Involvement of end-users COI in Albania

The Albanian CoI is organised by the a BRIGAID partner (AKPT) which is the Albanian National Territorial Planning Agency (NTPA). This CoI will act at a national scale and aims to deal with risks related to floods, droughts and extreme weather.

First National Meeting with stakeholders

A kick-off “First National Meeting” was organised by NTPA for building stakeholders network in the framework of BRIGAID in Tirana on 21/04/2017.

The meeting had a turnout of about 80 guests and was honored by the Albanian Minister of Urban Development Mrs. Gjermeni and the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Albania, Mrs. Dewi van de Weerd.

See some of the organisations represented in the meeting

The meeting concluded with questions and interests of the stakeholders for a further collaboration on behalf of BRIGAID project. Specifically, the stakeholders showed their contribution and development opportunities.

For instance, stakeholders responsible for database networks or digital platforms showed their possibility to support with existing data and available to create new ones. While end users showed their necessity in conformity of our national civil emergency and solution to solve these emergencies, as well as they request for an authority right reserve for innovation ideas coming out on behalf of this project.

Many of the actors involved in this meeting are interested in getting engaged in the BRIGAID CoI. As an overview, the expected core actors for the CoI are:

  1. Civil Emergency;
  2. Administrative Units (Berat, Shkodër, Lezhë, Tiranë);
  3. Public Universities (University of Durres “Aleksandër Moisiu”, Polytechnic University of Tirana, University of Shkodra “Luigj Gurakuqi”, University of Mining and Geology in Tirana);
  4. Public institutions (Line Ministries, Agency of Research Technology and Innovations, IGEWE); and
  5. innovators, e.g. companies with business profile in environmental consulting and with profile in applications’ development.

Defining the Operational Test site in Albania
As a follow up of this meeting, a series of activities will be implemented or explored:

  1. Albania is classified as an operational test site in BRIGAID project and thus, testing is expected to be a core activity for the CoI.

    NTPA is planning to organize testing/promotion activities for BRIGAID innovation product in a potential test site in Albania. Ideally, it is expected that this activity will be attended by: BRIGAID partners, innovators, national end-users, companies, research units (public and private), universities representatives as well as students.
    An important point will be promoting/marketing these test events. This will be undertaken by publishing the event in the NTPA’s electronic platform and informing the current list of contacts about the agenda and the program. These events are intended to be livestreamed and this will be accompanied by other dissemination actions.

  2. Albania, as an operational test site would be an attractive environment to demonstrate innovations from BRIGAID partners.

    In this kind of activity NTPA will contribute in organisation and dissemination. NTPA will identify and invite institutions, companies interested for business opportunities developing as well as individuals, universities interested for further researching.

  3. In the framework of BRIGAID project, NTPA plans to organise workshop/s with a specific thematic scope to promote BRIGAID and its innovations products, e.g.

    Specifying in more details the usage of some products. In this workshop/s we expected to invite project innovators as well as national innovators. Furthermore, this organization we expected to be attended by representative of civil emergency, administrative unit’s representative, universities representative, research units and enterprises.

  4. NTPA also expects to contribute to the BRIGAID international conferences by sharing the experience gained in the Albanian CoI.