This is the draft for an application to the EU Horizon Call (HORIZON-MISS-2024-NEB-01), where we worked with parts of the construction ecosystem in Møre and Romsdal to develop a project aimed at shaping "Neighbourhood Digital Twins for Sustainable, Inclusive, and Beautiful Urban Transformation."

The initiative did not succeed in time for the deadline, but our learnings from the process on what needs to be in place could give guidance to others.  If you have questions, please reach out.

1. Project Overview

The "Neighbourhood Digital Twins for Sustainable, Inclusive, and Beautiful Urban Transformation" project aims to leverage local digital twin technology to facilitate comprehensive and participatory urban transformation processes. Digital twins are digital replicas of physical objects or systems that simulate the behaviour and performance of their physical counterparts. Created using data from sensors and other sources, these digital replicas are updated in real time, providing a more accurate and detailed understanding of a city's systems and infrastructure. This enables more effective planning, decision-making, and efficient, responsive operations.

While digital twins can simulate environmental and physical changes, they must be combined with participatory engagement methods and processes to collect feedback on assumed, hoped and feared societal impact. This integration will supplement the digital twins with social data, illustrating how physical changes impact human lives and communities. The project focuses on understanding the self and others impact on planning and construction sustainable neighbourhood, when inclusion as part of communities that matter, where individuals feel valued, and their voices are heard in complex themes that are significant to them is done.

The project will create a dynamic, interactive digital replica of the neighbourhood, supplemented with the development of citizen engagement methods and processes that makes simulation of economic, environmental and social impact possible in all phases of planning and construction of beautiful, including and sustainable neighbourhoods. These will enable citizens and ecosystem partners to collaborate effectively in all phases of urban development: concept development, planning, simulation of sustainable impact, construction, building, use, and recycling. The goal is to ensure that citizens feel they live in places that matter, their individual contributions are valued, and they are part of a collective effort towards achieving sustainable and inclusive neighbourhood environments. Through monitoring and evaluating all steps and activities within the project, relevant SDG KPIs for measuring social sustainability in neighbourhoods will be developed and advocated as relevant EU standards.   

2. Objectives

The initiative is linked to the New European Bauhaus, a creative and interdisciplinary initiative that connects the European Green Deal to our living spaces and experiences. 

It will particularly work on increasing social sustainability through participatory neighbourhood development that includes citizens actively engaging in all planning and construction phases to make more beautiful, sustainable and inclusive communities where they want to belong and contribute to the growth and competitive edge for self and others: Geography of discontent: regional development traps lead to less support for European integration and values.

Based on the regional business development strategy “Grønt industriløft Møre” of Møre and Romsdal County, mobilising the local and regional innovation ecosystem around this topic will bring strong value to the development of a region not caught in the development trap, strengthen local business transformation to green digital transformation, and build a new competitive edge for society, businesses, and citizens in the region through increased social sustainability on indicators relevant in our local context.

Møre and Romsdal county is part of one of Norway's most productive regions, with a long history of traditional fisheries, maritime industry, tourism, and now a thriving aquaculture industry for salmon, cod, halibut, and shellfish. Despite the quality of work and careers these industries provide, there is a trend of youth leaving the districts for education and not returning. The population rate has remained steady, but this is largely due to work immigrants, refugees, and international marriages, rather than retaining local youth. The new citizens are often less engaged in local governance and voluntary work, leading to a lack of representation and involvement in political and community processes. This disconnect is compounded by local businesses increasingly being owned by international entities prioritizing profit over community development, resulting in a fragmented regional culture that struggles to collaborate effectively for national funding and development projects. 

In the local neighbourhoods you will find that the place matter different based on your local power: as a object for money-making for some of the fortunate citizens, but not the place itself as the foundation for the citizens living there as a whole. More and more people identify with characteristics of people that does not matter in society based on the lack of public investments and empatic interest from their surroundings. They feel in increasing ways that they are invited to work on complex matters where their voice does not matter as much as others, there the process and participation is designed for doing the minimum of citizen engagement in plans regulated by law to get initiaters will through. This makes it harder to build local trust, mobilize local resources and through this succeed with regional initiatives and development. The region is falling more and more behind as being attractive for settlement for new citizens, eastabilishing new industries, and getting national funding to public infrastructure as regional development projects (Møreaksen/ Fogderistrid, municipality building their long term society development plan on a "Fly in-Fly out strategy for workers to their industries etc).

