Project Goals

It aimed to educate citizens on everyday bio-based items like cleaning products, insulation, and food packaging, translating complex science into simple messages via workshops and focus groups. The initiative emphasized sustainability benefits, such as reducing fossil fuel reliance, while addressing consumer uncertainties through neutral, evidence-based info.cordis.europa+2

Key Activities

BioCannDo ran from 2016 to 2019 under EU H2020 funding, creating journalistic articles, videos, and the AllThings.Bio hub for broad outreach. It built a stakeholder network for co-created content and ran educational competitions to engage youth.wbc-rti+2

Outcomes

The project successfully delivered tested key messages, synergies with other bioeconomy efforts, and materials that improved acceptance of bio-products across Europe. Its consumer-centric approach filled gaps in reliable communication, supporting a shift to a sustainable economy.europa+1

Project Overview

WeSenseIT, funded under the EU’s FP7 program, ran from December 2012 to late 2016 with a budget of about €7 million. The initiative shifted traditional top-down water monitoring to a two-way model involving citizens as stakeholders in capturing, evaluating, and sharing environmental data. It integrated physical sensors, citizen inputs like photos and messages, and social media mining to address floods and droughts across the hydrologic cycle.cordis.europa+1

Key Components

• Data Capture: Low-cost static/portable sensors used by citizens, plus “soft” layers from crowdsourcing social networks (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) and direct reports.[rbmplife.org]​
• Modeling and Tools: Adaptive physical/social models and decision-support systems to assimilate heterogeneous data for risk assessment.[cordis.europa]​
• Infrastructure: Platforms enabling discussion, monitoring, and feedback between citizens, authorities, and emergency responders.[copernicus]​

Demonstrations

Tested in real-world case studies with civil protection agencies in the UK, Netherlands, and Italy, focusing on flood- and drought-prone areas. Results influenced governance by promoting citizen engagement in planning and emergency response.rbmplife+1

Project Goals

The initiative aimed to reduce odor annoyance by empowering citizens as “human sensors” through a mobile app called OdoMap, where they could report smells in real time. It combined this with electronic noses (e-noses) for precise in-situ measurements, atmospheric dispersion models (sped up 100x for near-real-time use), and a web platform (OdoMis) for data visualization and alerts.[cordis.europa]​

Key Components

• Citizen Observatory: Monthly meetings and interactive tools to encourage participation and provide feedback on complaints.[cordis.europa]​
• Sensor Network: Innovative e-noses with improved pattern recognition to detect odor variations, especially from sources like wastewater treatment plants.ketmarket+1
• Information System: OdoMis platform offered maps, statistics, CSV downloads, and warnings for high-intensity odors, using open standards like OGC for interoperability.[cordis.europa]​

Outcomes and Impact

Tested at sites like the Burgo Ardennes paper mill in Virton, Belgium, the system helped identify odor sources and supported evidence-based limits. Though the project ended around 2015, extensions continued, with potential for wider European rollout pending harmonized odor legislation. It enhanced local governance by promoting transparency and stakeholder collaboration.ketmarket+1

Project Goals

CITCLOPS aimed to enable everyday people to collect environmental data using smartphones and simple tools, such as photographing sea surfaces from beaches, ferries, or boats. This supported long-term monitoring of issues like eutrophication, sediment loads, and biological activity in coastal waters.cordis.europa+1

Key Methods

Participants used apps like EyeOnWater to capture Forel-Ule scale color observations and Secchi disk variants for transparency. Data was automatically uploaded, georeferenced, and processed on community platforms, building on prior efforts like Secchi Dip-In and Coastwatch Europe.weobserve+1

Outcomes

The project expanded citizen science by deploying digital cameras and sensors, fostering public engagement while validating data against satellite remote sensing. Though funding ended, the EyeOnWater app continues for ongoing contributions.weobserve+1

Project Overview

CITI-SENSE, funded under EU FP7 from around 2012, created sensor-based systems linking distributed sensors, data platforms, products, and user engagement. The core chain was “sensors-platform-products-users,” enabling citizens to track issues like air quality and contribute to decisions.cordis.europa+2

Key Goals

• Raise environmental awareness and participation in governance.
• Support community priorities on air quality, noise, UV radiation, thermal comfort, and indoor school environments.
• Validate Earth Observation tools for citizen-led monitoring and feedback loops.citi-sense+2

Implementation Sites

Pilot “empowerment initiatives” ran in nine European cities: Barcelona, Vitoria, Oslo, Haifa, Vienna, Ostrava/Silesia, Belgrade, Edinburgh, and Ljubljana. These addressed urban air quality, public spaces, and school indoors via mobile apps and micro-sensors.nilu+1

