March 2020

Author:Marcelline BonneauUIA Expert

The ANTWERP CIRCULAR SOUTH project Journal N° 4

Project led by the City of Antwerp

CIRCULARECONOMY

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The ANTWERP CIRCULAR SOUTH project

The Antwerp Circular South project aims to position circularity as a community challenge for the New South district (a newly created district in Antwerp) and to engage its new residents in co-creating online and offline initiatives to change their consumption behaviours. A number of advanced technical solutions covering different resource streams (energy, water, waste and materials) will be tested.

200 Circular South inhabitants will experiment with the so-called ‘behavioural nudging’, receiving cues to adapt their consumption behaviour of energy, water, waste and materials in the most ideal circular way. Circular behaviours will be automatically rewarded by an online token, the Circular token – Circules, through a blockchain-based reward and exchange system. A part of the most engaged Circular South participants will form a local energy community co-owning of an innovative collective energy system. In addition, a Circular South Community Centre – CIRCUIT will be set up to host a number of initiatives related to sharing, repairing and reusing activities. CIRCUIT will reach out to a broader group of citizens in opposition to the more limited group of 200 participants in the behavioural nudging experiment.

The project is composed of the following partners:

● The City of Antwerp:

● VITO/EnergyVille;

● Digipolis;

● Imec;

● Pantopicon;

● EnergieID;

● de Kringwinkel Antwerpen;

● Ecopower.

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Table of Contents

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4

2. WELL INTO THE PROJECT, BUT FAR ENOUGH? 5

3. TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROJECT 6

3.1 Technical devices 6

3.2 Back-officemodalities 9

3.3 Interface 11

3.4 Activities 13

4. ONGOING CHALLENGES AND ADJUSTMENTS 16

4.5 The tricky showcase of the added value of the project 16

4.6 Beyondtheinitialoptimismoftheproject? 17

4.7 Politicaldependence 17

4.8 Thedifficultanalysisoftheproject’s’initialoutcomes 18

4.9 Thefutureistoday 19

4.10 Overview of challenges 20

5. WHAT ARE THE NEW LEARNINGS OF THE PROJECT? 24

6. WHAT’S NEXT? 25

7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 26

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Antwerp Circular South project is well into its last year of funding. Although the last journal showed that the project was finally becomingconcrete,thepartnersfeelnowsomestressandworry in order to ensure achieving what they were boundtoachievewithinthisproject.Mostoftheworriesrelatetothedifficultiesofimplementingaprojectinanewlybuiltneighbourhood,ofthefluctuanceofhuman interestandwillingnesstochange (behaviour), the evolving market, thetimerequiredtoproceedwithcreativesolutions,anddifficultiesrelatedtotheinherentstructureof municipalities. Technical as well as socialinnovations are facing their main challenges inrelation to the lack of control and power overthe achievements of given results in agiventimeframeinagivenmanner.

Yet, it goes without saying that the project has continued implementing its activities. APublicProcurement for PVs, BIPVs and batteries hasbeen launched in January 2020, for the firstinvestment (at PleinPubliek), final negotiationswith providers are ongoing before moving toinstallation of the shared energy system. Forother investments, aframework contract ispreparedinanticipationofinvestmentdecisionsfollowingongoingnegotiations.Thiswillallowforswiftrealisationwhendecisionismade.

Thanks to the installation of smart meters,finalisation of data treatment and procedures,design of the app, linkage to existing data,

preparationoftheblockchainrewardmechanismand recruitment of volunteering residents,nudging experiments have now started: onehasalreadybeencarriedoutonenergy,5moreareontheway.Thefirstexperimenthasshowninterestandmotivationandawishtoknowmoreabout theways to reduce energy consumptionathome!

The Renewable and Citizen Energy Communityis now growing, expanding to other areas of the South of the city. CIRCUIT is running fully, planningitsfutureinitsfinallocation.Itsbusinessmodel still needs tobe refined. Furtheractionsare taking place with residents and citizens ofAntwerp:the2ndwaveof thewastecampaign,“FCMinderAfval”,andadepositandgreenwastechallenge are on their way, even though they face somedelaysandadministrativecomplications.

Theissuesfacedbytheprojectsinceitsbeginningare still present. Yet, some specific aspects arebecoming more prominent now: showing theadded value to both residents and owners ofbuildings to take part in the PVs scheme andRenewable and Citizen Energy Community;realising the over optimism of the proposal;managing the political dependence of someactions.Assuch,AntwerpCircularSouthprojectsitself in the future and wishes to learn and share evenmoreaboutwhat ithasdoneandwhat ithas struggled with.

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2. WELL INTO THE PROJECT, BUT FAR ENOUGH?

Sincethebeginningoftheproject,tensionshavebeenatitscoretoensurenotonlyreachingoutto the foreseen KPIs, but also and merely toimplementwhatitpromised.Aswasdetailedinprevious journals, the project has faced the limitationsoftakingplace inanewlybuiltarea:limitednumberof peoplehavingmoved to theneighbourhood already, difficulties to recruitnew residentswhohaveotherpriorities, facingthe reality of unbuilt buildings – e.g. amongstothersaffectingtheimplementationandreal-lifeexperimentation of CIRCUIT. At the same time,the project seems to be ahead of its time andleads to difficulties in procuring and installingPVs, BIPVs and batteries, as well as dataintegrationandmovetowardsbeingasmartcity.

Theprojectanditsteamhavebeenverycreativeinfindingsolutionsandalwaysmovingforward.CIRCUITistakingplaceonatemporarylocation,benefittingfromtheattractivenessofsustainableentrepreneursandnightlifeatmosphereofPleinPubliek event organiser. Data from VITO/EnergyVille’sPVsisusedasabenchmarkfortheapp, instead of that of - not yet installed - New South. The project has signed up to the OASC modelmechanismsfortreatingdatainthemostoperationalandethicalway.

