Whether you’re in social housing, public transport, energy, municipal planning, decision-making, private enterprise, or research, we’ve got the innovative outcomes from SPARCS in one place. Find out how SPARCS can benefit your field and contribute to a sustainable future for European cities below.

Items

    • D4.4 Interoperability of holistic energy systems in Leipzig
      • The deliverable is focused on Leipzig, Germany, and emphasizes the creation of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) or “virtual energy communities” that facilitate data exchange between various stakeholders. Despite the regulatory and legal challenges, particularly around  peer-to-peer energy trading and blockchain, the project has identified strategies to overcome these obstacles and has made significant strides in developing a digital, intelligent ecosystem for energy management.
    • D3.4 Interoperability of holistic energy systems in Espoo
      • This deliverable is a detailed report on the SPARCS project’s initiatives in Espoo, Finland, aimed at transitioning towards low-carbon urban areas and developing Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). It covers a broad spectrum of activities, including energy efficiency improvements, smart energy management, e-mobility, ICT solutions, local renewable energy production, citizen involvement, and urban planning.

      • This deliverable is a detailed report on the SPARCS project’s initiatives in Espoo, Finland, aimed at transitioning towards low-carbon urban areas and developing Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). It covers a broad spectrum of activities, including energy efficiency improvements, smart energy management, e-mobility, ICT solutions, local renewable energy production, citizen involvement, and urban planning.
    • D4.4 Interoperability of holistic energy systems in Leipzig
      • The deliverable is focused on Leipzig, Germany, and emphasizes the creation of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) or “virtual energy communities” that facilitate data exchange between various stakeholders. Despite the regulatory and legal challenges, particularly around peer-to-peer energy trading and blockchain, the project has identified strategies to overcome these obstacles and has made significant strides in developing a digital, intelligent ecosystem for energy management.

    • D3.5 EV mobility integration and its impacts in Espoo
      • The deliverable is focused on the integration of Electric Vehicles (EV) mobility in Espoo, Finland, and evaluates its impacts. The report discusses the development of new E-mobility solutions, the demonstration of EV charging integration into the local grid, the impact of EV charging on the grid, and the potential of EV charging as a storage solution. It also explores opportunities for new business models and the uptake of E-mobility.
    • D3.6 Optimizing People Flow and User Experience for Energy Positive Districts
      • This deliverable is a comprehensive report detailing the community engagement activities conducted in the lighthouse city of Espoo. The activities, executed by KONE, Citycon, and the City of Espoo from 2020 to 2022, aimed to promote sustainable mobility and lifestyle transitions through collaboration with citizens and various stakeholders. The report provides an in-depth overview of the methods, activities, and solutions developed to encourage more sustainable behaviors and lifestyles among future Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) citizens.
    • D4.5 EV mobility integration and its impacts in Leipzig
      • This deliverable focuses on the results of e-mobility integration, implemented in the lighthouse city of Leipzig. The deliverable includes information about improving Leipzig’s charging infrastructure, analyzing data from electric buses for efficient charging, and demonstrating the use of bidirectional charging to stabilize the microgrid. The methodologies applied have shown potential for replication in other cities, contributing to efficient use of locally generated electricity and grid stability.
    • Theoretical studies on e-mobility services tailored for residents
      • This is a report that focuses on theoretical studies on e-mobility services designed for residents, aiming to create sustainable, energy-positive, and zero-carbon communities. The document discusses various aspects of e-mobility services, including Roles, Actors, and Standards in E-Mobility, Services and Business Models, Challenges and Future Directions.

