Ε Π Ω Ν Υ Μ Ι Α
Título del boletínGrasp-med
Ε Τ Α Ι Ρ Ε Ι Α Σ
Newsletter Nº3 – September 2014
What is new in GRASP project?
In this issue: What is new in GRASP
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project? GRASP Synergies
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GRASP participation in
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Internal meetings During the past few months the consortium of GRASP and its technical team has been working on the development of the databases and the methodology of the e-procurement toolkit. For organising the work and monitoring its progress several technical meetings took place.
MED and other Euro-
e-Prior
pean Events GRASP website has a
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new look GRASP: next project
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actions!
Upcoming events !
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In March 2014 (17/03/2014), GRASP technical team traveled to Brussels to meet representatives of e-Prior project and examine the potential of cooperation between the two projects. EPrior is the e-Procurement solution developed by the European Commission, with goal to stimulate the implementation and re-use of interoperable systems in Europe. It is a serviceoriented platform, allowing the European Commission, the European Union Agencies and Institutions and their suppliers to exchange post award documents by using web services or over
the PEPPOL network. First contact with e-Prior was made in January 2014, when Mr. Pieter Breyne presented to GRASP consortium the project objectives. The second meeting was organised in order to analyse the modules of a procurement system, the technical and functional aspects of the tools that the two projects have and will develop, and how these two could interact. Both parties agreed to renew their appointment when GRASP will have concrete deliverables, such as the GRASP databases and procurement toolkit.
Educational Material and TMN the content of the educational material was presented, and feedback was given by the present partners for its finalisation.
In April (08/04/2014) the partners met in Terrassa-Spain, where the host partner, Chamber of Terrassa, presented the progress of the two main deliverables for which it is responsible: the educational material that will be used in GRASP seminars and the TMN (Transnational Mediterranean Network). More specifically,
It was decided that each partner will organise two seminars: one theoretical (in 2014) focusing on new technologies of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources as well as eprocurement legislation, and one practical (in 2015) to educate the participants in the use of GRASP databases and e- procurement toolkit. The plan of the TMN was presented by the technicians of CCI of Terrassa, and the content of the registration form and the disclaimer were agreed between the partners. TMN will be tested during October/November 2014, and will be fully functional in December.
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GRASP - MED Patras Meeting Before summer break the Lead Partner, University of Patras, invited all the partners and technical members in Patras (26-27/06/2014) to evaluate the progress and outcomes of the project, and set the plan for our future actions. All partners presented their achievements and agendas for upcoming activities. Special focus was in the databases now being developed, and their interface with the toolkit and TMN.
GRASP Project meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece GRASP partner Municipality of Pilea – Hortiatis hosted in May (7/5) the first project meeting for 2014 in Thessaloniki, Greece. At the meeting, that lasted one day and took place in the Municipality's offices in Thessaloniki, were present the University of Patras and the staff of Municipality who compose the GRASP project team. The meeting was intended to organise the activities that need to be carried out regarding GRASP databases and e-procurement service. In particular, the partners discussed the work progress and the budget modifications that they planned to request. As far as the events, it was decided that the Municipality will organise the next technical meeting in conjunction with an interactive workshop, where two experts will be invited as speakers, on 29th and 30th of September. Also, two seminars will be organised in Thessaloniki: the first one by the mid of October, about GRASP EE and RES technologies, EU and national (greek) e-procurement legislation and GRASP methodology. The second one will take place in March/April 2015, and it will be technical.
Surveys on green e-procurement
The partnership completed the survey on the green e-procurement state of the art of the MED regions who participate in the project. Moreover, the results of the questionnaires that were distributed to the main target
groups, Public Authorities and green SMEs were analysed, and their needs for knowledge and information were highlighted. Using the results of this survey each partner composed a report on the findings of his region (Regional Analysis Report). Afterwards, the partners cooperated and composed comparative reports, in which they detect and record the differences and similarities that their region or country present in green eprocurement (Regional Comparison Report). In total, 13 Regional Analysis Reports, and 8 Regional Comparison Reports were submitted; and an overall report, that summarises all the differences and similarities that appear in GRASP regions. All reports will soon be available in the project website.
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GRASP Synergies First set of synergies, Spata, Greece 2013 The first set of key synergy actions of GRASP have been with two MED projects, REPUBLICMED and REMIDA. The three projects started their synergetic interactions at the GRASP Kickoff Meeting in May 2013, where the participation by the two other projects signalled their interest in using similar information and methodologies in the areas of Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy Sources (RES).
In February 2014 in Spata, Greece, the three projects reached a common milestone by undersigning a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The Spata MoU addresses the fields in which each project can assist each other. In Spata, the three projects also set the stage for future common actions and cooperation.
