People around the world are trying out new social practices, or reviving practices from the past, in the hope that those meet our needs better than existing solutions do. Those new (or revived) practices are social innovations. Social innovations in energy (SIEs) can include energy cooperatives; new funding schemes for energy retrofits; crowdfunding for energy saving projects; and much more.
What approaches can cities take to support SIEs that help transform energy systems and bring about energy transitions? This is a huge question with multiple facets to explore. The SONNET project, in which ICLEI Europe is a partner alongside five ICLEI Member Cities, is convening a so-called 'fishbowl discussion' to unpack these.
On 20 January from 10:30-12:00 CET, join the 'fishbowl' – a discussion format that uses ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ circles to give everyone the opportunity to jump into a core discussion circle to have their voices heard and to engage directly with each other.
Click here to register to join the discussion, which will feature representatives from ICLEI Members Bristol (United Kingdom), Mannheim (Germany), and more, as well as Dr. Marta Strumińska-Kutra, an expert from Kozminski University in ICLEI Member Warsaw (Poland).
The discussion will explore 'collaborative governance arrangements': what that means, how cities can use collaborative governance to support social innovations in energy (SIEs), and what these arrangements practically mean for cities, people and local organisations.
Prepare for the discussion by delving into recent research on how SIEs are governed, and a new ‘governance typology’, which illustrates the diversity of governance arrangements used by cities to facilitate and support SIE. Overall, considering both social interactions (cooperation, exchange, competition, conflict), and governance modes (hierarchical, market-based, and network-based), the research explores what approaches cities can take (and are taking) to steer issues related to social innovation in energy.
To delve into this topic further, alongside other urban leaders and experts, register here.
For more information, click here.