CO-MANAGE IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT
In the context of a global context that aims at energy and environmental sustainability, the European COMANAGE project funded by the LIFE programme (LIFE21-CET-ENERCOM-COMANAGE, 36 months) represented an interesting project to encourage the establishment of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). The push for CERs stems from the RED II Directive (2018/2001), which introduced the definition of Renewable Energy Community for the first time at EU level, recognizing its environmental, social and economic benefits.
In fact, CERs contribute to the achievement of a safer, more accessible and cleaner energy system for Europe, a solution that allows communities, citizens and businesses to collectively invest in clean energy projects at the local level, allowing them to produce, sell and consume their own renewable energy: thus the new figure of the prosumer (producer and consumer at the same time) is born.
CERs, although strongly encouraged, are still a new subject and, in this sense, held back by legal, administrative and financial obstacles but also linked to the knowledge of the subject itself.
In this context, even if COMANAGE has come to an end today, the experiences gained and the notions learned are still alive and enrich not only AISFOR’s know-how, but also constitute a further piece in the European framework.
THE RESULTS OF COMANAGE
The project operated in three pilot territories: the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB, Spain), the Lazio Region through ANCI Lazio (Italy) and the Metropolitan Area of Krakow (KMA, Poland).
The main objective was to address the governance barriers — legal, administrative, financial and social — that hinder the participation of citizens and local authorities in the energy transition using a collaborative approach, hence the name “co-manage”. In fact, the project started from the identification of CERs or groups of pilot CERs (Operational Integrated Services Hubs – OIS Hubs) to be involved during the entire development process of the project. Their involvement has therefore shaped first and validated later, the main results of the project, all collected in a single virtual space: the COMANAGE Open Platform (COP)
Energy Communities Governance Toolkit (ECGT): A collection of practical guides, methodologies, legal templates, checklists and real-world examples that support the establishment and management of a CER over the entire life cycle. These resources have been created starting from the real needs of the pilot territories and are therefore available in the 4 languages of the pilot countries (IT, PL, CAT, ES). The resources respond to the 5 main themes of a CER: technical, financial, legal, social and communication aspects. An English translation is also available for those tools applicable at European level.
E-learning and Training Platform: Energy Community ACADEMIA is an online training program created from the requests collected in the OIS hubs of each pilot and developed in a path divided into 5 modules, which follow the themes of the ECGT: introduction to CERs, technical aspects, business models and financing, legal framework, civic participation and communication. The contents are designed in particular to train public administrations, but are aimed at anyone who wants to learn more about this topic. The notions identified as common to the pilot countries and valid at European level, constitute the course in English. Apart from this “general” course, the three pilots have developed specific contents of their contexts and which constitute the CER course at national level delivered in their own language for a duration of about 3 hours. As a result, the ACADEMIA Energy Community offers 4 different courses (the one relating to the Spanish context is available in both Spanish and Catalan). The platform is open access and the course is available in 5 languages (IT, PL, CAT, ES, EN), and now has over 260 members. The platform remains accessible beyond the duration of the project.
Decision Support System (DSS): Open-access digital tool with conversational AI assistant to support local authorities and citizens in decisions on governance, technical, economic and social feasibility of CERs.
EMPOWERMENT AS THE FIRST TOOL FOR CHANGE
Community empowerment, made up of knowledge and community engagement, is the first seed of change.
In these areas in particular, the project was able to count on the contribution of AISFOR along the entire route.
On the training front, the program has been developed to respond to both the international and Italian contexts. Thanks to the long experience gained, AISFOR managed the development of the training program and the construction of the Moodle training platform, starting from the development of the course, the collection of materials, up to their processing and uploading. She was responsible for the management of the platform and user support, ensuring accessibility and quality of content for international and Italian users.
He co-created with ANCI Lazio the Italian version of the ECGT (legal templates, FAQs, operational guides adapted to the national and regional regulatory framework), intercepting the needs of stakeholders and concretizing them with comprehensive materials but accessible to all.
It has made a decisive contribution by promoting the application of the tools created within a co-creation process in synergy with another European project (ENTRACK) to support rural communities in Campania, demonstrating the flexibility of the services developed within COMANAGE.
LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS
COMANAGE therefore teaches that it is appropriate to adopt structured participatory approaches to encourage the inclusion of local communities, developing practical, user-friendly and modular tools, tested with the final recipients through co-design processes. In this sense, it is also important to strengthen collaboration between local, regional and national institutions: policies must simplify regulatory frameworks, enable local authorities and build citizens’ trust. Involving political decision-makers and representatives of Public Administrations from the early stages with a co-design process is essential to ensure institutional credibility and lasting impact.
COMANAGE’s experience teaches the importance of ensuring the digital sustainability of tools with continuous updating, open access and integration into local and regional planning processes.
COMANAGE demonstrated how participatory governance, adaptable tools and strategic collaboration can empower cities and communities to lead the energy transition. The project leaves a concrete legacy: a replicable and inclusive methodology, an open digital platform with practical tools, and a multilingual training course tested in three European territories.