The second Project’s Steering Committee Meeting was hold by Skype on 5^th June. The University of Seville –USE- hosted it. The following participants were involved in the meeting: M.J. Prados as coordinator and also R. Garcia as University-based administrator (USE); A. Delicado (ICSUL); E. Loukogeorgaki (AUTH); Rossano Albatici and Bruno Zanon (UNITN) and Naama Teschner (BGU).  The meeting lasted for an hour approximately. As proposed by the Coordinator and seconded by the Project Officer, members debated an agreed schedule and pending tasks proposed in the last SCM in Lisbon such as key terms for a Project’s glossary, WP Methodological Reports, protocols and the preparation of an expert list for a Follow-up questionnaire were discussed. Also, it was arranged that the Project Mid-Term meeting will be held in Malaga in October and a next secondment reassignment. Besides, it was noticed that two notes introducing the Project were produced recently and sent to an academic journal and a specialized web. USE suggested establishing a wider network related to Renewable Energy and Renewable Energy Landscapes. Related to online atlas, it was discussed only eventual changes and it is fully operational currently. To sum up, it can be told it was quite fruitful, satisfying and nice meeting.

The Instituto de Ciências Sociais de Lisboa –ICS– has hosted the Project’s first Steering Committee meeting.  It is the SC’s duty to guarantee that the Project’s goals are met, to foresee and prevent risks and, in the final instance, to contribute optimally to the execution of PEARLS. The committee is formed of the following WP leaders: M.J. Prados as coordinator and co-leader of WPs 1 & 2 (USE); R. Albatricci, acting as Deputy Chair, and B. Zanon as joint coordinators of WP1 (UNITN); and C. Rojo (CLANER, coordinator of WP3), E. Loukogeorgaki (AUTHN, of WP4) and A. Delicado (ICSUL, of WP5), as leaders of WPs 3, 4 and WP5, respectively. Also involved in the meeting were A. Arrabal, as leader of the PEARLS Management Coordinator Support Team and N. Mendes from ICSUL, as head of administration. WP leaders also acted as country representatives. They are responsible for ensuring that their partners are represented and spoken for in the SC, and the correct development of activities and secondments in the WPs. The coordinator is also pledged to communicating all decisions to Israel as a Third Country and keeping in regular contact with the Advisory Board.

The meeting was held over two sessions, on 4^th and 5^th February. As proposed by the Coordinator and seconded by the Project Officer, members debated an agreed schedule. The first session was devoted to scientific matters and the second to Project organisation and management. The main results consisted of proposed work outlines coordinated between WP leaders to clarify which work has to be carried out during secondments and how participants can help to strengthen results and the Project’s expected impact. Particular topics discussed included the secondment map for next year and the reinforcement of communication of the first results using web tools, such as an online atlas. The atlas will contain a collection of study cases of good practices in Renewable Energy Landscapes –REL– in all the countries involved in the Project. It was very satisfying to see all the SC members in Lisbon last week. I think we had a very good meeting indeed. The next SCM will be held in Seville next year.

The Brazilian Pavilion has hosted the launch of the project holding the Kick off Meeting. Academic partners, companies, associations and consultants from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Israel participated in the event. In addition, this Meeting was attended by PhD students, visiting lecturers and research groups from University of Seville, concerned by the links between Social Sciences and Renewable Energy. After the ceremonial introduction addressed by the Vice-rectory for Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, the European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service of Joint Research Centre in Seville was invited to present the Smart Specialisation Platform on Energy. The synergies between this Smart Platform and the PEARLS Project are evident, so it is expected joint collaborations to take place.

The Kick Off Meeting has enabled the exchange information about the Grant Agreement compliance, the conditions of implementation and funding of the project, and familiarisation with SYGMA platform. Above all though, it has been a splendid opportunity to establish the first face to face contacts between all the participants who will keep a close and productive collaboration along the next four years.

KOM participants and companion people stand up on the roof of the Atarazanas ancient shipyard (Seville, SP)

The PEARLS beneficiaries have received this message. It has been exactly three months since we submitted PEARLS proposal and they have confirmed us that the proposal is accepted. It was Na’ama Teschner from University of Haifa who sounded the alert. At the same time, there were messages about some phishing attempts coming from the Participant Portal. After a few minutes of surprise, the truth is that PEARLS Project has secured funding. Let’s work!

This morning we have submitted the last version of PEARLS proposal into SYGMA Platform, only a few hours before the closure of the 2017 MSC RISE call. We entered the first version in late March. Since then, we have updated a new draft almost every week. We have organised ourselves very well thanks to the work and collaboration from all the Consortium partners. Almudena Arrabal´s support with SYGMA Platform and Miguel Torres´s graphical design of the information have been very remarkable. The proposal consists of 36 secondments that will be held between thirteen entities from five countries that will focus on six complementary Work Packages. The Steering Committee will support the PEARLS Coordinator. The Consortium will also count with an Advisory Board comprised of Essex University; the Agenzia Nazionale per l’energia ENEA; and the Spanish company Prodiel.

The goal is achieved!     : ἀνέρριφθω κύβος.

Finally, earlier this week we have organized the workshop in order to submit a proposal for the forthcoming MSC RISE 2017 call. We have been fortunate enough to meet the academic partners from Lisbon, Trento and Thesaloniki, and to be in contact with Haifa and Esse. On the Spanish side, we are working side by side with Territoria Company. In addition to establish a first contact between the Research Groups on Social Sciences and Architecture at the University of Seville, which work on Renewable Energy.

Until April, 4th we have a lot of work to do: to look for partners from administrative and business environments and NGOs; to refine the structure of a solid proposal; and commit to the Work Packages tasks and secondments if we manage to get the Project’s approval.

We have decided our Consortium and Project’s name.

We are calling ourselves PEARLS: Planning and Engagement Arenas for Renewable energy LandscapeS.