Yet, at this stage, whereas partners have entered thelastyearofproject,althoughthemajorityofthe project has been implemented, and with

quite some success as will be detailed in thisjournal, major worries remain: How can the partners ensure they will reach their KPIs? What if they do not? Will this affect the quality of the project? Will this affect the co-funding of the project? Notwithstanding the willingness and anticipation from the partners, will the project be sustainable after the funding period?

Far frombeingpessimistic, this Journalwill notonly address these main questionings but alsoshow the great advances of the project and in particularitskeyhighlights:

• Thelaunchofthesecondwastechallenge,“FCMinderAfval”,withmorethan600participantsthroughout the city

• The launch of the first nudging experimentwiththeapp,with46participants,withreal-life test, including reward of Circules (virtualtoken)

Launch of “FC MINDER AFVAL” (Source: Circular South)

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3. TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROJECT

Theprojecthasentereditslastyear.Eventhoughnotalltheproject isbeingimplementedaswasdesigned, and applied for, at first, the mainstructureforimplementingandtestingtheactual

changeofresidents’consumptionofenergyisinplace.Thefirst testhasbeen implementedandlearnings for the main objective of energyconsumptiontransitioncanstarttobedrawn.

Update on the ANTWERP CIRCULAR SOUTH project (Source: UIA Expert)

3.1 Technical devicesInstalling PVs (Photovoltaics), BIPVs (Building-integratedphotovoltaics)andelectricity storage systems remainthemostchallengingpartoftheproject.Evensothattheycorrespondtoalargeshareoftheproject’sbudget,whichcouldentailsome financial penalties if this part isnotimplemented.

Public Procurement for BIPVs andBatteries hasbeensuccessful.PleinPubliek,whereCIRCUITisbased, had long agreed to host PVs. Yet, theconsortiumwhichwassupposedto install themfellapart.Anewprocurementisonitsway.Publicprocurement for PVs in Plein Publiek has beenlaunchedaswellinJanuary2020.

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Pleinpubliek view from the sky (Source: Circular South)

Themain issue remains the locationwhere thePVs will be installed. At the moment, there ishope for a fewplaces to finally agree to installPVsontheirroofs,althoughwithmanycaveats:

• Building5,Domitys:theDomitysmanagementteam has changed totally which led tonegotiating all over again. Yet, partners arequite optimistic about the outcome ofdiscussion due to the high interest of the newmanagement;

• Building 3 (Greendesk), offices: negotiationsarestillon-going.Atfirst,theownerwasnotsomuchinfavouroftheprojectandchangeof contact with estate agent caused delays, have kept the discussion open to a new proposalmadeinFebruary2020;

• Building17,TripleLivingoffices(Spaces):Thereal estate owner, Triple Living is starting tovaluetheinstallationofPVsonitsbuildingsintermsofenergycertificate,inturnincreasingthe economic value of the buildings. Thebuildingisduetobedeliveredonthe31stofDecember2020.

Building 17 (spaces) from the sky (Source: Circular South)

Themainquestionhererelatestothetiming,andwhether,bearinginmindnegotiation,agreement,public procurement and installation, the projectwillstillbeabletocarrythisoutbeforeDecember2020, theofficial endof theproject. Inorder tosecure this, partners work to prepare and procure a framework contract,whichwill allow for swiftrealisationwhendecisionsandformalagreementsare obtained. For example, in the case ofBuilding 17, the roof is expected to be finishedearlierbutastrictplanningandgoodunderstandingbetweencontractorsand theappointed supplierofthePVsystemwillbecrucial.

The project also sought to expand beyond theproject area:

• Private building Amerikalei, private building,currently being investigated with a highinterestandengagementofresidents(limitedareaforPVs);

• Zorgbedrijf, retirementhomecombinedwithserviceflats and social housing, very recent,investigationhasjuststarted;

• Zuidervelodroom, single family houses andapartmentbuildings,withastrongcommunityengagement, signs that at least 10 singlefamilyhomesandoneapartment-buildingwilljoin the project.

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The overall size of PVs and BIPVs, and theexistenceofbatteries tobe installed,aswellas

the amount of energy potentially produced bytheseinstallationsarepresentedbelow.

Size of PVS, BIPVS, and existence of batteries, and amount of energy potentially produced1

(Source: UIA Expert based on Circular South Inputs)

1 Thefiguresarenotexact:theseareestimatesbasedoninitialdiscussionswithallthemembersoftheschemes.Inparticular,fortheexpandedarea,negotiationshavejuststartedandfiguresmightchangegreatly.

Thecity realestatedepartment rejectedall theproposals on behalf of their clients, the schoolorganisations and the sports and leisuredepartment,hostedinbuilding10.IthadalreadyplanneditsownPVinstallation,providingenergyproduced for free. The Circular South project was unable to target the end users and explain theaddedvalueforthemtoaccepttheiroffer:userswould need to pay for the energy produced on theroof,butinreturn,wouldgetalowerannualfeefortheuseofthebuilding.Themessageneverreached the end-users and the city real estate department will implement its own system, inturn keeping the control over it, which is another key factor on not wanting to be part of theUIAscheme.

PVsonsocialhousinginbuildings7,8and12arealready installed (even though outside the UIA

project). In building 4 (residential), which isfinishedandnowinhabited,theproposalwasnotaccepted by the association of co-owners whodidnotseeanyinterestfortheminit.

Outside the project area, the project also sought togetaccesstootherpublicbuildingsownedandmaintained by the city of Antwerp (culturalbuildings,schools,sportsandleisureandoffices):they have their own elaborate programme fortheenergeticrenovationoftheirassets.Gerlache-building, a high-rise apartment building in thefringe of the New South project area was also oneoption:therooftophowever,isnotsuitablefor instalmentofPV-systemsbecauseof its lackof large flat areas. Therefore, these optionsoutside the project area were eventually not pursued.

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The smart meters (plugs and sensors) are nowpurchased and installed for the nudging experiment(seebelow).

3.2 Back-officemodalitiesThe Community of New South is growing, with on-goingrecruitmentandactualparticipationinchallengesand in thenudgingexperimentation.Further events and activities are organised inorder to foster discussion and interactionbetween residents on the futureof CIRCUIT, aswellastopromotethenudgingexperimentandthenewwastecampaigns.

