Citizen science and citizen energy communities are pluralistic terms that refer to a constellation of methods, projects, and outreach activities; however, citizen science and citizen energy communities are rarely, if ever, explicitly aligned. Our searches for “citizen science” and “energy” produced limited results and “citizen science” and “energy communities” produced zero. Therefore, to outline a future direction of citizen science, its potential alliances with energy communities, and their collaborative contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals, we performed a systematic literature review and analysis of “public participation” and “energy communities” using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRIMSA) guidelines. The results show four pathways through which current public participation in energy communities might be more explicitly aligned with citizen science projects: benefits and values, energy practices, intermediaries, and energy citizenship. Each of these pathways could engage citizen scientists in qualitative and quantitative research and increase scientific literacy about energy systems. Our call for citizen science to supplement current forms of participation builds from the “ecologies of participation” framework, itself an extension of co-productionist theories of science and technology studies. We conclude with a discussion of affordances and barriers to the alliances between citizen science and energy communities and their potential contributions to SDGs 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13: Climate Action, and 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

The climate crisis and the environmental emergency are a sign of uncertainty for the future of the planet. European and national educational directives establish the framework of action and the commitments that must be made by each agent to reach the new sustainable paradigm which is based on circularity. The school, as an institution of social transformation, faces a reproductive framework that feeds the consumer socio-economic structure, covering up the dimension and urgency of the problem. The aim is to identify the forces for change to improve the intervention mechanisms in the educational field in Spain aimed at fostering the involvement and the participation of young people. The qualitative methodology combines discourse analysis using Grounded Theory and prospective analysis using the scenario method. By means of a validated questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and focus groups are conducted with technicians and managers, trainers of trainers, teachers, and researchers (n=53). The discourse of the agents and legislation on education and sustainability are analysed to generate substantive theory. By means of the theorization obtained, drivers and constraints are identified, establishing a probability and impact matrix that allows for the visualization of three possible futures. It concludes with a set of recommendations to strengthen the desired scenario and to reduce the possibilities of the dystopian scenario.La crisis climática y la emergencia medioambiental auguran un futuro de incertidumbre para el planeta. Las directivas europeas y nacionales educativas establecen los marcos de actuación y los compromisos que cada agente debe asumir para alcanzar el nuevo paradigma sostenible basado en la Economía Circular. La escuela, como institución de transformación social, enfrenta un marco reproductivo que alimenta la estructura socioeconómica consumista, encubriendo la dimensión y urgencia de un problema acuciante que ha mostrado el límite de los recursos del planeta. El objetivo de la investigación es identificar las fuerzas de cambio para mejorar los mecanismos de intervención en el ámbito educativo en España orientados a fomentar la implicación y la participación social de los jóvenes. La metodología cualitativa combina el análisis de discurso empleando la Teoría Fundamentada y el análisis prospectivo mediante el método de escenarios. Por medio de un formulario validado, se realizan entrevistas semiestructuradas y focus group, a técnicos y directivos, formadores de formadores, docentes e investigadores (n=53). Se analiza el discurso de los agentes de la comunidad educativa y la legislación en materia educativa y sostenibilidad para generar una teorización sustantiva. A partir de esta, se identifican las fuerzas y limitadores, estableciendo una matriz de probabilidad e impacto que permite identificar tres futuros posibles. Se concluye con una batería de recomendaciones para fortalecer el escenario deseado y minorar las posibilidades del escenario distópico.

The circular economy and bioenergy are essential strategies for combatting climate change. In the last 10 years, there has been an increase in research on this subject by different disciplines. Educational and communication approaches may prompt a change to make citizens agents of change in the environmental struggle. Therefore, evaluating their level of methodological formalisation allows the identification of characteristics of the research carried out, and to ascertain where academic studies in these disciplines are aimed. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model, literature from 2009 to 2019 was identified on the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, using Publish or Perish software to obtain it. A qualitative and quantitative synthesis of the results was carried out, using cluster analysis and statistic percentages, and comparing column proportions. The analysis of the articles (n = 74) focused on collection techniques, data typology, characteristics of samples and analysis techniques, and showed that the majority were descriptive, oriented toward presenting proposals on educational intervention, with small samples and basic analytical techniques. Despite consistency in the corpus of the research, it is concluded that the studies had a low level of methodological formalisation, which indicates it they were generally related to exploratory research with limited scope, addressing a limited part of the object of study.

