Dingle Peninsula ‘Energy Transition’ with Innovative Transdisciplinary Research
Established in 2018, Dingle Peninsula 2030 is an exciting and innovative multi-partner initiative on the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, involving the Dingle Creativity and Innovation Hub, ESB Networks, North East and West Kerry Development (NEWKD), and MaREI. The premise is based on the Quadruple Helix Model involving science, policy, industry, and society. Partners are actively collaborating with the local community, schools, business, transport, and farming sectors to enable the broader societal changes required for the sustainable transition.
This research has developed new approaches in engaged research that combine engineering, sociological and community development methods through partnership with an active regional sustainability transition project. Key outputs include an innovative approach for estimating energy-related CO2 and a multi-level perspective to understand and evaluate the transition from an initial focus on technology adoption to a wider diffusion of sustainability in an ongoing regional project. The novel capturing of lessons learnt through ongoing monitoring and reflection practices are informing similar initiatives elsewhere.
This project is significant in that it utilises a hybrid top-down and bottom-up approach, with a semi-state body (ESB Networks), a community enterprise hub (Dingle Creativity and Innovation Hub), and a community development organisation (North, East, and West Kerry Development) working together with citizens and researchers to co-develop climate action initiatives. Our engaged research, along with support on technical issues, project development, and community engagement methods, is underpinning this unique initiative.
Our research on energy use informed a collaborative initiative with the Dingle Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) to co-develop an energy masterplan for the area. This method has subsequently been used to inform the Climate Action Regional Office’s (CARO) ‘Portlaoise Low-Carbon Town’ initiative and is forming the basis for a national template. We organised two workshops with community engagement experts on the National Dialogue on Climate Change, resulting in publications entitled ‘How do we Engage Communities in Climate Action? Practical Learnings from the Coal Face’ and ‘Innovative Methods of Community Engagement: Towards a Low-Carbon Climate Resilient Future Workshop Proceedings’.
Learnings are being used by the scientific community to understand dynamics, challenges, and benefits of transdisciplinary research. The Dingle SEC is benefiting through climate action initiative diffusion locally. A local farmer is now leading an initiative involving 120 other farmers, exploring on-farm energy efficiency and RE opportunities.
The Dingle Innovation Hub has commissioned a study into anaerobic digestion in response to the farmer’s forum in which we participated. ESB Networks is learning about effective community engagement, consumer and citizen differences, and societal aspects of the Energy Transition. Policy learnings include empowering local communities and addressing barriers to RE and efficiency uptake The Blue Economy Research.
Breakthrough
Supporting Dingle Peninsula ‘Energy Transition’ with Innovative Transdisciplinary Research: This research has developed new approaches in engaged research that combine engineering, sociological and community development methods through partnership with an active regional sustainability transition project. Key outputs include an innovative approach for estimating energy-related CO2 and a multi-level
perspective to understand and evaluate the transition from an initial focus on technology adoption to a wider diffusion of sustainability in an ongoing regional project. The novel capturing of lessons learnt through ongoing monitoring and reflection practices are informing similar initiatives elsewhere.
Importance
This project is significant in that it utilises a hybrid top-down and bottom-up approach, with a semi-state body (ESB Networks), a community enterprise hub (Dingle Creativity and Innovation Hub), and a community development organisation (North, East, and West Kerry Development) working together with citizens and researchers to co-develop climate action initiatives. Our engaged research, along with support on technical issues, project development, and community engagement methods, is underpinning this unique initiative.
Translation
Our research on energy use informed a collaborative initiative with the Dingle Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) to co-develop an energy masterplan for the area. This method has subsequently been used to inform the Climate Action Regional Office’s (CARO) ‘Portlaoise Low-Carbon Town’ initiative and is forming the basis for a national template. We organised two workshops with community engagement experts on the National Dialogue on Climate Change, resulting in publications entitled ‘How do we Engage Communities in Climate Action? Practical Learnings from the Coal Face’ and ‘Innovative Methods of Community Engagement: Towards a Low-Carbon Climate Resilient Future Workshop Proceedings’.
Beneficiaries
Learnings are being used by the scientific community to understand dynamics, challenges, and benefits of transdisciplinary research. The Dingle SEC is benefiting through climate action initiative diffusion locally. A local farmer is now leading an initiative involving 120 other farmers, exploring on-farm energy efficiency and RE opportunities. The Dingle Innovation Hub has commissioned a study into anaerobic
digestion in response to the farmer’s forum in which we participated. ESB Networks is learning about effective community engagement, consumer and citizen differences, and societal aspects of the Energy Transition. Policy learnings include empowering local communities and addressing barriers to RE and efficiency uptake.
