Lucy Cavendish Research Fellow, Dr Rihab Khalid, co-leads Energy SHINES Policy Workshop

On Thursday 23 Feb 2023, Lucy Research Fellow, Dr Rihab Khalid, helped organise an Energy Policy workshop, as part of the Energy-SHINES project she is co-leading with researchers from the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University. The workshop brought together women doctoral researchers in the energy Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) from across the UK to engage with some of the UK’s largest organisations (including the NHS, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Cambridge City Council, Yorkshire Water, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)) to tackle their challenge of transitioning to net-zero. The project is funded by the UK Energy Research Centre’s Whole System’s Networking Fund: Phase 4, which focuses on improving Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity across the energy research space.

The workshop included keynotes from Dr Joanne Wade OBE FEI, Chief Strategic Advisor for the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE), and Dr Khalid, whose research focuses on problem-driven socio-technical approaches in the sustainable, equitable and just development of cities in the South. Dr Wade emphasised the significance of SSH-research for energy policy in tackling real-world issues and provided useful insights into how SSH-research could effectively inform policy and practice. Dr Khalid shared her experiences of engaging with policy as part of the previous Energy-PIECES project, and provided useful recommendations for placement holders and host organisations for maximising the potential of such collaborative opportunities.

Following this, a panel discussion and brainstorming sessions were held, in which participants worked together with the partner organisations on their energy net-zero challenges, contributing useful SSH-related input, for example, in reframing the dominant techno-economic problem narrative, broadening the scope of intervention, highlighting alternative modes of governance and emphasising the value of human-centred approaches and methodologies for improved pathways towards net-zero.

The workshop will be followed by six short-term placements with the partner organisations awarded to select women PhDs, who will collaborate with the host institutions in tackling their energy-related net-zero challenge, and produce a policy report with key recommendations. Lucy PhD candidate, Nazifa Rafa, has been successful in attaining one of the placements, and will be working with the RIBA team in developing a net-zero carbon buildings policy. 

In emphasising the need for such collaborative projects, Dr Khalid said: “This project is playing a crucial role in highlighting how energy challenges are deeply interlinked with the non-energy sector, and require integrated policy approaches. It is also providing a unique opportunity for PhDs, specifically women researchers, to tackle real-world energy challenges by engaging with important organisations from across the UK. This is a great learning opportunity for academics to understand how to generate impact and inform change through their research.”

Lucy PhD candidate, Nazifa Rafa, said: “The Energy-SHINES workshop was a fantastic kick-off to my placement with the RIBA. This placement will be a great opportunity for me to put the skills and expertise I gained from my Environmental Policy MPhil (Cantab) last year to good and meaningful use. I look forward to working at the policy interface, exploring how building owners and users can be incentivized to embrace the net-zero standard for a wider and more effective reduction in carbon emissions from the building sector, one of the largest contributors in the UK’s overall emissions. I am also invested in the project’s cause of bringing insights from women researchers in the field of energy, where women are widely underrepresented.”