Power to, over and with: Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe

Flor Avelino; Sabine Hielscher; Marta Strumińska-Kutra; Tessa de Geus; Linda Widdel; Julia Wittmayer; Alicja Dańkowska; Agata Dembek; Maria Fraaije; Jasmin Heidary; Marfuga Iskandarova; Karoline Rogge; Agata Stasik; Franco Crudi

doi:10.1016/j.eist.2023.100758

Power to, over and with: Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe

Flor Avelino^*, Sabine Hielscher, Marta Strumińska-Kutra, Tessa de Geus, Linda Widdel, Julia Wittmayer, Alicja Dańkowska, Agata Dembek, Maria Fraaije, Jasmin Heidary, Marfuga Iskandarova, Karoline Rogge, Agata Stasik, Franco Crudi

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives.

Original language	English
Article number	100758
Number of pages	15
Journal	Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
Volume	48
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100758
Publication status	Published - Sept 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

Funding

This case description uses data from a research project on energy clusters conducted in 2018-2022 supported by National Science Centre, Poland (grant agreement UMO-2018/31/D/HS6/02972). This paper has been written as part of the SONNET project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number No 837498. We are grateful to all the respondents who agreed to be interviewed for this research, and all the researchers, policymakers, activists, and entrepreneurs that participated in the Transformative Power lab sessions that provided feedback on the power concepts and who contributed to the Transformative Power Guide, available at: https://sonnet-energy.eu/power . We would also like to thank Lara Hendrikx, Vaishali Joshi, Naomi Schrandt and Yannick Overzee for their support in collecting and organizing information for this paper.

Funders	Funder number
Narodowe Centrum Nauki	UMO-2018/31/D/HS6/02972
Horizon 2020	837498

Keywords

Power to
Power over
Power with
Social innovation
Energy transitions

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10.1016/j.eist.2023.100758Licence: CC BY

1-s2.0-S2210422423000680-mainFinal published version, 1.28 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Avelino, F., Hielscher, S., Strumińska-Kutra, M., de Geus, T., Widdel, L., Wittmayer, J., Dańkowska, A., Dembek, A., Fraaije, M., Heidary, J., Iskandarova, M., Rogge, K., Stasik, A., & Crudi, F. (2023). Power to, over and with: Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 48, Article 100758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100758

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abstract = "This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives.",

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Avelino, F, Hielscher, S, Strumińska-Kutra, M, de Geus, T, Widdel, L, Wittmayer, J, Dańkowska, A, Dembek, A, Fraaije, M, Heidary, J, Iskandarova, M, Rogge, K, Stasik, A & Crudi, F 2023, 'Power to, over and with: Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe', Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, vol. 48, 100758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100758

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AU - Avelino, Flor

AU - Hielscher, Sabine

AU - Strumińska-Kutra, Marta

AU - de Geus, Tessa

AU - Widdel, Linda

AU - Wittmayer, Julia

AU - Dańkowska, Alicja

AU - Dembek, Agata

AU - Fraaije, Maria

AU - Heidary, Jasmin

AU - Iskandarova, Marfuga

AU - Rogge, Karoline

AU - Stasik, Agata

AU - Crudi, Franco

PY - 2023/9

Y1 - 2023/9

N2 - This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives.

AB - This paper explores how power relations are manifested, altered and/or reproduced in processes of social innovations in energy transitions (SIE). We explore this research question by developing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary power heuristic building on different dimensions of power: power to, power over and power with. This conceptual framework helps us analyse the power dynamics in multiple types of SIEs that aim to contribute to sustainable energy transitions across three different national contexts: Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings show how social innovation involves different dimensions of power to/over/with, and how power relations are both altered and reproduced. The cases under study also lead us to argue that understanding how power dynamics develop requires the analysis of the interplay between different power dimensions across the multiplicity of actors within different SIE-fields and their initiatives.

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Power to, over and with: Exploring power dynamics in social innovations in energy transitions across Europe

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