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Challenge
Stakeholder consultation is central to how Britain’s gas distribution networks shape their future. Our client, a major gas distribution network, is required every three years to develop a strategic business plan for Ofgem. As part of this process, it runs a stakeholder consultation with current and future domestic energy users as well as small and medium-sized businesses.
This consultation process lasts for 12-18 months. It needs to include both spontaneous consumer reactions to the issues that they are considering, and also more considered views. Given that most of us don’t think about how gas reaches us or the challenges involved as we transition away from natural gas (current Government plans are for 80% of natural gas boilers to be phased out by 2035) it was important to educate consumers on the issues.
Approach
Our stakeholder consultation programme
For this project (which is running at the moment) we are running a research programme composed of five elements:
- An initial deliberate exercise to explore consumer priorities with 100 participants whereby participants attend an online deliberative event once a week for three weeks (this session includes both plenary and focus group sessions)
- 3,000 quantitative interviews to prioritise consumer needs
- 3,000 quantitative interviews to explore pricing
- A final deliberative exercise to help shape the final business plan with 100 participants whereby, in a similar vein to the initial stage, participants attend an online deliberative event once a week for three weeks (this session includes both plenary and focus group sessions
- 9-month online community panel running parallel throughout the project to explore issues as they arise or that need more depth.
Impact
The deliberative nature of the stakeholder consultation enabled us to educate participants on the industry and the issues, ensuring they could contribute as informed voices. This project demonstrates our ability to work collaboratively with consumers and businesses to explore complex topics around energy provision in a way that is accessible.
The research is being used to feed into the final business plan submitted, combining this with feedback from the expert / industry panel. The scale and depth of the exercise has provided confidence that any proposals provided to Ofgem are grounded in educated stakeholder opinions.
