CF_D10 D6.2 Communication and Dissemination Plan

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Communication and Dissemination Plan Deliverable 6.2 1 © CLIMATEFIT Consortium, 2024 This deliverable contains original unpublished work except when indicated otherwise. Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made through appropriate citation, quotation, or both. Reproduction is authorised if the source is acknowledged. This document has been prepared in the framework of the European project CLIMATEFIT. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement no. 101112705. The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Deliverable Number and Name D6.2 – Communication and Dissemination Plan Work Package WP6 – WP Communication and dissemination Dissemination Level Public Author(s) Amandine Josseron (EQY) Primary Contact and Email [email protected] Date Due 29/02/2024 Date Submitted 28/02/2024 File Name CFIT_CDP_20240221_vf.docx Status Final version Reviewed by (if applicable) Marco Carreira Silva (WCF), Katherine Peinhardt (ICLEI) Suggested citation EQY, (2024), Communication and Dissemination Plan for the CLIMATEFIT project, CLIMATEFIT, Copenhagen (DK) 2 Table des matières EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Framework of actions ................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1. CLIMATEFIT framework of actions ............................................................................................ 4 1.1.1 Communication and dissemination goals and objectives .................................. 5 2. Communication channels and tools.................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Online communication tools/channels ................................................................................. 7 2.2 Non-electronic communication tools ..................................................................................... 8 2.3 Physical interactive dissemination ............................................................................................. 8 2.3.1 Local and national events ....................................................................................................... 8 2.3.2 International events ..................................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Flagship platforms ................................................................................................................................. 8 3. Stakeholder matrix ...................................................................................................................................... 10 4. Division of responsibilities ...................................................................................................................... 10 5. Communication timeline .......................................................................................................................... 13 6. Practical guidelines for communication ....................................................................................... 15 7. Assessment Strategy & KPI ................................................................................................................... 16 8. Methodology for communication and dissemination activities within the consortium ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 8.1 General process .................................................................................................................................... 16 8.2 Social media methodology .......................................................................................................... 16 9. ANNEX: Social media guide .................................................................................................................. 17 9.1 Social media account ........................................................................................................................ 17 9.2 Social media plan – Types of posts and content ......................................................... 17 9.3 Visuals .......................................................................................................................................................... 18 9.4 Schedule .................................................................................................................................................... 18 9.5 Content of posts ....................................................................................................................................19 9.5.1 Partners’ presentation ..............................................................................................................19 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The deliverable D6.2 ‘Communication and dissemination plan’ has been developed in the context of the CLIMATEFIT Work Package 6 (WP6) which aims to ensure a wider communication and dissemination of the project activities and to promote project results across external stakeholders, and a general audience, to maximise its impacts and visibility across Europe and beyond. The purpose of this document is to present a plan that will be followed for all the communications activities of the project and suggest a concrete scheme for their implementation throughout the project’s forty-months duration. In particular, this plan includes nine main chapters addressing the different aspects that are important to focus on, starting with general information