Tools to empower local and regional authorities from planning to investment

Across Europe, local and regional authorities are stepping up to lead the charge against climate change. But while ambition is high, many cities and regions still struggle with the practicalities of turning plans into action. The European project PROSPECT+ has responded with a suite of hands-on tools, designed to help local authorities and energy agencies move from strategy to implementation.

These tools are aimed at supporting local actors to prioritise their climate and energy actions, evaluate financing options, and prepare projects for investment. Together, they provide a foundation for delivering Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) more effectively.

SYNERGISE: Turning SECAPs into smart action plans

At the heart of the toolkit is SYNERGISE, an Excel-based decision-support tool built to help cities make sense of their SECAPs and choose which actions to implement first. SYNERGISE+ transforms qualitative insights into a structured analysis, showing which projects align best with local goals, climate resilience, and available resources.

With its intuitive scorecard, SYNERGISE allows decision-makers to assess how well their actions respond to risk, cost-efficiency, and stakeholder values. It also highlights which initiatives might work best in tandem, helping to unlock synergies across departments and sectors.

The tool supports inclusive, cross-sectoral decision-making by encouraging involvement from departments responsible for key actions. Whether planning new projects or reviewing existing ones, SYNERGISE ensures decisions are informed, balanced, and future-ready.

Recommendations – Decision Matrix for finding the right finance

Once a public authority knows which projects to prioritise, the next challenge is often how to pay for them. The Recommendations – Decision Matrix helps public authorities find the most suitable innovative financing scheme for their context.

This interactive self-assessment tool walks users through 31 targeted questions, covering various aspects of their project and local conditions. Based on responses, it calculates how easy each financing scheme would be to implement — offering a clear pathway towards models such as revolving funds, citizen finance, or energy performance contracting. Rather than providing generic advice, the tool delivers a tailored result for each user, enabling cities to explore finance options that match both their ambition and their capacity.

Ready for investment? Check with the Finance Readiness Tool

Before approaching financing institutions, it’s vital to ensure your project is ready for investment. The Project Finance Readiness Tool was created precisely for this reason — helping local authorities assess whether their sustainable energy projects are financially mature and bankable.

Through a clear and structured self-check, the tool prompts users to examine the critical elements of their proposal, from legal frameworks and stakeholder involvement to financial clarity and risk. By highlighting potential gaps, it helps cities strengthen their proposals before engaging with financial institutions or applying for funding.

This tool is particularly useful for municipalities at the early stages of engaging with investors, giving them the confidence and clarity needed to present strong, credible projects.

Financial Indicators Calculator

Even the most promising projects require a solid understanding of costs and returns. That’s where the Financial Indicators Calculator comes in. Designed for simplicity, it helps users calculate key financial metrics — including net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period — with just basic project data.

By entering expected costs and revenues, users receive a clear overview of their project’s financial outlook. The resulting dashboard is easy to interpret and ideal for sharing with internal decision-makers or external funders.

This tool ensures that local teams can quickly assess whether an investment makes sense, even without extensive financial training.

Empowering local authorities with tools that work

Each tool is based on real-world conditions and designed to fit within the workflows of municipalities, energy agencies, and regional authorities. They’re ideal not only for cities that have signed the Covenant of Mayors, but for any local actor involved in sustainable energy or climate action planning.

With tools that support planning, prioritisation, financing, and readiness, PROSPECT+ is bridging the gap between ambition and delivery. As Europe accelerates its green transition, these resources offer local governments the support they need to act effectively on climate change.