The new implementation of TOSCA will focus on strengthening local tech capacities in the region to address climate-related challenges. 

After the first pilot TOSCA project in 2019, the Digital City Science (DCS) at Hafencity University (HCU) Hamburg is renewing its cooperation with the GIZ GmbH and local partners from the city of Latacunga, Ecuador, to deepen on the technical capacities of the local team and further enhance the take-up and integration of the tool, both in academia and governance instances.

Under the Programme “Sustainable Intermediate Cities II” established by the GIZ in the Latin-American region, the cooperation “Toolkit for Open and Sustainable City Planning and Analysis (TOSCA) – Application in Ecuador” is assembled from the consortium of four partners: the Digital City Science (DCS) at HafenCity University (HCU) Hamburg as scientific and technical advisor, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as funding and coordinating partner, the Instituto Tecnológico Superior Cotopaxi (ITSC) receiving the knowledge transfer and responsible for the long-term take-up of the tool and Grupo Faro as bridging support ensuring its application into local policy design, in Ecuador.

The 6-month running project has as the primary goal, further capacitation of the local team´s technical knowledge, in order to motivate the solid integration of TOSCA as a digital planning tool within academic and governmental workflows. Through a series of training sessions, the project seeks to strengthen within the ISTC the existing knowledge regarding programming, data management and analysis for decision-making and strategy building. The medium-term impact of the project should contribute to generate innovative solutions in strategic planning for the region.  From the realms of academia, the implementation of TOSCA can enhance the development of new fields of application for the identification of future use cases, focused on supporting local authorities in matters related to climate-adaptive territorial strategies for sustainable development. 

Project funding agency: GIZ GmbH

Funding Volume: 53.000 Euro

Running time: 6 months