Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG VB North Sea

Date of latest update: 2024-11-17

Description

Description (EN):

BEGIN explored an approach to climate resilience for cities that mimics nature’s potential to deal with flooding. Blue and Green Infrastructure (BGI) supports existing grey infrastructure to cope with extreme weather events (reducing flood risk by 30%) and improves urban liveability. Research shows that BGI benefits outweigh costs by a factor of 2 to 10. However, widespread implementation is hampered by financial and governance complexities. BEGIN helped cities overcome these barriers through Social Innovation empowering multiple stakeholders to contribute (in kind, funds) to the design, construction and maintenance of BGIs. Social Innovation requires a new way of working for cities and valuation of multiple benefits together with communities. Transnational collaboration is needed because cities are missing the opportunities to incorporate BGI in urban investment projects due to a lack of local technical and social innovation capacities. BEGIN was a unique transnational city-to-city exchange programme with transnational expert teams that facilitated joint implementation of BGI projects in 10 leading NSR cities.The pilots demonstrated how BGI and SI can generate effective climate adaptation solutions that are financially feasible and can be incorporated in urban planning approaches. The pilots provided an evidence base and a toolbox to propel uptake in the North Sea Region.

Achievements (EN):

Between September 2016 and January 2022, BEGIN unlocked the potential of Blue Green Infrastructure (BGI) by addressing climate impacts, in particular flood risk reduction. The BEGIN partnership, composed of 10 leading cities and 6 knowledge partners, collaborated closely during the entire project lifetime to tackle the implementation barriers (governance, financial, citizen engagement) that hamper the full exploitation of BGI potential for climate adaptation. BEGIN successfully deployed 39 BGI pilots throughout the North Sea Region, applying Social Innovation principles to bring in and empower 8000+ stakeholders (citizens, businesses, associations, NGOs) in their design, construction and maintenance. A transnational knowledge exchange programme (City-to-City Learning Programme; 33 exchanges) has powered structured exchanges between partners, including inputs from relevant external cities and networks (incl. ICLEI), which have fed into the implementation of the pilots. All in all, the BEGIN experience provides an evidence base and a validated toolbox to propel the uptake of BGI and SI in the NSR area. Evidence from 22 of the pilots has been drawn by employing state-of-the-art methodologies (TEEB and B£ST valuation tools). It truly shows impressive results: - Reduced probability of floods from extreme rainfall thanks to BGI solutions: 68.85% - Reduced expected impact from flood events in NSR by 2020: €45,1M (501% of original target) Incr- eased long-term financial performance of investments, including social, environmental and financial benefits: €473.87 M. BEGIN was very active in disseminating the project's vision and results. The project reached a potential of 1 million users through social media, active participation and dissemination at relevant conferences and events and publication of scientific articles. Examples include policy briefs on social innovations for BGI or on developing a compelling business case for BGI. The project celebrated its final conference in Dordrecht (NEXT LEVEL, October 19th and 20th, 2021), closing almost 6 years of fruitful transnational collaboration and opening the door to future work together. Furthermore, the project was gifted with the great recognition of the REGIOSTARS awards. BEGIN received the public choice award for the Green Europe Category and for the General category, a major acknowledgement of the partnership's hard work and the project's success.

Website: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Thematic information

Urban development Managing natural and man-made threats, risk management

Specific Objective: Demonstrate new and/or improved methods for improving the climate resilience of target sites

Thematic Objective: (05) promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management by:

Investment Priority: (05a) supporting investment for adaptation to climate change, including ecosystem-based approaches

Partners (16)

Lead Partner: Gemeente Dordrecht

Address: Postbox 8, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Netherlands

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.dordrecht.nl

Total budget: EUR 1 774 793.00

ERDF budget: EUR 887 396.00

Aberdeen City Council

Name: Aberdeen City Council

Address: Business Hub 10, Level 2 South, Marischal College, Broad Street, AB10 1AB Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/xaz_AtoZ.asp?idn=5878

Total budget: EUR 600 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 300 000.00

Bergen Kommune

Name: Bergen Kommune

Address: Bergen City Hall, P.O. Box 7700 NO, 5020 Bergen, Norway

Legal status: public

Website: http://bergen.kommune.no/

Total budget: EUR 606 569.00

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Name: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Address: 2nd Floor Jacobs Well, BD1 5RW Bradford, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/

Total budget: EUR 786 423.00

ERDF budget: EUR 393 211.00

Construction Industry Research Information Association

Name: Construction Industry Research Information Association

Address: CIRIA, Griffin Court, Long Lane, EC1A 9PN London, United Kingdom

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.ciria.org

Total budget: EUR 72 312.00

ERDF budget: EUR 36 156.00

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

Name: Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

Address: Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, Netherlands

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.eur.nl

Total budget: EUR 570 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 285 000.00

