In June and July, the AURORA project team successfully delivered a comprehensive technical and financial report detailing activities from June 2023 to May 2024. This process culminated in an evaluation meeting where two independent experts and the project officer assessed the project’s work packages. Their goal was to ensure that the project’s objectives and expected impact aligned with the original promises.
At the end of August, the European Commission provided feedback on the project. While the evaluation included recommendations for improvements, it notably highlighted the high level of satisfaction with the project. The Commission acknowledged the significant challenge being tackled and praised AURORA for engaging over 5,000 participants across various project activities and demonstrations.
The Commission’s feedback emphasized the need to finalize the implementation of community-funded renewable energy installations and strengthen the ambassador program to facilitate the expansion of the AURORA model to new locations. Additionally, the Commission commended the effort in collecting data through the AURORA Energy Tracker application and called for a more extensive communication campaign to encourage further citizen participation.
The data collected so far has begun to reveal interesting insights, such as varying energy behaviors across different generations and social profiles, which were not previously clear in the literature. To support these efforts, we are calling for additional help. We encourage everyone to continue entering data into the application and to become ambassadors for AURORA, both formally and informally. Engaging with your close circles to contribute to the application is vital for the success of our project.
The AURORA project is making significant strides in advocating for citizen science and the democratization of local change initiatives. However, the success of these efforts depends on demonstrating a genuine local commitment to participating in and driving change. Your involvement is crucial to our mission.
