Promoting innovation excellence in transformation of coal regions to climate-neutral, thriving economies
Join us in creating our common, better future
About Us
COALition is a project that aims to create a joint strategy for sustainable energy among three selected territories in under-transition EU states (Western Macedonia - GR, Centru - RO, Southeastern - BG) that are also characterized as widening.
The project seeks to create regional excellence hubs that will co-define the regions' joint priorities and action plan to facilitate their transitions, following a bottom-up, multi-stakeholder participatory approach.
The project also aims to establish permanent Regional Excellence Hubs in the three selected territories that are coal-dependent and also belong to countries that are characterized as less advanced in terms of R&I performance.
The excellence hubs will be composed of key representatives of the Quadruple Helix approach, and their main objective is to facilitate the just transition and transform the regions to climate-neutral, thriving economies.
Place-based approaches are collaborative, long-term approaches to build thriving communities delivered in a defined geographic location. This approach is ideally characterized by partnering and shared design, shared stewardship, and shared accountability for outcomes and impacts.
As studies have shown between 106.681 and 314 416 jobs can be created in the coal regions by 2030 by deploying clean energy technologies.
Those jobs created by clean energy technologies in the coal regions would be comparable to the nearly 200 000 direct jobs relevant to coal-related activities. The Coalition for Sustainable Development is a global platform that brings together individuals and organizations from all sectors to address these challenges and work towards a more sustainable and equitable future.
OBJECTIVES
The project has four specific objectives:
1 //
Setup and/or strengthen representative communities (hubs) of key actors of the quadruple helix in a regional context in the SE domain in the 3 territories.
2 //
Advance research & mature technological solutions to facilitate regional transition.
3 //
Create new business opportunities for economic development and jobs in the areas to attract entrepreneurial activity and talents and establish favorable environments for investments.
4 //
Increase the capacities of the working force (researchers, entrepreneurs, employees, etc.) in the place-based innovation ecosystems.
MISSION AND GOALS
Our mission is to create a world that is sustainable, just, and prosperous for all. To achieve this, we have set the following goals:
PROJECT COMPONENTS
The Coalition platform is composed of several key components, including:
A network of partners and stakeholders from all sectors
An online hub for sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices
Campaigns and advocacy initiatives to promote sustainable development
Training and capacity-building programs for organizations and individuals
Working With the Best Partners
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OUTCOMES
We argue that Project’s outcomes will have a direct impact in the Widening Process in three dimensions:
EXCELLENCE HUBS
Excellence hubs are an initiative to strengthen regional innovation excellence in placed based innovation ecosystems by place-based ecosystems – core cities and industrial zones, agglomeration structures and settlement networks, cross-border collaboration on a common strategy and/or alongside value adding chains. Place based innovation ecosystems are interconnected companies, research institutions, governmental bodies and societal actors that are mutually reinforcing each other in a territorial context and together raise the level of innovation excellence in their regional fabric. The ecosystem is operating in a specific territorial i.e., regional, or local context and thus benefitting from geographic proximity favouring close links between actors especially academia and business.