{"id":2101,"date":"2019-11-06T15:42:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T15:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/?p=2101"},"modified":"2019-11-06T15:43:05","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T15:43:05","slug":"co-creation-sonnet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/2019\/11\/06\/co-creation-sonnet\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-creation, communication and lots of energy: my day with SONNET"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I arrived to Karlsruhe, Germany by train on October 2nd<\/sup> to attend the first in-person project meeting of SONNET \u2013 Social Innovation in Energy Transitions<\/a>. The meeting was hosted by Fraunhofer ISI<\/a>, the organisation co-ordinating SONNET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After checking into my B&B, I made my way to the second project dinner, which took place \u2013 yes, you guessed correctly – in a vegan restaurant. The project team arrive from a walk during which they discussed city labs and what we can learn from them, and crowd into the restaurant to occupy two large tables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Gendering social\ninnovation and energy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I look around the room and immediately notice something\nunusual. I am surrounded by a group of mainly female academics and\nprofessionals. It is not often you find yourself in a research project that is\ndominantly female. Gender wasn\u2019t a criteria for inclusion in the SONNET bid,\nbut whether the make-up of the project team will influence the outcomes of the\nproject is another question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SONNET\"
Post-its (Image by Flor Avelino)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

SONNET endeavours to reflect on issues of gender across all\nits work packages, in line with the goals of the European Commission, and aims\nto identify how gender is discussed (or not) in the literature on its areas of\nfocus: social innovation and energy transitions. The project will also analyse gender\nin relation to levels and ways of participating in Social Innovation in Energy\n(SIE) initiatives, when conducting the city labs, including issues of inclusion\nand equality. Issues of gender will be addressed specifically in the\nrecommendations proposed at the end of SONNET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing gender issues into the project is not always\nstraightforward and it has to be an ongoing process and discussion, rather than\nsomething that is set in stone at the beginning. Learning from each other on\nbest practice is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-creation and city\nlabs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I attend the final day of the meeting, where we start the\nmorning with an Interactive lab-style session on the \u2018Co-creation and\ndissemination strategy\u2019. I facilitate a group talking about how to engage with\npolicy makers. I soon realise this is a very new setting, different to\ndiscussions I am used to in UK projects. In the UK we talk about influencing\n\u201cpolicy makers\u201d on a daily basis, but we rarely question who they are. It has\nbecome an almost mythical concept within the ivory towers of academia, where\nthere is increasing pressure to break out of silos and achieve impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SONNET\"
Constellations are fun. Where do you stand? (Image by Nora Blascsok)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But what happens when stakeholders are involved right from\nthe start as equal partners working in close collaboration in a process of\nco-creation? City labs are at the heart of SONNET\u2019s transdisciplinary approach,\naiming to collectively initiate and observe current and unfolding social\ninnovation processes in the energy sector. City labs will not only have an\nimpact on the participating cities, but also allow other cities to learn from\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SONNET\"
What are the best channels to use when communicating with stakeholders? Lots of ideas in the room…(Drawing by Maria Fraaije) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hearing from local authorities and city councils about the\nchallenges they face first hand is a useful learning experience for researchers\ninvolved. Speaking to Jana Deforche from the City of Antwerp, I find out that\nshe sees being part of SONNET a mutual learning experience. She highlights the\nimportance of working together to achieve impact and how they, as a city, can\nuse learning about social innovations and transitions to help them accelerate\nthe processes that are already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking to partners from local authorities about how to\nachieve change, I find that the pathways to influencing decision makers or\neven, who makes the final decisions in government, when it comes to\nsustainability transitions is just as blurry to them as it is to us in academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hopes and challenges <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to some of the researchers and city partners after\nthe meeting, I want to find out about what their hopes are about what SONNET\ncould achieve and what they see as the main challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coordination clearly is an important aspect of such a large\nproject. SONNET is \u2018a lot of energetic people working on energy\u2019, as DRIFT\nresearcher Flor Avelino said to me. Ambition levels are high, but we only have\nthree years to deliver what we\u2019ve set out to achieve, so efficiency is crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flor also explained to me that social innovation can\ndemonstrate how alternative energy options can not only help achieve our\nclimate goals, but also provide answers to socio-economic issues like\ninequality. Having so many people in a room who might have different views\nabout the world and how to solve our problems, but feel equally passionate\nabout achieving a transition to a sustainable and fair society is definitely a\nchallenging, but also exciting start to a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I leave Karlsruhe full of excitement, new ideas and\nquestions to get on a train to my next destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about SONNET: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTransdisciplinarity\u201d for a sustainable future<\/a> \u2013 blog on ICLEI website <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SONNET project page<\/a> on the SPRU website<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SONNET website coming soon! You can follow SONNET on Twitter<\/a> in the meantime.<\/p>\nFollow Sussex Energy Group \"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I arrived to Karlsruhe, Germany by train on October 2nd to attend the first in-person project meeting of SONNET \u2013 Social Innovation in Energy Transitions. The meeting was hosted by Fraunhofer ISI, the organisation co-ordinating SONNET. After checking into my…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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