How can we build collaborative ecosystems for sustainable, resilient, and innovative cities?
This article is part of a series dedicated to exploring and documenting best practices from Romanian and Norwegian partner cities within the framework of the project “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities: Planning, Piloting, Inspiring” (2024–2025). Supported by the EEA and Norwegian Grants under the Bilateral Relations Fund, this initiative fosters cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange to navigate the complex pathways toward climate neutrality.
Governance as the foundation for climate action
As the first in a planned series of articles, this piece focuses on ecosystem governance and soft interventions, pivotal elements in ensuring sustainable urban transformations. The urban transition towards climate neutrality is not just a challenge of technology and resources—it is a challenge of governance and collaboration.
With the EU’s Climate Neutral Cities Mission and the Paris Agreement as guiding frameworks, cities worldwide are rethinking how they operate. Central to this transformation are two vital concepts: ecosystem governance and soft interventions. Together, they provide a blueprint for managing urban complexities while engaging citizens and stakeholders in meaningful ways.
Ecosystem governance shifts from centralized management to a participatory model, integrating formal institutions with grassroots initiatives. This fosters collaboration across sectors, ensuring urban policies reflect local needs while aligning with climate goals. For cities pursuing climate neutrality by 2030, this model builds inclusivity and readiness for transformative change.
Soft interventions complement this governance, using adaptable methods like participatory processes, educational campaigns, and capacity-building programs. These encourage innovation, broaden participation, and create spaces for experimentation—essential for addressing complex urban challenges.
Stavanger exemplifies how these concepts drive innovation and inclusivity, offering tools Romanian cities could also use in their climate neutrality journeys.
The message is clear: Engage and Empower. Ecosystem governance and soft interventions are not merely strategies; they are commitments to a shared future. Let’s explore how they can transform aspirations into action.
On our recent study visit to Stavanger in Norway, we discovered how cities can adopt ecosystem-driven governance to overcome the complexities of this transition. Romanian cities stand to benefit by adapting these approaches to its context, fostering a collaborative and inclusive climate transition.
Public-Private Partnerships for climate leadership
Stavanger’s Climate City Contract (CCC) exemplifies a robust governance model that actively engages the private sector. The municipality facilitates this integration through a well-structured process, including the establishment of a support network comprising both full signatories and collaborators. This network convenes in quarterly meetings designed for knowledge exchange and alignment on shared climate objectives.
Standout initiatives within this framework are innovation hubs such as Innoasis or Site4016, which unite public, private, and academic stakeholders around cutting-edge technologies. Innoasis by Nordic Edge is Norway’s new hub for urban innovation, gathering startups, established companies, investors, academia and the public sector, fostering collaboration for creating and incubating new solutions. Similarly, Site4016, a living lab for experimenting with innovative solutions such as applying New European Bauhaus principles or circular economy to the construction sector. It opens up the door in this way for public-private partnerships for incubating solutions and risk-sharing. This approach accelerates the adoption of sustainable solutions by creating environments where private entities can support experimentation in contexts that might otherwise seem high-risk for public entities.
Empowering citizens through digital tools
Min Side: Stavanger’s municipal citizen portal illustrates governance innovation by providing accessible and transparent services. By enabling residents to directly engage with climate initiatives, it strengthens trust and participation, fostering systemic change essential for climate resilience.
Greencoin Project: An initiative led by the university, this project experiments with new frameworks to encourage sustainable behaviors. Residents earn digital currency rewards for actions such as cycling, using public transport, and recycling. Supported by local businesses, the initiative aligns individual efforts with broader sustainability goals, demonstrating how gamification can make green transitions effective and engaging.
Soft interventions for behavioral shifts
Stavanger uses behavioral science to complement hard policies. For instance, micro-mobility programs incorporate campaigns that encourage bike and e-scooter adoption, illustrating how cities can achieve deeper societal buy-in for their climate policies. By employing incentives and community engagement, the city fosters societal buy-in for its climate initiatives.
