The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) activities in ExPEDite are ongoing, helping the project look beyond technological performance and understand how its solutions may affect people, communities and other stakeholders.

SIA is important because the transition to climate-neutral cities is not only a technological challenge. New technologies and urban solutions can create benefits, but they may also bring challenges or affect different groups in different ways. By involving stakeholders and citizens, SIA helps identify these impacts, understand different perspectives and support the development of more inclusive, user-centred and socially responsible solutions.

The SIA process was initiated during the Living Lab activities and student testing session at RTU in February 2026. In March, the first SIA workshop was held during the ExPEDite General Assembly in Padova, bringing consortium members together to discuss potential social impacts, stakeholder perspectives and assessment methods.

A second workshop took place in May at the CONECT conference in Riga, as part of the ExPEDite workshop “Designing Positive Energy Districts: Exploring Digital Twins for Climate-Neutral Cities.” The workshop expanded participation to external stakeholders, including researchers and academics, bringing valuable new perspectives to the assessment.

Looking ahead, a dedicated SIA survey will gather the perspectives of project consortium members, followed by a citizen-focused SIA during the ExPEDite final event in Riga (Latvia) on 23 October 2026.

The results will contribute to the ExPEDite District Digital Twin evaluation (Deliverable D6.3 – available end of 2026), helping ensure that the project’s technological innovations are not only effective, but also meaningful and beneficial for the people and communities they are designed to serve.