Periodic Reporting for period 2 - RIPEET (Responsible research and Innovation Policy Experimentations for Energy Transition)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-08-01 do 2024-01-31
The TLs created new relations between actors in the regions, marking a shift in all three regions on who would be included in future activities in the regional energy transition and creating more trusting, eye-level relationships. The inclusive format created small-scale, and community based social innovations, that also included social considerations in the energy transition. The Transition Lab approach worked well to engage with regional actors, because the focus was put on practical actions and challenges that are relevant in their work and daily life. The TTL further was successful in strengthening regional capacities to steer a place-based and inclusive energy transition through small-scale and community-based social innovations. It empowered previously unheard actors in taking an active role in their regional development and shaping an energy future tailored to their needs.
While the Call for Solutions, conducted like a public tender, did not comprise many specifications on the nature of the solution, it did include the obligation to go through a co-creation process with stakeholders from the quintuple helix while developing the solution, respecting RRI processes dimensions at the same time. In Extremadura and the Outer Hebrides (Highlands and Islands), one solution each was selected, and in Ostrobothnia the funding was divided between two different but related solutions. In Extremadura, the Transition Lab co-created a platform that informs the citizens of the region about the establishment of energy communities, including a website, online courses and a network of promoters across the entire region. In the Outer Hebrides, the solution revolved around establishing a local energy company and investigating solutions for energy efficient housing. The solutions in Ostrobothnia both dealt with the topic of energy transitions and energy calculation in villages. In all three regions, the solution provider, together with the regional team, established a co-creation process with members of the Transition Lab but also inviting new members directly affected by the solution (for example village inhabitants). Further, the RIPEET mutual leanrning programme was implemtend, focusing on how to organise regional energy transition processes with a societal needs-based focus and on sharing experiences in organising energy transitions. The Peer Learning concluded with a workshop with the energy innovation stakeholders from the mirror and pilots, and in addition regional representatives in Brussels, e.g. exploring the replication of the RIPEET approach in the context of the EU missions or the Partnership for Regional Innovation. In addition, the second period focused on analysis of the policy conditions and implications for integrating RRI-principles into regional energy transitions. Analysis revealed a lack of citizen involvement in energy innovation policy frameworks, identified potentials and barriers of policy co-creation, and the impacts of the TL process on transformative capacities. Finally, a position paper synthesised the policy insights and elaborated implications for RIS3 and further regional innovation policies.
Even though all regions already had a strategy for their energy sector, the co-created visions brought new perspectives from different stakeholder groups to the table. They provided a validation and legitimisation for pushing for just transitions and for including civil society in the process. The innovation outcomes of the process will have long-term benefits for the regions. The calculation tool and smart village strategy provide methods that can be scaled out and implemented elsewhere. The online resources and network of promoters will continue to increase knowledge and awareness of energy communities in Extremadura. In the Outer Hebrides, the Island Centre for Net Zero, a recently established initiative, will include the RIPEET methodology and work on further achieving the co-created vision. In Ostrobothnia, the new regional democracy strategy will take on parts of the RIPEET methodology. Different avenues for replication of the RIPEET methodology are explored in the mirror territories and in other flagship EU projects focusing on “Renewable Energy Valleys”.
The RIPEET methodology complements several EU frameworks with bottom-up experimentation, it provides a method for more stakeholder inclusion, for example for the new smart specialisation strategies. The Partnerships for Regional Innovation Handbook features many of the principles and methods applied in RIPEET, thus the project’s experiences can serve as a guideline for implementing the PRI strategy in other regions, as well as Ostrobothnia and Extremadura, who are two of the PRI pilot regions.