D7.1 Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement Plans (DRAFT)

Please note that this deliverable has been officially submitted to the EU but is still pending approval. Once approved, the final version will be uploaded.

Summary:

This report, the first deliverable of Work Package 7 of the ATELIER project, presents citizen and stakeholder engagement plans for the project’s two Lighthouse Cities of Amsterdam and Bilbao. It sketches a theoretical framework on participation and engagement in the energy community, including the relevance of energy citizenship and energy communities as concepts. This context is then applied to the context of PED developments in Amsterdam and Bilbao. The document describes the geographical, demographic and social contexts of both cities, especially focusing on the PED demo sites of Buiksloterham and Zorrotzaurre. It thereby presents the results of the social analyses conducted in both areas, mapping local stakeholders and communities based on desk research and through real-life dialogues with key actors in the area. What drives current and future residents in their energy-related behaviour (or lack thereof)? What topics have their priority, and where do their needs lie? In particular, what is their involvement – if any – in the energy transition?

The document sketches on-going projects, communication channels, physical locations (e.g., community centres), etc. that can be of relevance to the citizen engagement process in Buiksloterham and Zorrotzaurre respectively, complemented with citizens’ and stakeholders’ current views regarding the energy transition specifically. It brings these findings into the implementation process of ATELIER’s demonstrators, both on the level of PED technologies and the broader local energy transition. The social analyses result in concrete engagement activities and interventions to be conducted during the course of the project. These interventions will then reinforce a bold energy vision at city level and seek to spread and scale the citizen-driven PED concept to other contexts.