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Introduction: Community Energy and Democracy Read chapter Read first chapter

2023 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

3. Study Design: Analysis of Community Energy Participation

Author : Jörg Radtke

Published in: Community Energy in Germany

Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

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Abstract

In this explanation of the research approach, in addition to relevant questions, the methodological approach is described and justified. Current research results and theoretical approaches are taken into account, and the limits of the study are defined.

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Footnotes
1
Less attention is paid to the role of the citizen as energy consumer, and especially roles as independent investor and energy producer as well as political actor in (renewable) energy policy offer a direct participation in local energy projects (see Kreß et al. 2014a, 2014b; Rubik et al. 2014). An exception to this is the combined role as investor or energy producer and consumer in the case of prosuming (i.e., purchasing energy produced by an energy company in which the citizen themself is involved as an investor) (see Juntunen 2014; Rifkin 2014: 135 ff.; Hellmann 2018).
 
2
The terms invented and invited space are taken from von Kersting (2014).
 
3
Wesselink et al. (2011: 2699) summarize the following questions in this regard: “What are we trying to achieve? Is this legitimacy, effectiveness, efficiency, or representation? Do all relevant actors agree? Is participation necessarily the best way to realize these goals? What if actors have different purposes and resources? Conversely, while participation is considered a solution by many, the existence of separate participation rationales indicates that the problems they are trying to solve are very different”.
 
4
This study primarily considers associative participation within community energy initiatives. Other, accompanying participation activities are only dealt with in the empirical part in the case of contact and exchange with community energy initiatives.
 
5
In a study on community energy initiatives, the effects of “legitimising decisions” (democratic legitimation), “making procedures and control objectives more efficient or achieving them” (control efficiency) and “mobilizing citizens to act on their own responsibility” (emancipatory aspect) are named (Rau and Zöllner 2011: 134 f.).
 
6
According to Kubicek (2014: 287), examples of the input dimension are: personnel and material resources, organizational procedures, legal requirements, political commitment. Criteria here are (ibid.): legitimacy, connectivity, bindingness; extended: deliberative-discursive legitimacy of the throughput dimension.
 
7
According to Kubicek (2014: 287), examples of the output dimension are: information and communication offerings, for example, newsletters, forums, polis, meetings, focus groups, telephone surveys. Criteria here are (ibid.): appropriateness, acceptability, usability. Examples of the outcome dimension are according to Kubicek (ibid.): use: number of participants, retrievals; quality of participants, especially representativeness; quality and relevance of contributions. The consequential effect describes the decisions made; the criterion here is comprehensibility (see ibid.).
 
8
Examples of impact according to Kubicek (2014: 287) are: substantive goal achievement in the subject area, leading to (a) changes in attitudes (e.g., trust in political institutions), (b) changes in behavior (e.g., future participation, voter turnout). Effects, according to Kubicek (2014: 288 f.), are first on the individuals involved: building and strengthening trust, expertise, commitment, etc.; second, on the community (district, neighborhood): efficiency, traction, social capital and cohesion; third, on the decision-making processes: greater influence of citizens in general and of previously excluded population groups in particular.
 
9
In the case of energy cooperatives, Kneußel (2014: 221) assumes participatory and representative coordination within the organizational form with predetermined governance rules.
 
Literature
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Metadata
Title
Study Design: Analysis of Community Energy Participation
Author
Jörg Radtke
Copyright Year
2023
Book
Community Energy in Germany

Print ISBN: 978-3-658-39319-9

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-658-39320-5

Copyright Year: 2023

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39320-5_3

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