# Users Empowered in Smart Grid Development? Assumptions and Up-To-Date Knowledge
## 2 Methodology  
In the past years, the early employment of smart grid in countries such as Denmark, the UK, and the Netherlands has been investigated in social scientific studies. These provide the foundation of the current knowledge about the roles of users and other stakeholders. The literature is scattered because most studies are (comparative) case studies, investigating one or two specific smart grid projects. As a consequence, an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge is missing. In this paper, we present the findings of a systematic literature review, analyzing (1) the main assumptions regarding user involvement and (2) the lessons that can be derived about these assumptions from practice. First, the scientific literature on user involvement in real-life smart grid developments was collected using the search term \"smart grid\" and synonyms thereof, such as \"smart home\", on the one hand and terms related to users on the other hand (\"user\", \"prosumer\", \"customer\", \"consumer\", \"co-provider\"). In this way, articles to be included in the analysis were selected from the web-based Google Scholar database. To find missing literature on community-led initiatives, we had a second round of search for \"smart grids\" in combination with \"local energy initiatives\" or related terms, such as \"energy cooperative\", \"autonomy\", \"independence\", and \"micro-grid\". Secondly, to select the most relevant articles for the analysis, we screened the abstracts and methodology sections on the following criteria: (1) social scientific research, (2) peer-reviewed article in international journal, (3) relevant empirical evidence of actual experiences with smart grids, and (4) sound research methodology according to the standards in the diverse research domains. The resulting selection of articles was mostly about studies of smart grid pilot projects. Surveys among prospective users were included only if they provided additional insights. Ultimately, 43 studies were included in the analysis; some of these were studies were by the same authors. Thirdly, the selected articles were roughly screened to see what the perspective on user involvement was. We classified types of user involvement in four distinct user roles. Finally, the selected articles were organized by the four defined user roles, after which the findings and conclusions of the selected articles were qualitatively analyzed as secondary data. For each user role, the knowledge about the involvement of users in smart grids was synthesized as well as categorized on key topics. As a consequence, not all selected literature is mentioned in this paper. The smart grid definition mentioned above stresses its technological characteristics and prioritizes cost-efficiency over other goals; it is even mentioned twice in the definition. Many other definitions emphasize digital technology and the communication through ICT-based devices. In our study, in order to develop a wide perspective on user roles, we followed a smart grid definition that includes the social features: \"A smart grid is a socio-technical network characterized by the active management of both information and energy flows, in order to control practices of distributed generation, storage, consumption and flexible demand\" [6] (p. 824). The goals of the research were as follows:  
1. To uncover the assumptions about user roles, motivations, responses, and energy behavior in scientific literature about smart grids and user involvement. What kind of involvement is considered key for which goals related to smart grids and with what argument? 2. To evaluate these assumptions in the light of the practice of smart grid development. To what extent are these assumptions confirmed in smart grid projects? 3. To evaluate the current knowledge. What is the state-of-the-art knowledge regarding the assumptions about user involvement in smart grids and what are the gaps therein? 4. To explore the implications of the findings for smart grid development.