    • Citizen engagement toolbox
      • This database is intended to support cities in developing their own engagement strategies by briefly explaining a selection of engagement activities and providing further sources. The filters allow a selection according to the city’s own goals or framework conditions.
    • D4.6 Citizens and stakeholders in Leipzig’s energy transition
      • The deliverable reports on the engagement of citizens and stakeholders in Leipzig’s energy transition, evaluating the value and replicability of demonstrated community engagement methodologies and actions. The deliverable showcases the comprehensive efforts made in Leipzig to engage citizens and stakeholders in the energy transition process, providing valuable insights and recommendations for future projects.
    • D3.6 Optimizing People Flow and User Experience for Energy Positive Districts
      • This deliverable is a comprehensive report detailing the community engagement activities conducted in the lighthouse city of Espoo. The activities, executed by KONE, Citycon, and the City of Espoo from 2020 to 2022, aimed to promote sustainable mobility and lifestyle transitions through collaboration with citizens and various stakeholders. The report provides an in-depth overview of the methods, activities, and solutions developed to encourage more sustainable behaviors and lifestyles among future Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) citizens.
    • Co-creation toolkit  (Espoo Kera model)
      • The co-creation model provides tools to support the development of different types of sustainable and smart urban areas in cooperation with city organisations, businesses, educational institutions, research institutes, other organisations and associations, and residents.
    • D1.11 City Vision 2050 – Draft
      • The document outlines the process and outcomes of developing a City Vision for 2050 for the partner cities involved in the SPARCS project, including Leipzig, Espoo, Lviv, Kladno, Kifissia, Maia, and Reykjavik. The visioning process involved extensive stakeholder participation and resulted in a collection of vision statements for each partner city, reflecting a shared ambition for a sustainable, carbon-neutral future.
      • D1.2 Roadmap for Urban Transformation
        • This document presents a comprehensive roadmap for urban transformation for the participating cities. It outlines the pathway towards achieving a sustainable and carbon-neutral future, based on collaborative efforts involving city authorities, research organizations, businesses, and communities. The roadmap is structured around several Key Strategic Areas (KSAs), including Sustainable Urban Development, Energy Transition, Mobility, Smart City, and Inclusive & Integrated City. It also includes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for monitoring progress towards the vision goals.
      • D1.13 Strategy for Developing Interoperability and Ecosystems for Positive Energy Districts
      • The deliverable encompasses a comprehensive strategy for developing interoperable ecosystems and Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) as part of the SPARCS project. The documents detail the project’s objectives, stakeholder requirements, technical specifications, use cases from Espoo and Leipzig (lighthouse cities), a generic ICT reference architecture, and an approach to assess the replicability and scalability of the solutions. They also discuss the expected impacts of implementing PEDs, highlighting benefits across financial, environmental, energy, and social categories for various stakeholders, including municipalities, citizens, and the energy sector.
    • D7.5 Supporting Toolkit for Startup Competitions
      • The following toolkit was developed based on recommendations outlined in D7.13 (‘How to Implement a Startup Competition’), as well as in response to challenges and learnings from recent startup competitions hosted in Leipzig, Germany, and Espoo, Finland, outlined in D7.4 (‘Smart City Challenge Report and Lessons Learned’). In addition to helping clarify for competition organisers the purpose of their endeavour, this toolkit was chiefly designed to prompt organisers to consider all the factors that could impact the success of their competitions.
    • D6.6 Recommendations on cross-cutting issues
        • The deliverable provides comprehensive insights and recommendations on various aspects of urban transformation towards smart cities and communities, with a focus on Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). The topics covered include citizen and stakeholder engagement, city vision for 2050, roadmap for urban transformation, strategy for developing interoperability and ecosystems for PEDs, and recommendations on cross-cutting issues in smart cities and communities.
    • BABLE Platform – Market Consultation tool
      • This tool has been developed under the SPARCS project and in collaboration with Espoo, Leipzig, Maia, Kladno, Kifissia, and Reykjavik. Consult the market in a quick and easy way. Publishing a market consultation on BABLE will automatically inform hundreds of relevant and innovative Smart City companies in the community of your intention of procurement, resulting in higher response rates