Co-creation / community building circuit & CIRCULAIR ZUID: ‘KOFFIE MET DE BUREN’ (Source: Circular South)

The Transitionboardhasbeendelayed:thefocusoftheprojecthasbeenonresidents’recruitmentand launch of the nudging experiments. Inaddition,itappearedmorelong-lastingtoidentify

and recruit the originally foreseen experts, includingtofinalisetheprocurement.Theexpertshavenowbeenrecruited,anditisexpectedthatduringthelastyearoftheprojecttheywillfulfilashiftedrole,i.e.ofpositioningtheprojectwithinthe larger societal transition towards circularityand sharing insights to benefit other initiativeswithinthewiderEuropeancontext.Activitiesareunderpreparationtosupporttheexpertsinthisnew role, arriving later to the project than originally foreseen.

Thecontentofthenudges(rules,text,prompts)have been fully developed. The preparation ofdata treatment and integration as well asbusiness logic for energy and waste, endpoints forACPaaSdata,virtualisation,CustomerEnergyManagement System, and blockchain reward system procurement have enabled to fullyimplementtechnicallythenudgingexperiments.In particular, a PV-Battery lab set up is beingorganised at VITO EnergyVille in order for thecouplingofPVandbatteryvirtualisationwithrealPVandbatterytobetested:theenergyproducedbyPVsatsomeofEnergyVille’sbuildingsservesaspreliminarydatafortheapplication,untiltheNewSouthPVinstallationsareoperational.

Nudges have been tested in a first technicalexperiment (Jan-Feb) on energy consumption.A second experiment on energy is on its way.FurtherdetailsaboutthenudgingexperimentcanbefoundintheSecondZoom-Inoftheproject.

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The recruitmentofrepairbuddiesandmakers is stillgoingonwithinCIRCUITaspartofthewiderstrategy: 3 volunteers are already part of the project as repair buddies and making it alive

within the local community. A few makers(especiallythosealreadyhostedatPleinPubliek),e.g.W.R.Yumathesustainablesunglassesmakers,are in discussions for the future CIRCUIT as well.

The nudging experimentInJanuary2020,theCircularSouthProjectstartedwithits“nudgingexperiments”totestsomeinnovativewaysofsupportingconsumersinchangingtheirenergyconsumptionbehaviours.Thefirstexperimenttookplaceoveronemonth,combiningonlineandofflineinteractions,technicalandsoftinfrastructures,andacademicresearchandactionsontheground.46volunteerstestedthetechnicalandinformativeaspectsoftheapplicationtoreceiveinformationabouttheirenergyconsumption,aswellasgettingpromptsforchanging their behaviours. Overall, as was shared during afeedback moment on 4March2020, thevolunteerswereveryhappyabout thetest,asking formoregenericinformationabouthouseholds’energyconsumptionandtheneedtocareaboutit,aswellasaskingforgreaterdetailsabouttheirconsumption.Theywerealsoenthusiasticabout the reward they received from their savings. Finally, theynoted that theyhadadjustedtheirbehavioursaccordingtothepromptsgiventothem.Theotherupcomingexperimentwillfurthertesttheactualeffectoftheapponenergyconsumption.

Foreseen nudging experiments (Source: Circular South)

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3.3 Interface

2 EachresidentoftheCityofAntwerppossessesanA-cardwhichenablesusingsomepublicservices,gettingsomerewardsandaccesstosocialbenefits.Viathedatastoredontheircardcitizenscanaccessundergroundwastedisposal,citybikeservices,libraryservices,sportsfacilities,…Italsoseekstodrivemorefrequentparticipationincultural,sportingandotherleisureactivitiesof,andinthecity,byinform-ing,stimulatingandrewardingparticipation:eachtimeA-cardusersvisitlocationssuchaslibraries,swimmingpools,culturalcenters,museums,…(morethan100locations),theycollectA-pointswhichareconvertedintoadigitaldiscountvoucher,validfor6months(e.g.1freeswiminanurbanswimmingpool;2eurodiscountwhenpurchasingaticketwithaculturalpartner,anentrytickettoanAntwerpmuseum,onapurchaseintheAntwerpcityshop,oneofthemuseumshopsorthecity’sEcoshop,…).Finally,viainformationavailableonthecard,citizenscangetdirectaccesstosocialbenefitse.g.attheswimmingpool,library,museumsortheatres.

In the last six months, functionalities of theapplication have been expanded, and somemajorfeatureshavebeenadded:

• Dataviewshavebeenupdatedandnowalsoinclude virtual energy measurements:participantscanseetheirownPV-production,even though they physically have no PV intheirapartments(thisisaprojectionoftheiractual consumption, based on the VITOEnergyVillePVs);

• The blockchain reward system now hasfeatures to exchange the collected rewards for Antwerp A-points2, or to participate inacrowdfunding forgroup rewardsorganizedbythecity;

• Userscanreceiverichtextmessagesfromthenudgingsystem,andnotificationswillbesentto their devices.

In the backend, more telemetry of the app’susage has been added. This means that thenudging system can now receive data aboutpeople’s appusage (time since their last log-in,numberofmessagesthatareleftonunread,…):this enables specific nudges to be sent takingthosevariablesintoaccount.Inaddition,thefulladmin-panel for the blockchain reward systemhasbeencompleted.Thepartnerscantrackthestatus of challenges, transfer Circules if needed, andinitializecustomcrowd-fundedrewards.

The application is currently being tested in thenudging experiment. From the first receivedfeedback,participantswouldhavebeenhappytoreceive more information about their waste,currently onlymonitored as large or small andfrequency. At the same time, De KringwinkelAntwerpenwould have also been interested inmonitoring the physical stream of material(waste) in a more specific way, by products.Unfortunately, technical requirements andproject timing prevent from implementingsuch changes.

