On 19 February, the SUPERSHINE project contributed to the BRIDGE Workshop on Capacity Building, User Engagement & Inclusivity, organised under the BRIDGE initiative.
The SUPERSHINE intervention was presented by Flaminia Rocca from APRE, on behalf of the project, showcasing the project’s structured approach to engagement and social acceptance in social housing renovation.
SUPERSHINE’s contribution was structured around three core pillars, aligning its renovation model with the principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) approach, ensuring that renovation is not only:
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Energy-efficient
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Technically robust
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Financially viable
but also:
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Inclusive
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Participatory
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Socially accepted
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Community-driven
The project emphasises that energy renovation in social housing must be people-centred and embedded in local social ecosystems.
During the BRIDGE workshop on Capacity Building, User Engagement & Inclusivity, SUPERSHINE presented its “acceptance through engagement” model, whose strategy was developed by our partner ICONS and translated into concrete action plans by APRE together with the Lighthouse Managers (ATER, FællesBo and REA), who implemented it in Trieste, Herning, and Riga.
Through its best practices, SUPERSHINE showed how social acceptance and engagement should be jointly designed and measured through clear sets of KPIs, while also stressing the need for long-term phased pathways beyond project closure, with stabilised Living Labs supporting authorities and demo managers until (and after) renovations occur.
SUPERSHINE also suggested embedding capacity building within engagement processes, in collaboration with SMEs and vocational schools, building on existing social infrastructures and creating physical community hubs to ensure continuity and lasting impact.
Beyond presenting its model, SUPERSHINE provided concrete inputs for replication across Europe:
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Engagement strategies designed alongside technical planning
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Measurable KPIs for social acceptance
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Long-term Living Lab stabilisation beyond EU funding
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Integration of vocational training and SME involvement
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Creation of community hubs as physical anchors for continuity
The key message shared during the workshop was clear:
engagement must evolve from a communication activity to a structural governance component of renovation processes.
By placing engagement at the core of renovation governance, SUPERSHINE advances a structured, measurable and long-term approach to social acceptance in energy-efficient refurbishment.
Cover photo credit: Photo by Ketut Subiyanto
