Open letter on lessons learnt during the workshop “Fostering user engagement for innovative demand response for effective flexibility” second version is now out!

This open letter captures key insights and recommendations from five European projects—HESTIA, SENDER, ReDREAM, ACCEPT, and iFLEX—focused on consumer engagement in Demand Response (DR) initiative, celebrated during the 10th edition of the Sustainable Places 2022 conference in Nice, France, from the 6th September to 9th September 2022.

First published: 04 Jan 2023, 3:1
https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.15270.1
Latest published (second version): 19 Feb 2024, 3:1
https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.15270.2

Highlighting diverse and effective engagement strategies, including co-creation activities and virtual home tours, the letter underscores project partners’ commitment to tailored and impactful user engagement. Emphasising phased organisation, varied tools, and keyword utilisation aligned with engagement timelines, the projects recognize adaptability, motivation, and eligibility as essential elements in crafting engaging recruitment materials. Addressing diverse contexts, continuous assessment is pivotal for achieving co-creation and active participation. The insights contribute to the evolving energy transition landscape, offering practical guidelines for those implementing or contemplating DR engagement strategies.

Introduction

In April 2021, a pivotal collaboration emerged among five EU Horizon projects dedicated to demand-response (DR) and energy communities – iFLEX (Intelligent Assistants for Flexibility Management), ACCEPT (ACtive Communities & Energy Prosumers for the Energy Transition), HESTIA (Holistic Demand Response Services for European Residential Communities), SENDER (Sustainable Consumer Engagement and Demand Response), and ReDREAM (Real Consumer Engagement through a New User-Centric Ecosystem Development for End User Assets in a Multi-Market Scenario).

Initiating their endeavours in the early stages, these projects faced a pressing and shared challenge: the active involvement of users in their initiatives. Recognising the need for collective insights and knowledge exchange, the projects joined forces to enhance the utilisation of lessons learned and amplify the impact of their outcomes.

This open letter, following the structure established during the workshop held at the SP2022 (Sustainable Places 2022) conference, encapsulates the collaborative efforts of these projects. The workshop featured presentations of initial findings on user engagement and co-creation, prompting a semi-structured discussion among project representatives, both on a panel and with the engaged audience. Moderators facilitated this exchange by posing targeted questions to panel members, with subsequent contributions from the audience.

While time constraints limited comprehensive responses from all project representatives, this open letter distils the key aspects and activities undertaken, representing a collective effort to share valuable lessons learnt during the development of pilot sites. It emphasizes the transparent exchange of information, best practices, and challenges encountered throughout diverse activities, offering interested stakeholders a practical “on-the-field” resource for their own projects.

Cite this article: Ospina Y, Aprà FM, Aggeli A et al. Lessons learnt during the workshop “Empowerment of citizens: fostering user engagement for innovative demand response for effective flexibility” [version 2; peer review: 3 approved with reservations]. Open Res Europe 2024, 3:1 (https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.15270.2)

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