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Nowthatthebuildingforthefuture locationofCIRCUIT, so-calledPalazzoVerde, is bought, thefuturebusinessmodelofCIRCUITiscurrentlyatthe coreof the reflectionsof thepartners. It isstillatitsverybeginning:calculationshavebeenmadeabouttheneedsforrevenues,howeveritssources are not fully defined, nor planned intime.Someplannedactivitiesare:

• A shop for products created and repaired at DeKringwinkelAntwerpen

• Activitiesforrepairing(e.g.bikes,cloths)

• Lettingroomsforentrepreneurs

• Developing activities in relation to coffeegroundsandplastic

All these with alongside a bar and culturalactivities,inordertopromoteamoresustainableway of living.

CIRCULAR SOUTH app (Source: Circular South)

CIRCUIT concept and planned activities (Source: Hannes Dams and UIA Expert based on Frank Dingemans’ inputs)

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3.4 Activities

3 Thetotalnumberofparticipantsaccountsfor1,32%ofthetotalAntwerppopulation(500000),whereasthenumberofCircularSouthparticipantsaccountforhalfofthisrate,0,6%(2733totalinhabitantsinthedistrictinMarch2020).Theprojectwouldhavebeenhappierwithbetterresults,yet,withregardtotheissuesfacedtorecruitlocalresidents,whichthenencouragedtotheprojecttheexpanditsgeographicalarea(seepreviousJournals),thisnumberappearedtobeareasonablesuccess.

The Energycooperativeformerlynamed“CitizenEnergy Community” is now called “RenewableandCitizenEnergyCommunity”tobetterfittheclosertoEUdirectives(seetablebelow).

Energy community definitions (Source: H2020 COMPILE)

The Renewable Energy Community seeks to ontheonehand toenlarge its sun sharing systemandontheothertofurtherrecruitmembers:

• Ecopowerisseekingtoengageownersofthesocial housing (buildings 7, 8 and 12) whohavetheirownPVstobepartoftheRenewableand Citizen Energy Community. It is alsoseeking to expand its zone to theZuidervelodroom area (close to New South)forPVsinstalledbothonapartmentbuildingsand on individual houses. A workshop was organisedon10October2019topresenttheprojectandafollowuponeon3March2020ondevelopingactivitieswithintheCommunity.

• So far 37 members. Ecopower is planningadditionalrecruitmentcommunicationandisconfidentthatthegoalof80memberswillbereachedbytheendofJune2020.

Yet, partners note it is still difficult to invitecitizenstojoinwithouttheexistenceofPVsintheCircular South project area, and without locally produced energy.

The circular token “Circules” is fully integrated intothenudgingexperiment(seeabove).

The second edition of the waste 100-100-100 challenge has been named “FC Minder Afval”,“ThecleanestClubofAntwerp”.Itwaslaunchedon27January2020andwillrununtiltheendofMay 2020 to the whole city. 660 participantshavesigneduptoit,outofwhich16fromNewSouth3. This campaign has benefitted stronglyfromthesupportofthecommunicationteamofAntwerp.ThethirdeditionwillbeorganisedfromJunetoOctober.Thestructureofthesecampaignsisthesameasthefirstoneorganisedin2019:thetasksarechanged;newsuggestionsandexamplesaregiven.Thesamequestionnaireisalsosharedupfrontandattheendofthecampaign.Forthesecondedition,participantsalsoreceivedazero-waste start kit. Links to CIRCUIT’s activities aremade clear, for examplewhena repair café forsmartphones is organised, and information issharedmostlyviaFacebook.

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FC MINDER AFVAL, zero waste starter kit (Source: Circular South)

The project is organising a green waste challenge. 4 out of the 15 planned sessions have beenorganised around the two composting unitswhichhavebeen installed (atPleinPubliekandDomitys). Yet, the contract formanagement ofcomposts,whichistheresponsibilityoftheCitywaste department, under the Alderman forhousing, heritage, urban and neighbourhood

maintenance, green spaces, animal welfare,healthcare and senior care – not part of theproject, isnot renewed: theproject’sagenda isconfrontedtootherdepartment’sagendawhichit cannot control. As such, the project currently seeksanewpartnership,whichcouldbewiththeformercompostingmanageroftheCity.

The plasticdeposit challenge is well developed (seeboxbelow).Oneofthemainchallengesistoget the message well across: plastic should bereducedandnotenhanced,atthesametimeasthis challenge is an alternative to existing city-widesortingsystem.However,theothercurrentmost important challenge is to actually get theofficial,City’s,approvaltocarryoutthischallenge,which could be seen as a competition to theexisting sorting system of the city of Antwerp.There will also be some links to the wastecampaignwheretapwaterwillbepromoted.

TheplasticdepositchallengeThe plastic challenge seeks to collect plastic bottlesandcapsfromresidentsinorderto1)raiseawarenessaboutthequantityofplastictheyuseandpromptthemtoreducethisquantity2)recycleandreusethisplastic.Thematerialwillbecollectedvia tworeversevendingmachines:oneatCIRCUITandanotheroneinanotherlocation/shop of De Kringwinkel Antwerpen. Thecollectedplasticwillbeusedforthefollowing:researchwith the University of Antwerp on the use of caps for elements of climbingwalls; creation of awashing lineto cut plastic into smaller pieces (cleanflakes) as rawmaterialorforexampleforYuma’sglasses;researchfornewplasticdevelopment,forbottle-to-bottlerecycling.

In exchange, participants will obtain discounts forproductsoraccesstoCIRCUIT’sworkshopsforfree.

Deposit challenge infographics (Source: Circular South)

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The structure of the group purchase has beendesigned and is now being implemented.Whereas the City of Antwerp needed an intermediary organisation to take care of thisprocess, it recruitedDe Kringwinkel Antwerpentoproceed.Theteamiscurrentlypreparingthelist of criteria for the purchase of the 10 products which will be made available via this scheme:circular made product, products designed fordisassembly,activities…

CIRCUIT’s team has been strengthened by therecruitment of a new communication officer. Ithasputalotofeffortsonorganisingschoolvisitsandonevents to strengthen thebrand ‘Circuit’alone or in collaboration with various partners(e.g.: Plastic Free Festival, open-air inspirationevening–fleamarketandbicyclemarket,bicyclerepair cafes, DIY workshops, textile repaircafes,…)withatotalofaround300participants.

