Sophie van der Ploeg

The energy transition is well underway, integrating electric vehicles, solar panels, battery storage, and other innovations into our daily lives. However, this shift also introduces new and unfamiliar safety challenges. For example, electric vehicle fires require specialized extinguishing methods. Unfortunately, these safety risks are often overlooked within energy transition projects or addressed only in hindsight. To address this issue, Johan de Vries (Safety Region Amsterdam-Amstelland) and Tommy Borger (Municipality of Amsterdam) introduced the participants to the topic of safety in the energy transition during this work session on Demoday #25. Together, we explored how to effectively integrate safety measures into energy transition projects, without slowing down critical progress.

Introduction to safety in the energy transition

Johan opened the session by explaining why the fire department and safety region are directly involved in the energy transition. “When things go wrong, the fire department is called in,” he explained. Even with their preparedness for emerging dangers, the fire department faces growing challenges with electrification and batteries. For example, as the number of emission-free vehicles increases, so does the risk posed by (older) batteries, which can lead to fires in electric cars. Sustainable innovations, he emphasized, are not inherently safe innovations. Johan mentioned the Johan Cruijff ArenA as an example, home to Europe’s largest energy storage system using second-life electric vehicle batteries. While it is a sustainable solution, questions about its safety remain.

Collaboration and awareness is key!

The participants then engaged in discussions centered around two questions:

1. Can safety go hand in hand with speed in the energy transition?
2. Is collaboration in the energy transition a threat or an opportunity?

The group agreed that while speed is important when it comes to the energy transition, sometimes slowing down is necessary to avoid risks. Although not all dangers can be prevented, progress can be made by learning from experiences along the way. Although collaboration sometimes slows things down, it was seen as an important aspect when it comes to safety in the energy transition. Participants suggested that the fire department could work more closely with manufacturers, such as those producing electric vehicles, to make safety a shared responsibility. Additionally, the safety region could become a partner in regional innovation projects, such as ATELIER, to ensure safety is integrated from the start.

The session concluded with consensus on one pressing issue: there is a significant lack of awareness about safety in the energy transition. This blind spot often results in insufficient attention to safety risks in energy transition projects. One suggestion was to publish an article in a national newspaper to raise public awareness of these challenges. Through this session, we addressed the issue of safety in the energy transition in the Amsterdam InChange network. Johan gained valuable insights on collaborating with other parties in the Amsterdam Region and is looking into how the safety region can build on this session’s outcomes and give it a meaningful follow-up.

Would you like to learn more, or do you have any input for Johan? Leave a comment and I’ll connect you with Johan!

Our current economic system is ecologically, socially, and even economically unsustainable. New economic theories give us an idea of how our economy can be part of our society. They offer tools to make that economy more equitable and sustainable. Yet, new economic thinking is still often dismissed as unrealistic and unachievable. Only by trying out new economic theories in practice, we can demonstrate that these are real alternatives.

That’s why, together with a collective of organisations, Amsterdam Economic Board has launched a living lab project ‘New Economic Thinking, New Economic Acting’ at the Marineterrein in Amsterdam. With various socio-economic experiments, they explore what it would mean if we’d shift the focus from quantitative to qualitative growth. One of the experiments is about True Pricing, which involves applying real prices of products, including the hidden costs for the environment, animals and people. In this Demoday session, Laetitia Stuijt and Erik Lückers from Amsterdam Economic Board asked the Amsterdam Smart City network for input on how to implement this theory in practice at the Marineterrein.

Introduction to True Pricing: True Price Lab

We started with an introduction about True Pricing by Sjoukje Goldman, researcher and lecturer at the Centre for Economic Transformation at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She told us all about the True Price Lab project she’s been working on lately. The project aims to provide a deeper understanding of the true costs of products. On one hand, it seeks to offer a more comprehensive view of the total costs, including often overlooked factors such as environmental pollution, health damage, and social impact. And on the other hand, it aims to gather knowledge on how to motivate consumers to actually pay the true price. How can you effectively communicate to the customer about true pricing so that the customer understands, trusts, and is willing to pay the true price? And does true pricing indeed lead to increased sales of organic and sustainably produced food?

