PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Energy poverty and vulnerability are multidimensional problems which still affect a great number of households in Europe today. Many Member States are still narrowly focusing on (short term) one-size-fits all financial reliefs or social tariffs. Additionally, while people in vulnerable situations have long been considered “victims” of the current energy system, they are actually experts on how to improve the system and deliver basic, clean, reliable, and affordable energy services for all. The SOCIALNRG consortium will develop, test and validate a novel and fully adaptable approach to applied in 3 pilot social housing communities in Slovenia, Italy and Belgium. The approach will be underpinned on: (1) a participated co-designing process by vulnerable families for vulnerable families (‘by them, for them’) to create, or adapt existing, energy communities and tackle their energy vulnerability.. (2) peer exchanging and learning within and between the three pilots projects, (3) the development of recommendations to remove existing policy level obstacles. The approach will be translated into blueprints (for replication) which, though holding a common methodological core, will be entirely customisable to the specific circumstances and will of each vulnerable population and territory. Through its innate participatory methodology, vulnerable families will become part of the governance and decision-making structure of the neighbourhood. They will have the opportunity to not only reduce their energy costs, but to intervene in their collective destiny, which will have an impact on their empowerment and sense of community. To support the replication in other context and similar receptive cross-sectoral coordination structures elsewhere, a capacity building programme (and materials) will also be developed and activated to train local and regional authorities, energy communities, social housing providers and energy poor families (among others) in 9 other EU countries.