on the CLIMATEFIT project, its objectives, its communications goals and key target audiences. All the communications tools and actions that will be used to support the communications efforts of the project are also presented, while a matrix of how the communications tools correspond to each target audience intended to be reached is also featured in the document. The document also provides details on the appropriate timing for the implementation of the planned strategy for communications, together with the responsibilities and contributions expected by the CLIMATEFIT partners. Lastly, reference is made to the monitoring and assessment aspects of the communications activities, featuring KPIs and targets. The deliverable D6.2 is a living document that evolves during the lifespan of the project; in fact, it functions as a dynamic document of agreements among the partners to be reviewed and updated periodically and officially through D6.5 Communication and Dissemination Plan (CDP) update (M36). This Plan also dovetails with D6.6 Exploitation and Upscaling Plan, as well as D1.3 Taskforce of Innovation Management. The Taskforce of Innovation Management (TIM) will serve as the operational body to take carriage of the Exploitation and Upscale Plan and its revisions throughout the project – both of these deliverables focus on reaching specific target audiences that can make concrete use of CLIMATEFIT project results. 4 1. Framework of actions 1.1. CLIMATEFIT framework of actions The general objective of CLIMATEFIT project is support EU territories in their just and transformational journey toward climate resilience by bridging the finance gap, providing critical insight and building the capacities of (i) Public Authorities (PAs) to identify, orchestrate and attract various public and private financing sources and (ii) Financing & Investment Entities (FIEs) to identify and access resilient investment opportunities. CLIMATEFIT opens a significant opportunity to foster innovative investments in adaptation to assist vulnerable EU territories and to boost competitiveness and EU leadership in a growing market. The project will build on a deep understanding of existing initiatives to sustain systemic and catalytic investments in adaptation by engaging its Technical Partners (TPs), PAs and FIEs in the co-creation of twenty innovative investment strategies, ten concrete and scalable investment plans and four bankable transformational investment cases. This will increase the bankability of pipelines of adaptation projects across a diversity of scales, financing types, contexts, barriers to financing, climate risks and vulnerabilities, biogeographical regions, adaptive capacities and maturity regarding climate change. The project will develop its result with the support of its twenty case studies grouped in three clusters: Northwestern, Eastern and Southern. CLIMATEFIT will achieve seven different results, to be widely disseminated and fully exploited to have the largest possible impact: 1. A financing landscape: deep insight in the amalgam of barriers and drivers for local and regional authorities, as well as financial and investment entities in their exploration of novel financing instruments dedicated to climate adaptation. 2. A capacity building programme: dedicated training sessions on planning skills and tools needed to attract funding at the local level for PAs and to identify and develop investment opportunities for FIEs. 3. A public authority manual for accessing and leveraging finance: set of principles designed to help PAs increase investment in climate resilience using a systemic and catalytic approach. The main goal of an investment strategy is to match relevant Investment Concepts (IC) and FIE’s financial resources to PAs needs (Investment strategies and plans). Operationalising the investment strategies with measurable goals, including estimated resources needs, required innovative IC and Incentive Mechanisms (IM) and optimised articulation and combination of financing sources will ensure successful implementation (of Investment Plans). Demonstration of the readiness to implement investment plans, including robust Adaptation Funding and Financing Solutions (AFFS) uniquely matched to the need, context and condition of each territory and capabilities of stakeholders engaged in the taskforces, will allow the mainstreaming of adaptation into the finance and economic sectors. 4. A financing and investment entity path for accelerating finance: initially providing guidance on the role of private investment in adaptation finance. Research done at the different stages of the project will study incentives and disincentives to investment in adaptation to acquire the necessary knowledge on how to overcome the identified financing barriers. Incentive mechanisms will be identified which could bolster the applicability of the 5 innovative investment concepts (IC) suitable for the adaptation projects PAs have identified. The articulation of Incentive Mechanisms will also help identify the PAs in their capital de-risking and catalytic roles. Our technical partners will develop innovative credit/financial scoring in cooperation with FIEs to integrate climate resilience finance criteria into decisionmaking. Finally, Adaptation Funding and Financing Solutions will be built and rigorously and transparently experimented in four bankable transformational investment cases. 