From 17 to 19 March 2026, the CO-SUSTAIN consortium met in Krakow for its General Assembly, hosted by our Polish partner IGSMiE, to review project progress, coordinate ongoing activities, and plan the next stages of implementation. Over three days of exchanges, the consortium discussed the current state of the project, administrative and financial matters, communication and dissemination activities, and the roadmap toward project completion.

The first morning opened with a project progress review, including an overview of the project’s objectives, approach, methodology, and activities carried out to date. Partners also discussed administrative tasks under WP6 and communication and dissemination activities under WP5, with particular attention to conferences, publications, and the wider dissemination strategy.

A substantial part of the meeting was devoted to the CO-SUSTAIN methodology, which combines historical examples, case studies, stakeholder analysis, social network analysis, participatory system mapping, institutional ethnography, gamification, theory of change, deliberative panels, and impact stories. The way of structuring the comparative analysis across deliberation panels and case studies led to intensive discussions.

The consortium also advanced work on policy recommendations. In a dedicated session, partners reflected on the key issues to address, including the governance levels to target, the need for concrete and actionable outputs, and the importance of long-term, justice-oriented approaches to sustainable transition. This work will feed into Deliverable 4.3, which aims to consolidate policy recommendations drawing on project results and partner inputs.

The General Assembly concluded with the EU network workshop, an important step in strengthening dialogue with stakeholders and reinforcing the project’s wider impact. The Krakow meeting confirmed the consortium’s shared commitment to turning project insights into practical outcomes and to continuing close collaboration in the months ahead.