Draft:Sustainable Innovation Ladder Model (SIRL)

= Sustainable Innovation Ladder Model (SIRL) = The Sustainable Innovation Ladder Model is a framework designed to address innovation challenges by emphasizing social readiness alongside technological readiness. Inspired efforts in Europe to accelerate sustainable innovation this model has been conceptualized by Michele Visciola (Refernce: Visciola, M.,⁄ (2022)) and aims to transcend the segmentation often observed in public research projects. While numerous projects receive funding, they often prioritize technological advancement without fully integrating social and behavioral approaches.

Among other experts ((Reference needed)) Michele Visciola observes that in Europe, large-scale projects funded by the European Union (EU) have traditionally leaned towards technological innovation, leading to segmented programmatic objectives. However, there is a growing recognition that sustainable innovation requires a holistic approach that integrates behavioral, social, environmental, and economic considerations. This shift is evident in EU strategic priorities, such as the European Green Deal which earmarks a significant portion of resources for environmental integration.

Integration of Social Sciences and Humanities
A key aspect of the Sustainable Innovation Ladder Model is the integration of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) into technological strategies. Projects funded by the EU are now required to demonstrate meaningful integration of SSH and adhere to principles of "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH). This integration is essential for fostering societal readiness and ensuring that innovations positively impact communities.

To assess the progress of sustainable innovation projects, the Sustainable Innovation Readiness Ladder (SIRL) (Reference: Visciola, 2022) complements the traditional Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale. While the TRL scale measures technological maturity, the SIRL evaluates the societal impact and readiness for change. The SIRL spans nine levels, from basic principles observed to replicable systems, reflecting the progression towards sustainable innovation.

Value Creation and Social Impact
In addition to technological advancement, the Sustainable Innovation Ladder Model emphasizes value creation and social impact. Innovation goals are tailored to the readiness and diversity of consumers, ensuring that services meet their evolving goals and behaviors. Moreover, the model acknowledges social differences and aims to close existing gaps through inclusive strategies and adequate resource allocation.

Nudging and Boosting Techniques
To facilitate behavior change and communities readiness, the model advocates for the use of nudging and boosting techniques. Nudging techniques target automatic processes (System 1), while boosting (Reference: Visciola, 2022; Grüne-Yanoff & Hertwig, 2016; Hertwig, & Grüne-Yanoff, 2017) techniques focus on voluntary processes (System 2). By leveraging these techniques, sustainable innovation programs can effectively internalize costs and promote positive externalities.

Example of application: Masterpiece
The project is funded by the European Union within the Horizons Program. It outlines the journey of an Energy Community (EC) through its experiential and behavioral trajectory, detailing key stages from pre-formation to collaboration and networking. It emphasizes the interplay between operational aspects and socio-behavioral dynamics, recognizing the importance of member engagement and consumption transformation for sustainable energy communities. Additionally, it introduces the concept of a user journey within an EC, illustrating the progression from inexperience to leadership and advocacy.

Masterpiece presents a comprehensive exploration of the journey undertaken by four Energy Communities (EC) in 4 countries, focusing not only on operational aspects but also on the socio-behavioral dynamics that shape their development. The project introduces a novel concept of the Experiential and Behavioral Journey within ECs, highlighting the intertwined nature of personal development, community interaction, and the realization of EC behavioral, social, environmental, and economic objectives.

The Experiential and Behavioral Journey framework outlines stages from pre-formation to collaboration and networking, emphasizing the cyclical nature of member engagement and feedback. It underscores the critical role of member engagement and behavioral transformation in the success of energy communities, providing a roadmap for understanding and facilitating the progression of members from passive consumers to active participants and leaders within the EC ecosystem.

Furthermore, the project introduces a User Journey framework within ECs, illustrating the complete experience of individuals or entities as they interact with the community. This layered journey encompasses emotional and cognitive responses, guiding users from initial awareness to long-term participation and contribution. It emphasizes the importance of education, support, and empowerment at each stage to ensure that members can fully participate and contribute to the community's goals.

The readiness of EC members is evaluated through situational and behavioral determinants, influenced by the contextual conditions and regulations of the ECs themselves and available resources, including the technological and economic incentives. Situational determinants, ranging from inexperience to advocacy, reflect external factors shaping member engagement, while behavioral determinants, from consumer to activist, represent internal factors driving personal growth within the community. The project outcomes highlight the dynamic interplay between these determinants and the contextual conditions of the EC, illustrating how they collectively influence the progression of members and the success of the community's energy initiatives.

The SIRL allowed to outline a holistic perspective on the developmental journey of the ECs, integrating operational aspects with socio-behavioral dynamics to foster sustainable innovation readiness. Therefore, it allowed to emphasize the importance of continuous engagement, education, and empowerment in building resilient and transformative energy communities capable of driving the energy transition at the local level from self-consumption (i.e. an EC being able to satisfy an important part of its own energy demand) to self-sufficiency (i.e. an EC being able to produce enough energy and store it to supply its own saving to the DSO – Distribution System Operator.

Level 1: Basic Principles of Social and Behavioral Sciences Observed
Across the several deliverables of the project the foundational principles from social and behavioral sciences are depicted, recognizing the importance of personal development, community interaction, and behavioral transformation within energy communities (ECs) (Reference: Masterpiece, D2.1; Masterpiece D2.3; Masterpiece D2.5).

Level 2: Develop Innovation Intentions for Each Cluster of Clients
It outlines innovation intentions tailored for different clusters of EC members, addressing their varying values, literacy, and resources of engagement across the journey (Reference: Masterpiece, D3.5)

Level 3: Proof of Concept with Personalized Functions
The proposed Experiential and Behavioral Journey framework serves as a proof of concept, offering personalized functions and information to guide members, also with the support of RECOMME – an explainable recommender system - through stages from pre-formation to collaboration and networking within ECs (Reference: Masterpiece, D3.7).

Level 4: Concept Validation in an Experimental Setting
The document validates the concept of the User Journey within ECs, illustrating its effectiveness in guiding individuals from initial awareness to long-term participation and contribution in an experimental setting. The experimental plan was designed for the evaluation of the digital tools (see Masterpiece, D3.5), during the execution of the Masterpiece’ s Intervention Program (Reference: Masterpiece, D.5.3).

Level 5: Integrated Concept in a Real-Life Setting
Masterpiece integrates the Experiential and Behavioral Journey framework and the User Journey concept into real-life settings, providing guidance for actual implementation within the 4 ECs that were considered as the pilot seats of the entire Masterpiece project (Reference: Masterpiece, D5.4).

Level 6: Concept Tested and Proved in a Living Lab
The proposed concepts have been tested and proved in living labs, where actual ECs have implemented and benefited from the guidance provided by the journey frameworks (Reference: Masterpiece, D5.4).

Level 7: Advanced Concept with New Functions and Services Tested in a Real-Life Environment

The project shows advanced concepts within ECs, enabling new levels of readiness of members. During the 42 months of the project, it will be possible to evaluate the progress of the communities in each of the 4 pilot locations (Reference: Masterpiece, D5.6).

The project Masterpiece aligns closely with the stages of the Sustainable Innovation Readiness Ladder, progressing from basic principles to a replicable system for guiding the development and sustainability of energy communities.