Scope A: Facilitating large-scale deep renovation:
The topic welcomes action in all markets regardless of their readiness or maturity, and in particular in less mature markets.
Actions should stimulate volume and demand of deep renovation, by aggregating demand and deploying business models for district level deep renovation projects, by rolling out tools such as building renovation passports or by improving coordination of small and medium actors in the supply chain.
Proposals should explain and adapt the proposed activities to the context in which they will be acting.

Proposals should address at least one of the following areas/aspects:

• Remove market barriers and stimulate the development of business models for the implementation of large-scale deep renovation projects, e.g. at district or neighbourhood level. Proposals should make the whole renovation process easier and more attractive for all those involved, from construction stakeholders and investors to building owners and occupants. Proposals should facilitate demand mobilisation and aggregation and the links between supply and demand, e.g. interaction between building owners, managers and suppliers. Proposals should not focus on technology and/or material development, but on rolling-out market-ready technology and packages and targeting building segments or typologies that would allow for a fast and large-scale deployment. Proposals can also address standardisation of building renovation solutions and circularity-related aspects where relevant. Proposals can address the roll out of materials and solutions that improve energy efficiency and wellbeing in buildings, including industrialised prefabrication and modular solutions or other solutions, considering also circular and bio-based materials. Proposals should seek to reduce construction costs, time on site for renovations, to reduce material use and the impact of potential supply-side disruptions, to improve carbon footprint and whole life cycle emissions, and to increase circularity.
• Roll out renovation passports for buildings. This is a tool introduced by the recast of the EPBD, to equip building owners planning a staged renovation of their buildings. Proposals should follow the evolutions in the territories where they will be working and align with the EU and national frameworks where available. The interrelation of this tool with other building related instruments should be considered, i.e. energy performance certificates and digital building logbooks. Proposals should also coordinate with existing support and funding schemes and one-stop-shops or renovation support services for homeowners in their area of action.
• Remove barriers linked to the lack of coordination between the different actors and trades involved in the supply side of renovation works (in particular SMEs and individual craftspeople), and the capacity needed in the sector to deliver the “Renovation Wave” objectives. Actions should incentivise collaboration and result in the establishment of partnerships and consortia able to deliver business models and long-lasting collaboration models between MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) which effectively reach the building and homeowners and enable deep renovations with guarantees (including the switch to efficient renewable-based heating and cooling), reducing risks and transaction costs for companies. This could include standardising contractual aspects, e.g. liabilities in case of low quality work, putting together different trades and/or training them to deliver joint quotes and work together on projects for deep renovation, ensuring a more robust information sharing between companies, showcasing integrated offers for deep renovations to potential customers, etc. Proposals should also integrate aspects related to quality and guarantees, giving confidence to present and future customers, including for example potential linkage of performance guarantees to payments and procedures for post-completion evaluation of works to integrate lessons learnt. Proposals should ensure uptake of the results in the targeted local, regional and/or national markets, and for the sub-sector of the building stock tackled, for example through the involvement of professional organisations/associations and/or other relevant stakeholders.

Scope B: Buildings energy data and services:
Actions are expected to improve the availability, quality and accuracy of buildings data and the access to these for multiple usages and parties including financial institutions and data aggregators; they are moreover expected to explore and foster the use of data for the development and financing of services that enhance the energy performance of buildings and the efficiency of the system. Actions may also develop and deploy approaches for use of better data to improve the reliability and consistency of key instruments, such as Energy Performance Certificates.

Actions should address for example one or more of the following areas/aspects:

• Develop methodologies that make the collection and structuring of data more robust and contribute to the systematic integration and use of conventional and metered data including, where relevant, big data. This includes innovative methods and tools to measure and/or estimate and/or calculate energy performance and energy savings, facilitate financing of energy renovation and roll-out of energy services. This could also address non-energy benefits, notably health, wellbeing and productivity through the improvement of Indoor Environmental Quality.
• As established in the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), help improve the access of building owners, tenants and building managers to buildings data; help improve access of third parties, notably financial institutions, and service providers such as Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and aggregators, to buildings data, e.g. by supporting evolutions of national regulations related to energy data access.
• Develop, implement and roll-out approaches that use metered data and integrated data collection/processing for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) towards a) improving the accuracy and reliability of EPCs and/or b) enhancing the market uptake of EPCs; this includes for example actions that help link the rating of EPCs and the improvement of the rating to the value of a building in view of potential investments; c) factoring in new aspects to be reflected in EPCs, such as Indoor Environmental Quality and related elements.
• Promote and support the use of innovative technologies and digital tools for inspections, notably following constructions and renovations.
• Support the coordination across initiatives and projects in the area of buildings, buildings policies and buildings data, including promoting the collaboration and communication towards projects and activities for which building policies and data are an essential element.
• Support the establishment, and manage the operation of, an agile market-based community of data providers for the EU Building Stock Observatory, seeking to involve all relevant sectors and (private and public) players; define and implement an effective set-up to perform extensive and long-lasting data collection from the community, in cooperation with the EU BSO, in view of maximising the continuous expansion of the EU BSO database.
• Integrate tools and platforms that would contribute to the coordination and harmonisation of data models, methodologies and standards for the energy performance of buildings.
• Develop services that make use of actual energy consumption data, metered savings and measured flexibility provided by active buildings, building on and contributing to the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) testing and implementation in EU Member States, and explore the contribution of active buildings to the efficiency and stability of the energy system, in particular from large tertiary buildings.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to €1.75 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.