Project: Responsive Organising for Low Emission Societies
| Acronym | ROLES (Reference Number: JTC-2019_077) |
| Duration | 01/12/2020 - 30/11/2023 |
| Project Topic | ROLES aims to identify how European city-regions can accelerate decarbonisation of energy systems through digitalisation of energy infrastructure in ways that create societal benefits. Despite citizen aspirations to decarbonise society, actions that decarbonise in just ways face structural limits. Nascent research frames the failure to accelerate deep decarbonisation as a crisis of accountability. Lack of accountability in digitalising energy infrastructure can exacerbate social exclusion and risks inequitable extraction and use of data. ROLES develops strategies for responsive organising of citizen agency to tackle such accountability crises through customisable pathways in city-regions. It examines digitalisation of energy infrastructure in three mid-sized (population 100,000-300,000) European city-regions. Phase I of III identifies pro-poor and climate-friendly pathways to digitalise energy infrastructure for electric mobility hubs in Bergen, solar energy neighbourhoods in Brighton, and smart energy monitoring in Trento. Using multi-stakeholder interviews and small-scale surveys (n=30*3) with government, business, civil society, and marginalised groups, it co-produces structured, in-depth knowledge about digitalisation needs and initiatives in each city-region, including the range of policy mixes and citizens’ coping strategies and modes of engagement. Phase II identifies constraining and enabling conditions for rapid diffusion of digitalisation along these pathways. It involves these stakeholders in deliberations at public events to develop pathways to accelerate deep decarbonisation through digitalisation. This employs power cube analysis to identify political economic power dynamics for each pathway. Phase III delivers a toolkit on responsive organising to accelerate the digitalisation of energy infrastructure for deep decarbonisation in mid-sized European city-regions. Academic outputs will discuss dynamics of responsive organising in and across the cases. |
| Website | visit project website |
| Network | JPI Climate |
| Call | 2019 Call SOLSTICE |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Bergen | Coordinator | Norway |
| 2 | Joint Research Centre | Observer | Italy |
| 3 | University of Stavanger | Partner | Norway |
| 4 | University of Sussex | Partner | United Kingdom |
| 5 | EURAC Research | Partner | Italy |