Energy Learning Network expression of interest guidance

  1. Funding
  2. Energy Learning Network expression of interest guidance

How to apply for the Energy Learning Network grant guidance

Applications for the Energy Learning Network grant are now closed

£1.5m has been made available for one UK-wide community Energy Learning Network for up to 5 years

We’ll fund one partnership to create a Energy Learning Network to enable communities focusing on energy and climate to maximise and scale their impact and achieve their vision.

We expect to announce who has been awarded funding in early 2024.

What the Energy Learning Network will do

We anticipate that the successful partnership will provide support in both energy:

  • efficiency: supporting communities to deliver successful energy efficiency projects, including encouraging the adoption of sustainable behaviours related to energy use.
  • generation: supporting communities to deliver successful energy generation projects, exploring areas such as regulation, access to finance, and new business models.

The Energy Learning Network will:

  • Develop trusted relationships and active collaborations between community-driven energy projects and key stakeholders from research, policy and practice across the UK.
  • Build skills and capacity of communities to deliver community-driven impactful climate action projects focusing on energy.
  • Share knowledge, learning and resources across projects to achieve long term change.

The successful partnership should demonstrate how they will:

  • Support existing innovative community driven energy projects to maximise and scale their impact
  • Create connections among different stakeholders such as energy suppliers, local authorities, behaviour change experts and community energy groups to promote collaboration and create the conditions for longer term transformational change.
  • Support community driven energy projects in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to share and promote cross-country learning, deepen relationships and create opportunities for new collaborations to emerge.
  • Build momentum and support community driven energy projects to flourish and grow
  • Connect and build on existing capacity building and knowledge sharing provision for community driven energy projects avoiding duplication.
  • Describe, measure and show what progress looks like.
  • Develop inclusive and tailored activities and materials to engage with diverse groups and support them where they are on their journey to community energy climate action.
  • Support communities working on energy action to develop tailored, accessible and open access materials and diversify their reach.

What we’ll ask for in your application

We’ll need extra information on these questions when you complete your expression of interest application for Energy Learning Network funding.

We want to know about  your idea and how it fits with the areas we are focussing on.

1. What’s your proposed project idea?

You should tell us:

  • about your project
  • what are the needs of community energy groups and how will your project address them
  • how you’ll work with community groups to support them to maximise their impact
  • how you’ll encourage participation and engagement from community energy groups
  • how you’ll address challenges and barriers faced by community energy groups.
  • about the things that will increase the chance of your project being successful – for example, you have existing relationships with community energy groups and Local Authorities.

2. How will you work with others to deliver your project?

You should tell us:

  • about your organisation
  • what experience or learning has led you to apply
  • about the organisations and groups, you’re currently working with (or those you hope to work with)
  • why your proposed partnership is best placed to deliver this work
  • how the partners will work together to deliver this project
  • how you will share learning among your partners and with other groups, projects and communities.

3. How does your project help communities to take climate action?

You should tell us, how:

  • will you ensure diversity and inclusivity of your proposed activities?
  • your project will positively impact communities – in the short and long term
  • you’ll address barriers to participation for underrepresented people and communities – for example, those experiencing ethnic or racial inequity, discrimination or inequality, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, and people who are seeking asylum or who are refugees.