Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) pilot programme: synthesis evaluation

2. Benefits and outcomes of the pilots

Skills development and improved understanding of energy efficiency and decarbonisation was a key benefit of the pilots for local authorities.

Improved use of data enabled identification of new energy efficiency and decarbonisation opportunities, and trialling of new decarbonisation initiatives.

Internal stakeholder engagement helped to increase strategic priority of decarbonisation and integrate LHEES across other strategies and plans.

External support has been key to upskilling and knowledge development – although further support may be needed for implementation.

Funding, guidance and support from Scottish Government have also been critical to the successful delivery of LHEES pilots.

This chapter considers the benefits and positive outcomes secured for local authorities through the LHEES pilot programme.

Skills development

" The LHEES pilot has shown that decarbonisation is not an impossible task - just really hard! We have changed the discourse from ‘why should we even try?’ to ‘why shouldn't we?’

Phase 3 local authority"

LHEES was identified by local authorities across all phases of the pilot programme as an opportunity for significant upskilling of officers. Upskilling was primarily focused on the data collation and analysis skills required to develop the evidence base, and building capabilities around exploring decarbonisation options. Pilots provided an opportunity to access and work with data in new ways – including datasets already in use by local authorities, and other datasets being used for the first time. The integration of multiple ‘layers’ of evidence has also been crucial in enabling local authorities to more accurately assess energy efficiency and decarbonisation options. Some noted that this depth of analysis had previously been seen as an ‘impossible challenge’, and a key barrier to progressing decarbonisation at scale, without the resourcing and external support provided through the pilot programme.

Some local authorities saw the extent of skills development through the pilot programme as an indication of how challenging a full LHEES would be for many local authorities.

Understanding of energy efficiency and decarbonisation

Improving understanding of local energy efficiency and decarbonisation needs, and opportunities for decarbonisation, was a key outcome for local authorities. Specific areas where local authorities had built their knowledge included energy performance of the local housing stock, to future heat demand and consideration of the potential effectiveness of energy efficiency measures and decarbonisation options (including heat networks).

Understanding of the local energy context has also helped to shape LHEES in terms of their focus on specific sectors and stakeholders, such as domestic/non-domestic buildings, SMEs, etc. This was particularly the case in phases 2 and 3 of the pilot programme.

Strengthening partnership working and stakeholder buy-in

The LHEES process has helped to encourage more partnership working with internal and external stakeholders, highlighted by local authorities as crucial for the success of LHEES. Local authorities were particularly positive about the role of LHEES in supporting cross-departmental working, including development of new channels of engagement and knowledge sharing across a range of departments. This contributed to a number of specific benefits:

• Better understanding of decarbonisation across local authority departments;
• Increased ‘buy-in’ and strategic priority of decarbonisation;
• Improved understanding of how services can contribute to LHEES objectives, and identifying opportunities to integrate LHEES with other local authority strategies and action planning;
• Evidencing delivery against wider local authority policy commitments; and
• Building on existing energy efficiency and decarbonisation activities, increasing momentum in delivery against targets.

"LHEES encourages cross departmental working. As a small council we are used to this and it's usually quite a smooth process, but there is still an element of bunker mentality in some departments. LHEES has become a tool to break with that.

Phase 3 local authority"

LHEES pilots have also supported more effective engagement with external stakeholders, particularly with other local authorities, seen as especially valuable in sharing the diversity of experience in LHEES development.

Pilots have demonstrated the importance of securing buy-in from senior management and elected officials – this will be essential to support future LHEES development and delivery.

External expertise and support

" We’ve been quite good at making sure that we didn’t just take [the consultants’ work] at face value, we took it and changed the reports and conversations we had with them and then put them into our own format.

Phase 3 local authority"

External support from consultants has played a significant role in the development of LHEES, and realising the benefits noted above. Local authorities highlighted the value of integrating outputs produced by the consultant with officers’ understanding of the local context. This was seen as crucial in ensuring LHEES were specific to the local context, fostering a sense of local ownership, and facilitating skills development within local authorities.

Local authority experience of working with consultants also appears to have improved over the pilot programme. For example, phase 3 local authorities were much more positive in their feedback than those in earlier phases including in relation to how consultants were procured. This may reflect changes in approach to procurement over the course of the pilot, moving away from a centrally procured consortium.

Local authorities highlighted the importance of ensuring sufficient resourcing to enable local authority officers to work effectively with consultants.

Unlocking additional funding

A small number of phase 3 local authorities suggested that LHEES could facilitate access to additional funding sources to support decarbonisation. This specifically included access to Scottish Government funding, including the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme. It was noted that work to develop LHEES can strengthen applications for funding by providing a more effective evidence base for strategic analysis.