About PROSPECT
Turning ambition into implementation
PROSPECT empowers cities and regions to turn clean energy and climate neutrality ambitions into concrete action!
Building on eight years of experience, the initiative has already supported hundreds of local and regional authorities in strengthening their capacity to finance and implement sustainable energy projects moving beyond reliance on public grants alone.
Cities and regions are at the heart of the energy transition. They have the power to deliver ecological and financial transformation in their territories.
But not all authorities start from the same place. Technical expertise, financial know-how and access to EU programmes variy widely across Europe.
PROSPECT closes these gaps
The initiative actively reaches out to a broad and diverse group of local and regional authorities across Europe – especially smaller or emote municipalities often facing significant challenges such as limited expertise, language constraints or difficulty accessing funding opportunities.
Through its peer-to-peer Capacity-Building Programme, PROSPECT equips participatinglocal and regional authorities and their agencies with practical tools to finance and deliver sustainable energy and climate projects. Authorities learn how to unlock innovative financing schemes and set up enabling structures such us one stop-shops, energy agencies and energy communities - reducing dependence on public grants and attracting long-term investment.
Delivered in multiple languages, the programme blends interactive online sessions, peer-to-peer learning and hands-on experience through study visits and targeted mentoring. Its modular and implementation focus approach is designed to generate results - not just discussions.
How PROSPECT makes it happen
PROSPECT accelerates the clean energy transition by focusing on four priorities:
Learn from peers
Enhance and roll-out a tested peer-to-peer Capacity-Building Programme that supports authorities in implementing sustainable energy actions.
Build capacity, leave no city behind
Build local capacity by offering learning opportunities in different EU languages covering 12 MS, combining local groups with EU level groups.
Unlock smarter financing
Equipping cities and regions with innovative financing solutions - from Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) and revolving funds to intracting, green bonds, soft loans, blending mechanisms, incentives for e-mobility, white certificates, ELENA/PDA support.
Empower local voices
Creating a two-way bridge between local implementation and EU policy, ensuring that cities and regions are not only implementers of policy, but active contributors shaping Europe’s clean energy future.
Connecting local action with European policy
PROSPECT does not work in isolation. It connects local and regional authorities to the wider European policy landscape, ensuring that practical experience informs future energy and climate action.
By acting as an entry point for smaller and less connected authorities, PROSPECT helps them navigate the increasing number of EU initiatives and funding opportunities, strengthening their capacity to participate effectively.
At the same time, PROSPECT enhances the feedback loop between practice and policy. Through continuous exchange with participants, data collection, and follow-ups on progress, the project builds a growing evidence base of real implementation experiences, the PROSPECT Stories, that inform both project development and policy dialogue.
This work is enhanced through close cooperation with European institutions and initiatives, including Members of the European Commission and of the European Parliament, as well as targeted policy-oriented webinars at EU and national level.
In this way, PROSPECT helps ensure that local stories, challenges, and solutions are reflected in Europe’s clean energy transition.
Capacity building for cities and regions | PROSPECT+