Methodological framework for good/best practices selection

Work package 5 (WP5) of the COME RES project identifies good practices of renewable energy communities (RECs), as defined by the Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EU) (RED II), and provides a best practices inventory. The inventory is part of a synthesis report of the best practice cases regarding novel and promising REC initiatives or REC approaches in the COME RES partner countries. Work package 5 includes in-depth assessments of innovative, adoptable and transferable cases. It examines the extent to which the good/best practices provide environmental, economic and/or social community benefits (as defined in cf. RED II, Art. 2). Based on the good/best practices, a sustainability scorecard for renewable energy communities is developed. The scorecard provides principles and criteria for sustainable community energy, which serve both as a self-assessment tool for RECs and a
potential guidance tool for policy development to further promote and improve RECs. Methods applied include primary and secondary literature and document analysis, desk research and semi-structured, qualitative interviews with relevant stakeholders as well as discussion within the country desks in WP3. This Deliverable 5.1 includes the methodological framework for good/best practice  selection and provides the groundwork for the characterisation, analysis and assessment of the good/best practice cases. Efforts are directed to build a coherent framework for structuring the case-studies. The case studies will be analysed according to a template carefully elaborated for this purpose. Deliverable 5.1 is structured as follows: the first section describes the background and purpose of this methodological framework. The second section provides introductory remarks on the identification, analysis and  elaboration of good practices. This includes a description of what is meant with good practice. The third section focuses on a  guidance for good/best practice selection and analysis and contains selection criteria. And the final section describes the way in  which the selected best practice cases should be assessed and elaborated in more detail. This Deliverable suggests to define best  practice as “a proven or innovative REC, preferably implemented in a COME RES model region, target region or any other region of  the COME RES partner countries, or third countries”. The procedure outlined in this methodological framework is designed to screen  good practice RECs and select the "best ones". Subsequent to the completion and approval of this Deliverable, on the basis  of the common methodology elaborated by FFU-FUB in this document, the COME RES partners will identify (within Task 5.2) experiences that can serve as good/best practice REC case studies (approx. 2-3 for each COME RES participating country). The  most relevant cases will then be selected for in-depth investigation. The final selection will also consider suggestions of the  stakeholder desks (Work package 3) and new potential cases to be included in the “best practice” portfolio (Deliverable 5.2).