The Orion Grid amplifies change by bringing together the energy of the bearers of the democratic impulse. It works through educational, consultative, artistic, public and other interventions.
Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ), a non-profit cooperative, focuses on empowering local communities through renewable energy projects while also contributing to national and EU-level research and advocacy for a just, clean energy transition.
The Energy Action Project (EnAct) brings in-depth knowledge of energy and a passion for effective communication and storytelling. Making creative content developed by EnAct available to more actors is a key aspect of WISE.
INZEB focuses on a sustainable and energy-balanced future, working across the areas of energy efficiency, innovative financing, energy poverty mitigation, evolution of energy communities, and climate resilience.
Wind of Renewal is a social cooperative focusing on social and green innovation, the just energy transition and energy poverty, climate protection, and intercultural dialogue. Its extensive work with migrant women is of enormous value to WISE.
The HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences is dedicated to building collaborative, trans-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral networks both within Hungary and internationally. Its researchers have led or participated in multiple projects to tackle energy poverty.
RETE ASSIST aims to be a point of reference for anyone promoting the just energy transition and fighting energy poverty. In line with complex and multidimensional problems, it proposes multi-layered, holistic approaches that embrace aspects ranging from the social to the technical.
75inQ is an independent NGO driving an inclusive energy transition at the intersection of SDG7 (sustainable energy access) and SDG5 (gender equality), with a community of 1,200+ female energy professionals.
Faculty of Law, University of Groningen recognises that in a highly technological and strongly internationalising society, many complex social issues transcend borders.
The Orion Grid works for a democratic and caring world free from oppression and trauma, where autonomous individuals-in-communities can develop and enable everyone to participate fully in social and political life. The organisation works by amplifying and bringing together the energy of the bearers of the democratic impulse.
Orion Grid commits itself to three overarching principles:
In turn, Orion Grid provides three main services:
Committed to tackling the most pressing issues faced by Bulgarian society, Orion Grid is especially focussed on climate change communication, gender-based violence, far-right trends, discrimination, blockages in the processes of migration, structural and systemic violence.
Green Energy Cooperative (ZEZ) is a non-profit cooperative and social enterprise based in Zagreb. It focuses on community renewable energy projects and empowering local communities. For example, ZEZ offers one-stop-shop solar installations, provides opportunities to participate in community solar projects, and contributes to national and EU-level research and advocacy for a clean and just energy system.
Established in 2013 as part of the project Development of Energy Cooperatives in Croatia implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Croatia, ZEZ has been supporting community energy in Croatia and across borders.
The Cooperative’s 20 members have vast experience in coordinating and working in green energy projects and energy poverty on European and domestic scale, as well as on developing projects, designing policy recommendations and carrying out educational activities.
ZEZ has an excellent background in the energy sector and understanding of the complex interactions of energy and economy, society and the environment. The Cooperative promotes active involvement of stakeholders, particularly policy makers and citizen groups, in policy elaboration and implementation processes. It also has a large network of specialists to carry out the research, innovation activities and implementation of solar PV projects.
ZEZ’s approach is based on experience and professional work in the field of energetics in Croatia, the Western Balkans and Central Asia.
EnAct is internationally respected for its ability to produce engaging and informative content about energy poverty and effective means to tackle it. It has led or been directly involved in campaigns to raise awareness of access to energy as a basic human right (through podcasts and editing/ production of a Right to Energy Toolkit).
EnAct has also researched and verified a wide range of energy-saving tips that all EU citizens can apply in their daily lives to use energy more wisely and participate in reducing consumption and emissions. Additionally, EnAct substantial experience in coordinating projects with multiple partners.
Notably, in relation to WISE, EnAct anticipates creating a National Collective within its own ‘neighbourhood’ – the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, which is the fourth poorest city in France. Having a population of 95 000, citizens represent ~120 nationalities. Single mothers make up ~20% of the population, the vast majority being migrants who live in social or substandard rental housing. The City of Aubervilliers has expressed strong interest in collaborating to tackle widespread energy poverty among this group, recognising the need to collaborate with multiple CSOs that have earned the trust of women through programmes for housing, food or other assistance.
INZEB is a non-profit, independent organisation dedicated to promoting a sustainable and energy-efficient future. Our work focuses on key areas such as energy efficiency in buildings and the built environment, innovative financing for energy efficiency, energy poverty mitigation, the development of energy communities and climate resilience.
Our mission is driven by an interdisciplinary team of experts who generate and share scientific insights, research findings, and innovative programs. We actively support and contribute to the ever-evolving energy sector through research, documentation, consultation, strategic planning, and capacity-building initiatives across national, European, and international projects.
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do. By working closely with EU institutions, national, regional, and local authorities, NGOs, academia, and the business sector, we foster knowledge exchange and strengthen our capacity to implement, disseminate, and leverage science-based project outcomes. Our goal is to drive the sustainable energy transition and contribute to climate change mitigation.
INZEB has a proven track record in EU-funded projects and has published numerous reports on energy poverty mitigation in Greece and across the EU. As part of the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub initiative, we have supported 20 municipalities in Greece, helping them assess energy poverty, raise awareness through community events, and actively engage local stakeholders – including civil society organizations and municipal services – in developing and implementing effective mitigation strategies.
