Detection of Hidden Moralities in the Energy Transition

Abstract

In light of recent failures in policy dossiers with regard to the identification of need claims of citizens, participatory procedures have been made mandatory for municipalities in the constitution of a carbon-neutral energy system. However, the legitimacy of mainstream participatory procedures is limited because guidelines for public deliberation function in practice as barriers to the expression of the desires, need claims, and values of citizens. This research aims to develop a methodology that can detect and translate moral emotions to imbue participatory procedures with responsive and reflexive intent. A mixed-method research strategy is conducted to design a Q methodology that includes a moral foundation framework. The resulting research design is made to be accessible by including a Q set with a limited number of statements and having limited supervision during the sorting while having rigor with the results by using innovative analyzing methods on basis of the categories of the sorting grid. The research design is roughly validated by a participatory procedure in Wijchen, where it has detected moralities that have remained unarticulated during participatory events. In conclusion, the research design has the potential to be applied and iterated at a broad range of participatory procedures. The incorporation of works of art for moral-emotional reflection can further strengthen the research design.