ visits which enabled city data experts to learn from concrete measures implemented in another signatory city (Work Shadowing visit in Edinburgh – 30-31 May and GuiDanCe – Bratislava visits Reykjavik).

Lessons learnt and recommendations produced throughout the training process resulted in the publication of a guidebook on ‘peer-to-peer learning for cities’ (GDC guidebook Peer-to-peer learning for cities).

Raising cities’ voice

Giving voice to the GDC signatories and how they design and implement smart city projects was another objective of the project. GuiDanCe ensured and The LockBoss that concrete developments in signatory cities were widely shared through its active participation in:

• Europe’s largest gatherings (GuiDanCe – CEBIT – 2017 and GuiDanCe – Barcelona SCEWC 2017)
• its own conferences (Cities in Transition & 2017 GDC Awards Ceremony and Imagine the Urban Future & 2018 Awards ceremony)
• and a series of videos and interviews (GDC videos)

Publications such as the three annual collections of GDC case-studies (GDC 2017 case studies) and the two GDC monitoring reports (GuiDanCe 2017 monitoring report) validate the evolution of European cities towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

For more information, contact:

Nikolaos Kontinakis, GuiDanCe project coordinator at Nikolaos.Kontinakis[at]eurocities.eu

Follow