In phase 3 we will work from the concept of social contagion, a chain reaction of influence: subsequent decisions by neighbours will accelerate a network-wide transition.
We will study how to accelerate social contagion through the use of transition design methods to develop tools. We will test whether social contagion led to a chain reaction of subsequent decisions by influenceable neighbours and the acceleration of a network-wide transition.
We will also make a selection of co-creation and transition design methods, frames, tools, a toolkit, and a transition design framework, as explained below.
Identification tools enable ongoing data collection on household characteristics; co-creation tools (enabling data set created by citizens) or simple data analysis tools.
Activation tools combine insights from models of behaviour change with methods of participatory design to activate the seed households to adopt sustainable energy systems.
Acceleration tools speed up the contagion process from the seeds to their neighbours, leveraging data and the dynamic social contagion model.
Actions:
- Co-creative generation, prototyping & testing of tools.
- Develop toolkits for practical use by private partners.
- Map and select methods & tools of transition design and co-creation.
- Determine design frames for identification, activation & acceleration-tools.
- Push contagion through networks in randomized controlled field trials.
- Write scientific articles on contagion experiment methods and results.