Engaging with Energy Poverty in Early Career: Eaga Charitable Trust’s final grant awarded to the Fuel Poverty Research Network

NEWS RELEASE 9th April 2020

The Fuel Poverty Research Network (FPRN) has been awarded funding from the Eaga Charitable Trust for a 3 year project to support postgraduate students, early career researchers and early career practitioners. The project aims to contribute to efforts to tackle fuel and energy poverty through original research, publication and participation in events, conferences and symposia. Entitled ‘Engaging with Energy Poverty in Early Career’ (EPEC), it will see the FPRN award in the region of twenty small research grants across two rounds of funding and will also award up to twenty bursaries to enable those in their early career to engage with the international debate around fuel and energy poverty by attending and contributing to conferences and events. Opportunities to apply for funding under the EPEC project will be advertised in the autumn.

David Kidney, Chair of Eaga Charitable Trust, said “This will be the Trust’s final grant award before it closes in May. For many years we have supported academics and practitioners in the early stages of their careers, by co-hosting pan-European early career researchers’ symposiums, funding bursaries and awarding research grants. We are delighted that the Trust’s remaining funds will be allocated to developing work to support early career researchers, and the Fuel Poverty Research Network is uniquely placed to undertake this project.”

Dr Aimee Ambrose, Chair of the Fuel Poverty Research Network explained: “What’s distinctive about this project is that it will require academics and practitioners to work together to access the research funding. We hope that these partnerships between the academic and practice communities will create greater scope for policy impact and influence in connection with fuel poverty research.”

The project will be led and delivered by the FPRN Trustees and will be overseen by an Independent Advisory Committee comprised of fuel and energy poverty experts of international repute. 

Notes to Editors

1. The Eaga Charitable Trust is an independent grant-giving trust that supports research which focuses on understanding and addressing the causes and effects of fuel poverty.  The Trust will close in May 2020 and, to ensure that its impact continues into the future, it has produced an online research archive and a range of resources directed at policy makers and practitioners which can be found at http://www.fuelpovertylibrary.info/.  For further information about the Trust, contact Naomi Brown, Trust Manager: e-mail eagact@aol.com; tel. 01539 736477.
2. FPRN was created in April 2016 with the intention of fostering dialogue between research and practice. This has been realised through seven events around the UK and the creation of a lively email list (191 members currently). In 2020 we will deliver our first intentional event in Portugal with funding from the EU Engager COST Action. In 2019 the organisation became a registered charity and amongst its objectives is the provision of support to researchers and practitioners early in their career. For further information about the FPRN, please visit our website at: https://www.fuelpovertyresearch.net/. You can contact Aimee Ambrose, Chair of the FPRN at: aimee@fuelpovertyresearch.net; tel. 07771 615810.