Five Horizon projects, CHRONICLE, PROBONO, REEFLEX, eFORT, and FORTESIE, will come together at ENLIT Europe 2025 in Bilbao to host a hybrid Social Innovation Workshop titled “Not Just Technology: The Human Side of Innovation Success.” The session will explore how inclusion, trust, and citizen engagement define whether innovation succeeds – both onsite and online.
Introduction
Behind every smart grid, connected building, or renewable system lies a simple truth: technology alone doesn’t drive change – people do!
As Europe accelerates its green and digital transition, the role of social innovation has become more critical than ever. Without public trust, citizen participation, and inclusive design, even the most advanced technologies risk falling short of their potential.
Recognising this, five Horizon Europe projects, CHRONICLE, PROBONO, REEFLEX, eFORT, and FORTESIE, are joining forces at ENLIT Europe 2025 in Bilbao to host a joint Social Innovation Workshop titled “Not Just Technology: The Human Side of Innovation Success.”
Organised by Smart Innovation Norway, the event will take place on 19 November 2025 (10:00–12:00, Room 05.08+05.09, and online via Microsoft Teams). It invites researchers, industry experts, policymakers, and citizens to experience how human factors, from trust and fairness to communication and behaviour, determine whether innovation truly works in real life.
Objective & Approach
The Social Innovation Workshop aims to bridge the gap between technological excellence and social acceptance. Designed as a truly hybrid experience, it ensures equal participation for both onsite and online audiences.
Instead of traditional slides or lectures, the workshop uses interactive storytelling and dialogue. Participants will explore real-life dilemmas inspired by the five Horizon projects, touching on topics such as data ethics, inclusivity, workforce adaptation, and public trust.
One of the key interactive elements, inspired by Placemaking Maptivity, will transform technical project results into accessible, human-centred scenarios. Participants will discuss and “map” these cases according to social impact and feasibility, learning how innovation decisions affect communities, equity, and resilience.
Whether sitting in Bilbao or joining virtually, every participant will play a role in shaping the discussion, sharing insights, reflecting on values, and contributing to a shared vision of people-centred innovation.
What to Expect from the Workshop
- CHRONICLE – End-User: Friend or Foe?: CHRONICLE will challenge the assumption that digitalisation automatically improves user experience. By examining how occupants interact with smart building and energy systems, the project highlights that real behaviour often defies design expectations. Participants will explore how feedback loops, empathy, and co-creation can make digital transformation more meaningful and accepted
- FORTESIE – One Size Doesn’t Fit All: FORTESIE will explore how energy renovation and efficiency measures can only succeed when they reflect social diversity. Through examples from local communities, the project demonstrates that engagement is not a one-size-fits-all process, it must be tailored, inclusive, and culturally relevant. The discussion will focus on how to motivate participation across generations and socio-economic groups.
- PROBONO – Why Should We Care About Jim Ryan?: PROBONO will bring storytelling to the forefront with the case of Jim Ryan, a social housing manager in Dublin. His everyday challenges managing buildings and residents show how innovation must account for maintenance realities, community relationships, and lived experience. The story reminds participants that sustainability is not just about technology, it’s about the people maintaining it.
- REEFLEX – Understanding Citizens’ Needs for Flexibility: REEFLEX will share lessons from citizen engagement around flexibility markets and smart energy systems. Participants will discuss how perceptions of fairness, clarity, and local benefit shape public trust in new energy models. The project’s findings reveal that flexibility is not just technical, it’s deeply social, requiring transparency and cooperation.
- eFORT – Invisible Systems, Visible Impact: eFORT will take participants into the unseen world of cybersecurity and grid resilience. The session will highlight how human understanding is crucial for the success of even the most advanced technical systems. Participants will explore how clear communication, transparency, and stakeholder engagement can turn complex resilience measures into something relatable and trusted by citizens.
Together, these five perspectives will demonstrate that innovation success depends not only on what we build but on how we involve people in building it.
Mapping Innovation Together: An Interactive Session with Placemaking Maptivity
The interactive session will also feature Placemaking Maptivity, a collaborative tool originally developed within the PROBONO project. Designed to support sustainable urban planning and citizen engagement, it enables participants to visualise how different social, spatial, and technical factors interact within real environments. Through guided mapping and dialogue, Maptivity helps identify opportunities, challenges, and trade-offs linked to innovation implementation. In this workshop, an extended version of the tool will include perspectives from all five projects and invite both onsite and online participants to collaborate in real time. Whether contributing from Bilbao or joining via Microsoft Teams, everyone will take part in shaping shared maps and reflections that connect innovation results to social impact, equity, and community acceptance.
Why Attend: In Person or Online
The Social Innovation Workshop offers a rare opportunity to explore the human side of Europe’s innovation landscape in a collaborative, creative format.
Participants will:
- Experience a dynamic, discussion-based session connecting social innovation with real-world research.
- Engage directly with five Horizon Europe projects addressing buildings, energy, and digital resilience.
- Learn how behavioural insights, participatory design, and storytelling can strengthen technology adoption.
- Network with peers at ENLIT and exchange reflections online in a live, hybrid dialogue.
Whether joining from Bilbao’s conference halls or tuning in from another country, all participants will contribute equally, sharing experiences, voting on scenarios, and shaping conclusions together.
Conclusion
The Social Innovation Workshop at ENLIT Europe 2025 will challenge the idea that innovation success is purely technical. It will show that inclusion, fairness, and trust are the real foundations of progress.
Join us in Bilbao or online for a hands-on, people-centred conversation on how Europe’s leading projects are redefining what innovation means – from grids and buildings to communities and lives.
To learn more about Social Innovation workshop and register: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1ad5bb31-f1a6-47b4-a24c-8416680720c4@517c569c-dd6b-48c6-9d74-7e1db94fef56
Contact Information
For more information about REEFLEX, please contact us at: contact@reeflexhe.eu
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