A succesful energy transition calls for a different approach to citizen engagement

The energy transition requires the involvement of citizens, yet in many neighbourhoods in the Netherlands, participation processes fall short in terms of inclusion and lead to disappointment and even conflict between governments and citizens. In her PhD thesis, which she defends on Monday, 15th December, Irene Bronsvoort argues that the problem does not lie with citizens who are unwilling to participate, but rather with the way encounters between residents and governments are organised. “Seemingly small details — such as where meetings take place or who is leading the conversation— have a major impact on whether and how citizens become involved.

The shaping of citizen engagement 

For her research, Bronsvoort, a PhD researcher at the Urban Futures Studio (Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development), conducted three years of ethnographic fieldwork in the Rotterdam neighbourhood of Bospolder-Tussendijken, one of the national pilot areas for the transition to gas-free housing and an area that has long been characterised as a ‘disadvantaged’ neighbourhood. In this neighbourhood, she studied how residents and government officials meet around the issue of the energy transition — and how these encounters shape who feels heard and who does not.

Citizen engagement takes shape in concrete encounters: in community centres, at kitchen tables, on the street, and through creative activities. The way these encounters are organized determines who can participate and in what way.

Her research shows that seemingly small choices — such as how a meeting is structured, who moderates the discussion, and how issues are framed — strongly influence which voices are amplified and which remain in the background.

Three ways in which engagement takes shape

In her thesis, Bronsvoort distinguishes three recurring ways of shaping citizen engagement in Bospolder-Tussendijken, which she refers to as ‘dramaturgies of engagement’:

• The dramaturgy of control, in which meetings focus primarily on explaining and implementing policy decisions that have already been made. Critical residents often feel unheard in this setting.
• The dramaturgy of contact, which centres on personal relationships, care, and support. This approach fosters trust, but leaves little space for political debate or direct influence on decision-making.
• The dramaturgy of empathy, where creative and experience-based approaches — such as theatre, storytelling, and collective imagination — promote mutual understanding between residents and professionals.

Each dramaturgy produces a different type of engaged citizen — ranging from compliant or task-oriented participants to caring neighbours or experiential experts — each with their own possibilities and limitations. To better understand mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in participatory practices, Bronsvoort argues that researchers and policymakers must pay closer attention to how engagement practices are designed.

Investing in multiple relationships with citizens

The study shows that democratic dialogue between governments and citizens does not take place at a single moment or in one setting. Instead, it unfolds through a multitude of relationships, activities, and practices that develop over time within neighbourhoods.

This perspective sheds new light on the much-debated ‘democratic deficit’ of the energy transition. According to Bronsvoort, the problem does not stem from citizens failing to engage sufficiently, but from inadequate recognition and connection of the many places and ways in which democracy is already practiced in neighbourhoods. 

The energy transition entails major changes to daily life and intersects with concerns around housing, liveability, and health. It is essential that conversations about these issues become an integral part of decision-making processes in the energy transition.

A just energy transition therefore requires greater attention to the quality of relationships and encounters at the neighbourhood level. Recognising diverse forms of engagement, valuing experiential knowledge, and investing in long-term relationships between citizens and goverments are key steps toward achieving this.

Learning together: research in and with the neighbourhood

The research followed a transdisciplinary approach, in which Bronsvoort not only observed, but actively collaborated with residents and professionals. Together with colleagues, she produced the documentary Nieuwe Aansluitingen (New Connections), which portrays the impact of the energy transition in Bospolder-Tussendijken and was used as a conversation starter between residents and local professionals.

In addition, Bronsvoort — contrary to common academic practice — wrote her dissertation in Dutch and as a publicly accessible book, aiming to make her findings accessible to policymakers, fellow researchers, and neighbourhood residents alike.