To reach the 2050 climate goals, massive socio-technical transitions are required. For requisite impact, not only industry and government need to transform, but a critical mass of society must adopt greener alternatives. However, people have a tendency to maintain the status quo and often resist change until a final moment of urgency or crisis. This study focuses on the Dutch energy transition. We propose and illustrate how social influence or ‘social contagion’ can be used to activate communities of citizens, not just individuals, to adopt greener alternatives; leveraging the strength of design in shaping behaviour (change). Lying at the intersection of design, psychology, and sociology, our study contributes toward theories of scaling behaviour change and proposes practical tools to establish change through design. The results show how design can play a critical role in shaping sustainable systemic transitions and argues for pluralistic applications of design thinking.@en

Having directly observed one of the most rapidly spreading global pandemics, we understand more than ever the power of contagion. In today’s interconnected world, trends originating in one corner, whether it’s a disease, clothing fashion, or an online social media challenge, can swiftly gain momentum on the opposite side of the globe, often within a matter of days or even hours. This rapid diffusion is enabled by our globalised world and developments in technology and ICT. Social networks and social influence are strong influencers in shaping our attitudes and behaviour. However, this influence can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it brings people and cultures together, it facilitates the exchange of information and resources. On the other hand, it can be easily exploited to spread misinformation and exert pressure on individuals to engage in negative behaviours like smoking or violence. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as ‘social contagion.’ In this handbook you can find the result of ENRGISED: Engaging Residents in green energy investments through social networks, complexity and design. In 2019 we saw an impasse in the Dutch energy transition, where many technologies were available but not many people were taking action. Since then, global events, such as Covid 19 and the invasion of Ukraine, have disrupted our world and the energy market. In the midst of these changes we conducted our research. Between 2020 and 2023, we studied the use of social contagion - social influence and the effect of social networks - towards the energy transition in neighbourhoods in the Netherlands.@en