© TiCCA4DANU – Caserta, Italy – 27–28 November
The TiCCA4DANU Synergy Workshop, held on 27 and 28 November at the CMCC offices in Caserta, marked a major milestone for the TiCCA4DANU – Transformative Innovation for Climate Change Adaptation in the Danube Regionproject. Bringing together partners from across Europe, it offered a new opportunity for the entire partnership to meet again in person, reflect on a rich shared journey, and consolidate progress made so far.
The Synergy Workshop was opened with a keynote address by Karel Haegeman, member of the TiCCA4DAnu Advisory Board and policy officer at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), who set the conceptual tone for the two days with a presentation on Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) for climate resilience. He highlighted the need to move beyond incremental solutions and frame climate adaptation as a systemic, place-based innovation challenge, capable of reshaping markets, governance models, and territorial development pathways. Drawing on European case studies and emerging policy tools, he emphasised how transformative innovation can unlock new opportunity spaces, strengthen resilience across value chains and societies, and support cities and regions in navigating complex transitions through experimentation, learning, and stakeholder engagement.
The first part of the workshop was dedicated to innovative methods and tools that support inclusive, participatory, and effective climate change adaptation. A key highlight was the launch of the Compendium of Climate Change Adaptation Methods and Tools, a curated collection of cutting-edge approaches developed through European projects, flagship initiatives, and research activities. The Compendium brings together practical solutions to foster stakeholder engagement, climate literacy, behavioural change, justice and equity integration, and effective communication, and is designed as a living resource that will continue to evolve throughout the project.
Participants were introduced to a range of inspiring tools and methodologies through dedicated presentations, including experiences from initiatives such as Adaptation AGORA, The HuT, CLIMAS, LOCALISED, the Justice Diagnostic Tool, and the Value Chain Generator (VCG). These sessions highlighted concrete lessons learned and demonstrated how innovative approaches can be adapted to different local and regional contexts within the Danube Macro-Region.
Building on these presentations, the second day featured an interactive Marketplace of Climate Change Adaptation Methods and Tools, which transformed learning into hands-on exploration. In a dynamic and engaging format, partners were able to “visit” different tools such as Digital Academy on Climate Data, Risks & Tools, Engagement Protocols, Voices on Climate Adaptation, AGORA Quiz App, Serious Game Safe Haven. They could interact directly with their developers, ask questions, and reflect together on how these approaches could be customised and applied in their own territories. The Marketplace not only deepened understanding of the tools, but also fostered peer-to-peer exchange, curiosity, and collaboration across the consortium.
The second half of the Synergy Workshop shifted the focus to the Local Green Deal (LGD) processes at the heart of TiCCA4DANU’s city-region experimentation. Anchor cities shared updates on their LGD Work Plans, outlining their action pathways, stakeholder engagement strategies, and emerging priorities. These presentations provided a clear picture of how each city is progressing along its adaptation journey and how local ambitions connect to wider regional dynamics.
A central moment of the workshop was the LGD journey exercise, where participants rotated through dedicated stations for each anchor city. This interactive format enabled in-depth dialogue, mutual learning, and constructive feedback, helping partners to better understand each city-region’s specific challenges and opportunities. It also allowed the consortium to collectively identify where collaboration, research, and action are most needed to advance climate adaptation.
Overall, the TiCCA4DANU Synergy Workshop in Caserta reinforced the strength of the partnership and the shared commitment to transformative climate change adaptation. By combining inspiration, practical experimentation, and strategic reflection, the workshop strengthened a common vision for the months ahead and laid solid foundations for the next phase of project activities across the Danube Region – advancing towards the Open Discovery Process journey.
Last but not least, watch a short video of the host, Anna Mandorli from CMCC and of TiCCA4DANU’s coordinator, Dr. Oliver Ziegler, from VDI/VDI-IT GmbH, summarizing the highlights of the Caserta meeting and informing about the next steps.
👉 Watch the video here
