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Short abstract:

This contribution outlines a Quadruple Helix (Carayannis & Campbell, 2009), engaged research (Campus Engage, 2019), transdisciplinary (Wernli & Darbellay, 2016), approach that was taken by our team in working with and empowering local communities to embrace green technology.

Long abstract:

This research working paper and audio/video clips from our societal cocreators presents the findings so far on how our transdisciplinary team comprised of engineers, social scientists, educators, and materials scientists centred the voice of the community from the beginning of our funding application and research design through to now continuing the process of cocreation with the community through a Quadruple Helix (Carayannis & Campbell, 2009) and transdisciplinary (Wernli and Darbellay, 2016) approach. The Quadruple Helix framework attributes a robust, democratic knowledge and innovation ecosystem to the relations between Academia, Industry, State, and the public (Carayannis and Campbell, 2009).

Research Aims: Operating at the intersection of science, technology, society, and environmental catastrophe, our transdisciplinary research project aims to facilitate a just transition by focusing on enhancing community voice and involvement in the introduction of energy management software through the centring of a science-society collaboration (Delina and Sovacool, 2018; Lemos et al., 2018, Pohl et al., 2021; Vienni-Baptista et al., 2022).

Methodology: A combination of 45 semi-structured interviews alongside interactive engagement workshops and observation were conducted with stakeholders from community groups, industry, academia, and various government bodies, following an iterative research process (Hoffman et al., 2019).

Findings: The working paper, while outlining the findings from the various stakeholder engagement activities that were undertaken, reflexively illustrates the benefits that emerged from the activities themselves and some key learnings. While audio and video clips from some of our key stakeholders highlights the empowerment they have experienced so far in the research journey.