The bottom-up methods were developed during a participative process. The Austrian Energy Agency developed the methods and established a feedback process during a series of workshops with relevant stakeholders, the federal ministry and the provinces (“Länder”).

In 2008, three nation-wide methodology workshops and a number of small group-discussions took place. In addition, another workshop was arranged especially for representatives of the Länder. Suggestions for changes subsequently were evaluated and integrated into the expert recommendation. The federal ministry together with the provinces make the binding decisions on the methods for energy savings.