TB: In the support that DEFINITE-CCRI provides to circular projects in European cities and regions, several key factors emerge as crucial for attracting investment and making projects investment-ready.

Firstly, economic viability is paramount. Projects may be favoured for their positive environmental impact, but they still need to demonstrate a solid business case with clear potential for revenue generation. Traditional investors will primarily seek returns on their investments, but impact investors also require projects to be financially viable. As such, it's essential for circular projects to display long-term economic benefits and to communicate their value effectively, especially if diverse or novel revenue models are used. This includes showcasing how circular models can lead to reduced resource supply costs, new revenue streams, and improved operational efficiencies.

Secondly, the overall impact of projects needs to be clearly articulated. Investors are increasingly looking for projects that deliver tangible positive outcomes for the environment, but often struggle to assess this themselves. By monitoring and quantifying relevant impact metrics, such as waste reduction, resource-efficiency improvements, or avoided emissions, projects can support investment potential by streamlining the impact assessment process for investors.

Providing concrete, comparable metrics is crucial to distinguish projects in the eyes of environmentally conscious investors. Thirdly, regulatory alignment is a key consideration. Projects that align with current regulations or anticipate future regulatory trends are more attractive to investors. This involves staying informed about evolving circular economy policies at local, national and EU levels, and demonstrating how the project complies with or exceeds these standards.

Addressing investor concerns proactively is also vital. This includes developing comprehensive risk-mitigation strategies and clearly outlining potential exit opportunities for investors. By anticipating and addressing these concerns upfront, projects can instill greater confidence in potential investors.

Lastly, strong partnerships and collaborations within the circular economy ecosystem can significantly enhance a project's credibility and feasibility. Collaborations with established industry players, research institutions or government bodies can provide valuable expertise, resources, and market access, making the project more attractive to investors.

By focusing on these aspects, circular projects can significantly improve their investment readiness and appeal to a broader range of investors.

KS: CircularInvest and DEFINITE-CCRI have joined forces to create the Circular Investment Readiness Network – a community of practice for European stakeholders aiming to learn how to make circular solutions investment-ready. Representatives from CircularInvest and DEFINITE-CCRI form the core team, organising quarterly sessions both in person and online. Insights from both projects have informed topic-specific sessions that explore areas such as evaluating the social and environmental impacts of circular solutions, understanding the financial differences and requirements between linear and circular projects, and developing viable business models. The network's success is largely attributed to the shared experiences from these projects, which have provided a deep understanding of the challenges in bridging the gap between circular solutions and investment.

Additionally, one of these sessions was co-developed with a team from the HOOP project, featuring an overview of the Circular Valuation Method and the Project Maturity tool. The experiences of developing replicable evaluation tools featured on an interactive platform have been inspirational in the development of the content and steps of the Deal Engine Mechanism. It is the underlying mechanism to provide Project Development Assistance (PDA) services under DEFINITE-CCRI.

TB: The unique feature of CCRI work involves extensive interaction and engagement with cities and regions. Generally, working with municipal project developers can be challenging, as city officials often manage multiple projects simultaneously, leading to delays in action. Furthermore, city or regional officials typically approach finance differently from investors, presenting distinct challenges.

Conversely, cities and regions can provide holistic support that early-stage projects rarely receive from private investors. This support can include early-stage capital, assistance with administrative and legal burdens of venture setup, identifying synergies between municipal projects, and offering overall coordination and venture establishment.

In the DEFINITE-CCRI case, the city of Roubaix, northeast of Lille, provided substantial support and capital to Tissel Manufactures from inception. The city purchased and renovated old industrial facilities, allowing circular startups to establish operations in this unique space and interact with one another. DEFINITE-CCRI is now collaborating with the city and a legal team to develop a strategy for transferring facility ownership to the startup association currently managing activities.

In Reykjavik, the municipality offered technical and operational support. The Circular Library Network (CLN), a library-of-things project in the city center, found synergies with the Municipal Library. This partnership allowed the CLN to showcase its first prototype and integrate project subscriptions into the library system, facilitating data collection from project operations. To date, the CLN has deployed units in five distinct municipal library locations throughout the city.

In Nokia and Ghent, the cities have supported projects in various ways, including collaborating on event organisation, participating in planning, and providing legal or administrative support for venture setup. In Nokia, the place-based nature of the Tehdassaari project allows for even greater integration between the municipality and daily operations.

Overall, DEFINITE-CCRI has demonstrated that cities and regions bring considerable value to early-stage projects through capital deployment and operational, administrative, and technical assistance. Such support can be pivotal in helping these ventures achieve financial and operational viability, with a thoughtful phaseout of municipal support after an initial stage of coordination and joint work.