True pricing in practice

After the introduction by Sjoukje, the participants brainstormed about how True Pricing could be put in practice in their own organisation and on the Marineterrein. Mare Roelfsema and Amber Dubbeldam from Hieroo led this session, and helped to categorise all ideas based on their originality and ease of implementation using a How-Now-Wow-Matrix.

• Now!

In the “Now” category, we grouped ideas that are familiar and easy to implement and actualise. One of the ideas that we discussed was to start small: for example at your own office by buying true price coffee. Also, restaurants at the Marineterrein can start small by offering one true price product on the menu. By doing this, restaurants such as Homeland or Kanteen25 can initiate the conversation about true price with their customers, which will help raise awareness. Another “Now!” idea was to work together with the True Price organisation, because their expertise on this topic would be very valuable for the Marineterrein.

• Wow!

In the “Wow!” category, we grouped ideas that are innovative and easy to implement and actualise. One of the “Wow!” Ideas was for all hospitality providers on the Marineterrein to jointly have the true price calculated for one or more products. Calculating the true price for products can be very costly. By doing this together, the costs will be more manageable for the hospitality providers. Another “Wow!” idea that was mentioned often is to create more awareness by communication campaigns in our public place. This is important, because not many consumers know about the hidden external costs of the products they buy. By creating awareness, we can increase people’s willingness to pay the true price of products in the future.

• How?

In the “How” category, we grouped ideas that are innovative but difficult to implement, they might be worth considering as future goals. The main “How?” idea we discussed was to directly link true pricing as a means to achieving CSRD goals that companies must meet. True pricing offers an opportunity to gain insight into supply chains and the hidden environmental and social costs, thereby helping to report on sustainability. Currently, only large companies have to comply with CSRD legislation, but later on, small and medium-sized will have to report on CSRD as well.

Conclusion: Start small to make an impact!

During this session, the participants became more familiar with the concept of true price and thought about how to put this into practice on the Marineterrein. “We have gained valuable new practical insights at this Demoday. What has stuck with me the most is that we need to start small, and that true price can be linked to CSRD to show its value to companies”, said Laetitia Stuijt from Amsterdam Economic Board.

Would you like to know more about the Living Lab Project ‘New Economic Thinking, New Economic Acting’? Or do you have any input? Leave a comment and I’ll connect you with Laetitia and Erik.

In the big tech-dominated era, data has been commercially exploited for so long that it is now hard to imagine that data sharing might also benefit the community. Yet that is what a collective of businesses, governments, social institutions and residents in Amsterdam aim to do with the Data Commons Collective. Sharing more data to better care for the Amsterdam Region. On Demoday #23, Lia Hsu (Amsterdam Economic Board) and Simone van der Burg (Waag) led an interactive value workshop to discuss which values are important when it comes to sharing data from the perspective of different stakeholders in an (agri)food use case.

What is a (Data) Common?

Commons are natural resources that are accessible to everyone within a community. Water. Fertile soil. Clean air. Actually, everything the earth has given us. We as humanity have increasingly begun to exploit these commons in our pursuit of power and profit maximisation. As a result, we risk exhausting them.

Data is a new, digital resource: a valuable commodity that can be used to improve products and services. Data can thus also be used for the common good. However, there are two important differences between a common and a data common: data in commons never run out, and data in commons is not tied to any geographical location or sociocultural groups.

Four principles for Data Commons

Each Data Common serves a different purpose and requires a different implementation, but there are four principles that are always the same:

1. The data common is used to serve a public or community purpose;
2. The data common requires cooperation between different parties, such as individuals, companies or public institutions;
3. The data common is managed according to principles that are acceptable to users and that define who may access the data commons under what conditions, in what ways they may be used, for what purpose, what is meant by data misuse;
4. The data common is embedded to manage data quality, but also to monitor compliance with the principles and ensure that data misuse is also noticed and that an appropriate response (such as a reprimand, penalty or fine) follows.

The (Agri)Food case

The Data Commons collective is currently working on different applied use cases to understand how Data Commons can help with concrete solutions to pressing societal problems in the areas of energy, green urban development, mobility, health and culture. This Demoday, we discussed the (Agri)Food Data Common use case.

