A Systematic Approach Towards Mapping Stakeholders in Different Phases of PED Development—Extending the PED Toolbox

Abstract

The development of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) is arguably the development of an innovation embedded in a community of organisations and individuals (occupants, inhabitants, citizens) who can affect or are affected by the innovation. However, current methods of stakeholder engagement in PED developments do not systematically identify the type of stakeholders by phases of PED development. In this paper, we draw from selected theories on stakeholders in the strategic management literature from a practical viewpoint to outline a systematic approach towards mapping stakeholders in PED developments. The research question addressed is: How can stakeholders be systematically mapped in the different phases of PED development? From a case study involving 7 PED projects, we applied a preliminary tool delineating eight categories of actors relevant for the different phases of PED development. Based on our analysis, we suggest that it is important to reimagine PED stakeholders as interactive actors since stakeholder roles shift during the PED process and to map them on the building, district and the city scale. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, in terms of managerial implications, we have outlined a preliminary actor-oriented stakeholder mapping framework that is attuned to the phases of the PED process and the different scale of stakeholders (building level, district level and the city level). Second, in terms of research implications, we have extended the notion of the PED toolbox to not only consider technical tools and non-technical tools but also include a category of managerial tools that merits research attention.KeywordsPositive energy districts (PEDs)Actor-oriented stakeholder mappingPED development phasesPED as a processPED toolbox