To encourage biking, Stavanger organizes events like offering free breakfasts to cyclists and hosting school competitions for the highest cycling rates. These interconnected activities gradually overcome resistance to change, making cycling a normalized and celebrated habit.
Another creative initiative, the Stavanger Treasure Hunt, combines urban exploration with environmental education. By involving the community in a playful yet purposeful activity, the city promotes climate neutrality while fostering a sense of collective responsibility.
NEB-STAR: a networked approach
One of the standout examples of collaboration is the NEB-STAR project, in which NTNU bridges Stavanger and Trondheim to accelerate the climate transition. This initiative showcases how cities can leverage shared expertise to scale innovative solutions, particularly in areas like sustainable construction and urban regeneration. By fostering dialogue and joint action, the project underscores the value of city networks in tackling shared challenges, offering Romanian cities a model for collaborating with other municipalities.
NEB-Star in Stavanger demonstrates how applying the principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) can guide sustainable urban transformation. Supported by EU funding over three years, the project targets territorial planning and emphasizes innovation, collaboration, and community involvement.
Two key demonstration initiatives are underway. In Pedersgata, a central urban district, NEB principles inform approaches to spatial planning and neighborhood development. Meanwhile, at Site 4016 in Åsen, a cluster of construction-related businesses collaborates to share expertise, improve efficiency, and accelerate the adoption of sustainable building practices. This collective effort equips companies to anticipate future challenges and supports the broader goal of sustainable development.
By facilitating international partnerships and encouraging knowledge exchange, NEB-Star illustrates how forward-looking strategies—rooted in NEB methodologies—can inspire cities to incorporate these principles in their own urban projects. As a result, NEB-Star sets a valuable example for other regions seeking to transform their urban landscapes.
Key Takeaways for Romanian Cities
Adopting Established International Models and Collaborations: By embracing proven frameworks such as the Climate City Contract and actively engaging with international urban networks like NEB-STAR and the 100 Climate Neutral Cities initiative, Romanian cities can leverage a broad pool of expertise, innovative technologies, and diverse funding sources. Through practical measures—such as participating in cross-city workshops, forming strategic partnerships with organizations that specialize in urban sustainability, and implementing pilot projects adapted from global best practices—Romanian cities gain access to specialized knowledge and proven approaches that might otherwise remain out of reach. In doing so, they can more effectively accelerate their path toward climate neutrality.
Leveraging Local Context and Engaging Relevant Stakeholders: Involving businesses, NGOs, and research institutions ensures that climate initiatives align with each city’s specific needs, resulting in more effective and broadly supported strategies. By leveraging both existing tools—such as public-private partnerships and expert consultations—and innovative approaches like digital participatory platforms or living labs, cities can adapt external best practices to local circumstances, streamlining both design and implementation. Moreover, by fostering a dynamic network of stakeholders and drawing upon their collective expertise, cities can facilitate a smoother, more collaborative transition toward climate neutrality at the local level.
Promoting Collaborative and Holistic Planning Processes: By involving all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process and integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions, Romanian cities can more effectively manage the complexity of climate-related projects. By employing established tools—such as public consultations and participatory budgeting—and adapting innovative engagement techniques already proven elsewhere, cities can ensure that residents actively help shape their collective future. Stavanger has shown that making participation a cornerstone of the planning methodology not only enhances community buy-in and trust but also leads to more robust, widely accepted solutions that support a smoother transition toward climate neutrality.
Conclusion
Exploring best practices is essential within the framework of the 100 Climate-Neutral Cities Mission, as it enables cities to learn from proven approaches, reducing the time and resources needed to navigate uncharted territory. Sharing these practices fosters collaboration across borders, turning climate neutrality from an abstract goal into a concrete, actionable pathway.
For Romanian cities, adopting such insights bridges the gap between ambition and implementation, offering scalable and adaptable solutions that fit local realities. The exchange of knowledge accelerates progress by equipping cities with tools to anticipate challenges, leverage innovative methods, and build capacity within their governance structures. This collaborative learning process promotes efficiency and inspires confidence that climate neutrality by 2030 is both achievable and transformative.
Image by Thomas Wolter from Pixabay
