From March 31st until April 2nd, all SCEPA partners gathered in Bruges, Belgium for an in-depth partner meeting. The programme brought together representatives from across North-West Europe for workshops, live demonstrations, speed-date sessions and rich knowledge exchange - all united by the shared mission of reducing energy poverty. We are happy to share some key highlights of our partnermeeting in Bruges.
Technology in the field: the thermo drone
As the host and organiser of this partner meeting, West-Vlaamse Intercommunale (WVI) took the group outside for a live demonstration of their thermo drone - a UAV equipped with thermographic imaging technology that maps heat loss from buildings while hovering overhead. By identifying exactly where energy escapes from homes, the drone helps prioritise which households need support most urgently. A powerful example of how technology can drive more targeted and effective interventions.
Data, ChatEP AI and monitoring
The meeting also featured workshop(s) on ChatEP (SCEPA's AI-tool), followed by a sessions on monitoring and evaluation, led by HAN University of Applied Science. Central to this was evaluating ChatEP - our AI tool that brings together a wide range of approaches to tackling energy poverty in one place. As a professional, you can use ChatEP to explore methods, find relevant information, and decide what works best in your context. These sessions reflected the project's core belief: that learning from what we do is essential to doing it better.
Community of Interest, replication and looking ahead
A dedicated session focused on SCEPA's Community of Interest and the development of replication guidelines: ensuring that the approaches and tools developed within the project can find their way to new regions and organisations beyond the current partnership. With 96 members, the Community of Interest is a strong and growing network of professionals committed to tackling energy poverty across North-West Europe. With SCEPA entering its final year, maximising impact is at the top of the agenda. Partners used the meeting to share ideas and align on how to achieve this together — from broadening the Community of Interest to scaling up communication efforts across the region.
"I look back on a successful partner meeting and would like to sincerely thank WVI for the excellent organisation. In my view, the meeting once again clearly demonstrated the significant added value of meeting in person.", Rutger van Raalten, Bureau Buiten.
