OAFP 9660 - Ecological transition and building resilience - Advocacy and serious game on energy renovation

The course looks at key aspects of the resilience of buildings, in particular energy, materials, water, and sanitation issues. In addition to technical dimensions, the course addresses key policy challenges for the building sector, and introduces policy making processes through a “serious game”, looking into stakeholders’ roles, visions, positions, and argumentation.

The course covers renovation and energy savings policies framing the ecological transition of the building sector in France, looking at how EU and national policies may interact.

The course gives a global approach of buildings’ transition, looking into energy, climate, water, economic and social dimensions and how they intertwine.

The course introduces theoretical policy making processes, to then invite students to experiment influencing strategies through active “serious game” methods. They will embody stakeholders in advocacy positions, make decisions, form coalitions, or not!

The course will focus on French issues, connecting when relevant with European contexts and policies.

Invited speakers, chosen for the diversity of their views and expertise, will give their vision and present case studies Their presentations will also provide an overview of potential career opportunities.

-Interest in the ecological transition, public policy and advocacy

-Basics knowledge of ecological crises and climate changes

Sessions will take place without phones nor computers. Focused and relaxed brains and handwriting will make this learning experience nicer for everyone.

Each session will develop 2 dimensions of key issues in the sector:

● Technical dimension: key facts, figures, and techniques, current situation

● Public policy dimension: stakes, stakeholders and means involved, analysis of different policy options and key debates

Sessions will consist of:

● Reminder of the pedagogical objectives of each session

● Very concise summary of the week’s readings by one / several students in the form of a short question

● Question asked by the lecturer to introduce the course (true/false, number to estimate...)

● Instruction in key developments by the lecturer

● Mid-session questions to energize and help appropriate the topics

● Questions & Answers from the students

● Sometimes invited speakers, who are stakeholders of the sector: they may be with us in class, via Zoom, or they may have pre-recorded a short video that we will discuss

● A session of students’ debate

● Sessions of “serious game” play and debrief discussions

● (10%) Once in the semester, each student will orally summarize the week's readings in a very concise way. The aim is for each student to formulate a question for debate inspired by the readings, which can then be picked as the topic for debate in Session 8 based on students’ vote. For readings after Session 8, the goal is the same: formulating questions that could stimulate further debates, enrich the “serious game” and your learning.

● (40%) For session 6, each student will interview a stakeholder in the energy retrofit policy sector, to understand their viewpoints, interests, constraints, motivations, and participation in the policy making process. The aim is to end up with “stakeholder cards” that will be shared with all students and will be useful for the debate in session 8, and then for playing the "serious game". Guidelines will be provided to help students with this work. Students will be given a standard document to structure this work. However, no interview guide will be provided as the objective is to evaluate: 1/ the questions that the student chooses to ask the interviewed stakeholder (the list of questions must be provided); 2/ the written summary. Students will submit their short analysis of this stakeholder for assessment in session 6.

● (20%) Debate participation in session 8

● (30%) “Serious game” debriefing. The game itself will not be evaluated, as the aim is to fully experience a free learning process without grades. The only evaluation will be the quality of the oral debriefing shared by the students during a round table: “cold” debriefing, with a cool head at the next session.

● Readings and preparatory material before each session

● Each student will interview a stakeholder in the energy retrofit policy sector, to understand the points of view, stakes, constraints, motivations, and participation in the policy-making process. Students will submit their concise analysis of this stakeholder for assessment in session 6 and then prepare a debate to take place in session 8

● Debate preparation and participation

● Active participation before, during and after the “serious game”