Empathy in Action: A Serious Game using Citizen Personas and Role-play for Inclusive Energy Communities

Welcome to “Empathy in Action”, an immersive game designed to develop understanding and generate actionable strategies for creating inclusive energy communities. This game was created as part of the SSH Centre Knowledge Brokerage Programme, focusing on inclusive energy communities, and was a key highlight of the City Workshop in Arnhem, the Netherlands. It has been designed in conjunction with the Inclusivity Framework for Energy Communities, offering both insight into and practical strategies for improving inclusivity of vulnerable and marginalised groups in Energy Community (EC) participation.

This webpage hosts all the necessary materials to facilitate the game. By playing the game municipalities, city planners, community leaders, energy sector representatives and other interested stakeholders will be encouraged to think about how they could integrate inclusivity into energy community practices. Designed for interactive use, “Empathy in Action” provides a practical approach for multi-stakeholder teams to develop greater empathy and enhance inclusivity in their practices. Participants will engage in role-play, strategic planning, and collaborative problem-solving through carefully crafted citizen personas. This hands-on approach not only highlights the significance of inclusivity but also equips you with actionable strategies to implement in real-world energy scenarios. The game accommodates up to five teams, each consisting of up to five participants.

Explore the game’s setup, play, and debriefing processes through our detailed guide and become part of a movement towards more equitable energy solutions. Join us in shaping communities where every voice is heard and valued.

Game Scenario

Welcome to Euroville, a beacon of innovation and sustainable energy transitions

Somewhere in the heart of Europe, lies the progressive future city of Euroville. Renowned for its commitment to sustainability and a vibrant, diverse community, Euroville stands on the brink of a transformative energy transition. Yet, despite its advancements in renewable energy, Euroville faces a challenge common to many European cities—transitioning towards renewable energy in a way that benefits all its citizens. Although recent years have seen a rise in citizen-led energy communities, they have largely echoed the broader societal pattern of privileging the higher-income, well-educated demographic, inadvertently sidelining vulnerable and marginalised social groups.

You’ve come to Euroville at an opportunistic time, there’s a new mayor in town: Mayor Inclusia Watt, a visionary leader whose name is a testament to her mission. Mayor Watt envisions a Euroville where energy communities are not just green but also vibrant tapestries of inclusivity—where renewable energy serves as a bridge, connecting diverse groups and fostering a truly inclusive community.

And so, Mayor Watt has called upon you—experts from municipalities and energy networks across Europe—to gather in Euroville. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to assist in achieving inclusive energy communities through your expertise, creativity, and empathy. 

• Game Objective: Achieving Empowering and Transformational inclusivity in Energy communities •

Through role-play using citizen personas and simulation of an energy community scenario, participants will identify barriers to participation in ECs by vulnerable groups and develop actions and recommendations for more inclusive energy community practices and policies.

  • Identifying the various challenges and constraints faced by vulnerable/marginalised groups (through the development of their citizen personas) in EC participation and benefits.
  • Addressing these challenges to ensure the citizen persona can take part in the EC scenario and benefit from it. 
  • Coming up with a set of actions for policy and practice to improve the inclusivity within different EC scenarios. and to reach the empowerment and transformative modes of inclusivity.

• Desired Outcomes •

  • Empathy and Understanding: Generate deeper empathy and understanding among participants for the challenges faced by vulnerable citizens in accessing energy and participating in ECs.
  • Innovative Solutions: Encourage creative thinking to address specific vulnerabilities and barriers, promoting broader inclusivity in EC participation.
    Actionable Recommendations: Produce a set of well-considered actions and recommendations that can be shared with policymakers, EC organisers, and other stakeholders to foster more inclusive energy communities.

Downloadable game materials 

Additional Resources

    • Inclusivity Framework for Energy Communities (pdf link to report)
    • Towards inclusive energy communities in Arnhem (pdf link to report)

⊕ Testimonial: Empathy in Action game experience

The SSH-centre KB programme’s Energy Communities Team hosted “Empathy in Action” at the City Workshop in Arnhem, engaging a diverse group of municipal policymakers from across Europe and representatives from Arnhem’s energy network.

Participants dove into the experiences of vulnerable and marginalised citizens, developing detailed personas to explore issues like energy poverty, social exclusion, and cultural marginalisation. This vividly brought to life the challenges in achieving inclusivity within ECs. Personas represented a spectrum of vulnerabilities, ranging from a grumpy old elderly individual struggling with new technology and distrusting the municipality, a single mother struggling financially with high heating costs, to an illegal immigrant working as a seasonal fruit picker lacking socio-economic security.

In the game’s second phase, teams used these personas to formulate actionable strategies for enhancing inclusivity in ECs grounded in empathy. Key recommendations included: 

  • Developing community ownership and trust through partnerships and using validated third-party assessments.
  • Combining energy initiatives with existing social programs to enhance community well-being, employing social workers for targeted outreach and engagement.
  • Strengthening community ties through local teams, buddy systems, and inclusive planning spaces, supported by facilitator subsidies.
  • Enabling broader participation by offering financial mechanisms like pre-financing or micro-loans, and reinvesting profits into local community development.
  • Boosting visibility and engagement by organising social events and activities that promote interaction and utilise community skills.

Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many appreciating the use of serious games and role-play as effective tools for knowledge brokerage. Participants valued the scene-setting introduction and found the prompts useful for guiding discussions. Some participants suggested that the inclusion of more guided questions could help clarify discussion outcomes. While persona development was insightful, there was a consensus that a more focused approach might allow for deeper discussions. Implementing distinct roles for each participant was recommended to better represent diverse perspectives and interests. Overall, the participants’ commitment and the insightful feedback highlighted the game’s effectiveness as a tool for fostering meaningful dialogue and problem-solving in energy communities.

Read the mentor blog on Arnhem’s City workshop here.

Game creators: Rihab Khalid, Shary Heuninckx, Maria Kola-Bezka, Pepijn Quast, Nathan Wood

For further details about the game, contact Dr Rihab Khalid (rihab.khalid@aru.ac.uk)