The Public Engagement Observatory Webinar will take place on Tuesday the 5^th of July from 2 pm to 3 pm.

Meaningful public engagement is now seen as crucial to addressing the challenges of energy transitions and climate change. While these are profoundly systemic problems, most approaches to public engagement are not, focusing on discrete and often one-off forms of participation in specific parts of wider systems. 3S researchers have been at the forefront of moves to develop more systemic approaches to public participation and engagement, including through the recently formed UKERC Public Engagement Observatory that is based in the 3S Research Group.

The Public Engagement Observatory maps the many different ways that people are engaging with energy, climate change and net zero on an ongoing basis. It openly shares and undertakes these mappings with others to help make energy and climate-related decisions, innovations and participation more just, responsible and responsive to society. Through its network, the Observatory makes connections and encourages learning across wider systems of public engagement in the UK and internationally.

This webinar marks the launch of the Public Engagement Observatory’s new dedicated website and open access database, which allows everyone to openly access, explore and contribute to its mappings of diverse public engagement with energy and climate change.

An introduction to the Public Engagement Observatory and its website will be followed by responses from specialists in public engagement, energy and climate change, before opening up to wider questions and answers.

Speakers:

• Prof Jason Chilvers – Professor of Environment and Society at UEA, UKERC Co-Director and Public Engagement Observatory lead

• Prof Becky Willis – Professor in Energy and Climate Governance, University of Lancaster

• Prof Jim Watson – Professor of Energy Policy, Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

• Simon Burall – Senior Associate of Involve and Programme Director of Sciencewise

• Dr Helen Pallett – Lecturer in Human Geography of the Environment at UEA and UKERC Public Engagement Observatory deputy-lead

Register for this event here.