Bringing the public along will be critical to achieving net zero targets - which will require millions of people to change how they travel, heat their homes and the food they eat. But to do this, we will need to be much more innovative with how we approach public engagement.

Since 2019, Nesta’s Centre for Collective Intelligence Design has spearheaded the call for more participatory futures exercises to help solve complex challenges. Now, with partners Fast Familiar and UCL’s Climate Action Unit, we have created an innovative new tool for local councils to engage their residents in imagining a net zero future and creating a strategy for their local area on how to get there.

This event introduced the Strategy Room as a first-of-its kind experiment in innovative public participation and collective intelligence. Think citizen’s assembly crossed with interactive polling and video storytelling…. Plus it’s portable and scalable.

It bridges the gap between large but superficial surveys and small scale focus groups or citizen assemblies. It also creates open and comparable data on people’s choices - allowing local councils and others to download and use for decision-making.