How to engage citizens in energy efficiency programs? An overview of TwinERGY’s engagement framework
Consumer empowerment stands as a major target and challenge that needs to be addressed for a successful outcome at any project. Identifying citizens’ concerns, getting them involved in the process and representing their vision is critical to set out a research.
TwinERGY’s partners Knowle West Media Center and Ideas for Change have led the co-design of an ad-hoc citizen engagement framework to ensure that consumers are placed at the centre of the innovation process. The framework draws upon the Bristol Approach, and will be applied in the four TwinERGY pilot projects, helping them to plan engaging activities and envisage possible outcomes. Let’s get deep insights on it!
Our core values for citizen engagement
Collaboration. Currently, many R&D projects focus on working with ‘early adopters’. In TwinERGY, instead, we aim to involve ordinary people and address their concerns in relation to their everyday energy management. This collaboration will inform the design of the TwinERGY platform making sure that the innovation process takes into account real life contexts and needs.
Multiple voices. Everyone’s interests and expectations should be represented at any stage of the project- in particular those who are currently most excluded. TwinERGY specifically addresses inclusion and diversity because involvement in technology projects can help to tackle structural inequalities that exist in the industry and society as a whole .
Power. Traditional methods of citizen engagement often reproduce positions of power putting experts and academics in leading positions. Challenging traditional hierarchies by changing the tone to design a more egalitarian space is at the heart of the project.
Experimental and Collective. TwinERGY commits to an experimental ethos to collective learning and doing. Everyone's an ‘expert’ in their own way.
Technologies & Skills, Motivations, and Changes at the hearth of the engagement strategy
In order to respond to the specific characteristics and needs of the TwinERGY pilots, we propose an adapted version of the Bristol Approach and include elements specific to a Demand Response energy project. The framework proposes 5 iterative steps:
Identify the community: by mapping local groups and taking into account the cultural context, needs and desires, as well as the Equity Diversity Inclusion principles, a community to be engaged over the course of the pilot program is identified and called on board to this collective journey.
Co-Design Technologies and Incentives: including participants’ inputs in the design of the TwinERGY technologies is the central goal of this phase. The focus is on gathering participants’ contributions of the energy management technologies as well as on the tools that can encourage people to change their energy behaviours (e.g. gamification, data visualization platforms, etc.).
Deploy Technologies and skills: the technology and incentives co-designed will be deployed in each of the pilot communities. This stage includes installing and setting up technologies at people’s home and community centers, as well as activities aimed at deploying skills among pilot participants so that they are able to use and make sense of the TwinERGY technologies and data. Once using these new technologies, there may be the opportunity to optimize the technological tools with direct feedback from participants who may have ways in which to improve the tools to make them easier to use, or otherwise more accessible.
Measure Changes: The ultimate goal of introducing TwinERGY technologies to people’s homes is to foster more sustainable energy consumption and bring positive changes to participants' lives. But, how does this translate into people’s everyday lives? By following a co-assessment approach, this stage includes activities aimed to involve pilot participants in the assessment of the changes brought by TwinERGY technologies – is it reduction in energy consumption? saving on energy bills? Awareness? Behaviours change? Social capital? What intervals?. In planning this stage of the pilot, we should reflect on how we make participants aware of the change that occurred, how we measure it and how we involve participants in doing so.
Reflect on Outcomes: At the periods of measuring, an initial phase of reflection will be carried out and utilized to iterate the next phase, improving engagement and delivery.
Co-designing with communities, key to the TwinERGY engagement framework
KWMC and Ideas for Change have worked with pilot leaders, through interviews and workshops, to understand their previous experience with engagement methods and gather knowledge about local contexts, citizens and communities who will be engaged. This has been essential to understand what the baseline is prior to developing a methodology bespoke for the project.
The results of this process have highlighted the commonalities as well as the differences across the Pilots and how the Bristol Approach could be further adapted to meet the local needs. What’s more, the interviews showcase that Pilots have different levels of connection to their communities before the start of engagement activities: while some Pilots built on existing relationships of trust others pilots will start from scratch.
Making the Framework actionable
The framework includes a set of innovative tools to guide pilot leaders in planning their interventions. These tools are:
the EDI matrix that aims to foster reflection in the recruitment process ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities to participate;
the persona cards that prompt an in-depth reflection about participants background, motivations and skills;
scenario cards to imagine possible situations that could be experienced during the pilot program;
and a pilot timeline that provides an overview of key activities to be conducted over the course of the pilot and supports planning in advance.
Overall, these tools contribute to making the knowledge embedded in the framework actionable and effectively transferred to Pilot leaders.
Example of a persona and scenario card
If you want to know all about TwinERGY’s engagement framework you can’t miss the deliverable D2.1 on Best Practice Guidelines for Engaging Citizens in the Pilots and metrics for Diversity and Inclusion! Check our methods and the co-created tools to carry out pilot activities and meet the participants’ needs.
