SDRUZENI ENERGETICKYCH MANAZERU MEST A OBCI ZS

Their core work

The Association of Energy Managers of Cities and Municipalities is a Czech NGO that supports local authorities in planning and implementing energy transitions. Based in Litomerice, they help cities tackle energy poverty, develop innovative financing for efficiency projects, and build capacity for climate-neutral planning. Their work bridges municipal governance and practical energy policy, translating EU-level climate goals into actionable local strategies through peer-to-peer learning and decision-support tools.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

All three projects started in 2021, so the evolution window is narrow. However, within this cohort a thematic broadening is visible: PROSPECTplus focuses on the well-established topic of energy efficiency financing, while POWER UP and EUCITYCALC expand into social dimensions (energy poverty, community energy) and digital planning tools (prospective modelling webtools). This suggests a shift from purely technical energy management toward socially inclusive and data-driven municipal climate governance.

Moving toward integrated municipal climate governance that combines social inclusion (energy poverty), citizen engagement (energy communities), and digital decision-support tools — a profile well-suited for Mission-area projects under Horizon Europe.

How they like to work

Always a participant, never a coordinator — they contribute domain expertise from the municipal practitioner perspective rather than leading large research consortia. With 31 unique partners across 16 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in broad, diverse consortia typical of CSA actions. This pattern suggests they are valued as an end-user voice representing cities and local authorities, making them a reliable and experienced consortium partner for projects needing municipal validation.

Despite only 3 projects, they have built a wide network of 31 partners across 16 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes of CSA-type projects. Their reach spans most of the EU, with no single geographic concentration beyond their Czech base.

What sets them apart

As a professional association of municipal energy managers, they offer something universities and consultancies cannot: direct access to the practitioners who actually implement energy policy at city level. Their Litomerice base gives them Central European perspective, a region where energy poverty and coal transition are particularly pressing. For any consortium needing a credible municipal practitioner partner in the Czech Republic, they are a natural fit.

Highlights from their portfolio

• POWER UP
  Their largest project (EUR 235k) addressing energy poverty through community-level market players — a socially impactful topic with growing EU policy relevance.
• EUCITYCALC
  Develops a concrete digital tool (webtool) for cities to model climate neutrality pathways, combining prospective modelling with multi-level governance.