  • D6.6 Recommendations on cross-cutting issues
      • The deliverable provides comprehensive insights and recommendations on various aspects of urban transformation towards smart cities and communities, with a focus on Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). The topics covered include citizen and stakeholder engagement, city vision for 2050, roadmap for urban transformation, strategy for developing interoperability and ecosystems for PEDs, and recommendations on cross-cutting issues in smart cities and communities.
  • D7.1. Business Models and Financing Mechanisms for Wide  Uptake of Smart City solutions
      • This deliverable identifies and analyzes business models and financing mechanisms that can facilitate the widespread adoption of smart city solutions. It provides a benchmark for implementable business, investment, and risk models that can support smart city initiatives across Europe. It also includes a comprehensive review of existing business and financing mechanisms, an introduction to the SPARCs project, and the development of a customized risk mitigation executive tool at the Positive Energy Block/District level. The deliverable concludes with recommendations for future research and implementation strategies to overcome financial and operational challenges in smart city projects.
    • D7.3 Governance Models for Sustainable Smart City Business Ecosystems
      • This document outlines the development of a governance model for engaging stakeholders in smart city initiatives. It includes an analytical framework for assessing multi-actor systems in smart cities, focusing on internal and external value creation through stakeholder engagement. The document details the process from literature review to case study analysis of Lighthouse Cities (Leipzig and Espoo), leading to the proposed governance model.
  • BABLE Platform – SPARCS solutions
  • An overview of SPARC smart city solutions implemented available on the BABLE platform for free use.
  • D5.16 Joint Procurement feature publicly available on BABLE
    • The deliverable is a tool developed specifically for Smart Cities and Communities. This tool is designed to support the Development and Piloting of Joint Procurement of Innovation, with a particular emphasis on market consultation. It provides guidelines for effective innovative procurement, supports joint market consultation, allows users to navigate through various use cases and solutions from all over Europe, and enables the creation of Market Consultation Invitations. The tool also facilitates collaboration with other organizations and ensures automatic notification of relevant companies once an Invitation is published.
  • D5.17 Public Market Consultation Results
    • A Market Consultation tool was developed and tested by the municipality of Maia, Portugal, to procure Building-Integrated PV (BIPV) technology. This tool was instrumental in facilitating the procurement process by connecting with a broad network of innovative suppliers. However, it was found that the specific technology sought was not yet mature enough for implementation.
  • SPARCS Visualisation Dashboard
    • The SPARCS Visualisation Dashboard utilises current and historical city data to enable performance monitoring of the project’s Lighthouse cities and their respective Positive Energy Districts/Blocks; also enabling tracking of their urban transformation progress towards meeting the city vision.

  • BABLE portal SPARCS cases 
  • D7.3 Governance Models for Sustainable Smart City Business Ecosystems
    • This document outlines the development of a governance model for engaging stakeholders in smart city initiatives. It includes an analytical framework for assessing multi-actor systems in smart cities, focusing on internal and external value creation through stakeholder engagement. The document details the process from literature review to case study analysis of Lighthouse Cities (Leipzig and Espoo), leading to the proposed governance model.

  • Scientific publications
    • Scientific papers and publications present the results and findings gained during SPARCS implementation, aiming to provide insights and evidence-based recommendations on the topics of smart cities.
  • D2.02 Definition of SPARCS Holistic Impact Assessment Methodology and Key Performance Indicators (updated version)
      •  A comprehensive impact assessment methodology and key performance indicators (KPIs) have been developed, incorporating lessons from previous smart city projects and new indicators to measure the effectiveness of interventions across various domains. This includes energy, economy, social aspects, environment, technology, governance, mobility, and citizen engagement. The methodology outlines a seven-step approach for defining KPIs, normalizing data for comparability, and evaluating both the impact of interventions and the process of their implementation, all aimed at ensuring successful urban transformation.
  • D1.06 Visualization framework for assessing city performance
    • The deliverable discusses the creation and implementation of the SPARCS Visualization Framework. This framework is designed to offer a visual environment for evaluating city performance, with a specific focus on Positive Energy Districts and monitoring the progress of urban transformation. It also provides an in-depth methodology for prioritizing Key Performance Indicators to be visualized, along with design considerations and mock-ups of the dashboard.
  • D6.6 Recommendations on cross-cutting issues
      • The deliverable provides comprehensive insights and recommendations on various aspects of urban transformation towards smart cities and communities, with a focus on Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). The topics covered include citizen and stakeholder engagement, city vision for 2050, roadmap for urban transformation, strategy for developing interoperability and ecosystems for PEDs, and recommendations on cross-cutting issues in smart cities and communities.

  • D4.3 Implemented demonstrations of solutions for energy positive blocks in Leipzig
    • Key demonstrations highlighted in the document include the development of energy-positive blocks, the integration of electric buses and vehicles into the energy system, and extensive citizen engagement to support the energy transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon urban environment.
  • D4.4 Interoperability of holistic energy systems in Leipzig
    • The deliverable is focused on Leipzig, Germany, and emphasizes the creation of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) or “virtual energy communities” that facilitate data exchange between various stakeholders. Despite facing regulatory and legal challenges, particularly concerning peer-to-peer energy trading and blockchain use cases, the project has identified strategies to overcome these obstacles and has made significant strides in developing a digital, intelligent ecosystem for energy management.