Our proposal for a New European Bauhaus Initiative

To address these challenges, our proposal aims to contribute to the New European Bauhaus (NEB) by offering a strategic and pioneering opportunity to transform and revitalize European neighborhoods with a focus on sustainability and inclusion. Through our work, we will:

1. Enhance social acceptance of the green transition and democratic processes at the local level, bringing communities on board.
2. Provide solutions for the green transition in the built environment.
3. Explore new business models that maintain the competitiveness of the construction sector while implementing NEB-compatible solutions.

Key Objectives and Strategies

1. Active Use of Ecosystem Governance of Local Digital Twins for Socially Sustainable Neighborhoods
   1. Working on cases of transformation of neighbourhoods in Molde and Ålesund municipalities is crusial to make sure that we understand the ecosystem that need services, and build their capacity to position themselves and develop own role that best suit the ecosystem need as it mature. Inviting Møre and Romsdal County will take care of representation for all levels of public planning authority, and regional issues that cross municipality borders. 
   2.  Molde municipality with the transformation of the old hospital building on Lundavang within the new area plan is one case of interest that focus on social sustainability. 
   3. The other is Ålesund municipality and their plans for development of the Arena Aspøy project. Their focus too is on social sustainability. Arena Aspøy is an initiative aimed at developing and testing sustainable solutions on Aspøya, a strategically and geographically defined area in Ålesund. This area is being planned for significant development, especially in Skutvika and Sørsida, with ambitions to integrate work, housing, and lifestyle in line with the municipality's sustainability goals. Aspøya is a diverse urban area with many resources and initiatives, but it also faces challenges such as socio-economic disparities and social exclusion. Active participation and engagement from the residents of Aspøya are central to our project idea. A EU project with a digital twin for social aspects and a focus on community involvement is exciting. 
   1. In Norway, these case studies can be ETR and the taxi business network, Nimmo Activity transport for youth to sports and culture activities, The Smart City Molde commercial development plan connectet to the “Trehuset”, and other representative cases from each of the neighbourhoods in the project. 
• Objective: Implement local digital twins to enhance participatory governance in planning, construction, implementation, and recycling of public spaces.
• Rationale: Leveraging collaborative governed digital twins can make the construction ecosystem more sustainable, less polluting, and more circular by involving citizens in all phases of urban transformation.
• Partnership and Resources: Engage municipalities with experience in digital twins and broad participatory experience from community development and networks like Smart City to ensure effective knowledge dissemination and application.
• Potential local resources: In identifying relevant neighbourhood projects, we have assumed that municipalities have experience with digital twins in their community planning, have broad citizen involvement in community development projects through traditional and digital participation activities, and are connected to Smart City networks to effectively disseminate knowledge from the project. Based on these criteria, Molde, Örebro, Helsinki, and Vienna are suitable. 
• EU strategies are developed based on bottom-up participation processes, and our methods for mobilizing ecosystems, designing, and facilitating processes build on the same professional approaches. Our work builds on the theory and practice that Volda University College has based its master's program in community planning and public management, as well as the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences' part-master in the National Innovation School for the municipal sector. Our competence and practice are thus supported by extensive research on the democratic development of communities and society through participatory and empowering processes. 
• Demokratitanken AS bases all services on frontline reseach and theory practises in regional planning, public leadership and collaborative governance innovation, and have rich experience from citizen engagement projects and public and corporate collaborative innovation processes. In 2022 and 2023 we were the Norwegian partner for a world leading citizen engagement platform.  Based on this, the facilitator has knowledge of the practice front for participatory community and project development projects relevant to this project and knowledge of the technology front for platform technology, particularly how AI integrated into the platform analyzes participation data for better decision-making bases for rooted community development.
