FINAL CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Fuel poverty in policy and practice - a postgraduate symposium.

Friday 16th November, 9.30 - 17.30. Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences, University of Sheffield.

Chair: Dr. Carolyn Snell, University of York.

Abstracts are sought from postgraduate researchers across all disciplines for a Social Policy Association-sponsored symposium on energy affordability in research and practice. Participant registration is now also open (please see below for details).

Over 4.7 million people in the United Kingdom live on low incomes in housing that cannot be affordably heated. The negative impacts experienced by fuel poor households include lower educational outcomes, compromised living standards, exacerbated health risks and increased mortality rates in the winter months. UK Government and Devolved Administrations are subject to fuel poverty eradication targets, but action to date has failed to have an appreciable impact. As deadlines approach, policymakers are reconsidering their strategy, most notably through Professor John Hills’ independent review of the fuel poverty definition and through extended consultations on the new Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation mechanisms. 

An effective solution to the problem of fuel poverty will require a multidisciplinary approach, as an understanding of the social complexities involved is critical in order to ensure that policy meets the needs of affected households. This symposium seeks to provide a physical and virtual forum for postgraduate researchers from all disciplines to:

● Present ongoing research on or related to fuel affordability, with an emphasis on how findings might impact policy;

● Seek out potential for collaboration, with an interdisciplinary focus;

● Promote the dissemination of findings both in academia and among practitioners and policymakers.

The morning will feature presentations from Dr. Carolyn Snell, a leading researcher in the field, and from representatives of National Energy Action, the UK’s only fuel poverty charity. Presentations will focus upon the ways in which the outcomes of academic research might effectively be transferred to practice. After lunch, attendees will have the opportunity to give presentations on their own postgraduate work. The day will conclude with a roundtable discussion focused upon the particular barriers presented by this research topic, the ways in which the work of attendees might be disseminated with a view to supporting real-world eradication of fuel poverty, and potential for future collaboration (with a particular interdisciplinary focus).

Abstracts of approximately 250 words should be sent to Lauren Probert ([log in to unmask]). Deadline for submission is Friday 2nd November.

Participant registration for is also now open. The event is free to attend, and some travel bursaries will be available (please mention need - with an estimate of required costs - when registering to attend). Please contact Lauren Probert ([log in to unmask]) to register.

Funds for this event were kindly provided by the Social Policy Association.

http://www.social-policy.org.uk/