Unlocking Social Energy Through Relational Giving

Abstract

The Dutch Government has set an ambitious goal for Amsterdam Zuidoost to become energy neutral by 2040. While technological advancements and infrastructure developments are progressing, the current transition risks widening social inequalities and leaving vulnerable groups behind. Thus, an inclusive transition, which recognises that not everyone can afford to invest in an energy-sustainable future, is crucial. In a bid to accelerate the transition, the Local Inclusive Future Energy (LIFE) Project is, amongst others, working on utilising local and sustainable energy to ensure the inclusion of local residents in the low-income district of Amsterdam Zuidoost.

In the context of the energy transition, inclusion typically refers to participation in energy exchange. Energy exchange is taking shape through the development of local, decentralised energy systems. Emerging in neighbourhoods and based on Peer-to-Peer and Transactive Energy models, these Local Energy Market Systems (LEMS) enable local production, storage and distribution of energy. However, designed to prioritise the interests of the grid, LEMS frame energy exchange solely as a transaction or trade, subjecting residents to the roles of profit-motivated buyers and sellers and thereby overshadowing the potential for fostering active inclusion and creating social value. With its unique mix of entertainment venues, social housing and large renewable asset owners, Amsterdam Zuidoost poses unique challenges and opportunities for becoming a pioneer in a socially inclusive transition.

To move beyond the rational and market-driven constraints which govern current energy exchanges, this project takes a new anthropological approach, framing it as a primarily social, community-based and relational practice.

By means of extensive ethnographic and research-through-design activities, the potential for socially inclusive energy exchange in Amsterdam Zuidoost is explored. Characterised by tight-knit social silos, residents stick within their own circles and thus social cohesion and a sense of community is lacking. Whilst entrepreneurial behaviour is evident, it remains behind doors and the skills and capabilities of local neighbourhoods is hidden and untapped.

To tap into the overlooked potential of local expertise and to expand social networks, this project suggests a new type of exchange, coined as ‘relational giving’. Through the giving of services and actions in return for local tokens opportunity is created for the formation and strengthening of social relationships. ‘Relational giving’ translates in the concept of ‘energy actions’: local energy related actions such as handy work and education. Local tokens are introduced as a tool to support relational giving, incentivising energy actions, recognising contributions and, importantly, facilitating exchange between the socially distant.

The vision for relational energy exchange is told through the mix media outputs of this project. Besides video, an energy actions enactment game is designed to activate stakeholders and a framework for a ‘Social Local Relational Energy Ecosystem’, which considers the roles of multiple actors in unlocking social energy, is presented.

Ultimately, this project aims to inspire and offers a new perspective on energy exchange, introducing tangibility to an entangled and unexplored space. Energy is repositioned not as a commodity to be bought and sold, but as an agent for building inclusive and socially cohesive communities.