# Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) in the Era of Co-Creation
## 3 The Case of an AI-Based Energy Forecasting Technology
### TRL in Co-Creation
#### 3.1.1 7C1--Concept Development for a Co-Creative Setup  
After realizing that there was no way for the particular forecasting development to independently move up from TRL 6/7, we embarked on the formulation of a co-creative concept. This is shown as the first step of the branch off, and called 7C1: concept development for a co-creative setup. The challenge for this 7C1 step would be threefold: first, to define a concept that could reach beyond TRL 7; second, to make sure that our particular development (explainable forecasting algorithm) was a value-adding part of this concept, as this would be imperative to achieve our main goal to push this item up the TRL ladder; and, third, to make sure that the new development could add value to the other parts of the co-creative solution. Indeed, as highlighted by [PERSON] (2018), in order to be viable, any collaborative solution needs to generate tangible value to all parties, exceeding the effort consumed, one by one. To address these requirements, we initially considered bringing together the forecasting technology with a building management system (BMS) technology that we deliver in house and that has been market-available for some time. Figure 2 illustrates this co-creative venture. The light gray is the pre-existing functionality, and the dark gray is the newly embedded one. Figure 3: The adaptation of the TRLs to address co-creative solutions. However, linking a BMS with novel forecasting did not seem to result in tangible added market value. In particular, the third condition set above was not fulfilled, as the BMS did not appear to acquire any tangible market value from the demand forecasting. Although some value would result for the BMS, it was rather unlikely that this value could be monetized. Thus, this approach alone was not sufficient; although linking with the BMS was potentially interesting, it did not secure a co-creative solution that would be beneficial for all parties. At that point, we tried to sketch what this new value could be. Following several internal brainstorming sessions, we came to the conclusion that a promising direction could be that of a demand response solution. Demand response technology, in a narrow sense, assists users in planning their energy uses so that they may benefit from low prices. The more dynamic the pricing tariff, the bigger the potential benefit. Demand response is also used in a broader sense to denote any change in demand patterns that may be informed and driven not necessarily by price but by other aspects (e.g., behavior-related). An example could be a thermostat change to reduce energy costs without compromising thermal comfort. Even more, we were now confident that, as demand response relies on forecasts to issue advice and recommendations to the building users, our forecasting technology was a vital element of the overall solution and would add new value that could be monetized. Most importantly, this approach surpassed the limitation identified in the early phases; the demand response was potentially a tangible value-adding layer to the BMS, and, therefore, the BMS gained in value by feeding its data to the demand response controller. All three parties appeared to benefit from this arrangement. Thus, the 7C1 phase concluded by having defined a market-oriented concept, one that would bring together three value-adding components, as illustrated in Figure 4 below:  
It is interesting to note at this point that the multistakeholder environment was not there in the first place. It only emerged empirically in 7C1 as a potential direction for pushing the forecasting application up the TRL ladder. Integrating demand forecasting in the co-creative framework allowed us to consider more broadly the integration of third-party apps in the same framework, as illustrated by the notation '1a' in Figure 2. Indeed, it is only half of the truth that co-creation leveraged our demand-forecasting development and allowed it to proceed up the TRL ladder.