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How to embed reflexivity in public participation in techno-science, and to open it up to the agency of publics, are key concerns in current debates. There is a risk of engagements being limited to by participation experts, particularly in upstream techno-sciences I by engaging localized, self-assembling publics in ways that respect and mobilize their ecologies of participation. Our innovative reflexive methodology introduced participatory methods to public engagement with upstream techno-science, with the public contributing to both the content and format of the project. This experience drew our attention to the largely overlooked issue of temporalities of participation, and the co-production of futures and publics in participation methodologies. We argue that many public participation methodologies are underpinned by the open futures model which imagines the future as a space of unrestrained creativity. We contrast it with the lived futures model typical of localized publics, which respects latency of materials and processes, but imposes limits on creativity. We argue that to continue being societally relevant and scientifically important, public participation methods should reconcile the open future of research with lived futures of localized publics.

This transdisciplinary research case study sought to disrupt the usual ways public participation shapes future energy systems. An interdisciplinary group of academics and a self-assembling public of a North English town co-produced 'bottom-up' visions for a future local energy system by emphasizing local values, aspirations and desires around energy futures. The effects of participatory modelling are considered as part of a community visioning process on participants' social learning and social capital. This paper examines both the within-process dynamics related to models and the impact of the outside process, political use of the models by the participants. Both a numerical model (to explore local electricity generation and demand) and a physical scale model of the town were developed to explore various aspects of participants' visions. The case study shows that collaborative visioning of local energy systems can enhance social learning and social capital of communities. However, the effect of participatory modelling on these benefits is less clear. Tensions arise between 'inspiring' and 'empowering' role of visions. It is argued that the situatedness of the visioning processes needs to be recognized and integrated within broader aspects of governance and power relations.Keywords: agency, built environment, cooperation, co-production, energy model, renewable energy, resilience, social capitalIntroduction: bottom-up engagement with future energy systemsThe UK energy system is changing, with a transition from a high dependence on fossil fuels to a more complex, varied and intermittent energy supply landscape. The consequences of this for the socio-material environment of neighbourhoods is significant; however, democratic involvement in the shaping of energy futures remains low (Seyfang, Park, & Smith, 2013;Walker & Devine-Wright, 2008). While there is a long legacy of involving local publics in re-imagining the built fabric of their neighbourhoods (Aylett, 2013), this participatory approach has not been brought to bear on the interaction between landscapes, built environment and future energy systems. Adopting what Chilvers and Kearnes (2015) term 'residual realist' understandings of the public and of participation, dominant approaches to societal engagement BUILDING RESEARCH & INFORMATION 2016 Vol. 44, No. 7, 804-815, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2016 # Gansmo, 2012;Ivner et al., 2010; and Sheppard et al., 2011). Consequently, there are few opportunities for residents of neighbourhoods to engage with the future of the energy system on their own terms to influence it according to locally held values and visions of the good life.This paper presents a case study of a transdisciplinary research project called Solar Energy in Future Societies (SEFS) that sought to disrupt the usual ways public participation in the shaping of future energy systems is performed. The project brought together an interdisciplinary group of academics and a self-assembling public at the town of Stocksbridge, in the Sheffield area o...

In this work, hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells based on surfactant-modified zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) blended with poly-(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) are presented. (E)-2-cyano-3-(5'-(4-(dibutylamino)styryl)-2,2'-bithiophen-5-yl)acrylic acid (1), a p-type semiconductor, is used as grafted interfacial surfactant on ZnO NRs, named 1-ZnO NRs, in order to improve simultaneously the nanoscale morphology of the hybrid polymer blend as well as the electronic properties of the heterojunction interface. Our studies reveal that the ligand modification of ZnO NRs leads to strongly improved aggregate free P3HT/ZnO blends that show five time increased power conversion efficiency and corresponding photo-generated charge carrier transport compared to untreated ZnO NRs. From transient absorption spectroscopy, it was found that recombination kinetics were similar in the device using untreated ZnO and modified 1-ZnO NRs, respectively, pointing to a major impact of the ligand in the improvement of the blend morphology. Corresponding device optimization lead to improvements of FF and Voc to values comparable to P3HT blends using fullerene acceptors, but photocurrent density of the P3HT/1-ZnO solar cells was found low even after optimization. The latter could be addressed to destruction of long rang organization of P3HT induced by the presence of the ZnO NRs as well as low electron transport inside the blend. Dr. Christine VIDELOT-ACKERMANNTél : +33. (0) This article represents original work which has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. By our best knowledge, no conflict of interest exists regarding the submission of this manuscript.Finally, we would like to thank you in advance for your time in considering and processing our manuscript. We look forward to hearing from you. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 2 ligand in the improvement of the blend morphology. Corresponding device optimization lead to improvements of FF and V oc to values comparable to P3HT blends using fullerene acceptors, but photocurrent density of the P3HT/1-ZnO solar cells was found low even after optimization. The latter could be addressed to destruction of long rang organization of P3HT Yoursinduced by the presence of the ZnO NRs as well as low electron transport inside the blend.