5. Local resilience taskforces: Specific group of stakeholders, including FIEs and PAs, with common interest and complementary roles to tackle the challenge of adaptation financing in their local context with a catalytic and systemic approach. Eight LRTs will follow a dynamic and user focused engagement process which is close to the Living Lab approach. 6. Recommendations for EU adaptation and sustainable finance policies: recommendations for local and national government policies that would accelerate the transformation of the economic system, financial sector and market architecture to internalise and reward climate adaptation aligned investments. 7. A One-stop Shop: marketplace for PAs and FIEs that will allow users to quickly link the Financing Landscape (PR1) data (actor or solution) that interest them with the specific needs and materials from n the Capacity Building Platform (PR2). It will also link them to specific methodologies, including how to build their Local Resilience Taskforce (PR5). It will also allow then to easily connect the capacity building activities taking place in PR2, and with the results of the co-creation process such as the PA’s Manual and FIE’s Pathway for Accelerating Finance guidance (PR3&4). Specific solutions will be collated by CLIMATEFIT to EU adaptation and sustainable finance policy makers White Papers (PR6). Finally, the CLIMATEFIT’s One-Stop Shop will also relate specific policy information to stories on how existing LRTs leading to an enabling policy adjustment. To reach all its objectives, the project will: • Explore, understand, and report on the European climate resilience financing landscape. • Raise awareness and build the capacity of stakeholders to invest into climate resilience. • Foster the mobilisation of innovative climate adaptation aligned Investment Concepts and tailored Adaptation Financing and Funding Solutions. • Accelerate the mobilisation of financing & investment entities to help bridge the adaptation finance gap. • Support the transition from small-scale and project/program-based financing of climate adaptation to a more systemic and catalytic resilience financing. • Contribute to the European Adaptation Mission by upscaling results, building and enhancing existing initiatives such as the EU Taxonomy. 1.1.1 Communication and dissemination goals and objectives The main goals of the CLIMATEFIT CDP are to: • Ensure wide communication and dissemination of the project’s activities 6 • Reach the greatest possible audience within its target groups • Ensure a long-term impact use of the project’s results. The CLIMATEFIT CDP is designed to promote the project’s technical and social outputs, and thus to multitude of audiences, including the general public, in a strategic and effective manner. The success of this ambition is based on how the goals of the CDP are translated into specific objectives that are then successfully integrated into the daily activities of the project. The CLIMATEFIT project targets a large range of stakeholders for dissemination. The CDP will make sure that a targeted dissemination will be addressed to each target group. A detailed list of disseminations goals and target groups is illustrated below: Table 1 List of dissemination goals and target groups Target group Communication and Dissemination goal Scientific community working on financing resilience. Leading research centers and universities on adaptation financing topics (e.g., OECD, the Cambridge University, the Oxford University). • Dissemination of knowledge produced on unlocking financing for adaptation (barriers/drivers’ analysis. • Finance planning, testing of incentive mechanisms and investment concepts. • Uptake of the financing landscape (PR1) • Uptake of the One-Stop Shop (PR7). Public authority staff ICLEI’, CCFLA’s and Concito’s network, staff of municipalities, regions that are linked to case studies, new staff from the EU network of Local Resilience Taskforces. • Building of LRT and commitment to participate in the discussion (PR5). • Engagement in the co-definition process for the pipelines of bankable projects, co-design of investment strategies and plans, • Plans and cases (PR2). • Uptake of the best practices and ‘good practice stories’ from the resilience taskforces (PR1). • Use of the capacity building programme (PR2). • Uptake of the PA’s manual for acccessing and leveraging finance (PR3). Financing and investment entities Private stakeholders, investors & financing sector, public sector, WCF’s, F4T’s, ITASIF’s, SA’s, CMCC’s and CDP’s networks. • Building of LRT and commitment to participate in the discussion (PR5). • Engagement in the co-definition process for incentive mechanisms (PR2). • Participation in the identification, selection and test of the AFFS (PR4). Policy makers, institutional and regulators Local and regional governments, regulators and control authorities, institutions, central authorities and national environment, climate and related ministries and agencies. • Dissemination of the guidance produced on an incentive mechanism for the financial sectors. • Uptake of the guidelines for regulation (e.g..: EU taxonomy), frameworks, standards and labelling (PR6). Local environment/climate agencies Networks of regional and local agencies (FEDARENE) • Participation in activities proposed by the EU network of LRT • Uptake and promotion of the One-stop Shop (PR7) 7 • Support to new cities and regions willing to replicate Local communities and citizens NGOs of citizens, representatives of the civil society • Provision of information through publications such as good practices, manuals and success stories • Outreach of early adopters and citizens/organisations with a strong interest 2. Communication channels and tools CLIMATEFIT will produce a variety of content materials to maximise and maintain the project’s expected outcomes: 1. An increased leveraging of finance into climate adaptation financing in the context of the Mission Adaptation to Climate Change. 