The agricultural sector is facing significant challenges. A growing world population means more mouths to feed. However, that food must also be produced in a way that reduces the burden on the environment. One way to do this is by local food production and shortening supply chains. For effective cooperation within short supply chains, digitisation and data are crucial.

The University of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences have the ambition to source their cafeteria food locally and sustainably. The availability and application of data are essential for the realization of such a local and sustainable regional food system. Moreover, there is a great need for a form of data sharing among the relevant stakeholders.

From individual to common interests

During the session, various stakeholders were identified: farmers, consumers/students, data specialists, and governments. The participants engaged in discussions about each other's interests and whether they can be reconciled into a common interest. This is an important first step towards a Data Common.

One of the main values the participants discussed was trust. In the agricultural sector, there is a deeply rooted feeling of mistrust from farmers due the nitrogen strategy and transformation of rural areas by the government. Farmers highly value their autonomy, and are therefore often not eager to share their data with the government. Therefore transparency about individual interests, but also about the purpose of sharing data, is essential. Another value the participants discussed is fairness and creating a level playing field for smaller entrepreneurs through the Data Common.

Do you have input for the Data Commons Collective?

Amsterdam Economic Board will remain involved in the Data Commons Collective in a coordinating role and work on use cases to understand how data commons can work for society. The Data Commons Collective is still looking for additional use cases to test Data Commons in practice. Do you have a suggestion for Lia and Simone? Please feel free to reach out to me via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com, and I’ll connect you!

In the big tech-dominated era, data has been commercially exploited for so long that it is now hard to imagine that data sharing might also benefit the community. Yet that is what a collective of businesses, governments, social institutions and residents in Amsterdam aim to do. Sharing more data to better care for the city. On behalf of the Data Commons Collective, Lia Hsu (Strategic Advisor at Amsterdam Economic Board) asked the Amsterdam Smart City network for input and feedback on their Data Commons initiative on the last Demoday of 2023.

What is a (data) common?

Commons are natural resources that are accessible to everyone within a community. Water. Fertile soil. Clean air. Actually everything the earth has given us. We as humanity have increasingly begun to exploit these commons in our pursuit of power and profit maximisation. As a result, we risk exhausting them.

Data is a new, digital resource: a valuable commodity that can be used to improve products and services. Data can thus also be used for the common good. However there are two important differences between a common and a data common: data in commons never runs out, and data in commons is not tied to any geographical location or sociocultural groups.

Four principles for Data Commons

The Data Commons collective is currently working on different applied use cases to understand how data commons can help with concrete solutions to pressing societal problems in the areas of energy, green urban development, mobility, health and culture. Each data commons serves a different purpose and requires a different implementation, but there are four principles that are always the same:

1. The data common is used to serve a public or community purpose
2. The data common requires cooperation between different parties, such as individuals, companies or public institutions
3. The data common is managed according to principles that are acceptable to users and that define who may access the data commons under what conditions, in what ways they may be used, for what purpose, what is meant by data misuse
4. The data common is embedded to manage data quality, but also to monitor compliance with the principles and ensure that data misuse is also noticed and that an appropriate response (such as a reprimand, penalty or fine) follows.

The Data Commons Collective is now in the process of developing a framework, which provides a self-assessment tool to guide the formation of Data Commons initiatives by triggering consideration of relevant aspects for creating a data commons. It is a means of reflection, rather than prescription, to encourage sustainable and responsible data initiatives.

Energy Data Commons case and Value Workshop by Waag

After the introduction to the Data Commons Collective and Framework by Simone van der Burg (Waag) and Roos de Jong (Deloitte), the participants engaged in a value workshop led by Simone. The case we worked with: we’re dealing with a shortage of affordable and clean energy. Congestion issues are only expected to get worse, due to increased energy use by households en businesses. An energy Data Commons in neighbourhoods can have certain benefits. Such as preventing congestion issues, using clean energy sources more effectively, becoming self-sufficient as a neighbourhood and reducing costs. But under what circumstances would we want to share our energy data with our neighbours? What are the values that we find important when it comes to sharing our energy data?

