Easy citizen participation in climate strategy making at the local level

AI Quick Summary

We are trying to ease citizen participation in climate strategy-making. We co-designed a prototype of an application concept, with Proxity. We would develop a business model and plan based on the results of a workshop with stakeholders (eg. community leaders, decision-makers, finance and local climate strategy experts). The final customers of our solution will be residents of communities. They benefit by having the chance to be heard and involved in energy and climate strategy development. What problem are we trying to solve?​ We are trying to solve the need to have tools for easy citizen participation in decision-making related to energy planning and climate strategy-making on the local level. Today decisions are made primarily by local planners and consulted among a smaller group of citizens who are available to attend in-person community meetings which are held around 2-4 times a year. Only very pro-active communities hold alternative meetings for citizens to provide their inputs or to co-create projects and this is done today on a very ad-hoc basis. Who are the customers of our solution and how do they benefit? The final customers are residents of communities. They benefit by having the chance to be heard and involved in climate strategy decisions made on the local level. However, the clients of our concept will initially be the smart city managers, or the municipalities' civil servants who promote digital transformation and tools for citizen involvement in planning.How does the project idea affect energy savings or CO2 emissions?​If people co-create the local projects, and feel they have been asked for their opinion in a fair and transparent manner, we believe they are more likely to be involved in being part of the solution, taking part in efforts themselves, and they will be more likely to use the installations that are finally developed and invested in on the community-level. There is a potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the local areas that use this application, but it also depends on the way that the application is implemented. There is a risk that some smaller communities do not grasp the concept, however it can always be used to educate citizens about existing programs and projects to reduce emissions in the community (where are electric bicycle installations, etc.).Current status and previous activities​We have a prototype of a concept involving an IoT platform already developed by Proxity, a start-up in Switzerland. We would use the 20k of seed funding to go one step further and develop a business model and plan of action, as well as host co-creation workshops with key stakeholders to push forward the next steps (hopefully a few tests in real communities in Switzerland). We already have contacts in Lucerne who are willing to test any application of this type, in a neighborhood bordering the university (HSLU), in the context of their living lab focused on energy community innovations. Our idea is to use this case, and replicate the work in other areas of Switzerland. We also have good contacts at the city of Yverdon-les-Bains because the school of engineering has a very good contact with their existing programs. They are very willing and open to test the savoir faire of the school, when we are ready with a proof-of-concept for this particular citizen-driven "smart city" application. We will proceed with larger sources of funding once we have better defined the concept and the key stakeholders to be involved in the larger project(s). What has been tried before? What was not successful? What have you learned?​We have already worked with a group of EPFL students to develop a prototype of a concept involving an IoT platform already developed by Proxity, a start-up in Switzerland. We already put together a larger funding proposal but we were not successful because the call was more research-oriented, and not about the development of real tools (Applied Research & Development). Resources neededWe need time of our team members, to be partially funded by the 20k seed funding, and we need resources to pay for the hosting workshops to develop and co-create the concept and business model, so that it is ready for the next steps which would include two main steps: 1) development of a proof-of-concept (coding and developing an actual mobile-phone based application) and 2) testing the application in one or two city contexts, hopefully in Lucerne and Yverdon-les-Bains (or Geneva). Another opportunity is testing the tool in the context of CERN's new Green Village initiative. We have already been in contact with CERN about this potential testing opportunity.One of the in-person workshops we will host and hold using this seed funding could be held in Yverdon-les-Bains at HEIG-VD, or ideally such a workshop could be held at the IdeaSquare (CERN's design thinking lab) in Geneva, where design thinking is taught to students from all over the world.

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: Easy citizen participation in climate strategy making at the local level
• Date: 5/31/2022 4:04:10 PM
• Administrators:
  • Mary Jean Bürer

Project Idea Description

What problem are we trying to solve?​

We are trying to solve the need to have tools for easy citizen participation in decision-making related to energy planning and climate strategy-making on the local level. Today decisions are made primarily by local planners and consulted among a smaller group of citizens who are available to attend in-person community meetings which are held around 2-4 times a year. Only very pro-active communities hold alternative meetings for citizens to provide their inputs or to co-create projects and this is done today on a very ad-hoc basis. 

Who are the customers of our solution and how do they benefit?

The final customers are residents of communities. They benefit by having the chance to be heard and involved in climate strategy decisions made on the local level. However, the clients of our concept will initially be the smart city managers, or the municipalities' civil servants who promote digital transformation and tools for citizen involvement in planning.

How does the project idea affect energy savings or CO2 emissions?​

If people co-create the local projects, and feel they have been asked for their opinion in a fair and transparent manner, we believe they are more likely to be involved in being part of the solution, taking part in efforts themselves, and they will be more likely to use the installations that are finally developed and invested in on the community-level. There is a potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the local areas that use this application, but it also depends on the way that the application is implemented. There is a risk that some smaller communities do not grasp the concept, however it can always be used to educate citizens about existing programs and projects to reduce emissions in the community (where are electric bicycle installations, etc.).

Current status and previous activities​

We have a prototype of a concept involving an IoT platform already developed by Proxity, a start-up in Switzerland. We would use the 20k of seed funding to go one step further and develop a business model and plan of action, as well as host co-creation workshops with key stakeholders to push forward the next steps (hopefully a few tests in real communities in Switzerland). We already have contacts in Lucerne who are willing to test any application of this type, in a neighborhood bordering the university (HSLU), in the context of their living lab focused on energy community innovations. Our idea is to use this case, and replicate the work in other areas of Switzerland. We also have good contacts at the city of Yverdon-les-Bains because the school of engineering has a very good contact with their existing programs. They are very willing and open to test the savoir faire of the school, when we are ready with a proof-of-concept for this particular citizen-driven "smart city" application. We will proceed with larger sources of funding once we have better defined the concept and the key stakeholders to be involved in the larger project(s).

What has been tried before? What was not successful? What have you learned?​

We have already worked with a group of EPFL students to develop a prototype of a concept involving an IoT platform already developed by Proxity, a start-up in Switzerland. We already put together a larger funding proposal but we were not successful because the call was more research-oriented, and not about the development of real tools (Applied Research & Development).

Resources needed

We need time of our team members, to be partially funded by the 20k seed funding, and we need resources to pay for the hosting workshops to develop and co-create the concept and business model, so that it is ready for the next steps which would include two main steps: 1) development of a proof-of-concept (coding and developing an actual mobile-phone based application) and 2) testing the application in one or two city contexts, hopefully in Lucerne and Yverdon-les-Bains (or Geneva). Another opportunity is testing the tool in the context of CERN's new Green Village initiative. We have already been in contact with CERN about this potential testing opportunity.

One of the in-person workshops we will host and hold using this seed funding could be held in Yverdon-les-Bains at HEIG-VD, or ideally such a workshop could be held at the IdeaSquare (CERN's design thinking lab) in Geneva, where design thinking is taught to students from all over the world.

We are trying to ease citizen participation in climate strategy-making. We co-designed a prototype of an application concept, with Proxity. We would develop a business model and plan based on the results of a workshop with stakeholders (eg. community leaders, decision-makers, finance and local climate strategy experts). The final customers of our solution will be residents of communities. They benefit by having the chance to be heard and involved in energy and climate strategy development.