From discovering to delivering: A critical reflection on eco-feedback, application design, and participatory research in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The area of Eco-Feedback has received significant attention in recent years. Whilst there have been increasing calls to move 'beyond feedback' and consider the wider social, organisational and cultural context that feedback sits within, the involvement of community members in the design process of eco-feedback applications, known as co-design, has been limited. This study addresses that research gap through working collaboratively with community members to develop an accessible eco-feedback interface. First, we conducted an online survey questionnaire with 151 respondents with distinct socio-economic characteristics and environmental knowledge to get insights into their preferences about different aspects of the eco-feedback interface. Secondly, based on the survey findings, 20 community members living in Nottingham, UK, worked collaboratively to develop interface design proposals. Finally, the design of the eco-feedback interface was finalised based on the community interface prototypes and suggestions. The developed interface contains multiple information panels with options for expanding to gain deeper levels of information and a community space allowing for community interactions and sharing of information and actions. This research sheds new light on the challenges of utilising co-design principles to build eco-feedback interfaces. Specifically, we highlight the potential for interactions between community members during the design stages to allow for the generation of innovative ideas (e.g. Integration of third-party applications) moving the interface beyond feedback leading to greater adoption and energy savings.

Mobile Application Driven Diffusion of Energy Saving Practices from Non Residential to Residential Buildings

“…This paper introduces a mobile application that familiarizes users with EGF in a green-certified nonresidential building and the transferable ESP that the occupant can implement at home. Taking the general preference for smartphone energy-saving applications [7] into consideration, a mobile application was selected.…”

“…Previous research has focused on bridging the energy information gap by implementing questionnaires [7], [8] or technology to improve occupant energyrelated behavior in commercial or residential buildings. Some technologies used include web-based recommender systems [9], eco-feedback systems [10], [11] mobile applications for increasing energy awareness [12] and web-based conservation tools [13].…”

“…Here, we focus on targeting the diffusion of energy-saving practices from a non-residential, green-certified building to residential settings through a mobile application. Offering energy-saving information through a mobile application, which has a high adoption rate by the general public [7], has the potential to improve awareness, encourage energy conservation behavior, and generate positive spillover effects across building types. In particular, we focus on providing examples of implemented EGF in a non-residential building that can potentially impact occupants' ESP at home.…”

Business model pivoting and digital technologies in turbulent environments

“…The dynamic capability view (Teece et al, 1997) explains how firms respond to rapid and technological changes. It is an extension of the resource-based view (RBV) (Barney, 1991;Peteraf, 1993;Schilke et al, 2018) that helps understand how different resources that are difficult to imitate/replicate are combined to create capabilities that generate superior performance (Hitt et al, 2016;Chalal et al, 2020). However, the RBV does not adequately explain how resources and capabilities provide a sustainable competitive advantage in turbulent environments (e.g.…”

Smart energy systems beyond the age of COVID-19: Towards a new order of monitoring, disciplining and sanctioning energy behavior?

“…The approaches of co-design between citizens, stakeholders and users, e.g. to develop interface design proposals [ 244 ], can certainly be seen as positive starting points to develop bottom-up solutions that are more friendly to citizens and users. But there remains the crucial question of who is participating.…”