Outcomes

The project tested novel tech like data fusion and mobile solutions, fostering co-participation in planning. It emphasized learning from citizen perceptions to enhance health, well-being, and policy impact.cordis.europa+1

Project Goals

It aimed to mobilize Europe’s building retrofitting market to meet 2020 and 2050 energy efficiency targets by developing cost-effective strategies at the district scale. The focus was on balancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability through scalable interventions like energy-efficient tech from SMEs. This addressed urban typologies across Europe, prioritizing sequential retrofits for maximum impact.scienceportal.tecnalia+2

Key Outputs

The main deliverable was an Integrated Decision Support Tool (IDST), a software with a 3D interface for modeling districts and buildings. It helped stakeholders rank optimal retrofitting options, from off-the-shelf tech to new business models leveraging economies of scale. Validation occurred in diverse urban case studies, producing CityGML models for planning.b4l.ectp+1

Projected Impacts

FASUDIR estimated annual energy savings up to €4.3 billion if scaled EU-wide, plus 15% less construction waste and jobs for 444,000 people. It targeted improving life quality for about 11 million residents in retrofitted districts.[cordis.europa]​

Project Goals

The tool, known as the Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS), promotes coordinated decisions on building and district renovations.[ectp]​
It adopts a holistic approach, integrating technology, environmental factors, and stakeholder collaboration for sustainable urban upgrades.[cordis.europa]​

Key Features

• Web-based dashboard with KPI calculation modules for energy, costs, and impacts.
• Design visualization, scoring tools, and crowd-sourcing for user-friendly analysis.[cordis.europa]​
• Flexible, modular structure supporting iterative decision-making across district scales.[cordis.europa]​

Outcomes and Status

Tested in five European case studies, it emphasizes context-specific KPIs over one-size-fits-all solutions.[cordis.europa]​
Funded under EU FP7 (project ID 608913), the open-source platform aids professionals in complex retrofit scenarios.cordis.europa+1

Project Goals

STREAMER targeted holistic optimization across building types like hospitals, clinics, offices, labs, and sports facilities in integrated districts. Key aims included better MEP/HVAC system efficiency linked to medical equipment, neighborhood energy interactions (e.g., smart grids), and participatory design via Integrated Project Delivery (IPD).sustainableplaces+1

Semantic Design Approach

The core innovation was “semantic labels” and models (BIM, BAM, BEM, BOOM) for interoperable info flow from design to operation. This enabled rules-based design, like room proximity constraints or floor separations for patient/office areas, validated in four real districts (NL, IT, FR, others).isprs-annals.copernicus+2

Validation and Outcomes

Results were tested in large-scale hospital retrofits/new builds, advancing open BIM-GIS standards (IFC-CityGML). Publications covered peer-reviewed papers on design rules and taxonomies for healthcare spaces.cordis.europa+1

Project Overview

The project ran from 2013 to 2017, creating a collaborative software platform with nine interconnected tools via APIs. These enabled multi-criteria optimization, simulating building performance across physical scales while factoring in urban surroundings.b4l.ectp+1

Key Features

• Innovative feedback-loop workflows linking design and multi-physical simulations (e.g., energy, structure, environment).cordis.europa+1
• Unified data model using standards like IFC, CityGML, and BCF for stakeholder collaboration beyond traditional coordination.[cordis.europa]​
• Focus on early design phases to validate options against regulations, comfort, and performance goals.[cordis.europa]​

Methodology and Validation

HOLISTEEC introduced a BIM-based methodology merging design and assessment, unlike siloed traditional practices. It was tested on five real-world cases, showing gains in time savings, process efficiency, and building value.cordis.europa+1

Project Overview

eeEmbedded, funded under EU FP7, created an open BIM-based virtual design laboratory for multidisciplinary teams. It enabled early-stage simulations of energy performance, costs, CO2 impact, and systems like HVAC and BACS across building lifecycles.b4l.ectp+1

Key goals included a multimodel approach extending BIM with neighborhood energy systems, validated on pilot buildings such as residential/office and hospital types.cordis.europa+1

Core Components

• Holistic Design Methodology: Used a hierarchical key-point system to guide multi-physics design, incorporating life-cycle assessments and user behaviors for faster, regulation-compliant decisions.cordis.europa+1
• Virtual Lab Platform: Configurable labs for simulations (CFD, controls, climate), linked via a service bus with cloud data servers for collaborative urban-to-detail analysis.eas.iis.fraunhofer+1
• Energy System Model (ESIM): Factored in surrounding buildings and alternative resources for optimized embedding.[cordis.europa]​

Outcomes and Impact

Pilots demonstrated timesavings through automated checks and variant evaluations, improving energy efficiency by an order of magnitude. The platform supports distributed experts with IFC/CityGML interoperability, influencing modern sustainable BIM workflows.b4l.ectp+1