The SWITCH-ON workshop brought together developers and end-users of a variety of open data based water information products from all over Europe to test these tools hands-on and to discuss their opportunities and challenges. The goal of the 1.5-day workshop was to identify the potential and operational needs of water-related information tools and services based on open data. SWITCH-ON develops state-of-the-art information products and services for water management and environmental awareness.

In September 2014, Dr. Camilla Bausch and Lena Donat conducted a 2-days training to enhance the negotiation skills of Lebanese negotiators at the international negotiations on climate change. The final workshop report is available for download.

What shape will the future governance framework of European climate and energy policy take? The proposal submitted by the European Commission at the beginning of this year raises more questions than it answers in this regard. Dr. Camilla Bausch and Christine Lucha of the Ecologic Institute invited experts to a workshop to discuss what impact the new EU Governance has on the electricity sector and how to design the requested regional cooperation.

The MILESECURE 2050 Energy Day in Brussels presented major findings from the research project. Members of the consortium, Giancarlo Cotella (POLITO) and Gabriele Quinti (LSC), presented position papers on energy security trends in Europe and sociological drivers in energy transitions. Ecologic Institute contributed key research to these reports. The presentations launched a discussion among policy makers, researchers, and other experts to consider new energy perspectives in policy making and long-term planning.

On 23 and 24 June 2014, the EFFACE project organised two workshops on the "Role of the Criminal Justice System" and "Environmental Crime and Organised Crime," in Catania, Sicily. The workshops brought together enforcement officials, academic experts in the field of environmental crime, and NGO representatives. The objective was to develop recommendations on how the EU could improve the enforcement of existing legislation dealing with environmental crime and better understand the connections with organised crime. Workshop reports are available for download.

On 17 June 2014, a project workshop on 'Mainstreaming climate change into rural development policy post 2013' took place at the European Commission in Brussels. Organized by Ecologic Institute in cooperation with DG Climate Action, the workshop provided an opportunity to present and discuss the draft technical guidance for Member States on how to design and integrate new and innovative climate actions in rural development programs. All presentations are available for download.

As a part of the UN climate change negotiations in Bonn, Ecologic Institute has organized an official side event covering European Union climate and energy policy. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convenes at least twice each year, with the midpoint meeting taking place in the former German capital. The event will offer an opportunity to discuss tradeoffs and synergies in current EU policy, in light of recent research and political debates.

During the European Maritime Day (EMD) more than 1000 participants from politics, economy, science, and NGOs, the seventh EMD centered on the question of sustainable use of seas and oceans. Ecologic Institute, presented by Dr. Grit Martinez, Susanne Altvater, and Dr. Nico Stelljes presented research results and discussed the results with locals from Bremen and the surrounding region.