Hello everyone,

I had a meeting with Aimee Ambrose at CRESR yesterday and we started talking about formalising a fuel poverty network in the UK. Below is an email Aimee has put together and we would be very grateful if you could send this message out to anyone you think might be interested in your network. Also, drop Aimee an email if you would be interested in being involved in any capacity (joining the network or helping to define what it is and does!)

Thanks!

Rob

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Dear all
 
With apologies for cross posting.
 
Following recent discussions with a number of other academics researching in the broad fields of fuel poverty/ energy and housing, we’ve come to realise that there is no single network or forum uniting those active in this field. There are groups with some related focus or which overlap these issues such as, for example, subgroups of the British Sociological Association, the Social Policy Association and Royal Geographical Society, however, as the names suggest, these groups are fairly specific to particular disciplines. The study of fuel poverty and of energy issues in relation to housing is a multidisciplinary area and we feel that we need a peer-network that reflects this diversity.
 
In response to this, a few of us here in Sheffield (within Sheffield Hallam and at University of Sheffield) have discussed the possibility of forming a new  multidisciplinary research network comprising, at least initially, of UK researchers but that perhaps over time, extending beyond the UK. The exact purpose of the network would be defined by its members but we would envisage the following sorts of activities being undertaken by network members both collectively and as part of sub-groups:
 
·         Networking

·         Knowledge exchange

·         Consortium building

·         Production of evidence submissions

·         Securing policy impact

·         Securing grant funding and research contracts as part of consortia

·         Holding symposia and conferences

·         Writing joint publications

·         Working with leading journals in our field to produce special issues.

If there is enough interest in the formation of the network then we will begin to explore funding options supporting its establishment and early activities. We are hoping that in the short term, the Sheffield Universities will be in a position to hold an initial event in say, March next year.
 
If you would like to register your interest in joining this network then please reply to [log in to unmask] before 1st December.
 
Please circulate this email to others who you think it may be of interest to, we want to ensure it reaches all of those active in this field within the UK.
 
Best wishes and we look forward to hearing from you.
 
Aimee
 
 
Aimée Ambrose
Senior Research Fellow
0114 225 6297