The UKERC Meeting Place: a new model for stimulating the energy debate

Jane Palmer, Environmental Change Institute , OUCE, University of Oxford

Keywords

stakeholder engagement, dialogue, interdisciplinarity, events, workshops, research-focused activities, networks, policy and research agendas

Abstract

Capturing and harnessing the interdisciplinary nature of the energy debate into useful outputs and solutions is one of the key challenges of translating ideas into action, so that we can ‘just do it!’. Building networks and encouraging constructive discussion and interaction are central to furthering the policy and research agendas. With this in mind, the UK Energy Research Centre established ‘The Meeting Place’ in October 2004, a unique function which is dedicated to promoting the energy debate through problem-solving events, debates, networking activities and interactions with international visitors. The Meeting Place was set up to support interdisciplinary working and engagement of stakeholders of various professions within energy-related areas and provide a forum for collaborative projects addressing key issues and developing new synergies between different strands of energy research. This has been achieved through a range of formats, from one-day seminars to multiple day workshop and research-focused activities, often tackling complex and controversial problems at the forefront of the energy debate. Since it was established in October 2004, the Meeting Place has run over 40 successful events involving over 1 500 participants, both UK and international, and built up a wealth of experience and knowledge in terms of how to best engage and stimulate debate within the energy arena. As such, it represents a useful and effective model that other countries can contribute to and possibly replicate. This paper outlines the key functions of the Meeting Place and how it can benefit the European energy research community.