Second set of synergies The three projects agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Highlighting the cooperation amongst the 3 projects, the MoU will also guide the ongoing interaction in key common tasks. The MoU has been signed by the representative of the lead partner of each project. Also, they decided to create a joint newsletter, with news and information on the three projects, and their interactions.
• The newsletter includes a calendar of joint events, easily identifying main activities of the 3 projects in the forthcoming period.
Open GRASP event, 2015
You may find the joint newsletter attached at the end of the document.
We are planning an open GRASP event in March 2015, expected to cover the spectrum of the synergies achieved by the project. In this event,
• The newsletter was disseminated to GRASP, PEEBPE and MARIE partners, synergies projects and other contacts, informing them on the recent activities and synergies of the three projects.
Synergy actions As examples of synergies between projects, • Energy experts from PEEBPE have participated in reviewing and updating the characteristics of the databases that GRASP is developing for use by Public Agencies and SMEs in the green procurement process. • The 3 projects, GRASP, PEEBPE and MARIE are planning a common event in December 2014. Currently, GRASP is exploring synergetic actions with the projects ENCERTICUS and CO-EFFICIENT.
BEERES conference, Kozani, Greece 2014 In the recent BEERES conference that was organized by the Technological Institute of Western Macedonia in Kozani, Greece 2014, representatives of the projects GRASP, MARIE & PEEBPE had the chance to explore potential synergies. The LP of GRASP made an invited presentation at the meeting.
• The status of common actions and results of synergies will be presented, and future activities will be planned. • All projects with which GRASP is cooperating will participate in the event, and will have the chance to provide information on their progress and common achievements.
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GRASP - MED GRASP participation in MED and other European Events IPA MED CAPITALIZATION SEMINAR On 20-21/03/2014 MED Programme organised in Budva, Montenegro the IPA MED CAPITALIZATION SEMINAR. The objectives of the seminar were: 1) Use, valorize and further build on the results of the projects working with IPA partners, 2) Strengthen strategic networks between the IPA and the rest of the Programme area, 3) Encourage IPA partners in building up synergies between MED, Adriatic and SEE projects, and 4) Contribute to the development of the future transnational cooperation in the area. The Target Groups of the seminar were: a) MED projects with IPA participation and
relevance, b) MED Capitalization projects, c) Lead Partners of MED projects with IPA participation, d) Lead Partners of MED Capitalization projects with IPA participation, e) Programming bodies and stakeholders of the MED Programme in the IPA area, and f) Representatives of projects from complementary EU Programmes (SEE, IPA Adriatic). The Lead Partner, University of Patras, participated in the seminar, representing GRASP project which includes two IPA partners in its consortium.
Joint Communication Training for project partners of the SEE and MED Programmes On the 2nd and 3rd of June 2014, University of Patras attended the Communication Training event that was organised by MED and SEE Programmes in Bled, Slovenia. During the two days of training, the participants learnt ways to: fine tune their Communication Strategies; best use Social Media for the project purposes; best organise their Final Events; use Story-telling to best disseminate their
project results; and best advocate the project at EU level. Apart from the workshop and learning sessions, there was a valuable exchange of knowledge and practices between MED and SEE projects thanks to the different networking possibilities. This training aimed at supporting project communication managers to best disseminate the
results produced, increasing their impact and reaching an appropriate target audience.
CO-EFFICIENT - “Synergies and joint activities of MED projects – opportunities and possibilities for cooperation” GRASP Lead Partner participated in the capitalisation event of MED project CO-EFFICIENT, which was organised on the 4th of June2014 in Bled-Slovenia. The event aimed at identifying opportunities and possibilities of cooperation between MED projects. Apart from the host project and GRASP, the other MED projects that participated were E²STORMED, SMILE, SINERGIA PROJECT, GREEN PARTNERSHIPS. Each representative presented his project objectives, goals and achievements, and shared their knowledge and experiences in an effort to identify common links between the projects and establish cooperation. The workshop was helpful in getting a more comprehensive understanding on the topic of each project and new collaborations began to emerge for future cooperation between the participants.
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3rd Annual Conference on Public Procurement – Smart Public Procurement: Efficient Management through e-Procurement On the 20th of June 2014, University of Patras and the Municipality of Spata-Artemis attended the 3rd Annual Conference in Public Procurement, which took place in Athens, Greece and was organised by the European Commission together with the Greek Presidency of the EU. Following the adoption of the revised legislation on public procurement and the directive on e-invoicing in public procurement, the participants had the chance to get informed
on smart public procurement, which should be characterised by
lean and transparent procedures, less bureaucracy, a high level of professionalism, best value for money for public buyers, and easy access for economic operators to public procurement. During the Conference, GRASP was highlighted by a focused interview on national TV.