DIY workshop (20/12/19) (Source: CIRCUIT)

CIRCUIT has also sought new ideas and opportunitiesandhas forexampleworkedwithIKEAtoidentifysomepossibilitiestocollaborate.Although CIRCUIT manages its activities withalimitedbudget–whichdidnotanticipatealltheneedsforalltheactivitiestobecarriedout–thisbudgetwouldneedtoberevisedinthefuturetofurther develop its activities, especially in thenew–final–location.

IKEA team-building and collaboration co-creation with circuit

(Source: CIRCUIT)

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4. ONGOING CHALLENGES AND ADJUSTMENTS

Theissuesfacedbytheprojectsinceitsbeginningare still present: the need to adopt a specificattitude to overcome the project’s challenges,combining traditional and innovative skills andcompetence, the difficulty to co-create andengage,thestruggletotakeplaceinanewlybuiltdistrict, the integration of offline and online

activities,thechangeofprojectcoordinator,thespecific state ofmind for being innovative, thetimingoftheproject,ormaintainingtheinterestofresidents.Inaddition,theprojectisincreasinglyfacing the challenge to prove its added value, to face its stricttimingbeyond its initial optimismandpoliticaldependence.

4.5 The tricky showcase of the added value of the projectDon’t we have a good story? Are we too demanding? Are we promising things we cannot realise? Is the process too slow for residents? Isn’t it dealing with a burning question?Herearenewand recurring questions asked by the CircularSouthteam.Althoughinthepreviousjournalwedescribedachangeofsituationbythefactthatmany aspects of the project were eventuallybecoming concrete, partners are, indeed, stillstruggling to showcase the added value of its differentelementstothedifferentpartners.

TheinstallationofPVsappearstobe limitedas,forexampleinbuilding10–theschool,owners–the City of Antwerp, want to have the control of it. They could be interested in joining theRenewable and Citizen Energy Community. Yet,theywouldnotjointhePVsscheme.Theirlackofcontroloverenergyproductioncanexplainsomeof it, the fact theywouldhave limitedfinancialgainfromitcanexplainmore.

Similarly, convincing residents to join theRenewable and Citizen Energy Community isdifficult because of the lack of realised PV andstoragesystemsbytheCircularSouthprojectandassuchthe lackof localenergyproduction:the

future seems unclear to potential participants,bearinginmindtheyneedtobuysharestojointhe Community. As Hilde Haex explained: “The lack of visibility of concrete products inhibits the necessary multiplicator effects actively aimed for in the recruitment process, i.e. onboarded members feel less inclined to bring neighbours, new members on board. Their attitude appears to be more of “first wait and see”. One clearly feels the envisioned end state of the project has not enough pull to fully engage them at this stage. Hence, most recruitment successes rely on face-to-face, one-on-one encounters, rendering the overall process much more time-consuming.”

Similarly, the app does not show the financialvalueofreducingenergyconsumption.Itisworthnoting though that the project hadnever beenaboutshowingfinancialvalueofenergysavings.As such, this was never foreseen as a game-changingfeatureintherecruitmentprocess.

Is it all about money then? Maybe not. Manyresidents and participants to the differentschemes (Renewable and Citizen EnergyCommunity, nudging experiment, wastecampaigns)dounderstandthatallofusneedan

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energy transition right now, and as quickly aspossible to mitigate as much as possible ourimpacts on greenhouse emissions and climatechange.Othersareinterestedinactuallygettingto know more about the rationale behind it,studies and research, and assessment of theirindividual impact. Yet, for those far from thesepreoccupations, the financial concern is on themoststringentone.

AntwerpCircularSouthiscurrentlythereforestillseeking the best narrative for residents and

buildingownerstoinvestintheirfuture.AndasJanPecinovskysays: “We remain optimistic about it all, because to us this is the reality of the energy transition. There are always some people who somehow believe that one day a project like this is going to come along and solve all problems, like some deus ex machina. The reality is however that these things are difficult, and progress is slow. Every bit of effort helps, so we should not be deterred by these issues and just crack on.”

4.6 Beyondtheinitialoptimismoftheproject?“The clock is ticking”worriedRafPonnette.Morethan during any of the previous visits to the project did it feel like under pressure, stress and fear,nottoreachtheplannedgoals:KPIsaswellas broader objective of changing energyconsumptionbehaviour.

“We were too optimistic at first” said MaudCoppenrath, the project coordinator. “Recruiting residents was the big unknown, we did not know how people would react”, commented HildeHaex.“Weunderestimatedtheeffectofmovingintoanewneighbourhood”addedSamVerbelen.Hewenton:“We are constantly reflecting on how things could have worked out better. Where did we go wrong and what can we still do to improve, or how should we approach if ever granted a likewise opportunity.” Christine Van derslijen

statedthatitwasdifficulttoreachthepromisedtarget in terms of number of participants,investments…MaudCoppenrathtriedtoanalyse:“the main reasons for this are the complexity of the technical tools, dependency on external parties, complexity of internal processes, the lack of political support”.

However, partners are still looking for creativeways toworkaroundpossible issues.AsHannesDamsstated, “I do believe that optimism can be a deliberate choice and that it is our duty to seek for the hidden opportunities rather than demoralize ourselves staring at the setbacks.”Summermonthsandweathermighthelp.Movingonwiththebuildingofthesitewillforsuresupportthe higher integration of all the aspects of theprojectinasinglevisibleandcentrallocation.

4.7 PoliticaldependenceThe project is dependent on the organisationalstructureformanyofitstasks.Currently,themostpressing and challenging ones relate to the green waste and deposit challenges. Regarding the compostingchallenge,theorganisationinchargeofcompostingunitsinAntwerphasnowfinishedits contract with the City. There is a need to launch apublicprocurementoracontractwiththemto

supporttheendoftheCircularSouthProject.Yet,it is unclearwhether thiswill be accepted, andwhich form itwill take, causinguncertainty andfor sure delays in the green waste challenge.

