TiCCA4Danu proposes a novel and comprehensive transformative innovation framework to accelerate just climate change adaptation (CCA) at the level of cities and their surrounding administrative regions. In order to address the structural barriers for CCA implementation at the city-region level, TiCCA4Danu proposes a systems-level approach, which requires effective governance changes, introduction of directionality, and a different use of policy instruments favouring discovery and experimentation processes. TiCCA4Danu directly relates to the EU Cities- and Adaptation Mission frameworks and builds on the emerging literature discussing the opportunities and limitations to governing socio-technical change for addressing grand challenges, such as climate change, through novel transformative approaches.
At the core of TiCCA4Danu’s methodological approach lies the concept of place-based “Transformative Innovation Policy” (TIP), which postulates a systems-level change perspective in innovation policy. TiCCA4Danu aims at applying the theoretical TIP concept to the city-region level by linking TIP to “Local Green Deals” (LGD), an established instrument for sustainable transformation at the city level, and by complementing the LGDs with a novel approach for transformative CCA at the level of regions. With TIP facilitating wider and inclusive societal transformation, TiCCA4Danu features stronger involvement of vulnerable groups as well as stronger private sector involvement. TiCCA4Danu focussing its activities on four “Anchor Cities” and their surrounding regions in the Danube Macro Region, all constituting different bio-geographical regions, i.e. Coastal, Mountain and Continental.
By establishing a direct link to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) and by working with the relevant Priority Area Working Groups, TiCCA4Danu will scale results up to the Macro-Regional level. Applicability at the EU level will be tested as part of the EU’s “Week of Regions and Cities”.
36 months da 01/06/2025 a 31/05/2028
General aims
TiCCA4Danu’s general objective is to develop and test an inclusive and systemic approach to just CCA implementation for European city-regions. To achieve this objective, TiCCA4Danu has six specific and measurable strategic objectives:
- SO1: Co-develop and operationalise knowledge for CCA implementation with public authorities and local researchers.
- SO2: Empower public authorities in the Danube Macro-Region to implement available CCA solutions with a ready to use comprehensive framework for transformative innovation policy at the city-region level.
- SO3: Further develop existing approaches for citizen engagement, in particular, vulnerable groups, and contribute to the research on barriers to and triggers for behavioural change from citizens and economic sectors.
- SO4: Strengthen the involvement of the private sector, including banks and investors to facilitate the CCA economy and bridge the financing and investment gap.
- SO5: Facilitate knowledge transfer into neighbouring Danube countries by establishing work relations with the EUSDR.
- SO6: Facilitate transdisciplinary collaboration and advance the literature and policy debates on mission-oriented TIP for climate-just CCA implementation.
CMCC role
The CMCC Foundation is a partner in Work Package 2 (WP2) on Targeted Analysis, Regional Climate Risk and Impact Assessment, with specific involvement in Task 2.2 “Identification of regional risks to climate change”, Task 2.3 “Climate change adaptation options to climate extremes” and Task 2.4 “Triggers to and Barriers for Behavioural Changes”. In addition, CMCC leads Work Package 4 (WP4) on Engagement, Capacity Building, and Policy Recommendations, coordinating the work package team and taking responsibility for Task 4.4 “Strategic Enhancement and Customisation of CCA Tools”.
Activities
TiCCA4Danu proposes a series of analytical and experimental activities over 36 months at the “city-region” level, in the domentrator territories located in the Danube Macro-Region: Burgas Municipality and the surrounding Burgas District (Bulgaria) involving Turkish neighbouring Municipality of Uzunköprü, Debrecen Municipality and the surrounding Hajdú-Bihar County (Hungary), Maribor Municipality and the surrounding Podravje region (Slovenia), Suceava Municipality and the surrounding Nord-Est region (Romania), involving neighbouring Odessa Regional State Administration.
The CMCC Foundation provides key contributions in:
- Assessing Regional climate risk in the four Danube Regions using a semi-quantitative approach grounded in established climate risk assessment frameworks and informed by participatory consultations with city and regional experts, stakeholders, and communities, whose local knowledge will help co-produce context-specific indicators;
- Identifying (soft, technical and systemic) climate change adaptation options that are just, transformative and most promising to explore successful finance mechanisms to be applied at different levels to enhance resilience in the four Danube Regions;
- Identifying key target groups and the existing barriers to and possible triggers for behavioural change to enable transformative climate change adaptation in the four Danube Regions;
- Working for the strategic enhancement and customisation of climate change adaptation tools from EU Mission projects and beyond by engaging regional and local partners in co-design activities.
Expected results
TiCCA4Danu will develop a toolkit for CCA implementation across two interconnected governance levels. The toolkit will consist of:
- a handbook of newly developed best practices of transformative CCA solutions for different bio-geographical regions (D3.6),
- a practical toolkit for public authorities to run stakeholder-driven transformation processes at the city-region level and identify and implement technical and systemic high-impact CCA solutions (D3.5),
- a new tool for generating CCA business models and investment opportunities (D4.5),
- training modules for capacity building of core stakeholder groups (D4.1),
- guidance on how justice concerns may be considered in CCA implementation reactivities (D4.4),
- new guidelines for enabling transdisciplinary research collaboration (D3.1).
Coordinating organization
VDI/VDE INNOVATION + TECHNIK GMBH
Partners
– VDI/VDE INNOVATION + TECHNIK GMBH (VDIVDE) – Germany
– ICLEI EUROPEAN SECRETARIAT GMBH (ICLEI EUROPASEKRETARIAT GMBH) (ICLEI) – Germany
– STICHTING VU (VUA) – Netherlands
– UNIVERSITAT WIEN (UNIVIE) – Austria
– INTERNATIONALES INSTITUT FUER ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMANALYSE / International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) – Austria
– ANTEJA ECG D.O.O. (ANTEJA) – Slovenia
– OBSHTINA BURGAS / Burgas Municipality (BURGAS) – Bulgaria
– EDC DEBRECEN VAROS ES GAZDASAGFEJLESZTESI KOZPONT NONPROFIT KORLATOLT FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG / EDC Debrecen Urban and Economic Center (EDC DEBRECEN) – Hungary
– Regionalna razvojna agencija za Podravje – Maribor (RRAZPM) – Slovenia
– Municipiul Suceava / Suceava Municipality (Suceava) – Romania
– LUCIA SEEL INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING GMBH (LSIC) – Austria