2. An increased and improved range of investment concepts that are proven to have helped public authorities in accessing and leveraging finance into climate adaptation. 3. An increased capacity of public authority staff for developing bankable climate adaptation projects. 4. A better understanding of mechanisms that would accelerate the transformation of the economic system and financial sector to internalise and reward climate resilient investments For reaching out to the stakeholders listed in Table 1, CLIMATEFIT will use relevant tools to communicate the messages such as following: 2.1 Online communication tools/channels • Website: a dedicated website will be created to introduce the project to potential partners and stakeholders who are interested in learning about CLIMATEFIT, to communicate the project updates and disseminate its findings. It will enable effective communication between the project and external stakeholders, the press and a wider EU audience. • Social media: News will be distributed on relevant social media channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn. This will offer a tool to report unfolding developments during the project. News will contain amongst other materials: project press releases, announcements of progress, reports on conferences and meetings, news of milestone achievements, information about forthcoming events, news on research, developments in process and on related issues from all over the world. Particular attention will be paid to relay communication from other related EU Horizon projects such as Pathways2Resilience and other relevant initiatives, to maximise the overall visibility of the EU’s initiatives in a combined and coordinated effort, combining with MIP4 on this latter effort. EU webinars: To foster exchanges of good practice and interactions between LRT, ICLEI will organise four online EU-wide webinars addressed to all European PAs. The webinars will take place just before the replication workshops and serve as a call for interest in the replication. Based on the specific topics, engagement processes fostering an interactive participation will take place, aiming for a dynamic discussion on the main barriers to replication and addressing the adaptation financing gap in the EU. 8 2.2 Non-electronic communication tools • Dedicated publications: Publications will be presented in relevant newspapers or/and social media and will be on the project website. • Project brochures: Project brochures will be available in different languages in hard copy and can be downloaded from the project website as a PDF document. • Promotional video: A promotional video will contribute to promulgation of the project’s scope, objectives and results in the media. • Project slide deck: A project slide deck will be available at any time to all partners to use in relevant presentations or to share for presenting the project. 2.3 Physical interactive dissemination CLIMATEFIT partners will attend outreach events in the form of workshops, seminars, conferences, and side events focusing on topics related to climate adaptation financing. The Consortium will also organise a final conference, focusing on scientific advances within the project, including the replication strategy beyond the project’s lifetime and future expectations/exploitation strategies. 2.3.1 Local and national events Those events that will be at both local and national scales (mainly in the project’s territories), will be attended by facilitators, PAs and FIEs within the Consortium, as coordinated by EQY. 2.3.2 International events For those events that will be at international scales, attendance will be coordinated ed by WCF. Some key opportunities for a CLIMATEFIT presence include: • COPs, • London and New York Climate Weeks, • European Climate Change Adaptation Conference, • European Sustainable Energy Week, • European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, • European Week of Regions and Cities, Urban Future, and • European Urban Resilience Forum. 2.4 Flagship platforms Flagship knowledge platforms and projects with which CLIMATEFIT will liaise are listed below, these are detailed in D6.6 and also some investigated for success factors in WP1.2. 