Call for Abstracts and Participants for a pan-European symposium
Monday 11th September 2017, Nottingham Conference Centre, UK
Following on from a successful early career research symposium held in Manchester last year, applications are sought from postgraduate and early career researchers (ECRs) in all disciplines for a second sponsored pan-European symposium on domestic energy deprivation. Participant registration is now also open.
Domestic energy deprivation – which is often recognised via the terms ‘fuel poverty’, ‘energy poverty’, and more recently ‘energy vulnerability’ – is prevalent across Europe. Indeed, an estimated 52.1 million households across EU27 alone were struggling to attain adequate warmth, pay their utility bills on time, and live in homes free of damp and mould in 2010 (Thomson, 2015). The adverse impacts experienced by fuel poor households include compromised living standards, lower educational outcomes, and exacerbated health risks. Fuel poverty is gaining increasing acceptance as a significant global policy issue (Bouzarovski and Petrova, 2015), as reflected by the emergence of numerous national and supranational policy frameworks. However, there remains a chronic lack of integrated discussion and interpretation of the problem within the wider scientific and policy community, which may have contributed to the relative marginalisation of policy responses, and prevented the development of knowledge on the issue.
To address the fragmentation of approaches to the challenge of fuel poverty across national and disciplinary boundaries, this symposium seeks to provide a supportive physical and virtual forum for ECRs from all disciplines to:
- Share emergent research on or related to domestic energy deprivation;
- Consider the development of an integrated and innovative conceptual framework for the research and amelioration of fuel poverty;
- Develop national and international collaborations with public policy officials and civil society;
- Further strengthen the existing multidisciplinary network of researchers from across Europe;
- Foster a new generation of scholars and practitioners in this field.
The symposium will feature guest talks from key decision-makers, researchers, and practitioners involved with local, national and international initiatives, including Jade Kirk (Robin Hood Energy). Thereafter, attendees will have the opportunity to give short presentations on their own early career work. The event will conclude with interactive small group discussions on fuel poverty research, policy and practice.
This event is held in partnership with National Energy Action (NEA), one of the UK’s leading fuel poverty charities, and Eaga Charitable Trust, an independent grant-giving trust that supports work on fuel poverty. As part of this collaboration, attendance at the symposium is free of charge for all participants, and in addition bursaries are being offered for 10 ECRs to attend both the symposium and NEA’s annual conference (11th to 13th September in Nottingham) free of charge and, in addition, receive funding towards accommodation and travel costs. NEA has also generously offered stand space in the Community Hub at their conference, which ECRs could use to display poster presentations of their research. NEA’s annual conference attracts over 300 delegates from several sectors engaged with the issue of fuel poverty and energy efficiency, including: national and local government; national and international NGOs; energy supply and distribution industries; health and social care sector; and the community and voluntary sector.
Application process:
To apply to participate in and attend the symposium on 11th September, and NEA’s annual conference (11th to 13th September), please complete and return the application form. Within this form you can specify if you would like to be considered for the bursary detailed above – explaining why you qualify for a bursary, and providing the total amount and a breakdown of the funds requested. We note that recipients of the 10 Eaga Charitable Trust/NEA bursaries will be required to attend both the NEA conference as well as the symposium. As funds are limited, applicants may not receive the full amount they have requested; priority will be given to those without access to other travel funds.
The deadline for all bursary applications is 5pm (CEST) on Friday 30th June 2017. Applicants will be informed of the outcome approximately two weeks after the closing date. The call for participants will remain open until one week before the event. Please contact Dr Harriet Thomson (harriet.thomson@manchester.ac.uk) if you have any queries.
For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://fuelpoverty.eu/2017/06/01/ecr17/