Education by Design: Creating Lasting Market Behavior Change through Education & Training

Marge Anderson, Energy Center of Wisconsin

Keywords

Abstract

Why do energy efficiency program designers include training interventions in their programs? Because, after they identify lack of knowledge as a market barrier, they hope that training will eliminate knowledge gaps and increase energy efficient practices. Yet many programs face problems like poorly-attended trainings, difficulty in measuring effects of training, or only a small amount of market behavior change after implementing training programs.

The state of training in the energy efficiency industry is a mixed bag – excellent programs exist, and so do ineffective programs. Some training programs inspire lasting behavior change, and some seem to create no results at all. The Energy Center of Wisconsin has developed a systematic model for education and training that delivers consistent, measurable and significant results in terms of lasting energy efficiency behavior change. The system that delivers this success includes six key elements that are replicable for other market transformation programs: curriculum design founded on established adult education principles, rigorous evaluation, deliberate integration into other program elements, a focus on verifiable benefits, a solid business model, and an emphasis on quality.

This paper will examine these six principles in detail and demonstrate their long- and short-term effects over the past nine years in programs like the Wisconsin ENERGY STAR Homes training series, the Daylighting Collaborative, and the Advanced Buildings national training rollout.