Since October 2023, INZEB is the Country Coordinator for Greece for the EU Climate Pact, further reinforcing our commitment to climate action, sustainability, and community-driven energy solutions.
Wind of Renewal (WoR) is a social cooperative focusing on social and green innovation, the just energy transition and energy poverty, climate protection, and intercultural dialogue. Its activities boost empowerment and social inclusion. WoR has worked closely with refugee and migrant communities in Greece as well as with diverse EU social and energy networks.
WoR has developed a community model (welcommon, which means welcome in common, together) for empowerment and inclusion through building communities to promote coexistence and dialogue among cultures, working with refugees, asylum seekers, tourists and young volunteers from >50 nationalities and ethnicities. To date, WoR has offered accommodation to >2000 refugees and empowerment and/or information education to >3000 refugees from 25 ethnicities and nationalities, mostly from Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Africa. It has worked closely with Ukrainian women and children in Greece who have fled the Russian invasion.
In addition, WoR seeks ways to create jobs or co-working opportunities related to the energy transition and sustainable living.
CSS is the flagship research institute of social sciences in Hungary. More than 200 researchers conduct disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in sociology, political science, computational social science, network science, minority studies, and legal studies.
CSS Budapest is dedicated to building collaborative, trans-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral networks both within Hungary and internationally. The Centre regularly hosts public events, engages citizens, and conducts research with social impact. Researchers at the Centre have actively participated in EU-funded H2020 and other international projects.
In the area of energy, CSS researchers study the theoretical and policy developments of energy poverty across Europe; the status of vulnerable groups in the energy transition; and new governance models of participation. Ongoing projects on energy poverty cover the topics of female energy poverty as part of WISE (co-funded by the European Climate Foundation [ECF]); transport poverty as part of the Transport Poverty in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) project; and energy poverty beyond the home in Hungary supported by OTKA (National Research, Development and Innovation Office).
RETE ASSIST is a non-profit association that aims to promote a fair and equitable energy transition, specifically ensuring the ‘leave no one behind’ approach strongly advocated by the European Commission. Considering that citizens in conditions of energy poverty and vulnerability are at greatest risk of being excluded from the energy transition, RETE ASSIST applies an innovative and holistic model to contribute to combating energy poverty.
RETE ASSIST (founded in March 2022) is built on the significant results achieved by the European Horizon 2020 project ASSIST, carried out between 2017 and 2020. The project developed and tested the ASSIST model to address energy poverty, based on the figure of the TED (Domestic Energy Tutor). Starting from awareness that supporting individuals in energy poverty requires not only technical knowledge but also human connection and trust, the TED is a field operator whose expertise has been enhanced through the ASSIST-TED course.
Aiming to be a point of reference for all involved in promoting the just energy transition and the fight against energy poverty, RETE ASSIST proposes multi-layered, holistic approaches in line with complex and multidimensional problems. In fact, the ASSIST model has been cited among 24 European cases in the report “EPAH Report: Tackling energy poverty through local actions ‒ Inspiring cases from across Europe” by the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub.
On a practical level, RETE ASSIST aims to reduce barriers in the energy market and optimise the management of domestic energy consumption for vulnerable citizens or those experiencing energy poverty by achieving the following objectives:
Develop monitoring tools and foster collaborative research with stakeholders to map energy consumption data effectively.
The 75inQ Foundation is an independent institute for inclusive energy transition focusing specifically on the convergence of SDG7 (access to affordable and sustainable energy) and SDG5 (gender equality); the crossroads of the transition to sustainable and affordable energy and gender equality.
These goals converge from the boardroom to the living room:
The gender component in the energy transition becomes more visible when the growing labour shortage and faltering labour participation in the energy sectors are viewed through a gender lens as a result of which innovation, strength and speed lag behind the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and reduce CO2 emissions.
75inQ has a membership community of over 1200 female professionals working in the energy sector. 75inQ has written policy reports for the JRC of the EU, the Femm committee of the EU, EIGE, the UN, Asian Development Bank, Ministries of the Netherlands, and ActionAid.
Faculty of Law, University of Groningen. In the department of TLS, the boundaries of and in law are investigated and explored, in research and by extension in education.
In a highly technological and strongly internationalising society, many complex social issues transcend borders. This has an impact on the role of the law in the solution of these issues. Boundaries between traditional legal disciplines are broken to find appropriate outcomes. A one-dimensional approach to legal questions is often no longer possible.
Law in the digital society, for example, is at the crossroads of public and private law, of international, European and national law, and requires knowledge of disciplines other than law alone. Technology law is a multi-dimensional discipline par excellence.
In addition, new problems call for new solutions; this will often require cross-border law (international or European). As of January 2018, based on a fascination with the boundaries of law, various fields of expertise within the Faculty of Law have been combined. The aim is to bring together experiences with the changing transboundary aspects of law and to reflect on them in research and education. This is not an end in itself, but a means to enrich the further development of the areas of expertise on the basis of shared insights.
The Orion Grid amplifies change by bringing together the energy of the bearers of the democratic impulse. It works through educational, consultative, artistic, public and other interventions.