The evaluation of the municipal networks for the period 2018 to 2021 is now published and available for download. 28 projects were funded with Euro 5.66 million, and municipalities contributed almost Euro 3.8 Mio. own revenue for the networking activities. Over the evaluation period, the networks contributed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 69.2 thousand tonnes of CO₂. A high transformation success was on the one hand favoured by good administrative and organisational management of the networks. On the other hand, the networks were able to ensure a high level of visibility, comprehensibility and connectivity of their content for their target group by involving key actors and multipliers.

The municipal networks considered in the evaluation were funded on the basis of various guidelines. All networks whose funding period ended in 2020 or 2021 were considered in the report (available in German). Doris Knoblauch, Rebecca Noebel and Nizara Safaricz (all Ecologic Institute) as well as Angelika Paar and Clemens Hecker (both ifeu) were responsible for the evaluation of the municipal energy efficiency/resource networks in 2021. The results of these and other evaluations are presented in our multi-year evaluation under the direction of the Oeko-Institut, which takes into account the various funding calls of the National Climate Initiative (Nationale Klimaschutzinitiative, NKI). The overall reports and all individual evaluations are available for download in German.

The funding call "Municipal Energy Efficiency Networks" is part of the NKI of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. Since 2008, the NKI has been committed to funding climate protection projects throughout Germany, thereby making an important contribution to achieving the German government's climate protection targets. The primary aim of the "Municipal Networks" funding announcement (now part of the "Municipal Directive") is to promote sustainable and economically viable approaches to tapping energy and resource efficiency, as well as climate-friendly mobility potential. This is achieved through cooperation between municipalities and administrative units. The two funding phases comprise the recruitment of municipal actors in networks (recruitment phase) and the establishment and operation of these networks (network phase). The funding also serves to consolidate the networks beyond the funding period in order to encourage the long-term implementation of further measures.

Further information on the National Climate Initiative is available at https://www.klimaschutz.de/en.