• Local Digital Twins is exploring how this digital technology may drive Business Model Innovation in Smart Cities. Digital twins are fueling the development of new business models that promise better, more efficient service offerings. While we have seen some successes in areas like manufacturing and design, it is not clear whether XaaS-driven approaches fit well and can deliver the same benefits when applied to the digital twins of smart cities. Determined to investigate that, DUET, a European consortium of 15, have developed a typology of local digital twins to serve as a basis for future examination of various commercializations that work as a foundation for our project [www.digitalurbantwins.com].
• This project does this by developing innovative and regenerative designs, architecture, bio-based materials and approaches adopted across the construction value chain and included in public and business decision-making. We base all work in this project on the frontline research agents connected to Åkp Norwegian Catapult Centre of expertise on local digital twins used in city planning based on simulation technologies developed over many years within the oil/ gas/ maritime industry in Norway and Sunnmøre. It is essential to the deliverables of this project, and choosing Åkp/ Norwegian Catapult EDIH DigiCat as the lead partner. They are key when the project needs to develop a test arena for the different local digital twin platform for the four neighbourhoods in the project, based on the typology of local digital twins and governance models (DUET EU earlier research projects) to explore how they can be used integrated in participatory processes and impact citizen engagement in creating beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive neighbourhoods. 
• If Åkp is not able to be the lead partner by them self or together with NTNU Ålesund, we have invited both Smart City Cluster Norway in Stavanger and the DUET European Consortium working based on Local Digital Twins, to be lead partners. 
• The construction ecosystem becomes more climate-friendly and climate-resilient through the development of solutions for faster, cheaper and better renovation for zero-emission and energy-positive buildings, for more efficient use of buildings, designs using low-carbon and carbon-storing materials, and solutions through tapping into and mobilizing the collective wisdom and resources that exists in each neighbourhood. The knowledge of the whole system connected to this value chain is represented in our consortium by ByggLARM. This is a national initiative situated in the town of Molde, functioning as a national business ecosystem with ambitions to form a Cluster of Excellence in using simulation technologies in all phases of development of property, engineering, construction and maintenance of constructions.  Within this ecosystem, architects, engineers, property developers, and investors can easily be engaged and support the project in the different phases, making mobilizing knowledge from the whole system possible. 
• Cutting-edge technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), are integrated and applied with arts, architectural and design sciences at the service of a more regenerative and circular construction ecosystem made available to support citizens and ecosystem partners in engaging with and contributing to the transformation of places based on their terms of engagement. This is done by inviting openly to the participatory activities of the project initially, focusing on mobilizing and securing participation from representatives in these industries in our regional and national ecosystem, getting to know their hopes and fears when society works with the transformation of places through these kinds of technologies and participatory methods. 
• How this may impact public planning and decision-making is very important to understand, as innovation is valuable when it contribute to new product, services and organization that better serve the democratic development of local communities as neighbourhoods and municipalities. 
• Starting point: We collect and investigate the existing models of governance of local digital twins based on 10 case studies that highlight possibilities and barriers connected to existing governance models on the four local digital twins identified when working with framing this scope of objectives. 

