KNOWLEDGE module: Integrated and accessible energy information

“Our capacity to understand energy—as both problem and possibility—depends entirely on how we communicate about the capacities it affords, the damages it can cause, and our potential to shape the energy futures that lie ahead.” (Shane Gunster, et al., Canadian Journal of Communication, Special Issue ‘Communicating Power’, 2018)

This article presents your approaches to overcome knowledge barriers in your community energy project, especially through accessible communication practices. Based on EC2’s research, it is not only the amount and reliability of the information available that are important. Making knowledge accessible, relatable and empowering is crucial for mainstreaming community energy and energy citizenship.

The different knowledge barriers have been identified in the previous article and here, we aim to provide you with good practices and link to further guidelines. This information will be also summarised into a practical checklist to help your project to communicate energy knowledge in an accessible manner.

1. Make your communication strategic, efficient and attractive

Everything starts with knowing your target audience, especially in the case of reaching marginalised or vulnerable social groups. You will also risk excluding these groups and only reaching your “usual suspects” if you lack a well-targeted communication strategy. Knowing their potentials, barriers, and motivations to participate in your energy initiative will help you to make your communication attractive to the target group.

A tailored communication strategy is a key to systematic and efficient communication. A comprehensive communication strategy should have at least the following basic elements: objectives of the communication, target audience (i.e. demographics), key messages, communication channels, products, press and media strategy, and KPIs. To inform your strategy, conduct an analysis of your project market environment, and target group to inform your communication plan (e.g. using SWOT analysis method).

Inspiration: Community Energy Communication Guide (REScoop & Energy Cities)

Inspiration: Stakeholder Engagement Guide (COMPILE)

Inspiration: SWOT analysis for cooperatives, crowdfunding platforms and aggregators of renewable energies (SocialRES)

2. Choose the correct digital tools and communication channels

The IT- and communication tools used for communicating community energy should match the purpose and the target audience’s needs, digital skills and preferences. One size does not fit all. Consider both online and offline (e.g. printed materials, in-person support and events) solutions.

Choose your tool(s) also based on your need – whether you want to organise your work as an energy community (internal organisation tools), to inform your members, policy makers or broader public (external communication tools), or reach out to new people and invite them to join your project (engagement tools).

Inspiration: IT- and communication tools for energy communities (SCCALE 203050)

Inspiration: Matching tools to the level of involvement (DECIDE)

3. Develop and contribute to institutionalised one-stop-shops

To ensure direct interaction between policies and practice, and long-term solutions, we recommend developing institutionalised forms of information channels and assistance which are made available to all residents for free. This can be, for instance, central information points (one-stop-shops) or personalised assistance by energy experts (energy coaches) for every citizen who needs it. If your national or local authority already has a central information point, explore and make use of the synergies.

Inspiration: Overview of available tools to support energy communities (see “Information tools”)

Inspiration: Austrian Coordination Office for Energy Communities

Inspiration: Ecohouse Antwerp

4. Use social media to your advantage – don’t waste your resources!

Social media is a powerful tool to engage large numbers of people and lower the threshold to access information if used correctly. Firstly, look at the demographics of users in each platform to better understand which ones are the best to reach your target audience. Secondly, adapt your message and communication style for each platform (e.g. LinkedIn for professional articles and discussions, Instagram for photos, videos and inspirations). Finally, invest your resources wisely in social media. You do not need to be present on all platforms. Instead, a manageable number of best-fitting platforms will better allow you to commit to consistent engagement with your followers/community.

Inspiration: Aware communication – How to do it? (DECIDE)

5. Learn to communicate in easy-to-understand language

Energy production and sharing takes place in a complex regulatory and technical environment. Therefore, community energy is not an easy topic for most people. Using a complex language to communicate this can further sabotage people’s right to sustainable energy and access to reliable information. Energy citizens are people and residents from all types of backgrounds: non-experts, elderly, persons with cognitive disabilities, migrants, language learners, or just the general public. It is important to remember that easy-to-understand language serves everyone’s inclusion and participation.

“Easy-to-understand language” is a practice useful especially for authorities to lower language-related barriers in communicating community energy. The practice refers to standardised guidelines, for example, easy language and plain language with equivalents in different languages (e.g. Leichte Sprache in German, selkokieli in Finnish, lättläs in Swedish, Leitura Fácil in Portuguese). More and more, public authorities in different countries are required to provide information in these accessible language formats.

Paying attention to the wording, structure and the design of the language improves the comprehensibility of your message. Make sure also that people do not need to be energy experts to understand your message. Avoid or minimise the use of technical language which contains expert language (jargon), presuppositions, and too much information. Writing the short sentences, focusing on the most important information, and using a conversational tone are good practices from plain language useful for communicating energy knowledge. Finally, test the comprehensibility of your message with the target audience.

Inspiration: Five Steps to Plain Language (Center for Plain Language)

8. Recognise the knowledge brokers

Collaborate with people who are already in contact with your target groups. Identify and collaborate with local community leaders who are trusted by the people as sources of information about local activities and news. These actors can be both formal (e.g. social worker) or informal actors (e.g. active neighbour).

Inspiration: The municipality of Larissa, in Greece, has established an energy community in partnership with local, socially-oriented organisations. One of the partners is the Municipal Social Enterprice which is a municipal agency responsible for providing social benefits and support for inhabitants (e.g. support of income, food aid etc.). They are in contact with inhabitants in vulnerable situations via their daily activities. The energy community benefits from the social partner’s existing relationship and trust with these people and households. As a partner in the energy community, the Municipal Entreprise help the initiative to connect to, select and engage with the beneficiaries.

Inspiration: Buurkracht “Neighbourhood Power” foundation collaborates with active local residents (Energy Ambassadors) to improve sustainability in their neighbourhoods.

7. People are not stupid – harness the power of peer-learning and citizen science

Rather than communicating top-down, build energy knowledge in collaboration at the community level between decision-makers, administrators/planners, residents, and researchers. Supporting dialogue and peer-learning helps you to build trust between the different actors and address the knowledge gaps without stigmatising the ones who want to learn more. The collaboratively developed knowledge benefits everyone.

It is also not only the public who benefit from energy literacy, information and skills. Knowledge is often siloed in public administration (e.g. in municipalities). Creating awareness of community energy among administrators and decision-makers across departments open new and innovative ways to mainstream community energy.

Knowledge commons (collectively created information) and citizen science (citizens as active participants in the research process) are promoted by governance actors at all levels – from UN and EU to local governments. By directly engaging citizens as knowledge producers, citizen science can better inform decision makers and energy communities about their energy citizenship, their potentials and barriers for participating in the energy initiative.

Inspiration: Step Change -project on citizen science and energy communities

Inspiration: Knowledge is owned and managed by the community – key to sustainable and just cities