Leveraging and Upscaling Active Citizenship in Multi-level Governance
CO/ALIGN is an international research project that explores how collaboration between civil society organisations (CSOs), governments and knowledge institutions can drive sustainable mobility transitions in cities. Through a series of Living Labs, its main ambition is to develop practical tools and strategies that help integrate grassroots initiatives into decision-making across different levels of government. In other words: how can ideas that start on the street or in neighbourhoods shape city and regional policies towards more sustainable mobility?
To address this question, CO/ALIGN brings together a diverse group of partners who share knowledge and learn from one another, including universities, public authorities, civil society organisations and practitioners. This takes place across five European city-regions: Antwerp (Belgium), London (UK), Turin (Italy), Cluj (Romania) and Barcelona (Spain).
Within this collaborative consortium, CO/ALIGN will result in a COMPENDIUM: a practical and accessible toolbox supporting civil society organisations, policymakers and practitioners in working together towards more inclusive and sustainable mobility transitions. At its core is the CSO ATLAS, a European-wide platform for mapping initiatives and sharing knowledge. It also includes Living Lab portfolios from five cities, a toolkit for inclusive upscaling strategies, and a transnational evaluation framework assessing their impact. A set of policy briefs—five local and one European—translates these insights into actionable recommendations for decision-makers.
The project is funded under the Driving Urban Transitions partnership and runs from early 2026 to the end of 2028.
Find out more about the project team and our collaborating partners here.