1. Integration of Digital Twins and Participatory Processes in Urban Planning
• Objective: Utilize digital twins to drive business model innovation in smart cities, ensuring that services offered are efficient and community-oriented.
• Rationale: Digital twins can bridge the gap between environmental, societal, and economic sustainability by integrating community input based on better  understanding the impact plans will have through simulation in all phases of planning and construction, where the participatory dialogue with stakeholders give accurate feedback based on real-time data for better and trust building decision-making.
• Partnership and Resources: Collaborate with Åkp Norwegian Catapult Centre and DUET European Consortium, using simulation technologies to create test arenas in Molde, Ålesund, Helsinki, Vienna, Örebro, and Rotterdam.

1. Development of a Climate-Friendly and Resilient Construction Ecosystem
• Objective: Promote solutions for zero-emission buildings and efficient use of low-carbon materials by mobilizing collective local wisdom.
• Rationale: Engaging a diverse ecosystem of citizens, architects, engineers, and developers can lead to faster, cheaper, and better renovations that align with sustainability goals.
• Partnership and Resources: Municipalities of Molde and Ålesund together with the County Møre and Romsdal, and national business ecosystem partnerships like construction Clusters of excellence and regional business network ByggLarm to support knowledge mobilization across the value chain.
2. Enhancing Citizen Trust and Engagement in Green Transitions
• Objective: Increase citizens' trust in the green transition through participatory processes that balance public and private interests.
• Rationale: Social sciences and humanities insights, combined with participatory governance models, can amplify the transformative potential of neighborhood projects.
• Partnership and Resources: Academic partners like Høgskulen i Volda, Høgskulen i Molde and NTNU Ålesund to provide theoretical and practical support to the understanding of impact on democracy and community that follow the use of digital twins and simulation in neighbourhood planning and construction have. Engage Molde Bærekraftshub to develop relevant KPI’s for sustainable development of neighbourhoods as beautiful, inclusive and sustainable in all phases of planning. 
3. Innovative Funding Models for Neighborhood Revitalization
• Objective: Develop funding models that attract investments for sustainable neighborhoods by mitigating perceived risks and emphasizing community benefits.
• Rationale: Tailored funding models can ensure that environmental sustainability is economically feasible and socially accepted.
• Partnership and Resources: Collaborate with Statens Kartverk, other relevant stakeholders and representatives of SMB’s that deliver services based on digital maps as infrastructure  to explore and implement innovative funding strategies that support the SDGs.
4. Creating Meaning Through Arts, Culture, and Heritage in Urban Development
• Objective: Develop business cases based on utilization of digital twins where creative and cultural sectors thrive and drive local attraction to enhance the social acceptance of green transitions and related solutions.
• Rationale: Engaging the arts and cultural sectors can foster a sense of community and identity, making sustainability initiatives more relatable and accepted.
• Partnership and Resources: Involve Molde Bærekraftshub, municipalities,  SMB’s and other national agencies to develop relevant sustainability indicators based on business cases that engage, inform, and guide citizens in meaningful ways.

By focusing on these objectives, the proposal aims to ensure that all developments fit the actual needs, resources, and knowledge maturity within the partnership, ultimately leading to successful implementation and a sustainable ecosystem ready to build on the project's outcomes. This aligns with the following call objectives:

1. Connecting the Green Transformation, Social Inclusion, and Local Democracy
• Efforts to address socio-economic inequalities, environmental challenges, and improve transparency of public authorities must go hand in hand with fostering open dialogue to rebuild citizens’ trust in local democracy. Culture, cultural diversity, and identities play a key role in this process. Increasing the trust of all citizens in the green transition and democracy through innovative participatory processes and governance models that balance public and private interests is crucial. Particular attention will be paid to vulnerable groups.
2. Circular and Regenerative Approaches for the Built Environment
• Developing a European circular and regenerative ecosystem for the built environment is key to supporting the competitiveness of the sector and achieving climate ambitions. Ensuring citizens’ acceptance and support of necessary transformations is essential. This focus area aims to make the built environment more sustainable, circular, climate-friendly, and resilient through innovative designs, architecture, and bio-based materials.
3. Innovative Funding and New Business Models for Neighborhood Transformation
• New business models provide a framework to rethink how projects are conceived, planned, and executed for greater circularity and sustainability. Demonstrating their potential, feasibility, and benefits for society and the economy is key. This focus area aims to better understand the market and develop innovative funding to attract more capital and drive positive change in neighborhoods while encouraging the uptake of new values, including social and aesthetic values.

Roll-Out Component

Considering that Horizon Europe can fund research and innovation up to TRL 8, deploying innovative solutions will be supported through other sources, including EU funds and national or private funding. The roll-out component will build on existing collaborations, expand new ones, and harness common policy objectives between the NEB Facility and other relevant EU funds. Identifying areas of convergence between the NEB Facility and national priorities, as well as possible funding opportunities at national, regional, or local levels or from private sources, will be key to ensuring the highest impact possible. 

