Mari Martiskainen “Low energy housing transition in the UK– the role of intermediaries in innovation processes.” Energy Cultures Conference 2016

1. Low energy housing transition in the UK
– the role of intermediaries in innovation
processes
Dr Mari Martiskainen and Dr Paula Kivimaa
Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand, University of Sussex
Energy Cultures Conference, 6-7th July, Wellington

2. Structure of talk
• Brief intro to Centre on Innovation and Energy Demand
• Context of research: the UK’s housing sector
• Innovation intermediaries
• Intermediaries in low energy housing
• Empirical case research
• Initial findings

3. Centre on Innovation and
Energy Demand (CIED)
• Based at SPRU, University of
Sussex, UK (www.cied.ac.uk)
• A socio-technical, whole systems,
approach to energy demand
• Emergence, diffusion and impact
of radical low energy innovations
• Funded by RCUK (2013-2018)
• Sussex, Manchester, Oxford

4. Context of research: the UK’s
housing sector
• The quality of UK’s existing housing stock one of the worst in Europe
• Slow turnover of new buildings
• Around 2/3 of existing 27 million homes will still be in use in 2050
• Multiple companies involved in the sector
• Many SMEs, culture of subcontracting, uncoordinated sector, gap in skills and training
• Conservative building trade
• Reluctance to change from traditional building methods
and renovation processes
• Energy efficiency improvements especially suffer from:
• Often high upfront costs
• Limited market demand – the ‘hassle factor’
• Political and financing constraints

5. The UK’s housing sector cont.
• The UK housing sector has a history of incremental innovation
• Complicated policy mix and recent policy cancellations
• E.g. 38 instruments addressing energy efficiency in buildings
• Achievement of ambitious targets requires, systemic & architectural
innovation
• Integration of multiple technologies
• Integrated design
• Collaboration between actors
• Use of practice-based knowledge
 Role for intermediation?

6. Innovation intermediaries
• Facilitators of innovation processes that are
neither the inventors nor the customers
• Intermediaries have been defined as:
“actors who create spaces and opportunities for
appropriation and generation of emerging
technical or cultural products by others who
might be described as developers and users”
(Stewart & Hyysalo, 2008)
• Often hybrid and boundary crossing, may
seek for neutrality
• Not only who they are but also what they do
to drive innovation

7. Intermediaries in low energy
housing
• Previous research has identified a range of potential actors that
could act as intermediaries in the building sector
• E.g. architects, building managers, regulators, energy service
companies, building innovation platforms, foundations, religious
congregations, building professionals and commercial building
communities
• In the UK, we have identified for example the following:
• Government organisations, local authorities, member/trade
organisations, business organisations, housing associations,
academics, environmental/energy charities and building specific
charities

8. Empirical case research
• Brighton ‘hotspot’ chosen as a context of case studies
• Green ‘milieu’ – protective space for low energy housing?
• Eco Open Houses event – showcases sustainable houses
• Cases of new built homes and whole house retrofits
• Document and literature analysis
• Semi-structured interviews with key actors
• Case histories tracing innovation process and the
role of intermediation

9. One Brighton case
• Low energy housing development by
Bioregional, Crest Nicholson and
Quantain
• Built as part of a larger regeneration site
in central Brighton during 2007-2010
• 172 flats, of which 54 affordable homes
• Objective to develop a cost-effective
development based on ‘One Planet
Living’ principles
• Highly energy efficient, solar PVs and
biomass boiler, car-free, rooftop
allotments, community space

10. Intermediation in the
One Brighton case
Project phase Actor/organisation Process Empirical evidence
Planning Sustainability consultant Stakeholder engagement and
community development
• Chance encounter with a local council worker leads sustainability consultant to facilitate
community engagement for One Brighton development
• Organising and facilitating meetings with community groups, taking on board suggestions
and feedback
• Exhibiting One Brighton plans in key locations
• Bringing in Bioregional as a developer, previous expertise in sustainable housing
Main developer Bioregional Developing One Brighton as first One
Planet Living development
• Adapting learning from previous BedZED development on technology and lifestyle approach
• Sourcing funding and key partners
• Coordinating planning process
• Integrating and licensing One Planet Living concept
• Employing a Sustainability Integrator for the build process
Construction Main developer Bioregional &
Sustainability Integrator
Ensuring sustainability criteria is met at
all stages
• Coordinating all project partners
• Sustainability Integrator checking all construction stages
• Creating One Brighton Energy Service Company
Sustainability consultant,
maintenance company
Promoting One Brighton to community
groups and construction industry
• Creating community space ‘Brighton Junction’ and finding tenants
• Helping with resources, e.g. funding for biomass boiler
• Promoting One Brighton as a different from norm to construction industry
Post-construction Main developer Bioregional Post-occupancy evaluation • Collecting energy data
• Addressing problems with biomass boiler
• Showcasing One Brighton through visits, events and research
• Planning other projects for replication
Embedding/upscaling Local authority Showcasing Brighton as a sustainable
construction hub
• Using One Brighton as case in Eco Open Houses event
• Using One Brighton as example to other developers of what can be achieved
• Providing a protective space for subsequent building projects

11. Initial findings
• Intermediary roles can change during the course of the project
• E.g. the role of the Sustainability Consultant in One Brighton case
• Boundaries of intermediation can be fluid, hence also drawing on the concept of an
‘innovation champion’ and how that relates to intermediation
• Intermediation by different actors at different stages of innovation process
• E.g. planning, construction, post-construction and embedding
• Changes in regimes influence the process of intermediation
• E.g. the influence of the 2008 financial crash on the UK housing market
• E.g. policy changes such as removal of zero carbon homes requirement
• Systemic innovation requires effective intermediation
• How to measure which intermediaries are effective?
• Intermediaries also benefit from practical experience and related learning

12. Thank you!
Contact:
m.martiskainen@sussex.ac.uk
@martiskainen
www.cied.ac.uk
www.sussex.ac.uk/sussexenergygroup/
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/