RIGAS PLANOSANAS REGIONS

Their core work

Riga Planning Region is a Latvian public authority responsible for regional development planning and coordination in the Riga metropolitan area. In H2020, they focus on sustainable energy policy, climate action planning, and green public procurement at the municipal and regional level. Their work centers on helping local authorities build capacity for carbon neutrality targets and inclusive urban development, particularly in small and medium-sized cities. They bridge EU-level climate and energy goals with practical implementation at the regional governance level.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest H2020 work (GreenS, 2015) focused narrowly on green public procurement as a policy tool. By 2018, they expanded into broader regional climate and energy planning with C-Track 50, addressing multi-governance and carbon neutrality targets. Their most recent project (IN-HABIT, 2020) marks a shift toward social inclusion and health in urban settings, suggesting a broadening from pure energy policy toward integrated urban sustainability that includes wellbeing and equity dimensions.

They are moving from technical energy policy toward a more integrated approach combining climate action with social inclusion and health in cities — a direction aligned with EU Mission on Climate-Neutral Cities.

How they like to work

Riga Planning Region participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for regional public authorities that contribute local implementation capacity rather than research leadership. With 47 unique partners across 20 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia — averaging around 15+ partners per project. This makes them an accessible, experienced consortium member comfortable working in multi-national teams with varied partner types.

Despite only 3 projects, they have built a broad network of 47 partners across 20 countries, indicating participation in large pan-European consortia. Their reach spans well beyond the Baltic region into Western, Southern, and Central Europe.

What sets them apart

As a regional planning authority (not a city, not a ministry), they occupy a specific governance niche — the intermediate level between municipalities and national government — which is often underrepresented in EU consortia. They bring direct experience implementing EU energy and climate directives at the regional scale in a Baltic/Eastern European context. For consortium builders needing a public authority partner that can demonstrate real-world policy uptake in the Riga metropolitan area, they are a practical choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IN-HABIT
  Their largest project by funding (EUR 204,250) and most recent, marking a strategic pivot from energy-only work toward inclusive urban health and wellbeing.
• C-Track 50
  Directly aligned with EU 2050 carbon neutrality goals, focused on building governance capacity at regional level — their core institutional mission.