As a late comer to this project it took me a lot of time to understand how the 16 partners work together, who was responsible for what and the lingo is still a challenge: test beds, demo sites, pilot project, kvikktest tool, kvikktesters – it’s a lot! But luckily my awesome colleagues have done a great job at translating the jargon and making this project easier to engage with. Here is an overview of NEB-STAR 2022-25 and a summary of the most valuable take-aways from Norge Unlimited and Storhaug Unlimited’s perspective.
The NEB values draw parallels from Vitruvius (80-15 BC) the ancient roman engineer’s definition of “architecture” known as the Vitruvian triad: Beautiful (Venustatis) – Durable (Firmatis) – Useful (Utilitas)
Since the Renaissance the greatest minds have professed a multidisciplinary approach to knowledge creation, decision making and design. Yet thousands of years later – we still struggle to accept that there is no singular expert, that we need to value “experiential” knowledge. NEB-STAR continues to push this message, by challenging all 16 partners to develop test cases that lead to lasting results – whilst simultaneously being ambitions and breaking away from the status-quo.
The EU NEB (New European Bauhaus) – “is a policy and funding initiative that makes green transition in built environments and beyond enjoyable, attractive and convenient for all. Even the smallest communities on the ground deserve living spaces that improve their wellbeing and sense of belonging. The initiative promotes solutions that are not only sustainable, but also inclusive and beautiful, while respecting the diversity of places, traditions, and cultures in Europe and beyond.” Source: https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/index_en
NEB-STAR is one of five lighthouse demonstrator projects funded by the EU NEB initiative to invest in projects that develop new ideas, prototypes and products for beautiful, sustainable and inclusive implementation of the EU Green Deal.
So what actually happened in Stavanger, Prague and Utrecht and what did the consortium of 16 partners achieve in the past 3 years?
Well you can find a neat little library of short reports here and by mid-summer there will be a few more handy booklets documenting the key learning!
Stavanger municipality is the motherboard of NEB-STAR – equipped to find innovative models for financing and governing urban transformation. Norge Unlimited is the task lead on citizen driven innovation and social entrepreneurship within 6 of the 7 deliverables (work packages) of this ambitions project.
Top 3 lessons learned
From Norge Unlimited and Storhaug Unlimited’s perspective – the past 3 years of engagement in workshops, meetings, guided tours, conferences, coffee chats, site visits, sharing of methods, networks and case studies – there are three main lessons learned:
- Co-creation (moving beyond participation) all the pilots that embedded this practice highlighted the continued systemic bias and power imbalance of citizen engagement and that it is not a dichotomy but a more of a cube. Co-creation with residents and artists is essential to ensure the right mix of skills and knowledge are at the table.
“One of the experiences has been that social innovation does not have fixed boundaries(…) Most of the creative action happens at the boundaries between sectors. In multi-sector collaborations.” Ragnhild Klevmoen, Norge Unlimited
- Citizen driven initiatives can improve policy with the example of the latest review of the Stavanger City Plan. We have learned to push not just for co-creation but for co-delivery. We will be encouraging more social entrepreneurs to use their local City Plan to inform the context for the theory of change for community-up initiatives!
- Partnerships and financial models – we have been drawing inspiration from the Wellbeing Economy framework and innovative policies such as the Future Generations Framework Wales. More project examples coming in the next few months!
Place-based pilots
The two primary demonstration sites in Stavanger are Pedersgata and Site 4016. To stimulate a range of pilots the Kvikktest method was applied to a selection of 5 winning projects for each site.
Pedersgata – is a culturally diverse and historically significant street undergoing rapid change. It is located in a neighbourhood called Storhaug where an area boost programme ran from 2018-2024. Storhaug Unlimited was established in 2019 offering a community incubator for idea and early stage social entrepreneurs.
Site 4016 – is the redevelopment site of a former industrial area being transformed into a regional business cluster for the construction industry. Ungt Entreprnørskap have been supporting youth enterprises to test their business models, develop practical experience and increase their access to the labour market. Fulltfokus is a local social enterprise, taking inspiration from the USA, working to reduce youth criminality through the discipline of training to be a personal trainer.
The NEB-STAR FESTIVAL 21-22 May 2025
Day 1 felt like a high intensity relay of: presentations and panel discussion – windy break, followed by – presentations and panel discussion – beer – windy mingling – dinner – and jazzy music – and finally windy walk home.
Through listening and many great conversations I was particularly inspired by a Frederico Duarte presenting Portugal’s approach to the Bauhaus Seas Sails. The Drop-Ripple-Wave analogy paints a picture of how social transformation works in practice.
This resonates with our reflections over the past 10 years of using social enterprise support to sustain urban regeneration – the Unlimited Model. The work of the social entrepreneurs we work with often drive social transformations from the neighbourhood level that seem like a drop in the face of the system challenges. However, it is the role of epistemic (experts, specialists, leaders) communities to be conduits for sustaining a drop…into a ripple effect that triggers a wave of systems change.
Day 2 walking tours and site visits really highlighted how creatives have challenged power structures and myopic understandings of “value” in urban planning.
PILOT SITE – PEDERSGATA was a great showcase of the ripple of effect of citizen engagement driving up cultural value. The documentary film highlighting how citizen engagement saved the artwork by Andreas Bøe from the demolition of the police station on Nytorget – was the perfect precursor to a guided tour with Jeanette.
The attraction and beauty of Pedersgata is centred around the independent retail and culinary richness of local entrepreneurs. Many of which are now supporting each other, investing in more than sales but also in being good neighbours.
Art ensures voices, lived experience and collective energy are not lost in the face of commercial development forces. Journey Through Grydå is proof of that! Grydå is a community enlightened by futures thinking and determined (even hopeful) that their needs and desires will be included in current development plans as they unfold.
Finally as NEB-STAR is wrapping up the leaders of the programme closed the festival with their reflections:
- “We need more community incubators and social entrepreneurship” Annemie Wyckmans. We need to keep listening and talking and have a place to meet locally across sectors.
- Give power to what is working well. Start with local residents – go where the energy is.
- Keep involving artists from the very beginning – their talent is in listening and communicating.
If you are interested to learn more – please get in touch with us or Stavanger Unlimited!
Laura Marano, Senior Advisor, Norge Unlimited