The 16th International Sustainability Transitions Conference (IST’25) will take place from June 24 to 26, 2025, in Lisbon, Portugal, under the theme “Tensions and Trade-Offs in Structural Changes for Sustainability Transitions.” The IST Conference is one of the world’s leading events in the field of sustainability transitions. It is held annually by rotating partners on behalf of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN). This year’s host is DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte – Centre for the Study of Socioeconomic Change and the Territory. The conference brings together researchers from over 30 countries and serves as a platform for exchange on innovative approaches to sustainability transitions in socio-technical systems.
Participatory Heat Transition: Results of the Pop-Up Citizen Lab
As part of the conference, Pauline Heger and Karen Kuribayashi, researchers in the CAIS program “Digital Democratic Innovations,” will present the results of the “Pop-Up Citizen Lab” project, which investigates public perceptions of heat networks as part of the heat transition. In Bochum, new participatory formats were tested to make citizens’ attitudes and mental models visible.
Abstract of their talk: Sustainability transitions require major societal change. In Germany, the heat transition aims to replace conventional heating systems with renewable solutions like heat grids and heat pumps. Citizen participation plays a crucial role – both for public acceptance and for developing solutions that work locally. The Pop-Up Citizen Lab was set up at street festivals in Bochum to engage people in a low-threshold, informal way. Participants read a short information text, then used the think-aloud method to express their thoughts, which were recorded. They also sketched their mental models of heat grids.
The result was a combination of audio, visual, and survey data. The findings show the method reached a diverse group and allowed participants to share thoughts spontaneously. Many saw benefits in environmental protection, efficiency, and cost savings, but also raised concerns about missing infrastructure, energy supply risks, or financial risks, such as high investment costs or lack of competition in the energy market.
Participants evaluated the method positively, highlighting its accessibility and recognizing it as a meaningful form of participation. This approach helps capture how citizens perceive complex infrastructure changes. It can inform policymakers early on and support better communication and engagement strategies. This method contributes to the broader debate on how to make sustainability transitions more inclusive and grounded in everyday perspectives.
Further information on the conference can be found on this website: https://transitionsnetwork.org/ist-2025/conference/