International collaboration within the IEA Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme.

Collaboration on energy technology research and development through the International Energy Agency (IEA) contributes to the economic development, energy security and environmental protection objectives of Member countries. The IEA Energy Technology Collaboration Programme provides a framework for experts to work co-operatively and share results. The benefits typically include sharing costs, pooling resources , and avoiding unproductive research paths. Further, participants are able to spread the risks associated with the choice of research priorities . The outcomes of collaboration enable the research and development objectives of national energy technology programmes to be better achieved at a lower cost. This paper introduces one of the IEA collaborative programme on Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems programme (ECBCS) and highlights the achievements of a number of its collaborative projects.