The deposit challenge relies on a decision to agreethecollectionofplasticbottlesandcapforthe challenge, although a private company,

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FostPlus, has themonopoly over the collectionandsortingoutofPETsinthecity.ForChristineVandeslijen,thisisafrustrationbutalsoaworrywhen a team of volunteers, entrepreneurs andstudents believe in the project and are on the

startingblocks.Whetherthiswillbeapprovedornot is still unclear and will in any case causedelays. Another optionwill also be to focus onthecollectionofbottlecaps,as it isalreadythecaseinmanypartsofBelgiumforcharities.

4.8 Thedifficultanalysisoftheproject’s’initialoutcomesNowthatthefirstnudgingexperimenthasbeencarriedout,afirstanalysisofbehaviourshiftcantakeplace.Thefirstdatashowsthattherewasanoverall decrease of washing cycles betweenJanuary and February 2020 (479 against 561),and during the promoted timeslots – 11h and15h(171vs227).Atthesametime,thedecreasewasnotstaticallysignificant.

The data also showed that, on average, 46 participantsusedtheirwashingmachine10to11timesinFebruaryandthemajoritydidsooutside11h and15h.Only 5 participantswashedmorebetween11hand15h,thanoutside11hand15h.

Data was also compiled about the number ofnudgessent,butespeciallyread.Forexample,intotal, 111 nudges were sent and read by26 participants to thank participants that theyused their washing machine between 11hand 15h.

Themainfocusoftheexperimentwastotestthetechnicalperformanceandtheuser-friendlinessoftheapp,whereas, inthesecondexperiment,moreadvancednudgingtechniqueswillbeusedtoshiftbehaviours.

This project proves the complexity to assessbehaviourchange:

• Getting an adequate sample: in this case,most of the participants were retired, havesparetime,andareflexibletochangehabits.Becauseofthelimitednumberofprofiles,thedatacanthereforenotbegeneralised.

• Balancing between a sample big enough forstatisticalgeneralisation,orsmallenoughforin-depth qualitative analysis: the size of thesample(46)doesnotenablerobuststatisticalanalysis (widening up the rest of citymightenablethis).The informationprovided isyetextremelyvaluableasanin-depthqualitativeanalysisandspecificcasestudy.

• Outside a controlled environment: Externalfactors such as personal lives, informationinputs from other sources, types of homeappliances, etc. can influence the (lack of)reaction to the nudges. Ensuring the exactreaction to the nudges would require long-term and in-depth analysis of the involvedhouseholdsandfurtherin-depthinvestigationoftheeffectivenessofreadingnudgesversusother external factors.

• Lack of pre-experiment data: assessing thechanges in behaviours needs to be doneagainst data anterior to the experiment, atleast one month before the experiment(ideallyayear,butthis isnotpossible foralltypesofdatafortheUIAproject).Thiswillbefollowed-up for thenext experimentsof theproject for water, waste and also electricity.

Inconclusion,thedatafromthisfirstexperimentcan for sure show the evolution of theconsumption pattern of participants. Yet, itcannotassessthedirectimpactofnudges.Therehasbeennosignificantshiftintermsofusageofthe washing machine, although there wasa decrease of the number of cycles for the

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promotedtimeslot.Participantsareonalearningcurve for using the application, as well as toadjusttheirhabitstothefollowupthereceived

4 ThisjournalwaswrittenbeforetheupcomingoftheCovid-19crisisandsomeoftheplansmightneedtobereadjustedoncethequaran-tineisover.

5 “Climatestreets”arepartofthe“ClimatePlan”tosupporttransitiontowardscarbonneutrality,whereinhabitantsofgivenstreetsgathertoworkonclimatechangeissues.Someresidentsarealreadyinterestedinthisproject:thelearningsandmethodologycouldbeappliedthere,benefitingfrompriorapprovalofresidentsforinstallingPVsontheirroofs(onekeyissueinthisUIAproject).

nudges. Along time, the effectiveness of thenudges needs to be further assessed in theupcomingexperiments.

4.9 The future is todayOneofthebiggestlearningsoftheprojectinthelastsixmonthsisthatpartnersneednotonlytofocusonachievingtheirplannedresultsbutalsoto start seriously to plan and think about thefuture,theafterUIAphase.Someoftheoutcomesoftheprojecthavepromisingfutures4:

• Both the deposit challenge and the group purchasescouldhavealong-termequivalentinthecomingyearsandcouldberenewedbytheCity;

• The PV installations could trigger positivereactions and a willingness to join theRenewableandCitizenEnergyCommunity;

• Linkswith the “climate streets”5 in Antwerp could expand the opportunities of theRenewableandCitizenEnergyCommunity;

• The sun sharing in Zuidervelodroom couldbroaden the possibilities for the collectiveinvestments in the Renewable and CitizenEnergyCommunity;

• CIRCUIT canpivot frombeingaplacewherethereisroomforexperimentingtoaconceptwith a clear focus and a consistent revenue stream that is significant enough tobecomeself-supportive. It is currentlyworkingon itsBusiness Model to ensure this. Further intime, itcouldbecomeavibrantplacewherepeople like to get inspired and are challenged

to live differently without giving up oncomfort;and,

• The digital electricity (and gas) meters arefinally in rollout inFlanders.Thiswill enableallthosewantingto,tousetheappwhichhasbeen developed for better insight in theenergyconsumption.

Thisisalsothestagewheretheintrinsicmotivationsof the partners in taking part in the project arise: publicsectorseekingtofollow-uponcoordinatingthe project for two more years, private sectorfocusing on finishing its current contract in thebest possible way, research partners looking forfurtherresearchinthisdomain,NGOstakeholderslooking for the long-term added value andcommitment to continue this 3-yearwork in thelong run. As such, the partners have already started in developing their own interest in the future of the UIA project together:

• The project organised two stakeholder meetingstothinkcollectivelyaboutthefutureoftheprojectinSeptember2019;

• The city of Antwerp, VITO/EnergyVille andEcoPowerhaveappliedforanH2020projectfor a continuation of the smart homes andenergygroup,engagingsocialtargetgroups;

• De Kringwinkel Antwerpen will remain inchargeofCIRCUIT,whichwillbefullylaunchedat the end of the project only.

