D3.3 ClimaGen Impact Model Definition 1

This deliverable presents the first definition of the ClimaGen Impact Model. The model is intended to support the monitoring and assessment of environmental, social, cultural, financial, health, governance and technical impacts of ClimaGen activities across the project’s demonstration cities. This report refers to project-level and city-specific KPIs, and this first version focuses primarily on two central city-level target indicators with a high internal complexity: a 25% increase or improvement in greening and a 20% increase in citizen satisfaction.

The Impact Model is designed as a city-adaptive framework, giving a choice of sub-indicators to the cities to best assess relevant KPIs. The Impact Model definition is supported by updated impact pathways, namely, an updated understanding of the vision and status of ClimaGen cities and paths from Results to mid-term Outcomes, and long-term Expected Impacts. Pathways have been conceptualized in D3.1 and D3.2 and are leading to four impact areas: climate mitigation, climate adaptation, nature, and people, which the Impact Model builds on.

The report describes a four-steps for developing the model: reviewing existing impact models and assessment frameworks; identifying and refining relevant indicators with cities and stakeholders; defining baselines for the demonstration sites; and developing assessment methods to monitor progress towards the greening and satisfaction targets.

A review of reference frameworks shows that existing models provide useful concepts and indicator categories but cannot be applied directly to ClimaGen without adaptation. The report therefore proposes a flexible approach based on a limited number of shared core indicators, complemented by locally tailored indicators that reflect each city’s context, available data, demonstration site characteristics, and alignment with existing city monitoring practices. The report emphasises that not all indicators are mandatory; rather, each city should select the indicators that are most relevant and feasible for its local context.

The report also defines how baselines for greening and satisfaction should be established. For greening, the baseline is linked to the existing condition of the demonstration sites and the expected area or quality of improvement based on planned measures. For satisfaction, the baseline is intended to capture citizens’ current experiences and perceptions before interventions are implemented.

The Impact Model is expected to evolve and remain under development. The proposed indicators will be revised based on cities’ experiences, and additional indicators and related methods may be added where gaps are identified in the next iterations.