Sustainability Route A35

In recent years, communication & participation agency SIR has facilitated the pilot project Sustainability Route A35, which looks into the suitability of route N35/A35 for generating solar energy on a large scale. The input of various stakeholders was collected within this project through online meetings, facilitated by SIR, using the participation tool QandR.

Over the next 10 years, provinces and municipalities will be faced with the challenge of actually implementing new climate policies. Sustainability route A35 is a great example project of this development, in which Rijkswaterstaat and 6 municipalities around the N35 and A35 are working together towards generating sustainable solar enery. The aim of this project is to generate renewable energy with solar panels placed along the mentioned roads. In recent years, conversations with local communities have been held to map out the pros of cons of this project.

QandR has really helped us make clear what residents and other stakeholders think. Putting dots on maps, working with quadrants and adding photos worked very well for us but also for the participants of the meetings. We were able to retrieve a lot of measurable and concrete information in an accessible way.

Ruben de Ruiter, Communication- and participation advisor at SIR

In December of 2021 SIR organized online meetings with dozens of residents. Different entrepreneurs and other stakeholders were also involved to discuss possible solar panel designs, the preconditions of the energy generation and the suitability of certain areas.

SIR used audience engagement tool QandR to visualize the output and encourage interaction in the online meetings.

Using QandR and the various features, it is possible to provide insight into the input of stakeholders and to stimulate participation. With the Sustainability Route A35 project the following features where of most value.

The Quadrant worked best for visualizing views on the A35 Sustainability Route regarding 2 related topics. In the online meetings, participants were asked to express their position regarding the importance of sustainability and the placement of sustainability in urban versus rural areas.

Polls made clear what percentage of participants was in favor or against certain statements.

With the Pointer, participants had the opportunity to indicate suitable areas for solar energy generation along the roads N35 and A35.

The Wordcloud was a means for participants to share their opinion about the Sustainability Route A35 project in their own words.

With the use of QandR, usable and measurable results have been collected with which a sketch design for the generation of solar energy along the N35 and A35 has been made. In Spring 2022 further decision-making will take place about the Sustainability Route A35 project.

Interested in using QandR to visualize input and stimulate interaction within energy transition? Sign up for a free trial and get started immediately!