Diversifying power in action: A socio-psychological approach to inclusive energy transition experiments

Abstract

Today only an exclusive group of citizens is represented in most energy transition projects. Adoption patterns are substantially shaped by gender, ethnic identity, education level, income and wealth. This stands in contradiction to the principle of fostering inclusive engagement as a key goal of energy transition policy. Despite notable exceptions, research is lacking on developing strategies for supporting demographically inclusive energy transitions. This action research study contributes to this gap by developing a theory-based and empirically tested approach for supporting inclusive engagement in energy transitions. For this purpose, we follow-up on a promising line of research in psychology and societal transformation, to inform a transition experiment aiming at fostering inclusivity based on the social-psychological concept of identity. In particular, we build on the common ingroup identity model (CIIM). The CIIM describes an approach to uniting people with different identities under a common umbrella identity, with the goal of uniting previously separated and in some cases divided groups. As such, we propose that the CIIM holds potential for connecting actors with different backgrounds in jointly shaping energy transitions. To investigate this here we describe the design, implementation and evaluation of an energy transition experiment structured around the CIIM. The findings of a mixed methods-evaluation study suggest that there is indeed potential in this approach, for fostering inclusivity. We comment on the implications for energy policy and on some of the challenges of action research in energy transitions contexts.