We’re often told that we need to do a better job of telling our stories. There are plenty of narrative opportunities to be explored within the energy sector and yet, despite an emerging consensus around the importance of storytelling, it’s often difficult to identify and breathe life into the stories that shape our companies, technologies or relationships with energy. So in this post, I’ll explore a few practical approaches to storytelling that we can draw on to spark curiosity, empathy and action within Canada’s energy sector.
In March this year we were all shocked by the COVID pandemic, causing a massive disruption in our personal and professional lives. One of the areas that, in particular, was disrupted were in-person gatherings, such as workshops, conferences and meetings. For those, like myself, who work on challenges that require innovation and collaboration of diverse groups of people, this provoked a major question: How can we continue to create engaging online experiences that are effective in moving our work forward?
The Energy Futures Lab is all about the energy system. In fact, the idea is built right into our convening question. But what do we really mean by the energy system?
The Energy Futures Lab’s Strategic Communications Director, Delyse Sylvester introduces the Lab’s public engagement strategy. Most system change processes focus almost exclusively on technological innovation and large-scale policy shifts to integrate and scale the innovations. The EFL recognizes that engaged citizens co-create a receptive culture, and that this is essential to the long-term success of new innovations.
The January EFL workshop was the first chance for the EFL Fellows to dip their toes into backcasting waters. Backcasting is central to the Lab because it establishes the creative tension between our desired future and the current reality that will drive innovation in the Lab.
We are all familiar with the idea of starting with the end in mind. This is the essence of “backcasting”, a methodology for planning in complexity. Sustainability expert, Pong Leung introduces the backcasting framework and its application to the sustainability challenge.