The Shift Project is a think tank that works towards a carbon-free economy. As an association under the French law of 1901, which is recognised as being in the public interest, it is guided by the requirement of scientific rigour. Created in 2010, the Shift Project’s mission is to enlighten and influence the debate on the energy transition.
Main activities
The two objectives of the shift project are to enlighten and influence.
To shed light by setting up working groups on the most sensitive and decisive issues of the transition to an economy free of dependence on fossil fuels. By also producing robust and quantified analyses on the key aspects of the transition. And finally, by developing innovative proposals, with a view to providing answers at the right scale.
Influencing by conducting lobbying campaigns to promote the recommendations of their working groups to political and economic decision makers. By organising events that promote discussions between stakeholders. And by building partnerships with professional organisations, academia and international actors.
The association has initiated several works that have had a significant impact on the development of national and European public policies. In particular, they have created the “Decarbonising Culture” report, which highlights the environmental impact of culture. The report also proposes a set of measures and solutions for a more responsible cultural sector in the future. This work is particularly interesting for the LeCAKE Train project, as it represents one of our learning objects during the project.
The Shift Project has also created several tools to educate and inform organisations and individuals about climate issues. Two examples are: the teachclimate.org platform and the Climate Fresco.
The aim of the enseignerleclimat.org platform is to enable the sharing of resources and experiences between teachers and other actors in the educational community on the teaching of socio-ecological issues. This platform is open to all disciplines and all levels of education, from primary school to university.
The Climate Fresco is a workshop that helps to understand how climate change works and how to take effective action as a citizen. The workshop is accessible to the general public and provides an awareness and a base of important information related to ecology. This workshop will be tested during the LeCAKE Train project with the project participants.
It is currently being adapted into a Culture Fresco with the Shifters, the association of volunteers (13000) that has been accompanying the Shift process for 10 years.
As part of the LeCAKE Train project, The Shift Project is supporting the process with expert environmental skills. We will be able to certify the production of effective and accurate content for organisations.
Network
They are aimed at economic decision-makers, company directors, heads of federations, etc. and more broadly at opinion leaders in Europe and internationally.
Within the academic and institutional world: they seek to initiate joint scientific and economic work with research laboratories, Grandes Ecoles, or other institutes and think-tanks.
With the media and NGOs: they convey the most important messages arising from the association’s work.
Within the political world, with EU decision-makers in Europe and with managers in influential international bodies.
And finally the general public who will be reached by the Shift Project’s publications, projects and events.
The Shift Project is a partner in several organisations, events and projects related to the transition to a carbon-free economy.
Regular partners: P2E Experience, Cie La Poursuite du Bleu, The Shifters, La Fresque du Climat.
Regular funding: The Shift Project is supported by business leaders who want to make the energy transition their strategic priority. Since its creation in 2010, its work has had a significant impact on national and European policy making.
The team
The Shift is managed on a daily basis by a salaried team of around ten people, with Matthieu Auzanneau as director. The president, Jean-Marc Jancovici, and the Bureau supervise the activities, while project leaders lead the working groups. The think tank is supported by volunteers who have formed an autonomous association: Les Shifters.
The learners : The Shift Project is a think tank with a European dimension. It aims to be a force for proposals, focused above all on the means, for a transition to an economy free of dependence on fossil fuels. At the interface of the academic world, businesses, civil society and public and institutional authorities, the think tank’s vocation is to propose operational measures that answer not the question of “why” but the question of “how”. It is these organisations that are being formed through the Shift Project.
Two people, members of the Culture Department, will be specially dedicated to LeCAKE.
Jean-Noël Geist. Head of public affairs. He is in charge of public affairs at Shift. A graduate of Sciences-Po Strasbourg, the University of Thessaloniki and Sciences-Po Toulouse, he first joined Shift’s communications team and then, after a professional interlude in politics, took over the coordination of public affairs at the think tank. He coordinates Shift’s work on the defence, public administration, culture and health sectors.
Heloïse Lesimple. Culture & Health Project Manager. She joined the Shift team as a project manager for the French Economic Transformation Plan for the cultural and health sectors. She has a master’s degree in management from EDHEC and spent ten years working as a communications consultant in the health sector, then as a production manager in the cultural sector for dance and theatre companies. At the same time, she led theatre seminars in higher education and in companies. She is the co-founder of FAAR (Fonds d’aide pour les arts vivants responsables), which defends equality and the environment in the performing arts.