Impact case study database

Manchester research has led to the integration of energy poverty-relevant provisions in new regulatory and legal frameworks at the EU, regional and local scales. More broadly, it has supported the mainstreaming of energy poverty in public policy at different levels of governance. Prior to the EVALUATE, EPOV and ENGAGER projects, energy poverty received limited attention and recognition. Henceforth, it is a major component of EU, national and local action on the topic, with EPOV - and energy poverty more generally - being identified by the European Commission (EC) as one of the priorities of recently adopted EU legislation [A].

Public engagement, dissemination and decision-support activities were the main pathways to achieving these impacts. EVALUATE, EPOV and ENGAGER project findings were shared at more than 100 events – including high-profile conferences such as the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) and the Citizens’ Energy Forum. There were over 200 high-level presentations and seminars delivered in European cities; these events were attended by over 3000 relevant stakeholders. Altogether, the three projects published 10 policy briefs, two sets of EU member state energy poverty reports, and three pan-EU energy poverty reports, two of which are featured on the EC’s website [A].

As pointed out by an EU policy officer, “ The EU Energy Poverty Observatory has exerted a ground-breaking impact on decision-making processes within multiple levels of governance within the EU. This is evidenced by the high number of attendees and the diverse range of stakeholders represented at Observatory conferences and events … the Observatory’s closing event at EU Sustainable Energy Week attracted more than 120 online attendees, and the opening conference in Brussels had more than 300 participants” [B].

As a result of these public engagement, dissemination and decision-support activities, Bouzarovski’s research on energy poverty conceptualizations, indicators and geographical differences was directly taken up by the EC Working Group on Vulnerable Consumers (ECWG, 2012-2016). The ECWG is responsible for the development of relevant EU policies in the energy domain. The head of the ECWG underlines that Bouzarovski’s input was “ instrumental in shaping the policy direction of our work” [C]. Furthermore, Bouzarovski’s research outcomes were referenced in decisive and foundational EU policy documents for the development of a new European energy poverty policy [D].

EPOV is now an essential tool for building a fairer energy transition at the EU level. Upon her election in 2019, EC President Ursula von der Leyen requested that the Commissioner-Designate for Energy, Kadri Simson, “ make use of the Energy Poverty Observatory to help Member States identify areas needing the most support” [E]. The EPOV platform and indicators subsequently featured in the Governance Regulation of the Energy Union and Climate Action 2018 (Article 24) [E], and the EU Commission guidance to EU Member States regarding the measurement and amelioration of energy poverty (2020) [E]. In addition, alignment with EPOV is cited as a funding requirement in the first dedicated European-level H2020 call on energy poverty [E]. Bouzarovski also contributed towards the development of the upcoming EU LIFE Work Programme (2021-2027) [F].

The Manchester research outlined above has also led to the establishment of new energy poverty policy measures at the national level. The UK’s largest fuel poverty charity – National Energy Action – points out that EPOV has enabled knowledge transfer to combat energy poverty via “ new methods of identifying and classifying such initiatives… [it is] the largest single international database of such resources” [G]. The Spanish National Poverty Strategy (April 2019) “ officially adopted EPOV’s four headline indicators” [H]. The National Energy and Climate Plans of 9 EU countries – Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia and Malta – used EPOV data and indicators to assess energy poverty levels at the national scale [I]. An EU policy officer emphasises “ the technical assistance the Observatory provided to Member State decision-makers, practitioners and advocates at the local and national level – organisations from more than 15 EU Member States and Associated Countries have been involved in this manner – as well as its involvement in the shaping of national energy poverty observatories in Greece, France and Italy” [B].

At the urban and regional level, close cooperation between EPOV and the Covenant of Mayors supported capacity-building in several municipalities throughout Europe (such as Arnhem, Netherlands) to set up tailor-made energy poverty mitigation strategies [J]. Ana Colovic, 2019 Goldman Prize winner and Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education states that “ thanks to the EVALUATE project, energy poverty is now a mainstream policy component in North Macedonia. From being unknown to decision-makers even as recently as 5 years ago, it is now integrated in almost all relevant government policies” [K].

The University of Manchester’s role in the mainstreaming of energy poverty in EU action is evidenced by Bouzarovski’s recognition as an ‘ordinary hero’ in the high-profile EU protects campaign [A]. In 2018, EVALUATE was selected by the EC as one of the top 20 EU-funded research projects (out of 230) with the greatest societal benefits for EU citizens. Harriet Thomson, an EVALUATE research associate and project manager for EPOV, was awarded the 2017 ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize in the Outstanding Early Career Impact category.