Results: Which values are important when sharing our energy data?

In smaller groups, the participants discussed which values they found important for an energy data common using a value card deck from Waag. Some values that were mentioned were:

• Trustworthiness: It is important to trust one another when sharing our energy data. It helps when we assume that everyone that is part of the common has the right intentions.
• Fun: The energy Data Commons should be fun and positive! The participants discussed gamification and rewards as part of the common.
• Knowledge: One of the goals of sharing data with each other is to gain more knowledge about energy consumption and saving.
• Justice and solidarity: If everyone in the common feels safe and acknowledged, it will benefit the outcome. Everyone in the common should be treated equally.
• Inclusion and Community-feeling: It is important that people feel involved in the project. The Data Commons should improve our lives, make it more sustainable but also progress our social relations.

During this Demoday, we got to know the Data Commons collective and experienced which values we find important when sharing our data with others. Amsterdam Economic Board will remain involved in the Data Commons Collective in a coordinating role and work on use cases to understand how data commons can work for society.

Would you like to know more about the Data Commons Collective or do you have any input for them? Please feel free to reach out to me via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com or leave a comment below.

We live in a time characterized by significant challenges. We see a world around us facing a climate crisis with global issues such as global warming and loss of biodiversity. A world marked by social inequality and increasing individualization. Change is urgently needed, but it doesn't happen automatically. How can we change the world around us with a holistic view?

To kick-off our final Demoday of 2023, our brand-new partner Hieroo led an inspiring knowledge session about the change method they use for social innovation in the city: Theory U. Dorien Schneider and Maartje Krijnen taught us more about this methodology and how it can help us solve complex problems by shifting from ego to eco-thinking.

What is Theory U?

Theory U is a change management method coined by Otto Scharmer from the Presencing Institute. Scharmer describes Theory U as a “way of being, a framework, a common language and a methodology”. Theory U can help us solve a problem, in a different way than we normally do. In our day-to-day lives, we make limited observations and quickly draw our conclusions – a phenomenon Scharmer terms “Downloading”. We then rush to solutions, because our brains don’t like uncertainty and want to be in control. Theory U is a way to fundamentally change when more of the same doesn’t work. The journey through the “U” consists of 7 stages:

1. Downloading past patterns
2. Seeing with fresh eyes
3. Co-sensing into the field
4. Presencing: connecting to the source
5. Crystallizing: vision & intention
6. Prototyping: linking head, heart and hand
7. Performing: by operating from the whole

Why Theory U?

Otto Scharmer describes three divides that require a drastic shift from an “ego-system” to an eco-system that emphasises collective well-being. These divides can be illustrated with three numbers that represent the divides.

• The ecological divide: we’re experiencing an unprecedented loss of nature. The number 1.6 represents this divide: our world economy consumes the resources of 1.5 planets. The ecological divide exists because of a disconnect between self and nature.
• The social divide: we’re experiencing immense polarisation, individualisation and inequity. The number 8 represents this divide: eight billionaires own as much as half of mankind combined. The social divide exists because of a disconnect between self and others.
• The spiritual divide: we’re experiencing an absence of deeper meaning, purpose and value in our lives. The number 2010 represents this divide: in this year, more people died from suicide then from accidents, wars and natural disasters together. The spiritual divide exists because of a disconnect between self and Self – that is, between a current “self” and the emerging future “Self” that represents one’s greatest potential.

In essence, we’re collectively creating results that nobody wants: a loss of nature, a loss of society and a loss of self. Theory U can help overcome these divides by shifting to a mindset where we care about the wellbeing of others instead of just looking out for ourselves.

Theory U in practice

So how does Theory U work in practice? Maartje and Dorien explained how Theory U is applied in projects at Hieroo. One example is the BROODerhood (pun on the word "brood” which means bread in Dutch) project in Bospolder-Tussendijken. This neighbourhood was struggling to control a rat plague. Hieroo used Theory U to come to a solution, together with the residents of the neighbourhood. An important observation (“downloading”) was that there was a lot of bread on the streets in the area. An easy quick fix would be to street signs that would warn against feeding ducks bread, for example. In the “sensing” stage, local residents were interviewed about the issue. It turned out that most people did not want to waste the bread and therefore left it for others, based on their cultural values. The project BROODerhood, aims to celebrate the value of bread through the process of breadmaking. The bread that residents would normally be left on the streets is now used for making the base for sourdough. In this way, Theory U helped the neighbourhood to find the underlying issues, and connect more with each other and with their surroundings.

