Social innovation and global citizenship: Guiding principles for sustainable, just and democratic energy transition in cities

In this paper, we examine the relationship of global citizenship to social innovation and propose a set of guiding principles to facilitate sustainable, just and democratic energy transitions in cities. We applied a participatory research approach beginning with interviews with stakeholders with expertise in citizenship, participation, or energy research and policy to develop search criteria, which were used to create a shortlist of 20 European citizen-driven energy projects. The criteria were: 1) democratic governance; 2) civil empowerment and capacity building; 3) human rights approach; 4) diversity of actors; and 5) sustainability. Key informants with relevant expertise were asked to score the 20 cases based on the search criteria, leading to a final selection of six exemplar cases from across Europe. Highlights from these initiatives included: empowerment of young community members in making decisions about the city's climate change response (Manchester), including citizen board members as regulators of energy partnerships (Viladecans), democratising activities through open voting (Leuven), and enabling community members to decide how to spend the surplus from collective energy purchases (Brixton). We argue that the integrated application of the global citizenship and social innovation concepts reveals a sweet spot at the interface between them that aids practical application. Social innovation perspectives can help depoliticise ideological positions around energy by bringing together communities of makers, while global citizenship concepts help to orient innovative proposals more clearly around social justice and environmental objectives. The five criteria are proposed as guiding principles to aid city authorities in energy transition contexts.

Automated summary

This paper examines the relationship between global citizenship and social innovation and proposes guiding principles for sustainable, just, and democratic energy transitions in cities. Through participatory research, six exemplary cases from across Europe were selected based on criteria including democratic governance, civil empowerment, human rights approach, diversity of actors, and sustainability. The integration of global citizenship and social innovation concepts aids practical application and aligns innovative proposals with social justice and environmental objectives. The proposed guiding principles can assist city authorities in energy transition contexts.