Presented at the Third managEnergy Reflection Group
meeting 28 March 2003
by Mikko Ahonen, Central Finland Energy Agency
Project proposal
The objective of the Energy Agency Networking Project is to support:
Background of the project
A total of 11 energy agencies have been established in Finland with the aid of the co-financing granted by the EU SAVE Programme, and 7 of the agencies continue to operate today. The regional energy agencies are aimed at promoting the efficient use of energy and renewable energy sources in their own regions.
The agencies are independent units and have no national parent organisation. Motiva has co-operated with the agencies for several years already.
The agencies obtain funding from several sources of finance. A significant part of the basic funding needed in the initial phase is granted by the SAVE Programme. The SAVE funding accounts for approx. 30% of the operating expenses of the agencies and is specifically aimed at supporting the start-up of operation. The SAVE funding is granted for a period of three years.
The agencies€ self-financing accounts for approx. 70% of the operating expenses and it is also obtained from several sources of finance. After the 3-year initial phase, it has proved to be difficult to raise funding.
Appendix 1: Background and present position of the energy agencies - memorandum
Project description
The objective of the development project is to intensify and support the operation of the energy agencies through networking, while their independent and regional modes of operation are maintained. The networked agencies will jointly market their products and develop their operations.
Networked operations will make it possible for a single agency to develop into an information centre in a jointly agreed field of expertise in Finland. Specialised information centres will provide information and services to their regional customers, to the other energy agencies in Finland and to Motiva. The Finnish agencies will co-operate with the other energy agencies within the borders of the EU, mainly through the managEnergy service and any thematic groups that may be set up in the future.
Dissemination of information will be concentrated on target groups in need of basic information, such as consumers, teachers and reporters. It is difficult to raise regional funding for operations like these, which nonetheless are of primary importance from the point of view of both the EU and the Finnish energy policy as well as the programmes implementing the energy policy measures.
Motiva will act as the coordinator of the network. In their own regions, the agencies will make use of the products and services developed by Motiva, and Motiva will in turn exploit the expertise of the agencies in project planning and implementation.
Objectives of the project
The primary objective of the project is to network the operations of the energy agencies and to improve their co-operation models so that the agencies can continue to develop and operate as successful and independent units after the termination of the project.
Networked operations will lead to the creation of information centres, which will meet regional needs and can be assigned special tasks of both the national and EU level.
The main benefits of networked operations are the following:
The objectives that can be measured are:
Indicator: The financial structure of the agencies and the number and proportion of the commercialised services of the turnover.
Indicator: Number of contacts, mapping of the needs for information and regional advisory / information points.
Indicator: The amount of interaction, number of joint projects, utilisation of the agencies' special know-how outside their geographical areas of operation.
Indicator: The amount of interaction, number of joint projects, utilisation of the agencies' special know-how outside their geographical areas of operation.
The objectives and indicators will be separately specified for each agency.
Tasks of the energy agencies
The Energy agency Networking Project will provide funding for four types of operation. The extent and emphasis of operation will vary between agencies.
Provider of expert services for the enterprises and municipalities that have signed an energy conservation agreement. The project will provide support for the development of service products, but the service activities will be subject to a charge. The energy agencies' specific area of operation is situated between free services and consulting services.
The agency may select an area of special expertise, in which it will develop into a national information centre. Services will be provided also to the other members of the network and to national organisations. In the future, the agencies will look for partners within the EU network of energy agencies, while concentrating on their own area of specialisation.
The specialisation areas of the energy agencies are presented in Appendix 2.
Networked operations will be developed by promoting interaction and exchange of information between agencies. The heads of the agencies and employees will discuss matters both at meetings with only a few participants and in training events to be arranged for the entire network. Interaction will be enhanced also with the aid of email messages and by providing an Extranet service. Communication at EU level will take place through the SAVE project group, the managEnergy service maintained by STEM and various thematic groups to be organised by the EU Commission.
Tasks of the national coordination unit
Motiva will be the national coordination unit of the energy agencies in Finland. Motiva will be responsible for coordinating and supporting the operation of the network.
Motiva will also be the project unit responsible to the coordinator of the SAVE project and to the national financier, the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Motiva will gather all plans and submit reports on the progress of the project.
Motiva will organise the annual meetings between the heads and employees of the agencies. A representative of Motiva can act as an intermediary or take part in the project-specific meetings between agencies.
Motiva will provide assistance for the development of the specific operations of the agencies by participating in the work of the management groups of the agencies as well as in strategic planning.
Motiva will support the operations of the agencies by providing them with information and tools. The energy agencies will operate as local and regional marketing channels and make propositions for new products according to the needs of the field. The agencies will be actively involved in development projects on new products.
Motiva will coordinate information and convey it to the agencies by means of an Extranet service to be opened in connection with the Motiva's web site. At the same time, a joint web site will be created for the network with the following information, among others:
A specific page in the Motiva Xpress magazine will provide information on the operations of the energy agencies and the results they have attained. Motiva will also provide information to the media via its own channels.
Motiva will provide information to the agencies from the national and EU levels. On the other hand, Motiva will provide information to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the EU about the common concerns of the agencies.
Project organisation
Project Leader Kirsti Kärkkäinen from Motiva Oy will act as the manager responsible for the project. The division of responsibility between those employees of Motiva who will participate in the project is presented in Motiva's plan in Appendix 4.
The co-operation between Motiva and the energy agencies will also encompass Motiva€s basic operations. The resource allocations for these activities are not included in this plan.
The project will be implemented and the project plan will be specified in close co-operation with the energy agencies. Mr. Mikko Ahonen from the Central Finland Energy Agency will represent the agencies in network matters.
Financing and resources
The financing to be applied from the Ministry of Trade and Industry amounts to EUR 337,000. The energy agencies account for 7 x EUR 37,000 of this amount, i.e. for a total of EUR 259,000, and Motiva for EUR 78,000.
The financial structure and annual budgets of the agencies have been presented in the agency descriptions. They have not been divided according to the operations presented in this plan. The development project will account for approx. 10% of the annual budgets of the agencies. The other financing raised by the agencies is not visible in the financing plans.
The distribution of financing is presented in Appendix 5.
Project schedule
1.2.2002-15.12.2003
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