# Understanding Microgrid Sustainability: A Systemic and Comprehensive Review
## 6 Social Field
### Social Issues  
The core social issue is the communication and the social interactions necessary to shape its social acceptance. The literature points to three defining factors in shaping social acceptance of microgrids: the knowledge about the microgrid, the rules that govern the microgrid, and the perception of the microgrid [76; 237; 224; 236].  
The knowledge of the community is about the level of social awareness of the technology of microgrids and the level of education of the individuals relating to the use or production of energy [68]. Communication shaped around the comprehension of the technology is critical for its social acceptance because it allows the community to understand and correctly use the technology. Microgrids are an excellent tool to contribute to the development of remote communities by unlocking and teaching new skills to local people [69]. The quantification and propagation of this knowledge are highly beneficial for the development and operation of microgrids [70].  
The perception of the microgrid relates to how the technology changes the narrative of the individuals and the groups [74; 75]. This community perception will be strongly related to how well the microgrid improves or does not improve the local quality of life [76] but also by the general confidence of the community in the entire microgrid system [216]. Communication about the benefits of the microgrid [238] and transparency on its nuisances requires a highly qualified management team that takes into account the vision of the community [239].  
The rules that govern the microgrid should contain good planning for a clear vision of the project, transparent and sustainable ownership, and appropriate pricing and respect for community territoriality and culture in its governance [71]. The local or national policy is often a barrier to microgrid development, and policy regulations must address social needs and feedback [72]. Communicating about these rules allows the community to integrate the technology more easily into their daily habits, raising their acceptance [73].  
It must be stressed that this communication effort is permanent. The management team of the microgrid must integrate into their work the effort of addressing the knowledge, the rules, and the perception of the different groups within the microgrid at their different layers. This requires different strategies, some of which are summarized in Table 10.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline  & & **Social Architecture Layers** & \\ \cline{3-4}  & & **Macro Layer** & **Meso Layer** & **Micro Layer** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Social elements**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**User**} & **Public acceptance:** all the groups containing end-users [227] & **Local public acceptance:** groups and organizations of end-users [228] & **End-user acceptance:** households and individual end-users [229] \\ \cline{2-4}  & & **Market acceptance:** all the groups containing owners/managers [230; 231] & **Local stakeholder:** groups and organizations of owners/managers [232] & **Owner/Manager acceptance:** local companies and/or individual owners/managers [222] \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Policy/Decision-maker**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Device-polication-policy/decision-makers**} & **Social acceptance:** all the groups containing policy/decision-policy/decision-makers [233] & **Policy/Decision-maker acceptance:** local government bodies and/or individual policy/decision-makers [235] \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{3-4}  & & & **Local political acceptance:** groups and organizations of policy/decision-makers [235] & **Policy/Decision-maker acceptance:** local government bodies and/or individual policy/decision-makers \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 9: Cross-analysis between social elements, social architecture, and their acceptance [224].