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Otherpartnerswilldeveloptheirownactivities,individually or with other partners:

• EnergieID, Digipolis, Pantopicon, and IMECwill integrate the learnings of this project in

their daily work, continuing to support thetransition towards more sustainableenergypractices.

4.10 Overview of challengesAlthoughtheabove-mentionedchallengesstressthatmanyissuesareon-goingwithintheproject,the UIA challenges are quite well addressed,

except for the organisational arrangementswithin the urban authority. They can besummarisedasperthetablebelow.

MAPPING ANTWERP CIRCULAR SOUTH AGAINST THE ESTABLISHED UIA CHALLENGES

Challenge Level Observation

1. Leadership for implementation

Medium Inthepast2years,theprojecthasproventohaveasolidteamwithinthedepartmentinwhichitoperates:togethertheydrivetheproject forwardaswellasarecreative insolvingupcomingissues.Theteamisalsosupportedby itsresponsibleAlderman(forsocialaffairs,povertyreduction,communitybuilding,socialeconomy, environment and worship). At the same time,notwithstanding its strength, the team has felt isolated anduncertainfromthepoliticallevelsoftheotherdepartments:theissueofthedepositchallenge,inwhichitisunclearwhatpositiontheAlderman forhousing,heritage,urbanandneighbourhoodmaintenance, green spaces, animal welfare, healthcare andsenior care will adopt jeopardises the current solutions theprojectseekstoimplement.Theeconomicaspectatstake,withthe local waste sorting agency, balances the social andenvironmentaladdedvalueoftheprojectfortheAldermananditisunclearwhetherthedepositchallengewillbevalidated.

2.(Smart)Publicprocurement

Low The design of Public Procurement has not been an issue. Theteam has managed to write adequate specifications for datatreatment and processing aswell as for PVs. Some unplannedissueshavecomeupasoneofthecontractedconsortiafellapartandalthoughthePVshavebeenprocured,thereisnoplaceforinstallingthemyet.ProcurementforthegrouppurchasewasalsoavoidedasadirectcontractwassignedwithDeKringwinkelforittobeinchargeofthewholeprocess,andthereforeof thepurchaseonbehalfofthe City pf Antwerp.Whatremainsanissueistheendofcontractoftheorganisationinchargeofcompostingunits.Astheprojecthadnotanticipatedthis,delayshavearisen(seebelow):aspecificProcurementneedstobelaunchedtofinalisetheUIAproject.ItishopedthatitwillbelaunchedandfinalisedintimefortheendoftheUIA.

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Challenge Level Observation

3.Organizationalarrangements withintheurbanauthority

High Asmentionedabove,theofflineactivities,especiallydepositandgreen waste challenges are depending upon the activities ofothercitydepartments.ThesetwoaredependentfromtheVice-Mayor on CityMaintenance and Housing Policy. Although theissuewiththedepositisstrictlypolitical,thatofthecompostingunits (related to the green waste challenge) was political andbecame administrative: indeed, with regard to the change ofVice-Mayor during the last elections (in October 2018) it wasdecidednottolaunchanewprocurementtorenewthecontractfor purchase and maintenance of composting units. Theinformation appeared late in the UIA project, which is nowseekingasolutiontomitigateit:itwouldliketosignacontractbyitselfandiscurrentlynegotiatingthatwiththewastedepartment.

4.Participativeapproach for co-implementation

Medium Withintheexistingroomformaneuverofsuchaprojectthathadtobedecidedupfront,co-creationkeepsonbeingattheheartoftheprojectwithinthepartnershipandwiththecitizens.SynergiesareincreasingbetweentheCityofAntwerp’s‘FCMinderAfval’)andCIRCUIT’sactivities.Overall,partnerskeeptheirspiritandmotivationupastheyarefinally seeing theconcrete resultsof theirwork.Yet, twomainmajor issuesremain:theendofresourcesavailabletosomeoftheprojectpartners, limitingwhattheycoulddoinadditiontowhat was foreseen originally (e.g. providing some additionaladjustmentstotheappforEnergieID);thestressof(not)achievingthe foreseenKPIs (200 residents installing the smartmetersathome, 80 members signing up to the Renewable and CitizenEnergyCommunity).

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Challenge Level Observation

5. Monitoring and evaluation

Low AsindicatedinthepreviousJournals,theindicatorsformonitoringand evaluating have been thoroughly defined and followed-up.Technicaldatahasbeenfollowed-upthroughoutthewholeproject:datastreamand treatment,appusageand functionalities.Clearindications for energy produced from the PVs are also foreseen(see picture 5). The data on the second waste challenge, “FCMinderAfval”,collected informationontheactivitiesof the660participants throughout the city (who participated towhat andwhen).Thenudgingexperimentwasalsothoroughlymonitored:intermsofcityproject,themonitoringhasbeenextremelyrobust.Intermsofactualimpactonbehaviourshift,itisfacing,asshowninsection 4.4, the difficulty, if not impossibility to assess suchanimpact6.AnevaluationwascarriedoutinMarchtoassessthepossibilityto reach the 200households agreeing to bepart of the smartmeter experiment: itwas re-evaluated to 140 households andsubmitted for approval to UIA (46 household are part of theexperiment so far). This figure will be closely monitored andrecruitmentprolongatedtoensuregettingascloseaspossibletothis new target. Another evaluationwill also be carried out inJunetoassesswhetherPVscanbeinstalledandifthenumberof80membersfortheRenewableandCitizenEnergyCommunityisstillrealistictoachieve(currently37membershavesignedup).Atthesametime,theprojectcoordinatorisstartingtoenvisagethe set-up of a working group to monitor and report inastandardisedwayinordertoensurea(efficient)consolidatedreportingin2021.

