Best suited for
This approach is particularly well suited to regions where public engagement with climate hazards remains limited and where awareness of local climate risks is still developing. It is also effective in contexts where there is a basic level of digital readiness, as this facilitates the uptake of tools such as simulations, digital twins and interactive platforms.
Replicability is further strengthened through participation in EU funding-wide initiatives such as RESIST, which provide technical assistance, shared methodologies and tested digital solutions. This enables regions with limited internal capacity to adopt and adapt advanced tools without needing to build them from scratch.
Stakeholders' role
The model is built on a quintuple helix framework that integrates public authorities, academia, industry, citizens and civil society into a shared co-creation process. In the RESIST case, implementation is coordinated through local partners, including Region Blekinge and Blekinge Institute of Technology, which connect regional delivery with the wider European project structure. Citizens and students are not passive users but active contributors, particularly through engagement activities, experimentation and applied learning. This distributed model ensures that knowledge flows in both directions, from institutions to society and back into planning and innovation processes.
Built-in scalable tools
The digital backbone of the model makes it inherently scalable. Digital twinning and immersive technologies function as adaptable templates that can be reconfigured for different regions, risks and policy priorities. Regions can plug in their own data and contexts while maintaining a shared methodological structure, which significantly lowers replication costs and complexity. Equally important is the scalability of the engagement model. Policy labs, workshops and multistakeholder collaboration formats can be reproduced across governance systems with limited adaptation, making it possible to scale up not only the technology but also the participatory process that drives it. This combination of technical and social scalability is a key enabler of replication.
Funding pathways
The model was initially financed through the RESIST project under the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, providing a strong foundation for experimentation, cross-regional learning and early-stage deployment of innovative digital tools. Its long-term replicability is supported by a flexible funding approach. Once validated, the tools and approaches can be integrated into regional operational budgets, climate adaptation strategies and innovation programmes. The demonstrable benefits of digital twinning, immersive planning and citizen engagement also make the model attractive for a broader mix of funding sources, including European programmes, national resilience strategies and potential private-sector partnerships linked to digital infrastructure, skills development and climate risk management.
