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Chapter 114which has been adapted and contested over time, see Metze, 2020; see also the discussion about influential visualizations in Morseletto, 2017). Other scholars who consider visualisations as meaning-makers examine collections of visualisations related to a topic, used in the media or by other actors. These collections – which can be, for example, visualisations from specific media sources, stock photography, scientific illustrations or memes – are shown to reflect and also shape aspects of contemporary culture (Shifman, 2014) and specific discourses related to the examined topic (Aiello & Parry, 2020; O’Neill, 2013; Schrickel, 2014).A better understanding of the meanings which actors give to contested energy and food technologies can contribute to responsible innovation, a transparent and interactive innovation process that incorporates social and ethical values (Koops, 2015). Such a responsible process considers and responds to the concerns of those affected by the innovation, and those concerns can be reflected in the meanings actors give to the innovation. Responding to the concerns (by, for example, considering them when setting research agendas or in the development of innovation) improves the chances of innovation being accepted and used in society (Cuppen, Bosch-Rekveldt, et al., 2016; Macnaghten et al., 2015), thus bringing us closer to a sustainable future.Despite its prevalence and importance, the phenomenon of giving meaning to a policy issue by using visualisations remains understudied. This dissertation aims to fill this gap by (1) crafting a conceptual framework for the study of the different aspects that create composite meanings of visualisations, (2) developing methods for studying these meanings and (3) exploring the ways in which digital visualisations are used in policy controversies over energy and food technologies and the meanings they give to contested issues. The dissertation aims to expand the knowledge about meanings visualisations convey in policy controversies, intending to contribute to better policies and their implementation. Hence, the general research question of this thesis is:What meanings do visualisations convey in policy controversies over energy and food technologies?The next sections will first introduce the conceptual framework I developed based on existing approaches to the study of visualisations’ meaning-making. With Efrat.indd 14 19-09-2023 09:47