2 Days of Co‑Creation and Forward-Planning at BIPED General Assembly in Berlin

On 18-19 March 2026, BIPED project partners came together for two days of hands‑on collaboration, strategic alignment, and forward‑looking discussions about how digital tools can accelerate the transition toward Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). During workshops, demonstrations, and co‑creation sessions, the consortium explored how models, data, and user requirements come together to support Brabrand’s ambitions for climate neutrality.

Team BIPED in Berlin

Day 1: Co-creating a storytelling mock‑up

The first day centred on an interactive workshop where participants worked with a mock‑up of a digital PED dashboard designed to communicate Brabrand’s energy balance, mobility patterns, and progress toward key milestones. Using a simple but effective method ('I Like', 'I Wish', 'I Bring') participants rotated between four stations, leaving colour‑coded post‑its with feedback on what worked well, what could be improved, and what additional data or ideas they could contribute.

The storytelling mock‑up itself is structured as a narrative article that guides users through Brabrand’s PED journey. It includes trend charts showing how the district’s energy balance evolves over time, bar charts breaking down consumption and mobility patterns, insight blocks that interpret the numbers, and sections linking the data to municipal milestones. The goal is to make complex quantitative information accessible to planners, residents, and decision‑makers. The workshop helped refine how this story should be told.

Refining technical tools and models

Later that day, partners presented the progress of BIPED’s digital ecosystem: the Digital Twin platform, the data space, and the suite of energy, mobility, and environmental models. Demonstrations showcased solar potential mapping, green‑space accessibility, wind comfort, and traffic emissions scenarios. The session highlighted how these tools are converging on the Civora platform and how they will support planning, scenario testing, and monitoring in Brabrand.

PED planning for Brabrand

The consortium also reviewed the PED assessment framework and the role of KPIs in tracking both project activities and Brabrand’s sustainability transition. Discussions focused on ensuring indicators remain meaningful, well‑defined, and aligned with the project’s evolving work.

Day 2: Monitoring, evaluation, and use-case refinement

The second day opened with a session on Monitoring & Evaluation. Partners revisited the structure of the M&E framework, which brings together project KPIs, PED KPIs, and digital‑solution indicators to provide a holistic view of progress. The emphasis was on clarity, consistency, and ensuring that the framework supports decision‑making throughout the project’s final year.

A prototype M&E dashboard

The last engagement activity of the assembly shifted from measurement to real‑world application. In a use‑case co‑creation session, participants worked with BIPED’s user profiles to identify concrete use cases that could be demonstrated in Year 3. Using a structured template, groups defined the user, the problem they face, the action they would take in the BIPED system, and the expected PED impact.

Mobility served as a practical example. One use case explored how a planner could test the effects of closing a road and instantly see changes in traffic flow and emissions. Another examined how shifts from fossil‑fuel vehicles to electric mobility could be visualised through pre‑calculated scenarios. A prioritisation matrix helped identify which use cases offer the strongest combination of user demand, data availability, and PED impact.

Matching user profiles to BIPED solutions

Conclusion

The General Assembly demonstrated the strength of BIPED’s collaborative approach. The project is entering a phase where models, data, and user needs start to converge, and where the Digital Twin can begin to show its real value. With refined mock‑ups, maturing tools, and clear use cases emerging, BIPED is well‑positioned to deliver meaningful demonstrations in Year 3 and support Brabrand’s path toward climate neutrality.