6 https://www.uia-initiative.eu/en/news/difficult-transition-consumers-towards-more-sustainable-practices

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Challenge Level Observation

6.Communicationwith target beneficiaries

Medium The project has kept on interacting with its beneficiaries forrecruitmentandinformation.Ithasdesignedaninfographicforthedepositchallenge,thewaste“FCMinderAfval”campaignhasbeenonsocialmedia,aswellasduringeventswiththedistributionof labelled goodies,… For reasons explained in this and theprevious journals, the communication has been widened upoutside the Circular South neighbourhood for these wastechallengesaswellasfortheinstallationofPVsandrecruitmentfortheRenewableandCitizenEnergyCommunity.The team communication officerwent onmaternity leave, yetshewasreplacedbyacolleagueformtheCommunicationteam,togetherwith somesupport fromtheCircularSouth teamandsomeextrastaffrecruitment.Atthisstage,communicationisatitsmaximum:theprojectkeepson developing new tools and activities7. Notwithstanding its effort, itmight need to consider that communicationwith theobjectiveof recruitingmighthave reached itspossibilities,andthatonlyavery limitednumberofextraresidentswill join theprojectuntilitsend.

7. Upscaling Low As explained in section 4.5, all the partners are currentlyenvisaging the future of the project. Some will continue ittogether,developing smarthomesandenergygroup,engagingsocialtargetgroupsandfurtherpursuingtheactivitiesofCIRCUIT,others will focus on their individual work or will create new partnership,integratinglearningsinnewprojects.

7 Thisjournalwaswrittenbeforetheupcomingofthecovid-19crisiswhichhasforcedtheteamtolookforevenmoreinnovativesolutionsincommunicating.

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5. WHAT ARE THE NEW LEARNINGS OF THE PROJECT?

“I would love to finish this project with clear insights in the things that triggered the successes of the project and more importantly the failures”stated Sam Verbelen. Indeed, researching andlearning–andexchangingonthose–iskeyinthedevelopment, duplication and upscale of suchproject,andisoneoftherationalesforsuchUIAjournals toexist.Theycan lead tooneormorefollow-upprojects.On-going reflexionhasbeenkey in this project since its beginning. Theprevious journals also showed that there is awillingness to learn from issues and improve.Yet,atthetimeofthis4thJournal,theeverydaychanging reality of New South, the practical

difficultiesoftheprojectandtheinherentnatureof human beings, residentswho justmoved toanewneighbourhoodfaceoneofthekeyissuesofsocialinnovation:how do you ensure you get the results you wanted to achieve? To which extent can you control this process? If you cannot, what mitigation measures can you implement?

TheTransitionBoardwillforsuresupportinthereflections upon these, as well as getting thechancetostepbackfromthedailyrealityoftheproject into a wider thematic, methodologicaland geographical lens.

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6. WHAT’S NEXT?

Thenextcoupleofmonthswillbecrucialtothefinalisationoftheproject:

• ProcuringandinstallingPVs,BIPVSandstoragebatteries;

• Finalisation of the PV-battery lab setup atEnergyVillesothatcouplingofPVandbatteryvirtualizationwithrealPVandbatterycanbetested and that on-site work at Nieuw-Zuid is lesstimeconsuming;

• Theprojectwillbenefitfromtheinputsfromthetransitionboard;

• Launchingofnextnudgingexperiments;

• Recruitment(smarthomesandenergygroup)and ‘customized’ communication (What andhowdowehave to communicateabout theenergysystem?);

• App; Making the user experience forparticipantsasengagingaspossible;

• CIRCUIT: move to the final building, PalazzoVerde in October 2020; implementation ofmanagerial determination and balancing ofeffortsbetweenshort-andlong-termimplyingchoices and priorities; further work on theBusinessModelneedtobemade;

• Renewable and Citizen Energy Community:providing the best possible offer from theperspectiveofthebuildingowners;

• Organisation of a final conference todisseminateontheprojectanditsresults.

In our next journal, to be published Autumn2020,youwillgetmoredetailsaboutthose!

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7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This fourth journal was written based on theinputs provided by email exchanges and a sitevisitonthe5March2020withallthepartners:

MaudCoppenrath,projectcoordinatorfromtheCity of Antwerp; Tom Sluyts, Digipolis; JanPecinovsky, EnergieID; JimWilliame, Ecopower;Bram Lievens and Carina Veeckman, IMEC; NikBaerten, Pantopicon; Raf Ponnette, VitoEnergyVille;HannesDamsandFrankDingemans,De Kringwinkel Antwerpen; Christine Vanderslijen,InnovationManagerWaste&Materials,

city of Antwerp; Sam Verbelen, InnovationManagerEnergy&Water,cityofAntwerp;HildeHaex, Innovation Manager Community &Communication, city of Antwerp; Elke Van DeMosselaer, Communication Manager, city ofAntwerp, Stéphanie Roels, Circular SouthAmbassador,cityofAntwerp.

I would like to thank all the partners once again for their inputs, reflections and sharing ofexperiences on the past and prospects of the project.

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ThecontentofthisjournaldoesnotreflecttheofficialopinionoftheUrbanInnovativeActionsInitiative.Responsibilityfortheinformationandviewsexpressedinthejournalliesentirelywiththeauthor.

Urban InnovativeActions (UIA) is an Initiativeof the European Union that provides urbanareas throughout Europe with resources to test newandunprovensolutions toaddressurbanchallenges. Based on article 8 of ERDF, theInitiative has a total ERDF budget of EUR 372million for 2014-2020.UIA projects will produce a wealth of knowledgestemmingfromtheimplementationof the innovative solutions for sustainableurbandevelopmentthatareofinterestforcitypractitioners and stakeholders across the EU.ThisjournalisapaperwrittenbyaUIAExpertthat captures and disseminates the lessons learnt from the project implementation andthegoodpractices identified.Thejournalswillbe structured around the main challenges ofimplementation identified and faced at locallevelbyUIAprojects.TheywillbepublishedonaregularbasisontheUIAwebsite.