Strengthening capitalisation and collaboration at the Interreg NWE Annual Event

18 December 2025 by

Rural Association, CIRCUS Project

The Interreg NWE Annual Event offered an important moment for exchange, reflection and strategic connection for the CIRCUS project. Bringing together projects, policymakers and practitioners from across North-West Europe, the event highlighted the growing importance of capitalisation, cross-project learning and community-led approaches within the energy transition.

For CIRCUS, the event provided a valuable opportunity to position the project within a broader policy and practice landscape and to engage with initiatives addressing similar challenges.

Key policy-oriented insights from the plenary sessions

The plenary sessions emphasised that project impact must extend beyond the funding period. Speakers highlighted the need to move from isolated project outcomes towards structured mechanisms for uptake, replication and policy integration.

Key messages included:

the importance of making project results transferable and accessible for a wide range of stakeholders,
the role of projects in supporting evidence-based policymaking,
and the responsibility of programmes such as Interreg NWE to facilitate long-term learning and cross-regional collaboration.

These themes strongly align with the ambitions of CIRCUS, which focuses on developing tools and methodologies that can be applied by communities, local authorities and intermediary organisations across different regional contexts.

Community-led energy transitions: lessons from Track 4

In the afternoon, several sessions within Track 4: Community-led energy transitions provided concrete insights into the enabling conditions for local energy initiatives.

Across different projects, speakers stressed that successful community-led energy transitions depend on:

early and meaningful involvement of local communities,
trust-building between citizens, local authorities and other stakeholders,
and the availability of practical, step-by-step tools that support communities in moving from awareness to implementation.

Rather than prioritising technological solutions alone, the sessions highlighted the importance of governance, participation and social innovation, reinforcing the relevance of integrated, people-centred approaches.

CIRCUS in practice: presenting a transferable methodology

A key moment for the CIRCUS partnership was the presentation of the project by Ine Beertens and Irish partner Sean De Be. The pitch generated strong interaction and recognition among participants, particularly when addressing common challenges faced by local communities.

The presentation of the CIRCUS methodology and its phased, participatory approach attracted significant interest, confirming the demand for structured methods that guide communities from initial awareness towards concrete action and implementation.

This feedback reinforces the potential of the CIRCUS approach to contribute to policy-relevant learning and cross-project capitalisation within Interreg NWE.

Discover more

Looking ahead

Participation in the Interreg NWE Annual Event strengthened the strategic positioning of CIRCUS within the wider European energy transition landscape. The insights gained and connections established will inform the further development, dissemination and capitalisation of the project’s results.

By continuing to engage with other projects and policy actors, CIRCUS aims to contribute to a more coherent, resilient and community-driven energy transition across North-West Europe.