3. Key Phases and Activities

Phase 1: Discernment & Concept Development (6 months)

• Activity 1.1: Literature studies and initial Stakeholder Engagement mobilization—Conduct workshops and meetings with citizens, local authorities, businesses, and community organizations to gather initial input and identify key priorities for the neighbourhood. Based on this input, position the project within the academic field of relevant projects, business cases and literature. 
• Activity 1.2: Digital Twin Setup - Explore the different 4 local digital twins that are used in the cities that are mobilized, and understand their use and status for governance and operation based on the City objectives for making an investment in them. Explore the City's participation strategies and experiences relevant to the local digital twins projects, and use of digital technologies when engaging citizens and stakeholders in City development actions.  Develop the foundational digital twin model of the neighbourhood, incorporating current data on infrastructure, environment, demographics, participatory strategies and existing community assets.
• Activity 1.3: Participatory Design Sessions - Combine the data and develop a comprehensive concept for how the digital twins in this project can facilitate collaborative design sessions where stakeholders can visualize and propose initial concepts for neighbourhood transformation based on the different models of governance, with the goal of identifying opportunities and barriers with the different governance models that can inform the objectives of the project. 
• Activity 1.4: Ecosystem Learning/SDG KPI Development - Monitor all activities, evaluate, and adjust plans based on ecosystem learning for the development of relevant SDG KPIs assessments for social sustainability in the discernment phase of planning.

Phase 2: Readiness & Planning (6 months)

• Activity 2.1: Scenario Development—Based on the 10 case studies, Create multiple planning scenarios within the digital twin platform, addressing various aspects such as green spaces, transportation, housing, and public amenities that must be met to make the neighbourhoods beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive.
• Activity 2.2: Public Consultation - Organize public consultations using the digital twin to present scenarios, gather feedback, and refine plans based on community input.
• Activity 2.3: Regulatory Alignment—Ensure planning scenarios comply with local regulations and SDG sustainability standards, using the digital twin to simulate and adjust plans through citizen engagement processes and SDG KPIs.
• Activity 2.4: Ecosystem Learning/SDG KPI Development - Monitor all activities, evaluate, and adjust plans based on ecosystem learning for the development of relevant SDG KPIs assessments for social sustainability in the readiness/preparation phase of planning.

Phase 3: Mobilizing for Action & Simulation of Sustainable Impact (6 months)

• Activity 3.1: Impact Modelling—Engage stakeholders by working on how to utilize the digital twin to simulate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of proposed plans, including carbon footprint, energy efficiency, and community well-being in their neighborhoods within the scope through participatory processes.
• Activity 3.2: Feedback Loop - Present simulation and engagement results from the different projects to involved stakeholders, incorporating their feedback into the models to optimize sustainability outcomes and improve the models.
• Activity 3.3: Iterative Refinement - Continuously refine plans through iterative simulations and stakeholder engagements to ensure optimal sustainability impacts.
• Activity 3.4: Ecosystem Learning/SDG KPI Development - Monitor all activities, evaluate, and adjust plans based on ecosystem learning for the development of relevant SDG KPIs assessments for social sustainability in the mobilizing engagement phase of planning.

Phase 4: Construction (9 months)

• Activity 4.1: Construction Planning - Use the digital twin to plan and visualize construction phases, minimizing disruption to the community and ensuring efficient use of resources.
• Activity 4.2: Real-time Monitoring - Implement real-time monitoring of construction activities via the digital twin, enabling transparency and quick response to any issues.
• Activity 4.3: Community Updates - Provide regular updates to the community through the digital twin platform, ensuring ongoing engagement and feedback opportunities during construction.
• Activity 4.4: Ecosystem Learning/SDG KPI Development - Monitor all activities, evaluate, and adjust plans based on ecosystem learning for the development of relevant SDG KPIs assessments for social sustainability in the construction phase of planning.

