The implementation of the second phase of co-creation for the Lisbon pilot began with the third co-creation workshop. This workshop, titled “A sua opinião conta!” (“Your opinion matters!”), was held on Thursday, February 23, 2023. The LIS project partner collaborated with TOYNO, a skilled design studio, to organize this event. The workshop was conducted at the Fundação Cidade de Lisboa.

The workshop had a specific focus that built upon the progress of the project, aiming to address the Phase 2 specifications. Its objectives were as follows: to raise awareness about energy efficiency issues to be explored in the LIS Pilot, to initiate the co-design process of energy efficiency policies with citizens, to facilitate discussions and clarify misconceptions about the use of AI in energy policy making in Lisbon, to establish a panel of “citizen testers,” and to determine the most effective methods of communication and feedback gathering from these “citizen testers.”

Agenda

Introduction:

Presentation of the event’s agenda and introduction to the AI4PublicPolicy project key elements.

Chaired by Sara Freitas of the Lisboa E-Nova.

Icebreaker:

Hopes & fears about smarter energy efficiency.

Testing of intelligent energy policies in Lisbon

First dynamic session:

The energy footprint

Second dynamic session:

My customer journey in the energy efficiency shop

Event wrap up and main conclusions:

Closure of the workshop; oral feedback about the event and distribution of forms for the “citizen tester” panel set up.

Participants

Special care was taken to ensure a balanced and heterogeneous group, considering factors such as age, gender, educational background, and professional occupation. A total of 15 individuals participated in the workshop, with an average age of 56.

The workshop primarily aimed to engage individuals and representatives from civil society organizations as its main participants. The attendees exhibited diverse levels of awareness regarding energy-related topics.

Sessions, discussions, and outcomes

The workshop had a team on-site consisting of two internal moderators from Lisboa E-Nova, two external moderators from TOYNO, an internal observer, and an internal assistant responsible for participant admission, catering, and general support.

The workshop followed a structured format that included an icebreaker, two co-creation phases, and closure. The icebreaker session focused on participants’ hopes and fears about smarter energy efficiency. Prior to the workshop, participants were provided with a sentence: “Digital and smart technologies can help you to consume energy more efficiently!”. During the workshop, each participant had 30 seconds to share their immediate thoughts upon reading the sentence, while the moderator recorded their responses on sticky notes. The main takeaways from the icebreaker session revealed a greater sense of hope rather than fear regarding smart energy efficiency among the participants. This finding instilled confidence that the Pilot aligned with people’s expectations.

The first co-creation phase, facilitated by Lisboa E-Nova’s moderator, involved participants sketching the footprint of their homes and annotating areas they wished to improve in terms of energy consumption and thermal comfort. Participants then selected words representing questions, concerns, or needs they had and placed them in the corresponding sections of the footprint. Each participant chose one priority question to bring to the Energy Efficiency One-Stop Shop and shared it with the group, allowing for brief discussions. The main takeaways from this phase highlighted the questions and concerns shared by participants, which provided valuable insights into their energy literacy levels, misconceptions, mindsets, and perceptions. This information would contribute to enhancing ideas for the services and information that the Energy Efficiency One-Stop Shop aimed to address, ultimately influencing future energy efficiency policies.

The second co-creation phase, led by TOYNO’s moderators, delved deeper into the user experience by exploring participants’ relationship with the concept of “energy.” Participants filled in a table outlining their main drivers for seeking advice from the Energy Efficiency One-Stop Shop and their corresponding expectations. The main takeaways from this phase revealed that 92% of participants had environmental concerns, while 8% did not. Additionally, 58% had financial capacity, while 25% did not. Around 33% considered themselves informed, while 58% did not. Lastly, 17% had support and know-how, while 50% did not. Some participants also mentioned unmet needs for “landlord allowance” and “condominium support.”

Overall, participants evaluated the co-creation workshop as highly positive, displaying deep engagement with Policy #1 of the pilot. The issues and suggestions raised by participants regarding the Energy Efficiency One-Stop Shop were crucial for the Lisboa E-Nova project team to assess public perception. These contributions are currently being used to shape services and inform the overall operational and marketing strategy. The recommendations and comments from participants may lead to additional parameters being monitored during the pilot’s implementation.