A Data Ecosystem for Data-Driven Thermal Energy Transition: Reflection on Current Practice and Suggestions for Re-Design

Abstract

The transition towards low-carbon thermal energy systems requires solid information provision to support both public and private decision-making, which is future proof and optimal in the context of the system dependencies. We adopt a data ecosystem approach to answer the following research question: How can a data ecosystem be analyzed and developed to enable the data-driven support of the local thermal energy transition, by capturing both social and technical aspects of the urban thermal energy system? A case study research design of the Netherlands, with an embedded case of the city of Utrecht therein, was used, including data collection involving 21 expert interviews representing a diversity of stakeholders, and qualitative data analysis using NVivo version 10. The data ecosystem includes the necessary elements, roles, and context for decision makers in a local heat transition and captures the social as well as technical aspects of an urban thermal energy system. Assessment of the data ecosystem pertaining to thermal heat transition in the city of Utrecht shows that it is still in its infancy phase, with challenges, barriers, and shortcomings in all its key elements. We present suggestions for the (re-)design of an inclusive and holistic data ecosystem that addresses the current shortcomings.

The Use of Energy Models in Local Heating Transition Decision Making: Insights from Ten Municipalities in The Netherlands

“…Both Nikolic et al [19] and De Ridder et al [42] suggest that municipalities need to develop more internal knowledge to understand and make use of models. Diran et al [43,44] claim that better access to data regarding buildings, infrastructure and energy production is needed to utilise current energy models, especially within the utility sector. Figure 1 presents an overview of the energy models and tools regarding the heating transition as used in The Netherlands.…”

“…More data is needed about buildings, infrastructure and energy production to utilise current energy models [44].…”

Towards Data-Driven Policymaking for the Urban Heat Transition in The Netherlands: Barriers to the Collection and Use of Data

“…Widely reported challenges include: the access to validated and accurate evidence [12,13]; the transformation of quantitative and qualitative evidence to policy [14]; the increasing complexity of policy challenges, the related evidence, and the stakeholders involved in establishing the evidence [12,14]; the lacking skills of policymakers to derive insights from the evidence [13,14]; the high up-front costs [13]; and the cultural difference between policymakers, scientists and other practitioners [15]. While data-driven policymaking aims to increase the quality and legitimacy of policymaking, it faces additional challenges to evidence-based policymaking [2,7,9]. Challenges include those related to: the use and integration of data from different domains and stakeholders [2,8,9]; the impact on policymaking [9]; and the involvement of relevant stakeholders and citizens [7].…”

“…To develop effective heat transition strategies and implementation plans, cities aim to use data from different stakeholders to improve the quality of their policies [2][3][4]. Data-driven policymaking aims to use new data sources and data analytics for policymaking [5][6][7].…”

“…For the heat transition in the Netherlands, local governments are making efforts to gather and utilize new data sources to support their decisions. However, in these early stages various, the implementation of data-driven policymaking for the heat transition is very challenging [2]. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to investigate the barriers local governments experience regarding data collection and utilization for the heat transition, and how this may impede data-driven policymaking.…”