GRASP website has a new look Do not miss the opportunity to visit our project website (http://www.grasp-med.eu/) which has a new look and keep abreast of GRASP latest news. The calendar will help you keep track of GRASP upcoming events. We would be glad to meet you in one of our seminars!
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GRASP - MED GRASP: Next project actions! GRASP Transnational Mediterranean Network (TMN) GRASP databases are currently being developed by GRASP technical team. As mentioned in previous issues, two databases will be developed, one for Public Agencies and one for SMEs. The databases will include the products and services that are available in the market regarding the categories of: Energy Efficiency (EE) Public Lighting Building renovation & retrofitting Building climate control Heating and cooling efficiency IT equipment
Geothermal energy with a special focus on the following key elements: Environmental criteria Energy performance Key technologies Health Waste Emissions Financial considerations Useful economic life Operational cost Investment cost
Renewable Energies (RES) Solar energy Wind energy
eGPP toolkit functionalities The next step is establishing the connection between the two databases and the e-GPP toolkit. The main functionalities of the toolkit will be: 1. To support formulation of an ‘expression of interest.’ This service will provide guidance to Public Agencies in order to prepare their tender and set/build the requirements of their tender. In other words, the system will extract background information regarding regulations and good practices on the selected system, and will extract information from its databases regarding: • the available green specs relevant to the selected product (PA database) • the available providers in the market and indicative cost (SME database) 2. Initially define the tender concerning the decision on type of tender, whether green procurement is feasible for the selected products (assess availability, know how, etc.), and make an initial assessment of budget. 3. Collect environmental labels of the products and services. The environmental labels of the products and services that will be added to the databases will be collected by all partners and inserted in the databases within the pilot implementation phase. According to GRASP timetable, the databases will be ready to be filled in by the end of October 2014. In the same time the technical team will be working on the development of the two databases interfaces and the toolkit. Next spring we will be ready to present to our users these two tools and train them in the usage of the DBs and the e-GPP toolkit.
GRASP - MED Training Courses for Public Authorities and SMEs This is the reason for which the Province of Perugia required the technical support of CONSIP to organize such events.
The first round of seminars foreseen in GRASP project have been realised in Perugia in May 2014 by the Province of Perugia in cooperation with CONSIP, a private society created by the Ministry for Economy and Finance in charge of the stipulation, on behalf of the Ministry, of Framework Agreements where the suppliers are committed to accept the purchasing orders from the PAs for the goods/services and the management of the compulsory e-market for PAs. This company is also responsible for the implementation of the Program for the Rationalization of Public Authority Purchases, launched with the 2000 Budget Law with the aim of optimizing public purchases of goods and services and developing provisioning models based on innovative processes and technologies. Green purchases, or Green Public Procurement (GPP), are a main focus of the Program for the Rationalization of Purchases.
Seminars have been realized in two different sessions and were targeted to the representatives of local SMEs and Public Administrations of the territory interested in being informed and trained on green criteria and issues as well as eprocurements existing tools to prepare the ground to the next GRASP actions (solution & knowledge databases, e-services, pilot actions) and to know the barriers met by the users to implement GPP systems. The green topics dealt within the two training sessions have been co-financed by another EU project with which GRASP is in synergy: Buy Smart +, an European project, co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe, which provides free consultation and information material on green procurement. In conclusion the feeling was that the two seminars were very successful, by the discussions stirred, the interest shown in the topics of the programme and about the presentation of the next outcomes of the project. The participation as well was significant: n. 27 people for PA and n. 12 for SMEs. The next seminars will be held by the other GRASP Partners in September and October 2014. If you are willing to participate, consult the section “EVENT� of www.grasp-med.eu
GRASP Transnational Mediterranean Network (TMN) The first major deliverable of GRASP project will soon be completed. Chamber of Terrassa are currently working on the technical development of the TMN. According to the project work plan, the TMN will be ready for testing in October. The testing period will last one month and TMN will be functional before the end of 2014. Representatives of Public Agencies, SMEs, European Institutions as well as experts in Green Energy (new technologies, services and products) and electronic Public Procurement will have the chance to exchange knowledge, experiences, concerns and thoughts.
In the TMN the users will be able to find useful documents and will have access to GRASP databases and toolkit. The TMN will be accessible via GRASP databases, toolkit and website. GRASP technical team is joining its forces in order to create the interfaces that will make navigating from one tool to the other easy and effective. Do not miss the opportunity to become members of the TMN, and be informed about the latest developments in the field of energy supplies from the experts!
