WS3: Working with communities

Working with communities – co-development of new business and social enterprises.

Large volumes of warm air and water are produced across the sectors, providing opportunities for low grade energy capture. Collaboratively with communities around FIs, we aim to identify the potential for co-located initiatives (district heating, market gardening etc.). This research will highlight issues of equality, diversity and inclusiveness, investigating the potential from societal, environmental, technical, business and governance perspectives

Aims of Work Stream 3

Mirroring other workstream research into innovations aimed at Net Zero, such as low-grade heat and assessments of changes in business and social practice, needed to implement innovations with a specific emphasis on understanding different stakeholder perspective and collaborating beyond organisational boundaries.
Identify the potential for co-located businesses, social enterprises and community benefits in case-study locales.
Develop concept-design value opportunities, e.g. sharing waste heat, waste resources, available knowledge, etc.
Develop new ways to disseminate innovative practice across sectors not only through firms, sector bodies and researchers, but through communities and employees’ organisations, leading to community-2-community learning.
Examine the range of metrics and impact assessment tools currently available by working with other TransFIRe Hub teams (including equality and gender impacts, and wellbeing).