Third Meeting of the Research Advisory Board (RAB)

The 3rd Research Advisory Board (RAB) Meeting of GreenFORCE took place over two days in May 2025 in the cities of Berat and Durrës, Albania. The event brought together researchers, project coordinators, and stakeholders to foster dialogue and collaboration on green transition and sustainable development in the Western Balkans.

Day 1: Local Initiatives and Site Visits

The meeting began on 15 May 2025 in the historic city of Berat, where participants were warmly welcomed by the Municipality. The welcoming delegation included the Director of EU Project Coordination, municipal staff, and the Chief of Cabinet.

An introductory session highlighted the municipality’s major projects and initiatives over the past six years, with a focus on resilience-building and the green urban transition. This was followed by a dynamic Q&A session, during which participants explored the challenges and opportunities faced by local governments in implementing sustainable strategies, touching on governance, infrastructure, and community engagement.

Following the presentations, participants toured several of Berat’s recent urban investments, including:

• The Renovated Boulevard
• Berat Castle Neighborhood, offering panoramic views and a successful example of heritage integration within urban development.
• National Ikonographic Museum of Onufri, where the museum director led a guided tour focusing on preservation practices and the historical significance of Christian icons.

The field visit concluded with a trip to Roshnik village, part of Albania’s “100+ Village Programme.” Here, participants visited an agritourism site showcasing the cultivation of traditional Albanian grape varieties and local vegetables. The visit exemplified how rural development and sustainable tourism can be harmoniously integrated.

Day 2: Research Presentations and Strategic Planning

The second day of the meeting took place on 16 May 2025 at the Arragosta Hotel in Durrës, focusing on research progress, monitoring frameworks, and strategic planning.

Opening remarks were delivered by Giancarlo Cotella (POLITO) and Anila Bejko (Co-PLAN), who emphasized the importance of cross-border knowledge exchange and policy impact.

Participants were then presented with the final findings from several GreenFORCE case studies:

• Net-Zero Transition for Post-Communist Urban Neighborhoods in Tirana, presented by Kejt Dhrami (Co-PLAN), emphasized energy efficiency in pre-fabricated buildings, highlighting both social and technical challenges in achieving net-zero outcomes.

• Assessing the State and Impact Towards Just Transition in the Energy Sector, presented by Vesna Garvanlieva (CEA), explored the socio-economic impacts of energy transition in North Macedonia, particularly the challenges related to coal phase-out and renewable energy integration.

• Sustainable Mobility Strategy for Kragujevac, presented by Marija Jeftic (UBGeF), discussed transitioning from conventional to sustainable mobility systems, with a focus on electric public transport as a strategy for reducing urban emissions.

A lively discussion followed, where participants addressed the feasibility of these proposals and the varying implementation challenges across different urban and regional contexts.

The second session of the day focused on developing strategic tools for guiding green transition efforts in the Western Balkans. Key points included:

• A Monitoring Framework for the Green Agenda, focusing on energy efficiency, decarbonization, and urban mobility.
• The Shared Research Agenda, outlined key research themes for green transition and the importance of collaborative knowledge building within the Western Balkans
• A Sustainability Plan, presented by Erblin Berisha (POLITO), addressed strategies for sustaining project outcomes beyond the project lifecycle, emphasizing financial sustainability and leveraging joint research outputs

The final session, moderated by Alberto Giacometti and John Moodie (Nordregio), was an open discussion exploring macroregional pathways for cooperation. The dialogue focused on the potential for building macro-regional partnerships modeled after Nordic cooperation, advocating for increased policy coordination and stakeholder engagement

The meeting concluded with remarks from Anila Bejko (Co-PLAN), emphasizing the importance of maintaining momentum in collaborative research and leveraging project outputs to inform policy and practice. A networking lunch followed, offering a more informal space for participants to connect and explore future partnerships.

Through a combination of insightful site visits, focused research presentations, and strategic dialogue, the 3rd RAB Meeting reinforced the importance of localized action paired with regional collaboration in addressing the complex sustainability challenges facing the Western Balkans.