Place-based retrofit and regeneration models (PEER)

The Place-Based Retrofit & Regeneration Models (PEER) project focuses on the provision of comprehensive national-level energy support to households and businesses in the context of building retrofit, while considering the unique aspects of different locations. It recognises that retrofit decisions are influenced by social dynamics and relations within communities, building on previous work in related initiatives, such as Whole Person Whole Place, and EnergyRev. The project emphasises the importance of local involvement and collaborative problem-solving, embedded in different sites of governance and action. 

Key research questions asked by the project include: 

• Which intermediary organisations, institutions and networks are involved in assisting households and businesses in retrofitting their homes, and improving their domestic energy circumstances? 

• How is this organisational landscape governed and regulated? 

• Which delivery models are used in the provision of retrofit assistance? 

• What is the role of place-based socio-technical networks and infrastructures in the intermediation of retrofit? 

• How is energy advice provided in the context of retrofit intermediation? 

The project is underpinned by a multi-method, multi-sited approach that foregrounds the voices of people and places that have been traditionally marginalised in the national policy arena. 

At the start of the project, our aim is to explore the benefits of a hub-and-spoke retrofit delivery approach, involving national-level coordination alongside regional and local centres to provide tailored Net Zero energy advice. This involves a scoping study, expert interviews, governance mapping, and social network analysis to assess the potential for energy assistance support that will be nationally-led but locally-customised and-run. 

At the same time, the project zooms into four place-specific retrofit delivery case studies across the UK, to investigate area-based energy efficiency upgrading initiatives. This aspect involves extensive collaboration with local partners, interviews, and in-depth ethnographic research over a period of three years. 

The project also scrutinises the role of community members in supporting place-based retrofit and regeneration through interviews and social network analysis. Here, the emphasis is on the diverse, and often poorly understood, forms of advice and mutual aid that might be harnessed to support energy demand reduction. 

Finally, PEER examines the equity aspects of place-based retrofit for marginalised groups, utilising deliberative workshops. The aim is to explore the unequal spatial and social impacts of retrofit provision across the UK. 

We have found evidence of a highly networked ecosystem of actors, which is dominated by the third sector, and is overwhelmingly urban. We have also established that the home advice systems for supporting retrofit and fuel poverty are institutionally and materially disconnected, while involving disparate policy assumptions and organisational arrangements. We find that, in many instances, the current configuration is partly exacerbating, rather than alleviating, existing social inequalities. 

Bringing together the findings from the different strands of the project, PEER develops new governance and policy approaches to address present gaps in retrofit provision. This involves co-design and foresight methods, ultimately creating actionable policy solutions. In synergy with the Governance theme, the aim is to develop innovative and inclusive proposals leading to tangible regulatory and legal changes.