Description (EN): The RECENT project aims to increase energy knowledge in rural communities, and help them to have more resilient and energy efficient public infrastructure capable of handling climate change related risks. The project will develop 24 pilot community energy and energy efficiency projects across 5 NPA partner countries, with focus on the innovative use of community-owned water assets. The objectives of the project are:To increase the capacity of communities to develop their own solutions for reliable, energy efficient public infrastructure;To maximise energy asset management, in water services;Knowledge exchange programme leading to increased awareness and a sustainable public policy;Robust, sustainable community projects that will be self sufficient post NPA funding. The outputs of the project will be:24 pilot energy projects in 5 NPA countries with community benefits and tangible impacts;6 of the pilots will demonstrate symbiotic solutions of energy use of by-products;Benchmarking pilot solutions to gain benefit from the transnational collaboration;A knowledge exchange programmes, with workshops best practice guidelines and templates to improve the stock of organisational knowledge and positive impact on public policy.Contribution to policy and debate on sustainable community energy at regional, national and European levels through the development of a multi-level stakeholder group, interacting nationally and trans-nationally, with the RECENT partners who will act as the secretariat.  Expected Results (EN): Awareness of energy efficiency opportunities and renewable solutions in housing sector and public infrastructures in remote and sparsely populated areas Expected Outputs (EN): RECENT will introduce an innovative service which will be applicable to the entire NPA region, & creates value from the previous NPP projects in the field of sustainable energy from community owned resources, working in partnership with national and regional agencies. In addition to the pilot work carried out, which is a necessary part of the development of the best practice case studies, we will develop & promote knowledge exchange and contribute to policy development nationally and transnationally.The RECENT project will undertake the following process:a)Identify the communities in each region which offer the greatest potential in terms of unused renewable energy capacity, looking to also add value to existing pilot projects;b)Building on the WARES experience, it will assess the communities for the feasibility of renewable energy generation, energy efficiency or synergistic solutions. From WARES we will also build in the RETSCreen Clean Energy Management Software to the RECENT process; c)Conduct resource mapping to develop an evidence base; d)It will engage the community in dialogue about the potential for renewable energy & the favourable impact this might have on the community. The aim is co-design and co-production of solutions. We have been working in these communities for the past 5 years, working closely with relevant stakeholders, especially the community members;e)Working closely with local municipalities & other stakeholders, it will prepare the necessary designs & secure the planning permits required for renewable energy development & implementation, building on existing work, knowledge & experience from the WARES project;f)Run workshops and prepare and distribute best practice guidelines and templates that will add value to the new projects and existing pilots, working in partnership with national and regional agenciesg)Prepare Business Plans & financial forecasts for pilot projects;h)Engage the investment community (public sector, grants & foundations, angel investors, private investment companies, banks) in dialogue about investing in community asset renewable energy projects, & raise the required investment;i)Develop the RECENT knowledge exchange & undertake the required community training to establish an effective community project;j)Support the communities to implement the pilot plans. The support & added value of RECENT & other stakeholders will make this more effective for the long term sustainability of the pilots & the communities;k)Work with the communities to allocate surplus earnings for the greatest good of the entire community, so that the enterprise makes a visible difference;l)Promote the RECENT knowledge exchange transnationally so that all communities in NPA can benefit from the learning gained and policy is influenced.