Göteborgs Stad

Name: Göteborgs Stad

Address: Box 123, Hjällbo lillgata 1, 42423 Gothenburg, Sweden

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.goteborg.se

Total budget: EUR 600 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 300 000.00

Kent County Council

Name: Kent County Council

Address: Flood Risk and Natural Environment; Invicta House County Hall, ME14 1XX Maidstone, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.kent.gov.uk

Total budget: EUR 265 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 132 500.00

Landesbetrieb Straßen, Brücken und Gewässer Hamburg

Name: Landesbetrieb Straßen, Brücken und Gewässer Hamburg

Address: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg Landesbetrieb Straßen, Brücken und Gewässer, Sachsenfeld 3-5, 20097 Hamburg, Germany

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.lsbg.hamburg.de

Total budget: EUR 738 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 369 000.00

London Borough of Enfield

Name: London Borough of Enfield

Address: B-Block North Civic Centre Silver Street Enfield, EN1 3XA London, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.enfield.gov.uk

Total budget: EUR 170 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 85 000.00

Stad Antwerpen

Name: Stad Antwerpen

Address: Grote Markt 1, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.antwerpen.be

Total budget: EUR 780 700.00

ERDF budget: EUR 390 350.00

Stad Gent

Name: Stad Gent

Address: Stad Gent Botermarkt, 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.gent.be

Total budget: EUR 721 975.00

ERDF budget: EUR 360 987.00

Stichting IHE Delft

Name: Stichting IHE Delft

Address: Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, Netherlands

Legal status: private

Website (not verified): http://www.unesco-ihe.org

Total budget: EUR 269 752.00

ERDF budget: EUR 134 876.00

Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)

Name: Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)

Address: Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 1 (A), 21073 Hamburg, Germany

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.tuhh.de

Total budget: EUR 75 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 37 500.00

The Royal College of Art

Name: The Royal College of Art

Address: Royal College of Art Kensington Gore, SW7 2EU London, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.rca.ac.uk

Total budget: EUR 400 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 200 000.00

University of Sheffield

Name: University of Sheffield

Address: Pennine Water Group Department of Civil and Structural Engineering University of Sheffield Sir Frederick Mappin Building Mappin Street, S1 3JD Sheffield, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/penninewatergroup

Total budget: EUR 388 250.00

ERDF budget: EUR 194 125.00

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Municipality of Dordrecht

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Aberdeen City Council

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

BERGEN KOMMUNE

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Construction Industry Research Information Association

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

City of Gothenburg

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Kent County Council

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Agency for Roads, Bridges and Waters, Hamburg

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

London Borough of Enfield

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Stad Antwerpen

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

City of Ghent

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

IHE Delft Foundation

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

Technische Universität Hamburg

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

The Royal College of Art

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Partners and Projects info

University of Sheffield

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Project acronym: BEGIN

Project start date: 2016-09-01

Project end date: 2022-01-31

Project status: closed

Relevant precedent projects:

MARA
SKINT
SAWA
CAMINO
Water Resilient Cities
Twenty65, UK Engineering and Physical Research Council
FAIR
CORFU, FP79
LIFE critical, LIFE
HEALTHY CITIES
Graceful and Nature Based Cities, Horizon 2020

Relevant subsequent projects:

Biodiverse Cities

Relevant linked projects:

SCORE

Relevant mentions and prizes:

REGIOSTARS Public Choice Award 2021

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 8 818 774.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 4 106 101.00

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, .

Documents

Documents on this project are listed below, and organised by category. Please note field "Data source", attached to each document. Keep.eu users are free to use these documents as long as they mention the data source and keep.eu.

Studies / surveys

Calculating the value of the redesign of the Dordwijkzone using the TEEB-tool

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2018-12-23

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Diverging Ambitions and Instruments for Citizen Participation across Different Stages in Green Infrastructure Projects

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2020-03-06

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Guidelines for Surface Water Management in the City of Bergen

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2022-01-31

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Haalbaarheidsstudie Schijn-scheldeverbinding en Bijbehorende Landschapsstructuur

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2018-02-28

Languages: nl

Attachment file: Download

Ιmpact of a potential extreme rainfall event in the Bornbach catchment

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2022-02-09

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Videos / films

BEGIN introduction by Rik Heinen for 7UP Interreg

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2018-02-22

Languages: en

BEGIN Shipley to Bradford Canal Road Corridor

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2020-05-12

Languages: en

GREEN EUROPE : BEGIN

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-11-09

Languages: en

Local Dutch tv report on BEGIN

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/begin

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2017-06-28

Languages: nl

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG VB North Sea

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2023-02-14

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

73 / 73 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

871 / 871 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (http://www.northsearegion.eu/), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-09-20 and 2023-01-12.

The financial data featured in keep.eu for this programme, it's projects and its partners is not exact and should be taken as a reference only.

Languages

Contact Form

Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation

Description

Thematic information

Partners (16)

Partners map

Summary

Documents

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Disclaimer