15 6. Practical guidelines for communication Based on the above communication timeline, all the Consortium partners will be able to follow practical guidelines when providing contributing content on the website, social media and newsletter, as indicated in the Table 5 below. For the sake of consistency, all partners will also refer to the official CLIMATEFIT Glossary, for the selection and definition of common terms used in communications. (annexed to the D7.2 Quality and Risk Management Plan), Table 5 Practical guidelines for communications What do you need to do How can you do it? Website Generate content and contribute with it for the website updates on a periodic basis When there are relevant for the project conferences and events, or when there are developments that could be important communication opportunities for the project, partners need to liaise directly with the website task leader (Euroquality: Amandine Josseron [email protected]) to propose the news for publication on the website. Social Media Contribute with news, updates, pictures and visuals on a periodic basis For any occasions that can be considered as good communication opportunities, partners can communicate about them through their social media by tagging CLIMATEFIT HEU (on LinkedIn) together with as many as possible partner organisations involved in the project for maximum impact. In case partners have news that are to be disseminated through the CLIMATEFIT’s official channel, they will need to connect directly with the social media task leader (Euroquality: amandine.jossero[email protected]) to propose the news for social media updates. Newsletter Contribute with content for the development of the newsletter Partners who are contacted by the newsletter’s task leader (Euroquality: Amandine Josseron [email protected]) to contribute with content for the newsletters, will be required to generate news articles and provide the relevant updates as materials to be included in the newsletter. International communication Attend international event and communicate around them When there are relevant conferences and events for the project, partners need to liaise directly with the communication and dissemination tasks leader (Euroquality: Amandine Josseron [email protected]) to ensure articulation between all project partners and quality and harmonisation of the message shared. 16 7. Assessment Strategy & KPI Communication activities throughout the project will be closely monitored and assessed based on a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) indicatively specified for each channel and phase of the project. Table 6 below presents the main communication and dissemination tools and the related KPIs. The WP6 leader, together with the Project Coordinator will monitor the execution of the following activities through internal reporting and updating of KPIsevery 6 months.I. Table 6 Main communication and dissemination tools & KPIs set KPIs Phase 1 (1-12 months) Phase 2 (1336) Phase 3 (37-40) Overall Web page visits 500 1000 3000 4500 Number of posts on social media 150 200 100 450 Number of views on social media per post 500 750 1000 2250 Number of material downloads through the website 50 100 150 300 Number of relevant contacts made through the website 5 5 10 20 Number of presentations at conferences - 10 10 20 Number of people reached per event - 100 100 200 Number of common activities with research projects 2 8 10 10 Number of papers submitted - 5 15 20 Number of publication downloads - 10 30 40 Number of readings - 400 500 800 Number of brochure/leaflet distribution - 400 600 1000 Number of visualisation of the video - 2000 3000 5000 8. Methodology for communication and dissemination activities within the consortium 8.1 General process Before any external communication/dissemination about the Project, the relevant partner must inform EQY to: - Check the information shared is not confidential - Check the information is shared according to the Projects’ visual identity anguage and objectives. Check for consistency with EU Horizon Project communication guidelines. 8.2 Social media methodology A clear step-by-step methodology is suggested for social media posts from the CLIMATEFIT accounts between Consortium partners. Step 1: EQY makes a first suggestion for the social media post (content + visual) Step 2: Partners involved in the post review and validate the suggestion Step 3: EQY makes a final validation and publishes the post online 17 In some cases and upon agreement, the urgency and momentum for posting on Social Media may the communication needs to be adapted , so the Consortium will be flexible. To accomodate this review process. Any Consortium partner is encouraged to make some suggestions to EQY for social media posts or to feed information into the Project website. Consortium partners can send their ideas by email to EQY or inform the Consortium of their communication suggestions during relevant meetings (e.g., Consortium Meetings or Work Package Leaders meetings). 9. ANNEX: Social media guide The CLIMATEFIT Communication and Dissemination plan also produces a social media guide at the beginning of the Project to coordinate the accounts and the contents that will be communicated over the Project’s lifetime. 9.1 Social media account A LinkedIn account CLIMATEFIT_HEU was created at the beginning of the Project, playing a key role in day-to-day communication and, more widely, supporting the dissemination of the Project and other related activities. This account also enables the Consortium members to follow and also communicate with CLIMATEFIT’s related EU and other projects that are also active on these channels. Figure 2: CLIMATEFIT LinkedIn account cover page With a basis of 1-2 posts per week maximum, different types of posting are foreseen as described in section 1.2. It will focus on the presentation of the Project partner news and main Porject results but also disseminate information on CLIMATEFIT events or relevant activities to external parties. 