Emerging linked ecologies for a national scale retrofitting programme: The role of local authorities and delivery partners

Abstract

Energy Efficient Scotland (EES) is the Scottish Government's flagship programme for the national-scale retrofitting of buildings over the next 15-20 years. This is a critical component of Scotland's commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, that will also help to reduce fuel poverty and improve local economies.The success of EES is reliant on partnerships between local authorities, arms-length external organisations, charities, and social enterprises. However, little is known about how these organisations collaborate for the delivery of building retrofit. This paper analyses interview data from local authorities and these delivery partners, conceptualising them as part of linked ecologies, or interconnected networks of professional groups.EES is identified as a hinge that holds distinct meanings for different parties; it supports learning between local authorities and delivery partners, but does not guarantee the alignment of priorities. The concept of avatars, or individuals and skills that travel between organisations, reveals the search for relevant internal knowledge amongst local authority officers, whilst external delivery partners amass expertise for retrofitting. To ensure successful national-scale building retrofit, policy makers will need to develop shared databases, and clear guidance for the allocation and distribution of resources and responsibilities between local authorities and delivery partners. Highlights  Local authorities and third sector organisations partner to deliver building retrofit.  These influential middle actors form networks defined here as linked ecologies.  Local authorities and delivery partners have differential expertise and priorities.  Policy guidance should include clarity over division of responsibilities.  Policy makers should develop shared building energy efficiency databases.

Impact of socio-economic factors on local energetic retrofitting needs - A data analytics approach

“…Moreover, none of the key indicators regarding energetic retrofitting measures, such as the required to enable local tailored policy for an effective resource allocation (Fylan et al, 2016;Rosenow and Eyre, 2016;Gerarden et al, 2017). Given that local authorities already provide a range of energy services, are committed to reducing GHG emissions (Comodi et al, 2012;Wade et al, 2020), and are responsible for coordinating policies and measures to reduce residential energy use (Morris et al, 2017), an examination of the influence of socio-economic factors on building energy efficiency at a local level is essential.…”

Understanding policy divergence after United Kingdom devolution: Strategic action fields in Scottish energy efficiency policy

“…These are drawn on as background in this paper, and served as a source for cross-checking interpretation of documents. (See [37] for analysis of UK government interviews, and [38] for analysis of Scottish government interviews. )…”

“…The second institutional development, a proposed statutory power for local authorities to In principle this provides the basis for assessing necessary resources, although such assessment is itself a sphere of political contest and ambivalence [61], leaving the status of LHEES uncertain. A draft Heat in Buildings Strategy 2021 [62] does not resolve the status of LHEES proposals, implying continuing political contestation.…”

“…Both UK and Scottish governments set cautious energy efficiency targets, despite abundant evidence of urgent need for, and value of, rapid change. Both have very limited policy for non-domestic buildings, and Scottish area-based pilots have revealed the difficulties of engaging all scales of property owners, from corporations to small businesses and home owners [61]. The test of a distinctive Scottish institutional field, structured around economically consequential retrofit of building stock, will be in securing cross-sector, cross-party trade-offs, and discovering common ground, over routes to 'net zero emissions' from buildings within the target dates of 2030-2040.…”

Decarbonising Existing Homes in Wales: A Participatory Behavioural Systems Mapping Approach

“…In particular, people within the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) sectora key part of the supply chain -are highly influential on the adoption of energy saving measures in homes, but have previously been outside the reach of policy debates and interventions around retrofit (Murtagh et al, 2020;Owen et al, 2014;Owen & Mitchell, 2015). Others include people working within and for local authorities, previously described as marginal players in UK energy efficiency policy (Mallaburn & Eyre, 2014) despite their strategic positioning to help deliver retrofit at scale (Wade et al, 2020), as well as people and organisations within the financial sector who could provide novel models and products to finance home retrofitting (Brown et al, 2019).…”