Summary of main issues arising:
Multidisciplinary (across researchers and sectors)
One of the questions that were raised during the session was “What methods can be used to quantify the socio-economic benefits of renewable enabled projects that potentially take the place of fossil fuel capacity?”. It was indicated that whilst there is a wealth of academic work, as well as work from private institutions (e.g. PWC), attempting to deliver this outcome, there is still no standard way of quantifying social benefits. Furthermore, the implementation of many projects is hampered by the fact that, in order to attract funding, they need to utilise a language in their proposals tailored to the targeted funding body and this is not always straightforward for many actors. For example, HM Treasury Green Book methods and language may be advisable. However, collaboration between different sectors and/or research fields, with experience in engaging with different funding bodies, may also enable the use of alternative funding streams compared to the ones commonly approached by actors in individual sectors.
In fact, multidisciplinary collaboration was highlighted as important for a number of reasons not limited to simply accessing to alternative funding options. Multidisciplinary research enables access to necessary data that would be otherwise inaccessible to researchers. More importantly, interaction between different collaborating parties, academic and non-academic, allows all actors to overcome certain misconceptions and therefore deliver better quality outputs.
The need for better information and signals from government
A significant part of the discussions focused on the need for clear indications from the government on the path they plan to adopt regarding energy strategy and policy. Only through a clear plan will it become possible to identify which technologies will be emerging as dominant in the following years and which will become obsolete. Better information in this regard serves a dual purpose. First, it allows for the development of courses/degrees through which the necessary labour force to deliver the energy strategy will be trained. Second, the swift towards different technologies essentially means that trained/experienced personnel will be rendered unemployed. By being in a position to clearly identify the long-term structure of the energy sector, it will be possible to identify which skills in the existing labour force are transferable to the new technologies that will be employed and make use of them in the new energy landscape. Moreover, for the part of the labour force that does not possess such skills, clear and strong indications on the future energy plans will allow re-training which will ensure the employability of those workers beyond the life-span of any existing technologies.
Broader focus on skills issues
Unfortunately, the Scottish Energy Strategy (SES) was considered by the attendees of the session to be more generally lacking in terms of consideration of the development of the skills necessary to introduce and operate the innovative technologies that will be required to achieve the SES goals. This creates an uncertainty as to how these skills will be created and whether this will be through the introduction of looser/broader-reaching degrees. It was highlighted that for the successful implementation of SES it is crucial to establish a system which will clearly signal the future labour needs so that actual development of the labour force can be planned and achieved, rather than relying on reacting to the changing circumstances when the changes occur.
The need for wider public engagement
The final topic discussed was the need for wider public engagement with energy policy development. At the moment in SES there is consideration for public engagement. However this is in a way that implies that citizens will only be involved at the later stages of the energy strategy development. For SES (and generally any energy strategy) to be successfully implemented, it is of paramount importance that the general public acts in ways that facilitates the achievement of the energy strategy goals. It was suggested that a more bottom-up public engagement approach should be adopted, so that citizens actively participate in the development of the energy strategy, essentially achieving public ownership of any goals set and behavioural changes and measures required to reach them.