9.2 Social media plan – Types of posts and content Three types of posts are foreseen: • Project presentation: Information related to the Project content, partners news and main Project results. → Partners’ presentation → Relaying website publication of main Project results 18 → Consortium meetings and other workshops • Events and related communication: External events useful for the dissemination or more widely relevant to the Project. → Forum, conferences where partners are invited useful for the dissemination (e.g., workshop on the mission Adaptation with the EC) → Official publications and reports from the European Commission for example that are linked to CLIMATEFIT activities → Events and workshops organised by other stakeholders such as CLIMATEFIT’s related EU projects and key climate finance organisations . • Other posts: → Thank you notifications for followers → Direct share of other projects → Teasing of events 9.3 Visuals Figure 2: Visual used for social media posts (partners’ presentation) 9.4 Schedule Each relevant public deliverable will be communicated when concluded/submitted. In addition, the communication will first focus on individual partner’s presentations (32), alternating between the technical partners, facilitators, public authorities and financial and investment entities (see Figure 1). Throughout the Project. Then, best practice adaptation financing case studies will be presented each week and finally, news related to the Projects objectives will be regularly featured. 19 9.5 Content of posts 9.5.1 Partners’ presentation On the visual: Name and logo; In the description: Country and type of organisation, main expertise and activity in general, main activity in the Project, hashtags. ********************************************* Example of post text for partner’s presentation Discover our partners every week Short description: For over a decade, the WCF has facilitated large-scale collaboration between governments, businesses, financial institutions and international organisations, accelerating the transition to a green economy. Through 20 creating powerful cross-sectoral partnerships, WCF foster innovation and investment for sustainable solutions in climate resilience. Main role in the project: WCF acts as the project coordinator for CLIMATEFIT, guiding all partners towards achieving the project's intended impacts. Moreover, WCF assists investors in identifying opportunities for resilience financing. This involves matching the offerings of investors with the needs of Public Authorities, establishing Local Resilience Taskforces, and spearheading the pilot implementation of all adaptation finance solutions developed within the project. Given that applied research is central to CLIMATEFIT, all methodologies will be specifically designed for the end users. These methodologies will be applied and refined based on user feedback, fostering continuous improvement. Team: Stella Whittaker (Leader Climate Change: Adaptation Finance, Project Coordinator), Jens Neilsen (CEO), Marco de Carreira Silva (Adaptation Finance Innovation & Research Assistant) and Lelde Kazule (Director of Finance and Operations). ********************************************* List of partners to tag: WP leader : @World Climate Foundation | @Universiteit Antwerpen | SEI - Stockholm Environment Institute | @CMCC Foundation - Centro Euro Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici | @ICLEI Europe| @Euroquality - Tinexta Group All : @World Climate Foundation | @Universiteit Antwerpen | @CMCC Foundation - Centro Euro Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici | SEI - Stockholm Environment Institute | @ICLEI Europe| @Euroquality - Tinexta Group | @ACTERRA | @SustainAdvisory Srl | @Forum per la Finanza Sostenibile (ItaSIF) | @ Ramboll | @Enviros Group | @Ambiente Italia S.r.l. | @ Agency ENERGAP | @AdEPorto - Agência de Energia do Porto | @Alba Local Energy Agency – ALEA | @Diputación Provincial de Ávila | @Agence du climat, le guichet des solutions | @COMUNE DI BRESCIA | @Vlaamse Gewest | @EUROMETROPOLE DE STRASBOURG | Alba Iulia | @Stad Genk | @Embuild - The Belgian Construction Association | @Paris Europlace | @Fondul Roman pentru Eficienta Energiei | @Banca Etica | STATUTARNI MESTO LIBEREC | MUNICIPIO DO PORTO | MESTNA OBCINA MARIBOR | @Comune di Bergamo | @ CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency 21 The CLIMATEFIT project aims to support EU territories in their just and transformational journey toward climate resilience by bridging the finance gap, providing critical insight and building the capacities of (i) Public Authorities (PAs) to identify, orchestrate and attract various public and private financing sources and (ii) Financing & Investment Entities (FIEs) to identify and access resilient investment opportunities. CLIMATFIT opens a significant opportunity to foster innovative resilience investments in vulnerable EU territories and to boost competitiveness and EU leadership in a growing market. The project will build on a deep understanding of existing initiatives to sustain systemic and catalytic resilience investments by engaging its Technical Partners, PAs and FIEs in the co-creation of twenty innovative investment strategies, ten concrete and scalable investment plans and four bankable transformational investment cases, increasing the bankability of adaptation project pipelines across a diversity of scales, financing gaps, contexts, barriers to financing, climate risks and vulnerabilities, biogeographical regions, adaptive capacities and maturity regarding climate change represented from its twenty case studies grouped in three clusters: Northwestern, Eastern and Southern.