KARLSRUHE PILOT: eDrais2017 – final evaluation of citizen participation

The Karlsruhe pilot project eDrais2017 organized a ‘future workshop’ on the topic of ‘eBikes & Energy’ in September 2017, in Karlsruhe. Within the framework of this special participation format, a vision on the subject of ‘Sustainable Bicycle City of Karlsruhe 2025+’ was developed in cooperation with interested citizens, representatives of associations, the City administration and the Municipal council. Based on needs in the area of mobility in general and the use of eBikes/pedelecs in particular, a desired ideal state for the use of electrically powered or assisted two-wheelers in the near future was developed and the way from the current to the target state was discussed.

At the same time, the citizens of Karlsruhe were invited to take part in the pilot project by means of an online survey. On an interactive online map, suggestions for sharing and loading stations as well as new cycle paths could be drawn and commented.

Evaluation of the two methods

Both participation methods - ‘future workshop’ and the online survey, applied by the European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER), were assessed positively. Working in small groups enables citizens to participate more easily. Different perspectives and focal points can be devised more in-depth and later discussed and compared within the plenum. The tight schedule of the event was indeed challenging, but due to previous knowledge, high interest and the openness of the participants, the time issue could be compensated.

Also the assessment of the online survey was in general positive as an easy to use tool for citizen participation. Overall, the results are in accordance with the expectations of the participants and support their willingness to participate in further offers.

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