CBI Pro-Akademia

The next transnational meeting of the NiCE project took place in Slovenia on 8-9 October 2024, bringing together experts from different countries, including representatives from the Research and Innovation Centre Pro-Akademia. During the meeting, co-design sessions on the NiCE Solution Box and the Knowledge Platform were conducted. In addition, evaluation plans for the pilot activities that RIC Pro-Akademia is coordinating were discussed. 

Our experts focused on presenting and refining initial ideas for the Solution Box and the Knowledge Platform. The aim of the platform is to disseminate knowledge about best solutions to support sustainable practices in city centres through the reuse of resources and spaces. It was crucial to pay attention to user needs and to identify the most valuable elements that can support sustainable urban development. 

The Solution Box, a toolkit for different stakeholder groups, aims to support circular lifestyles in cities by, for example 

- creating multifunctional resource centres in cities,  

- linking sustainable online trade to city centres  

- promoting water reuse. 

RIC Pro-Akademia experts also moderated discussions on plans to further develop the NiCE Knowledge Platform, which will include various NiCE project products such as a virtual exhibition, videos of pilot activities and educational resources. The main target groups will be local authorities, NGOs, schools, small and medium-sized enterprises and the general public. 

An important part of the meeting was also a discussion on the evaluation of the pilots carried out in the eight cities. Both the partners implementing the pilot work and the citizens of the cities will evaluate the implemented solutions, which will contribute to a better verification of their effectiveness. ‘We want our partners and local communities to have a real impact on the final shape of the solutions proposed by the project’ - explains Katarzyna Korczak, RIC Pro-Akademia expert. 

The meeting also brought new knowledge and perspectives through international cooperation. These activities aim to jointly seek answers to the challenges of using empty spaces in cities, running resource centres and combining e-commerce with local services in a circular economy. 

For those interested in the project, please visit its website: https://www.interreg-central.eu/projects/nice/  

Project NiCE is supported by the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund. 

The NiCE project is co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education as part of the programme entitled ‘International Co-Financed Projects’.