Phase 5: Implementation: Building and Use (6 months)

• Activity 5.1: Post-construction Integration - Incorporate the completed built environment into the digital twin, allowing ongoing monitoring and management.
• Activity 5.2: Community Engagement - Use the digital twin to facilitate community activities, events, and initiatives that enhance the use and enjoyment of new urban spaces.
• Activity 5.3: Maintenance and Upkeep—Use the digital twin to predict maintenance and efficiently manage neighbourhood infrastructure and amenities.
• Activity 5.4: Ecosystem Learning/SDG KPI Development - Monitor all activities, evaluate, and adjust plans based on ecosystem learning for the development of relevant SDG KPIs assessments for social sustainability in the implementation phase of planning.

Phase 6: System Learning & Circular Value Chain development: Recycling and End-of-Life (3 months)

• Activity 6.1: Lifecycle Analysis—Use the digital twin to plan for the end-of-life phase of buildings and infrastructure, promoting recycling and sustainable disposal practices.
• Activity 6.2: Circular Economy Workshops - Engage stakeholders in workshops to explore circular economy opportunities, leveraging the digital twin to visualize and plan recycling initiatives.
• Activity 6.3: Legacy Planning—Ensure that the project's lessons learned and best practices are documented and shared, fostering a culture of continuous improvement in urban transformation projects.
• Activity 6.4: Ecosystem Learning/SDG KPI Development - Monitor all activities, evaluate, and adjust plans based on ecosystem learning for the development of relevant SDG KPIs assessments for social sustainability in the system learning phase of planning.

4. Expected Outcomes

• A fully operational local digital twin platform tailored to the neighbourhood.
• Enhanced community participation and empowerment in urban development processes.
• Improved sustainability, inclusivity, and aesthetic quality of the urban environment.
• Strengthened sense of belonging and individual significance among citizens.
• Documented best practices and scalable models for other urban transformation projects.
• SDG KPI standards for measurement of social sustainability in neighbourhoods and transformation processes of neighbourhoods.

5. Project Partners

• Local Authorities and Municipalities: Molde (Norway), Helsinki (Finland), Vienna (Austria), Örebro (Sweden), Rotterdam (Netherlands)

• Community Organizations and Citizen Groups

• Urban Planners and Architects

• Technology Providers and Digital Twin Experts

• Environmental and Sustainability Consultants

• Academic and Research Institutions: Belgium/Netherlands, Norway, and Germany

6. Timeline

The project is expected to span over a period of 36 months, with detailed timelines for each phase as follows:

• Phase 1: 6 months
• Phase 2: 6 months
• Phase 3: 6 months
• Phase 4: 9 months
• Phase 5: 6 months
• Phase 6: 3 months

7. Budget

Total Estimated Budget: €9,500,000

A maximum grant from the EU in this project is ca  €4,000,000

That leaves the Consortium to fund €4,500,000 through engaging resources and economi funding to the project. All details must be established in working on the project plan with a maximum of 15 consortium partners in the 4 countries and neighbourhoods. 

Detailed Breakdown:

8. Impact Assessment

Regular impact assessments will be conducted to measure progress towards the project’s objectives, using both quantitative metrics (e.g., reduction in carbon footprint, increased green space) and qualitative feedback from community stakeholders. SDG KPIs will be developed based on the learning from monitoring the whole process and parts, evaluating results within the stakeholder community and aligned with the SDG as a system.

9. Dissemination and Communication

A comprehensive communication strategy will be implemented to share project progress and outcomes with a wider audience, including:

• Regular updates on a dedicated project website.
• Social media engagement.
• Community newsletters and public forums.
• Academic publications and conference presentations.

10. Sustainability and Scalability

The project will focus on creating a sustainable and scalable model that can be replicated in other neighbourhoods and cities, contributing to broader EU goals of sustainable urban development and citizen empowerment. The SDG KPIs developed will develop a standard set of indicators to be used in other neighbourhood projects to ensure that the process of transformation leads to beautiful, sustainable and inclusive communities where people feel they matter, the place matter and they are contributing value for self and others through their engagement in complex neighbourhood projects.   

This updated proposal outlines a comprehensive approach to using local digital twin technology to achieve sustainable, inclusive, and beautiful urban transformation, ensuring active participation and collaboration from all stakeholders throughout the entire process.