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In this report, we summarise the outcomes of a governance analysis conducted for the INTERLACE cities: CBIMA (Costa Rica), Chemnitz (Germany), Envigado (Colombia), Granollers (Spain), Metropolia Krakowska (Poland) and Portoviejo (Ecuador). The aim of the governance analysis is to gain insights in each city’s current governance practices for policymaking and policy implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NBS), encountered challenges, factors supporting governance and needs for tools and knowledge to improve NBS-governance. The outcomes inform the baseline for INTERLACE’s objective to increase the capacity of local governments to implement integrated and ecologically coherent urban planning and governance approaches for NBS. Governance is the means to an end. Locally adapted NBS - which aim to tackle the recovery of degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems, utilise nature to address societal challenges, build resilience and provide environmental, social and economic benefits - can be considered the objective. A (governance) process should be established which reflects these ambitions. Various types of viewpoints, knowledge and expertise are needed in such a process. In other words, multi-sector, multistakeholder and multi-scale processes are key to meet its end. This consideration underlies the governance analysis. Interviews and focus groups were conducted within each INTERLACE city. We found that each city engages itself in various forms of engagement with academic, civil and/or business stakeholders for NBS policymaking and policy implementation. Nevertheless, all INTERLACE cities experienced challenges regarding collaborating with stakeholders, both internally within city departments as well as with external stakeholders. Either it was difficult to engage a diverse group of stakeholders, or to develop a shared vision or effective collaboration within the process. In addition, many cities find it challenging to develop, plan, design or adopt strategies for multifunctional green spaces because they lack appropriate scientific and technical knowledge. Tools that provide evidence of multiple benefits can support cities in making scientific arguments in favour of NBS. Moreover, funding hampers the planning and implementation of NBS in all INTERLACE cities. In search for alternative pathways to achieve and maintain NBS, different forms of governance with multi-actor and multi-sector constellations can be a driving force to find agreements on design, benefits, costs, funding, responsibilities, etc. The findings of this report is meant to inform multiple INTERLACE products to increase their relevance and applicability for the INTERLACE cities. The overarching themes of challenges, the factors that support the NBS governance and the specific city needs can act as a starting point for other INTERLACE tasks. More specifically, results will inform the identification and co-production of local governance solutions in each INTERLACE city (task 2.3), the development of city impulse papers (task 2.4), and the definition of relevant standards and tools (WP3). Furthermore, Annex B with the city results can be consulted to gain a more detailed understanding of the cities’ context, practices, challenges and needs.

Planning ahead is notoriously difficult, and the most careful plans may not succeed in light of changing contexts and user needs. Yet in many EU Research and Innovation projects, the norm is still to plan ahead as much as possible using clearly defined milestones and deliverables dates in Gantt charts for example, leaving little room to adapt plans ‘en route’. To improve our capacity to be responsive to change, the INTERLACE consortium agreed early on to experiment working with an agile workflow. Agile project management rests on a set of core values and principles, that favours an iterative rather than a forward-looking approach to deliverable development. By improving its agility and embracing changing requirements, the INTERLACE project aims to develop more user-oriented deliverables. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide theoretical and practical guidance on achieving an agile transformation in a Research and Innovation project such as INTERLACE. The guidance document gives an introduction on the key values and principles of working agile, followed by an explanation of the key components of the agile framework used in the INTERLACE project. The guidance explains in a comprehensive step-by-step manner how to get started, and provides a practical toolkit with more hands-on tips and examples. Key lessons learned during the implementation of the INTERLACE agile framework have also been summarised to help guide other projects that may want to apply an agile workflow. These include for example the need: 1) to invest sufficient time to foster a transition towards an agile mindset and avoid ‘fake agile’ frameworks, 2) for the co-creation of an agile framework adapted to a Research and Innovation project with the development teams and Work Packages, including a clear role for the project coordinator, 3) to foster engagement, as teams rely on digital interfaces to communicate with very little opportunities for regular physical interactions, 4) to invite, coordinate and engage a sufficiently large pool of potential end-users in product development (the INTERLACE Impact Task Force).

International audience; Au cours des dernières décennies, un intérêt croissant est porté à la terre crue en tant qu' éco-matériau de construction pour son caractère local et la faible consommation d'énergie qui caractérise son cycle de vie global. Toutefois, sa résistance mécanique relativement faible et la sensibilité à l'eau freinent le développement de ce matériau. Le principal but de cette étude est d'améliorer les propriétés mécaniques de briques de terre crue par l'emploi d'une nouvelle procédure de compactage à pression élevée pour une durée correspondante au temps de consolidation. Un système de compactage a été élaboré afin de compacter le sol à haute pression en permettant le drainage de l'eau interstitielle. Dans un premier temps, les caractéristiques géotechniques du matériau d'étude ont été déterminées. Après compactage à 25, 50 ou 100 MPa, les échantillons ont été placés dans une enceinte climatique (25°C, humidité relative de 62 %) jusqu'à équilibre hydrique, puis testés afin d'évaluer leur module d'Young et leur résistance mécanique en compression. Cette nouvelle méthode de compactage à haute pression a permis d'atteindre des performances mécaniques élevées. Ainsi, un des principaux freins à l'utilisation de la terre crue comme matériau de construction serait levé.