Scottish Research Alliance for Energy, Homes and Livelihoods

Photos (left to right): University of the Highlands and Islands, University of Glasgow, Fife College

It’s hard to believe it was only a year ago that we launched the Scottish Research Alliance for Energy, Homes and Livelihoods at the Royal Society of Edinburgh! The rooms brimmed with enthusiasm and commitment to collaborate beyond silos to help Scotland achieve an equitable and inclusive transition to a Net Zero future. 

One year on, with the ongoing cost of living crisis and a real squeeze on public finances, Scotland’s climate targets seem harder to reach.  

People often ask me questions about where the financing is going to come from, how we will achieve the necessary scale of delivery, and whether we have developed the necessary technologies for large-scale systems change? However, we must not forget the most fundamental challenge of all: How can people in Scotland, across its regions and living under highly diverse socioeconomic conditions and facing compounding inequalities, become agents of change? Unless we engage with, listen to, and bring onboard people Scotland will not reach its climate targets.  

As a catalyst for cross-sectoral, collaborative research, the Alliance is centred on this challenge. In its first year, the Alliance has hosted more than 10 major events that have brought together key stakeholders, ranging from local communities across the Scottish Isles to industry and business actors; Scottish Government services and departments; universities; social enterprises; and beyond. We have opened our Emerging Research Leaders Programme, which offers expertly facilitated workshops for early career researchers across Scotland, and have launched three seed funds aligned with our themes of Decarbonising Heat, Financial Pathways, and Sustainable Households.  

Already, at this early stage, we have turned each £1 of Alliance funding into £40 for collaborative research on the ground – that’s a remarkable feat and enables researchers to make a real difference! At a time when finances are scarce also for research, this kind of catalysation of increased funds is both necessary and rare. 

Sign up to our newsletter to stay tuned as new seed funds will be launched, residential workshops take place, and we continue to embrace the full potential in cross-sector collaborative research!  

Professor Mette High, Director of the Scottish Research Alliance for Energy, Homes and Livelihoods. 

This article originally appeared as a post on LinkedIn. 

The SFC video produced to mark the launch of the Scottish Research Alliance for Energy, Homes and Livelihoods and three other Alliances for Research Challenges (ARCs) includes an interview with Professor High.