Let’s start with a familiar example: a manufacturing company. The company is a system—a coherent whole of people, resources, and processes working together to produce a product. Within this system, there are subsystems: the welding department (with welders and grinders) and the assembly department (with technicians and testers). Each part has its own dynamics, but they only function effectively through their relationships with the whole.
In systems theory, a system is defined as a set of elements that form a functional unit through their interconnections. These relationships are essential: without them, there is no system. The connections between people, machines, processes, and information enable interaction, coordination, and purposeful action. In the company, employees, machines, and departments are the elements, and their collaboration forms the system.
An element is an individual component of a system—such as a person, device, or process. An element only gains meaning within a system through its relationships with other elements. For example, a heat pump is just a device until it’s connected to a power source, a control system, and a user.
A subsystem is a part of a larger system that also functions as a system in itself. It has its own internal relationships but interacts with the broader whole. The welding department is a subsystem within the company, just as a household with solar panels and a battery is a subsystem within a neighborhood energy system.
We also recognize aspect systems—systems that highlight a specific perspective or dimension of the whole, such as technical, economic, social, legal, or ecological. The financial administration in a company is such an aspect system. It doesn’t produce goods, but it runs across all departments, providing oversight and coherence. In the energy transition, the energy system itself is an aspect system: it includes generation, storage, and distribution, and supports the choices people make. But people are the real system.
Finally, there’s the phase system, where the dimension of time is central. A system evolves through phases, each representing a relatively stable state with transitions to the next. In the company, the welder focuses on the task for the next hour, the planner looks ahead to next week’s production, and the works council makes long-term decisions, such as building a new factory in four years. Here, people are central: without their input, the administration fails, and without their voice, the council cannot set direction.
Translating to the Energy Transition
Now consider the energy transition in Flagship Alkmaar, part of the REFORMERS program. This entire initiative forms a system—a coherent whole of neighborhoods, businesses, technologies, and people working together to make the region more sustainable.
Within this system, there are subsystems:
- Plan Oost in Heiloo, with many single-family homes.
- Oude Werf, a small industry area with SMA .
- Overdie, an district in Alkmaar with apartment buildings of housing corporations.
- Boekelermeer, an industrial area with major players.
Each subsystem has its own dynamics, but just like in the company, they can only strengthen the whole through their internal relationships. They use connections via energy networks, data sharing, policy coordination, and social interaction. But just as the accountant doesn’t dictate to the welder how to weld, the energy grid shouldn’t dictate how often someone showers. People decide what the grid should do.
The aspect system here is the energy system itself: generation (solar, heat), storage (batteries), and distribution via grids and smart control. Like the financial administration in a company, this system is supportive. It only works if people in neighborhoods and businesses actively contribute. If residents don’t share energy data or use their installations, the whole system falters.
Citizens at the Helm
The key question is: who sets the course? In a company, the works council represents employees in long-term decisions. In the energy transition, we need something similar: a citizens’ assembly.
- At the neighborhood level, a citizens’ assembly can decide which measures suit the local context: insulation, heat pumps, a community battery, or a collective heating network.
- At the regional level, it can participate in decisions about major investments, such as expanding Boekelermeer or developing a heating network across municipalities.
This gives people a clear voice in both the subsystems (their own neighborhood or business area) and the overall system (Flagship Alkmaar and the region). The aspect system—the technical infrastructure—serves these choices, not the other way around.
Time Horizons in the Energy Transition
Just like in the company, the energy transition operates across different time horizons:
- Short term: residents manage their heat pumps or batteries hour by hour.
- Medium term: municipalities, companies, and citizens’ assemblies plan investments over the coming years.
- Long term: the region and assemblies make strategic decisions about infrastructure and large-scale sustainability.
Conclusion: People Lead the Way
The lesson from systems thinking is clear:
- The system (company ↔ Flagship Alkmaar) only functions if the subsystems (departments ↔ neighborhoods) work well.
- The aspect system (finance ↔ energy) is supportive and depends on human input.
- The phase system (time horizons) shows that short- and long-term decisions are always interconnected.
That’s why citizens’ assemblies are essential. They ensure that residents and entrepreneurs are not just “providers of data and flexibility,” but co-owners of the policy and future of their region. Just as a strong works council secures the voice of employees in a company, a well-organized citizens’ assembly secures the voice of citizens in the energy transition.