We ended the Knowledge Session with a typical Theory U approach: an “accompanied writing assignment” with the aim of reflection. In this assignment, Dorien and Maartje asked the participants a set of questions about our work and impact. Think of: “What in your current work gives you most energy?” and “What can we create as a collective in the next 3-5 years? “. This inspiring knowledge session by Hieroo taught us more about how to not immediately jump to conclusions and using a quick fix. We learned how to really take a step back and get to the root of the problem with specific tools to achieve that.

Do you want to learn more about Theory U or get in contact with Hieroo? Leave a comment below and I will bring you in contact with Maartje and Dorien!

When using digital government services, we often leave more data behind than is actually necessary. The municipality of Amsterdam recently completed a pilot with Yivi (formerly IRMA), a safer and more reliable way of logging in that doesn't request or store unnecessary information. During the Transition Day in June, we identified barriers related to the implementation of new electronic identification methods (read the report here). A lack of awareness and knowledge about digital identity and privacy risks were identified as one of the major barriers. In this follow-up session, we continued with the theme of awareness and asked the Amsterdam Smart City network to come up with a “change story” and (start of) a campaign about digital identity.

Setting the scene: urgency for a digital identity in EU/NL

To seize the opportunities of digitisation, it is important that everyone in the Netherlands maintains control over their digital life while ensuring the protection of public values such as privacy, accessibility and security. The Digital Government Act (Wet Digitale Overheid) aims to improve digital government services while ensuring citizens' privacy. An important part of this law is safe and secure logging in to the government using new electronic identification methods (eIDs) such as Yivi. At European level, there are also ambitions to introduce personal EU identification wallets, that enables users to choose and keep track of their identity and data which they share with third parties.

Change story for Digital Identity

From a change management perspective, successful change requires both the technical and people sides. In the case of Digital Identity, the developments on a national and European level provide the Reason for Change. The Technical Side is already (mostly) there: Yivi. However, the People Side of the change is lacking behind. There is a growing group of citizens who feel discomfort with data collection by third parties, but many are not aware of the importance of protecting your own digital identity. Therefore, we started working on the change story around digital identity, with the People Side in mind:

Once upon a time….
We had SO MANY accounts and passwords for different public and private services. For governments services, we used DigiD, which often asks for more data than necessary. Once upon a time, our data was everywhere. We were not in control of our data anymore, with the risk of data misuse.

But then….
The risk of not changing is digital fraud. New European and national legislation is designed to protect citizens. This legislation will lead to less data misuse and freedom of choice. It gives citizens more control over their data.

That’s why…
Yivi gives citizens control over their own data. Based on the principles of simplicity, trust and convenience.

To a happy ending…
In our dream scenario, citizens are in control of their own data through one supported solution (by national government and Europe). We cooperate at an (inter)national level to put citizens’ privacy and convenience first.

And that starts today!
This session had a good mix of participants from both public and private organisations. Business parties, such as Deloitte and Eurofiber, highlighted the importance of continuing the conversation with the private sector and think of a business model. This is necessary to get large cooperations that handle a lot of data, such as bol.com, on board too.

On this Demo day, we made a start with the change story. To really start creating more awareness about digital identity, we need to create the story for the user instead of focusing on the technical aspects. What makes digital identity wallets so different than DigiD?

The participants ended the session with formulating a change slogan: your data is and remains yours now!

This question was introduced in the Amsterdam Smart City network by Mike Alders and Frank Willemsen from gemeente Amsterdam. Both sessions were prepared with and moderated by Coen Smit from Royal HaskoningDHV. Nick Rovroy and David Koop from Flatland supported this session with their drawings. Do you have any questions or input for us? Contact me via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com or leave a comment below.