Up-Lifting communities: structuring collective action for sustainable local transition and identifying regulatory solutions for adopting frontier technologies and disruptive business models
The residential sector has a significant role to play in achieving the EUs binding target of 32.5% energy efficiency saving by 2030. Recent EU Directives have advanced definitions for two types of energy communities. A ‘Renewable Energy Community’ and a ‘Citizens Energy Community’.  While there are similarities between the two, there are key differences - their structure and ability to participate as a market actor.  There is limited available information published in an approachable manner that explains these differences.  Thus organising an energy community requires a great deal of expertise.  The regular consumer often feels side-lined and unable to participate.  
The UP-STAIRS project addresses these issues with a goal to accelerate the growth of energy communities by providing a common framework. UP-STAIRS removes the barriers to citizen participation in the transition from a consumer-market to a ‘prosumer-market’. This transition requires active learning and participation from all stakeholders. The UP-STAIRS Energy Service Framework enables Local Authorities and Citizens to work together through a common structure embodied in a one-stop-shop.
This common structure includes business models and decision support for energy assessment of a community’s energy potential. UP-STAIRS provides a full service information repository on policy and regulatory advice which will give the UP-STAIRS Implementation Champion the confidence to understand the impact that their energy community can make into the market.  Community support is through a compendium of energy tutorials on key topics including behaviour change, prosumerism, collective actions and their benefit to consumers, and what it means to become an energy citizen in a sustainable energy community. The UP-STAIRS project consists of 1 RPO, 1 NGO, 1 consultancy organisation, 1 SME, 1 National Energy Authority, 1 Regional Energy Authority, 3 Municipalities/city councils and 1 consumer organisation from 7 member states.