The European Union’s H2020 program requires that all proposals submitted to calls include a scientific communication plan. Approved projects must have a plan for exploitation and dissemination of results (PEDR) that sets out the communication strategies. These must be translated into actions and products that contribute to reaching the different interest groups, following the four-helix model. This research analyzes the actions for disseminating and communicating the results of the research projects of the H2020 program led by entities, bodies, or companies in Spain and carried out through the web and social media. The hypothesis establishes that the communication actions carried out through the web and social media are scarce, standardized, and correspond to low-cost resources and formats, with nonprofessional production. From the database of projects funded by the H2020 program available on Cordis, a sample of 50 projects was selected based on funding criteria, choosing those with a higher level, as it is considered that this would, in principle, allow a greater allocation to communication actions. The methodology relies on descriptive and explanatory analyses of the websites and social media of the projects using the Method of analysis of scientific communication in digital media (Macomed), enabling an evolutionary comparison between 2017 and 2020. The variables of analysis are: (a) presence on the web and social media and (b) the level of use of these communication and dissemination channels considering metrics such as the level of activity, the diversity of channels, the rate of publication, the level of interaction with their audiences, the engagement with their communications, or the level of production achieved. The results reveal communication in digital media (web and social networks) that evolves with the development of the projects but that is unequal, with its scope limited mainly to Twitter and Facebook, and being highly oriented to reach research peers and evaluation agents, but lacking a clear orientation that addresses the demand for open communication to society as established by the principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI). Resumen La comunicación científica es un requerimiento exigido en las convocatorias competitivas de proyectos financiadas por la Unión Europea a través del programa Horizonte 2020. Los proyectos aprobados deben contar con un PEDR (Plan de explotación y diseminación de resultados) que establezca las estrategias de comunicación, y que concrete estas en acciones y productos que contribuyan a alcanzar a los diferentes grupos de interés atendiendo al modelo de la cuádruple hélice. En este artículo se analizan las acciones de divulgación y comunicación de los resultados de los proyectos de investigación del programa H2020, liderados por entidades, organismos o empresas de España, realizadas a través de la web y los medios sociales. La hipótesis de trabajo establece que las acciones de comunicación realizadas a través de la web y los medios sociales es escasa, estandarizada y responde a recursos y formatos de bajo coste y con producciones no profesionales. A partir de la base de datos Cordis de proyectos financiados por el programa H2020, se ha seleccionado una muestra de 50 proyectos elegidos en función del criterio de financiación. Se han elegido aquellos con un nivel más alto considerando que ello permitiría, en principio, una mayor dotación para las acciones de comunicación. La metodología aplica un análisis descriptivo y explicativo de las webs y los medios sociales utilizados por los proyectos mediante el Método de análisis de comunicación científica en medios digitales (Macomed), realizando una comparativa evolutiva entre 2017 y 2020. Las variables de análisis contemplan: a) la presencia en web y medios sociales, b) el nivel de utilización de estos canales de comunicación y difusión considerando métricas como el nivel de actividad, la diversidad de canales, la cadencia de publicación, el nivel de interacción con sus audiencias, el engagement de sus comunicaciones, y el nivel de producción que desarrollan. Los resultados muestran una comunicación en los medios digitales propios (web y redes sociales) que evoluciona con el desarrollo de los proyectos, pero que resulta desigual, con un alcance limitado fundamentalmente a Twitter y Facebook, y muy orientada a alcanzar a los pares de investigación y los agentes evaluadores, pero que carece de una orientación clara que cubra la demanda de abrir la comunicación a la sociedad tal como establecen los principios de la investigación e innovación responsable (RRI).