The OpTIMUS community of practice builds human capacity and adds to sustainable development knowledge by building and applying open source modelling tools. It is not an advocacy group. It does not recommend or implement policy. Rather it provides decision makers with a set of tools, supporting data and theory that enable them to chart national sustainable development strategies and policies. To do so it accumulates and applies scientific knowledge. OpTIMUS is organized in three practices capacity building, academic excellence with real world relevance and open source modelling tools the latter including nine established and emerging modelling tool networks.

The objective of OpTIMUS is to build capacity, to use and develop models based on the best available science. In Practice one (P1) Capacity Building four networks (P1N1-4) are maintained. The first three are at a government level. They include network P1N1: High-level policy makers. Funding permitted, they are provided with high-level scoping missions from a roster of OpTIMUS ambassadors that organise and coordinate training of their analysts and model users. They are also invited to an annual high-level event at the ICTP summer school. At that event they share experience and provide clear needs to be addressed by OpTIMUS community. Network P1N2: Government analysts and model users. They are provided with training courses that occur in four settings i. In country training ii. Regional Training (in particular associated with Energy Modelling Platform (EMP) Meetings) iii. International training during the ICTP summer school and iv. Via online distance learning material. Network P1N3 includes so called OpTIMUS ambassadors. They have experience that bridges the gap between modelling needs and policy realities and can set up effective training. Network P1N4 is the Development community, including international, donor and other development organisations. They are kept informed of OpTIMUS products including updated lists of service providers including: OpTIMUS Ambassadors, trainers, policy analysts and model developer. Practice two (P2) Academic excellence with real world relevance provides three key services (P2S1-3). Service P2S1: scientific and real world review of OpTIMUS outputs. Those include regular publications documenting code and application of OpTIMUS tools. This is undertaken by academic, industrial and donor bank review. Service P2S2: A summer school, MSc course and academic network. Service P2S3 is the active building of a body of scientific knowledge by holding open annual academic meetings, such as at the European Geo-Sciences Union (EGU), journal special issues and developing teaching curricula for partner universities and hubs. Practice three (P3) Open Source Modelling Tools, provides two key services (P3S1-2). Firstly, P2S1 the coordination of open source tool communities to provide up-to-date tools, training material, case studies and SDG outlooks. Secondly, P2S1 a roster of experts that can be called on to undertake training, analysis and model development. The focus is on mobilising, consolidating and supporting open source tool communities. Each of these will be encouraged to hold steering committee meetings on the side of the ICTP summer school.

OpTIMUS, funding permitting, will facilitate and provide the following in country services: - High level scoping mission assessing and communicating. - Condensed introduction to modelling for sustainable development. - Detailed introduction workshop for each modelling tool. - Advanced training for each modelling tool - Self teaching material, data and tool support services - Case studies (country validated and peer reviewed applications) - Discussion forum (Decision makers and tool users) Subject to funding, Optimus will also provide, in partnership with external and governmental analysts both in and external to the country: - Data collection and processing, - Interactive modelling building - Analysis and - Model Transfer Annual ICTP activities center around an annual summer school and facilitated teaching sessions for a masters degree. Specifically, these are to include: A summer school with: - High-level policy dialogue during the summer school. - Detailed tool by tool introduction summer school. - Steering committee meetings for each open source modelling tool. Full year annual taught coursework including advanced training on each tool to contribute to a MSc degree. Thereafter, thesis work will be carried out at an OpTIMUS partner institution. Annual regional meetings will be held in Asia, Latin America and Africa. The entry point for those meetings will be energy. Outlook and pathways to achieve SDG7 as well as energy related SDG13 mitigation and SDG17 investment opportunities: - Energy Modelling Platform Africa (EMP-Af) - Energy Modelling Platform Asia (EMP-A) - Energy Modelling Platform Latin America (EMP-LA) These will be available where appropriate to: - High-level policy makers - Government analysts and model users - Development community networks - Academic networks - Industrial community

The community is lead by three executive directors, advised by a consultative board with a secretariat. Each practice is lead by one or more champions. The consultative board, the directors and each practice champion meet each year at the ICTP summer school. The secretariat organises weekly meetings with practice champions and executive directors. The initial champions (to be revised as needed) of each practice are as follows: Practice 1: Capacity Building - is championed by a representative of UNDESA; Practice 2: Academic excellence with real world relevance - is championed by a representative of Cambridge University (taking a lead, with), ICTP, ABB and the World Bank Group; Practice 3: Open Source Modelling Tools is championed by a representative of KTH. All three practices will report to executive directors and the Consultative Board at an annual meeting. Each practice has obligations and responsibilities to the others. Each practice, in turn, coordinates - and reaches out - to a network of related actors. In the case of practice 1, it is to international organisations, funders and recipient governments. In the case of practice 2, it is to academic institutions, industry and development banks. In the case of practice 3, it is to the open source modelling community, including teachers, developers and consultants. The secretariat (to be revised as needed) is provided by representatives of KTH.

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), University of Cambridge, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), World Bank Group (WBG), ABB.