Circular economy strategies and projects in cities are often based on experimentation and pilots. This is both an opportunity for creating new knowledge and information, but also a challenge in terms of the human and technical capital needed to design and implement circular economy policies.

In this context, capacity building refers to the initiatives and activities aimed at adapting human and technical resources to the challenges to be met. Training can be related to technical issues for specific sectors, from agri-food to construction and demolition, or to the use of tools for enhancing the circular economy, from creating ad hoc strategies, to improving public procurement by considering circularity criteria. One way for local authorities to share knowledge and build capacities is through city-to-city learning, offered by dedicated networks. Reviewing and ensuring the required skills and capacities is a key aspect for developing an effective circular economy strategy.

Roadmap for a Circular Resource Efficiency Management. Source: EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy

Skills and capacities may refer to:

• Setting a circular economy strategy that is realistic, result-oriented, tailored and coherent with national and regional objectives.
• Coordinating across different levels of government, ensuring complementarities and achieving economies of scale across boundaries.
• Engaging stakeholders in the planning process of circular economy strategy.
• Ensuring adequate financial resources by linking strategic plans to multi-annual budgets and to mobilise private sector financing.
• Collecting and analysing data, monitoring progress and carrying out evaluations.

The Roadmap for a Circular Resource Efficiency Management provided by the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy offers cities and urban areas a structured, step-by-step approach to develop a plan of action that improves resource efficiency and drives the transition to a circular economy, including guidance on how to conduct a urban metabolism assessment.