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GRASP - MED Getting the word out: Publication of GRASP in “Projects Magazine” An article about GRASP, its goals, objectives, activities and output will be published in the next issue of Projects Magazine (http:// www.projectsmagazine.eu.com/), a leading research and development magazine in the areas of science and technology. Its main interest is to promote public and private awareness of science and technology and innovation by bridging the gap between academia, policy and industry, encouraging dialogue and communication in international arenas. Projects magazine has established itself at the forefront of European innovation, research and development by disseminating knowledge
about the latest research projects, investment and policy to all the major stakeholders involved in driving forward European research and innovation. The magazine is circulated 8 times per year to over 10,000 industry professionals selected for their position, influence and spending power in the development of science and technology across Europe. Projects has a readership of over 40,000. Journalists and publishers of Projects Magazine will collect the data to compose the article, and will enhance it with information collected during interviews with partners of the consortium.
GRASP: Upcoming Events Technical meeting and workshop After the summer break, the technical team and the partners will meet and organise their activities for the new semester, on the 29-30 September in Thessaloniki, Greece. During these two days, the Municipality of PyleaHortiatis will host a technical meeting and a workshop. The purpose is to present the pro-
gress of the technical team in the development of GRASP TMN, databases and toolkit and to discuss and solve any obstacles that cause delays to its delivery. During the workshop, representatives from the private sector will inform the participants on the latest technologies of green products/services in the energy sector.
Technical meeting and workshop GRASP consortium will gather again in November 2014, where our 4th transnational meeting will be hosted by the Province in Perugia. The meeting will be organised in conjunction with a workshop, in Rimini, in the framework of ECOMONDO event. “From Wednesday November 5th to Saturday 8th Rimini Fiera will raise the curtain on the 18th edition of the International Trade Fair on Material & Energy Recovery & Sustainable Development. Over the four days, 100,000 industry members are expected from all over the world, in particular from the Euro-Mediterranean area, in which the expo has assumed a leading role, becoming not only the key technological platform on the economy of the future, with particular attention to the main European and international strategies on eco-innovation and the transformation of waste into a resource, but also a qualified hub for training and information."
Training Courses for Public Authorities and SMEs Stay tuned to our website in order to get informed on a GRASP seminar that will be organised in your region! The first part of the training courses will be completed within 2014 by all partners and it will be a theoretical seminar on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources technologies/ tools and European, National and Regional legislation on e- procurement.
GRASP - MED Patras seminar - Keep the date: 10/10/2014! University of Patras invites representatives of the public (Public Agencies) and private sector (SMEs) to participate in the seminar that will take place on the 10th of October in Patras. The subject of the seminar is, "Technologies and applications of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, with hands on use of tools." Topics of the agenda include: The Legal Framework of EE in building and RES Thermal insulation / sufficiency Energy Assessment of buildings
Disaggregate productions - RES - monitoring & recording Dimensioning of RES technologies in buildings Business planning of RES & Energy Conservation projects Moreover, the participants will be trained in using calculation tools of buildings Energy Assessment, elements of the physics of the structured environment, and Energy planning optimisation. For further information visit our website or contact us.
ITS & Smart Cities 2014 Conference The University of Patras, Department of Civil Engineering (in cooperation with ITS Hellas) is organising the ITS 2014 Conference, to be held at the Conference and Cultural Center of the University, in Patras - Greece from the 19th till the 22nd of November 2014. Intelligent Transportation Systems are making fundamental contributions to the advanced design and development of safe transportation systems, infrastructure, and networks. Within the framework of Smart Cities and Regions, the Conference is an opportunity for industry, public organizations, local govern-
ment and authorities, researchers, and independent professionals to exchange views on problems and solutions. This year a special session will be added to the Conference, referring to Smart Cities. The topics of the Conference include amongst others (see https://www.facebook.com/ events/501757999954868/): Smart green cities and communities; Smart regions; Intelligent energy and public/private management;
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GRASP - MED
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The Project Project GRASP “GReen procurement And Smart city suPport in the energy sector� of the MED programme is funded by national funding agencies, participating entities, and the European Commission through ERDF. It is a 27-month project with a budget of EUR 2.234.991 (ERDF cofinancing: EUR 1.474.203, IPA co-financing: EUR 256.700 and National public co-financing: EUR 504.088). The objective of GRASP is to increase the potential of MED Smart cities in organizing and developing Smart and Green e-Procurement processes with a focus on renewable energy sources and energy efficient solutions. The development of an advanced green transnational procurement system will empower the cooperation between the MED public administrations and SMEs involved in adopting innovative solutions in the energy sector while enabling them to better meet their carbon reduction commitments by 2020.
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