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WHY-PARITY-ATELIER-SMARTLIVINGEPC International Modeling Workshop

Building a model of household investment decision-making towards the energy transition

In the framework of the H2020-WHY, H2020-PARITY, Smart Living EPC  and H2020-ATELIER projects, an hybrid-multidisciplinary workshop session is organized to better understand which are the most predominant factors that affect the decision-making in stereotypical households regarding investment decisions toward the energy transition in EU. 

The workshop tackled four different aspects of the energy transition: 

  • Energy efficiency and conservation actions (e.g., purchase a class A appliance or share appliances among neighbours), 
  • Distributed generation and flexibility markets (e.g., install PV panels, batteries or energy assets that can be remotely controlled), 
  • Building energy renovation (e.g., re-glazing or thermal Insulation in façade), and
  • Mobility (e.g., uptake of public transport or invest in electric transport options) 

Expected Outcomes

After the hybrid-multidisciplinary workshop we expect to get relevant outcomes from the experts work to understand: 

1. The determinants that affect the most to EU stereotypical profiles on a behaviour change model based on stages to transition towards the final investment decision.

2. The experts’ agreements and disagreements on each determinant/factor per stage of the behavioural model. 

 

How will the result be applied?

1. We will create an initial causal model per EU archetype. 

2. We aim to find ways to stimulate a forward transition in the different stages of the model through planned interventions or behavioural change strategies. 

3. We will brainstorm over the results to find numbers (data) to measure each determinant in order to feed the final causal model. 

 

Stakeholders' Involvement during the Workshop

First Day

In the first session stakeholders receive general information about the research process that researchers have embraced before organising the hybrid-workshop and the main theoretical background for the task(s)  assigned to do on the next day. 

Specifically: 

● The organisers put the most of the focus on explaining the methodology based on agreement and consensus theory (e.g. Delphi method). 

● Assign each expert to a group in order to work in small cluster

● The organisers present the materials that are used during the next day. 

 

Second Day

After a recap of the methodology and the groups formation all participants read four scenarios related to the energy transition in which households will have to invest time and money to make the scenarios a reality. After reading the scenarios the groups are formed. People on site go to separate rooms with one facilitator and people in remote are assigned a Zoom brekaout room. The instructor guides through the materials in use and the methodology, to sort the determinants on each of the different stages of the behaviour model. For that: 

a. Stakeholders have time to get familiar with the investment archetypes, the determinants and the eight clusters each of the 32 factors belong to.

c. Stakeholders have time to understand the behaviour change model based on stages of change.

d. Stakeholders  are provided with information about which are the archetypes and scenarios you will have to put the most of your attention.

Individual phase

a. Stakeholders have time for providing the first approach, sorting determinants into stages per archetype according to knowledge and expertise. Not all the determinants affect all the archetypes equally. So each archetype will only have a subset of 15 out of the 32 determinants. 

b. In this stage, once a determinant is used in one stage of a behaviour model based on stages, it cannot be used in another stage. 

c. Each group should proceed the determinants in a certain order . 

Collective phase 

a. Stakeholders are requested to go to a different room to discuss in a panel of 4-6 your individual assessments. 

b. A moderator helps to discuss and compare the determinants per stage of each archetype. 

First, the moderator asks each expert to share their individual assessment in the order provided. Then, the moderator collects the agreements and disparities. For each disparity, the moderator asks the relevant expert to provide a reason for each assignment. If after a short discussion no consensus is found, the moderator asks the different experts involved to write in a sticky note a summary of the discussion and proceeds. 

c. It is expected that each group discusses a minimum of 3-4 archetypes and to complete all of them. 

Wrap up 

a. The moderator of each session presents their main results. 

b. A comparison between the answers of the different groups are carried out pointing similarities and differences. 

c. The moderator of the session opens a time to make inter-group questions.


Programme

Day 1 October 19th

TimeTopic
16:00 - 16:10Welcome - Cruz E. Borges, WHY Project Coordinator
16:10 - 16:45

Investment archetypes: Why understanding household profiles is important to design bespoke interventions in the context of the energy transition? - Diego Casado, WHY WP2 Leader

Background about the four aspects tackled in WHY: Mobility, Energy Efficiency, Flexibility Markets and Energy Renovation in Buildings.

Background of the 9 basic psychosocial needs and associated determinants as moderator/mediator variables towards investment decisions.

Background on the investment archetypes identified across European countries.

Background about the stages of change model (Transtheoretical model - TTM)

16:45 - 17:05

Explanation of the methodology - Diego Casado, WHY WP2 Leader

17:05 - 17:30Q&A

Day 2 October 20th

TimeTopicDetails
09:00 - 09:30Welcome - Cruz E. Borges, WHY Project Coordinator
Institutional Welcome
Recap of the methodology and the groups formation that will work on each of the four aspects of the energy transition (as this is a bit broad, we will provide a speculative scenario in which an investment decision is needed)
Breakout work in four different rooms (some totally online, others physically in separate rooms/offices)
09:30 - 10:30Individual work - Warm up
Time for getting familiar with the online tools - 5´
Time for getting familiar with the scenario proposed - 5´
Time for getting familiar with the determinants and the archetypes - 15´
Time for getting familiar with the stages of change - TTM - 5´
Time for providing your first approach sorting determinants into stages per archetype - 30´
10:30 - 13:00Working groups
Repeat this with all the archetypes provided to each group:
- Discussion and comparison of the determinants per stage
- Try to remove disparities when possible
- Detect conflicting areas for further discussion
- New round of individual and group work
Time to select who in the work-team will present the results to the rest of the other teams
13:00 - 14:30Lunch 
14:30 - 16:00Wrap-up SessionJoint Discussion of Results and Wrap-up