Out with a bang! e-smartec & MOBI-MIX host Joint Final Conference

e-smartec and MOBI-MIX came together on 23 and 24 November 2022 to explore synergies and review different ways of achieving a sustainable urban mobility.

Through key learnings and joint panel discussions, synergies were explored and insights were shared for the future as both projects come to an end.

The e-smartec and MOBI-MIX Joint Final Conference went out with a bang as it brought to life a unique opportunity to explore different yet complementary aspects of sustainable urban mobility: e-smartec, aiming to decarbonise urban transport through a co-creative process that made use of marketing techniques to engage citizens in actively taking part in sustainable mobility policies, and MOBI-MIX, who sought to do so through the effective implementation of shared mobility and MaaS solutions.

The event thus brought together mobility experts across Europe to discuss what they have achieved within each of the projects, discussing lessons learned as they both aimed to enable behavioural change in urban mobility.

Finding common links

During the event, personal contributions were delivered from actors involved in the e-smartec and MOBI-MIX projects respectively. While various topics specific to each of the projects were explored, such as youth awareness and stakeholder participation for e-smartec vs. data-based policy-making and effective public-private collaboration for MOBI-MIX, cross-cutting themes were also a central item on the agenda.

Image from e-smartec + MOBI-MIX Joint Panel Discussion. Featuring, from left to right: Veerle De Meyer, (City of Mechelen), Matthew Hayward (Norfolk County Council), Ghadir Pourhashem (University of Žilina), Laura Babío (POLIS Network).

Indeed, joint panel discussions were held on raising awareness as a whole, as well as lessons learned on supporting guidance for more sustainable mobility planning on shared mobility and public engagement. Among the synergies explored, key ones were found in addressing the unlikely users, where partners from both projects recognised the importance of ensuring the needs of everyone are being addressed when implementing new mobility measures.

Common challenges

Mutual challenges were also found in staffing and a difficult policy environment, where cities from both projects expressed hardships in finding the right staff and having enough political power to wield the necessary results for sustainable mobility planning. However, both recognised how the documents from the e-smartec and MOBI-MIX projects were extremely useful in providing the needed support.

The Joint Final Conference was a resounding success, allowing members from each project to get inspired by each other's ideas and to exchange knowledge on mutual understandings and hardships in the journey to making carbon-free transport a reality.

About e-smartec:

e-smartec is an Interreg Europe project focused on enhancing sustainable mobility with marketing techniques. It aims at developing action plans to start and implement effective mobility interventions, as the basis for a competitive, resource-efficient and low-carbon-oriented European transport system. Bringing together 9 partners from 7 EU countries, the ultimate goal is to provide tailored guidelines on citizens’ and stakeholders' engagement marketing techniques: innovative for decision-making and traditional procedures.

Stay tuned to their latest updates by checking their project website here .

About MOBI-MIX:

MOBI-MIX intends to facilitate the uptake of innovative transport solutions to fulfil their potential and have a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. In did so by developing and sourcing state-of-the-art public-private collaboration models for more effective implementation of micro-mobility and MaaS solutions in 5 pilot cities/regions: Rotterdam, Norfolk, Antwerp, Mechelen and Valenciennes.