The key objective of URBAN-EU-CHINA is to develop a robust, evidence-driven bottom-up approach to complement the existing top-down EU-China strategic approach to sustainable urbanisation. This will be accomplished via a coordinated series of actions including: a strategic R&I agenda, scoping and assessment, networking events, peer-to-peer exchanges, benchmarking and monitoring, and joint demonstration projects. By creating tighter coupling between city-level, national, and supra-national programmes, planning, policies, and projects, URBAN-EU-CHINA will yield a significant increase in cooperative EU-CHINA R&I activities. The key barrier addressed by URBAN-EU-CHINA is the disconnect between strategic visions and targets and operational realities of time/resource constraints, language and cultural barriers, differences in planning/policy/ governance framework conditions within European and Chinese cities, and lack of effective bi-directional transmission mechanisms of transferable planning and policy instruments for sustainable urbanisation. The topic ENG-GLOBALLY-08-2016-2017 asks for the creation of an EU-China Innovation Platform on Sustainable Urbanisation. Creating such a platform is complex and cross-sectoral by nature, aiming to engage policy makers, national authorities, industries, cities, academia, civil society and other stakeholders in order to develop more sustainable cities. In URBAN-EU-CHINA, 12 experienced European and Chinese consortium partners from across the sustainable urbanisation value chain join forces to support the European Commission in its aim to make EU-China sustainable urbanisation cooperation more accessible, attractive, and rewarding for a broader set of stakeholders.

The ambition of the Global Knowledge Exchange Centre (GKEC) for Urban Climate Neutrality is to mainstream actions towards climate neutral and net-zero urban developments on a global level. In this sense, the GKEC will provide support in terms of global outreach for the European Cities Mission as well as contribute to the Urban Transition Mission of Mission Innovation. It will provide effective support and knowledge for local governments and international stakeholders and through this, support European policy such as the European Green Deal and work towards the international commitments of the Paris Agreement. The GKEC will make available evidence and good practice for urban climate neutral and net-zero transitions globally and facilitate capacity building, knowledge exchange and moderated learning for municipalities and key stakeholders. In operational terms, the GKEC will set up actions according to the three impact pathways: 1.Mainstream knowledge and good practice to accelerate urban transitions: The mission platform will be extended towards global use, making available international solutions and good practices and promote financing and funding opportunities to implement integrated urban climate action and net-zero pathways. 2.Offer advanced frameworks and moderated learning across all governance levels to raise awareness of and capacities for CN and NZ policies: Policy advocacy for climate neutral and net-zero approaches will allow aligning of global policies. Capacity building measures for local and regional actors will provide guidelines and support mutual learning to drive systemic change. 3.Establish the GKEC as a forum for international exchange and cooperation on climate neutral and net-zero transitions: Global and regional events accompanied by comprehensive dissemination measures will raise visibility of EU and international good practice and strengthen international cooperation on climate neutrality and net-zero pathways.

FastTrack will deliver climate-resilient urban, peri-urban and rural areas through the deployment of sustainable mobility innovations across 24 local areas, involving 20 local authority project affiliates, and 4 ambassadorial partners. FastTrack presents a suite of interlinking methods that provide local authorities with opportunities to learn from the best, capturing and presenting the experiences of those who have successfully accelerated transition. FastTrack’s twin-track core learning programme includes five separate FastTrack Capacity Building Weeks over 24 months: 1. Deep learning and exchange within the consortium, across four topic-based clusters guided by interests expressed by our 24 authorities. Each event will be led by an Ambassador (from Antwerp, Bologna, Budapest or Stockholm), supported by technical partners (WP2) 2. Meet the FastTrackers events, where 24 authorities will be introduced to skills and learning on cross-cutting topics (such as data, funding and governance) and will develop innovations with insights and inputs from external stakeholders recruited through a FastTrack database (including innovation networks, projects, funders, and end-users) (WP3) This programme will be informed by a rapid, intense review of innovation and exchange practices (WP1). An internal, competitive programme will fund small-scale “springboard studies”, rewarding outstanding innovation ideas with the most widespread internal interest and greatest potential for applicability and replicability across the EU. In culmination, programme pillars will be gathered in a performance management activity to oversee 24 deployment plans, as authorities rapidly refine, focus and develop innovations (WP4). Exploitable recommendations for process, and new solutions, technologies and approaches, will be supported by a further outreach phase, giving extra opportunity for on-the-ground deployment to be reflected in FastTrack’s final recommendations and results.

The Green Digital Charter is a EUROCITIES response, initiated by Clicks and Links Ltd and the City of Manchester, as part of a ‘Greenshift’ initiative. It has been realised through the work of the EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum (KSF) Working Group on ICT for Energy Efficiency, led by the City of Manchester. It was built on ICT-enabled sustainability initiatives like "Smart 2020," with Global e-sustainability initiative and the Climate Group, and "ICT4EE" with the European Commission. From September 2011 to May 2014, European Commission awarded the FP7-NiCE project grant to provide a platform for action based on the Green Digital Charter. Following the first five years of promoting and working with the Green Digital Charter as well as the conclusion of NiCE project, GuiDanCe will build on the outcomes of NiCE and address the identified challenges that need to be further tackled. The aim of GuiDanCe project is “to provide GuiDanCe and support cities’ activities towards their Green Digital charter commitments so that they eventually take ownership of the Charter”. The project will work for three main objectives: 1. Strengthen the engagement of GDC signatories to create a club of cities that work together towards their GDC commitments 2. Improve existing tools and services and their impact to GDC signatories 3. Promote GDC signatories’ activities in and outside the EU The GuiDanCe project addresses the work programme topic “Support the coordination of cities' activities via the Green Digital Charter” and will be coordinated by EUROCITIES, a network of over 140 major European cities.

Sharing Cities has four key objectives. 1) To achieve scale in the European smart cities market by proving that properly designed smart city solutions, based around common needs, can be integrated in complex urban environments. This will be done in a way that exhibits their true potential and allows for the significant scale-up and consequent increase in social, economic and environmental value. 2) Adopt a digital first approach which proves the extent to which ICT integration can improve and connect up existing infrastructure, as well as the design and running of new city infrastructure. This will also allow for the creation of a new set of next stage digital services which will help citizens make better and beneficial choices around energy efficiency and mobility, which when scaled up will enhance the city’s ability to hit key targets for mobility, housing, energy efficiency and resilience, and economic development. 3) Accelerate the market to understand, develop and trial business, investment and governance models, essential for the true aggregation and replication (through collaboration) of smart city solutions in cities of different sizes and maturities. In doing this, we intend to accelerate the pace by which we make transformative improvements, and enhance sustainability in communities. 4) Share and collaborate for society: to respond to increasing demand for participation; to enhance mechanisms for citizens’ engagement; to improve local governments capacity for policy making and service delivery through collaboration and co-design; resulting in outcomes that are better for citizens, businesses and visitors. These will be delivered by a range of expert partners across 8 work packages.