Through a partnership between Neighbourhoods Northwest and Energy Saving Trust this programme delivered a comprehensive package of training and support to address the barriers and build skills around community engagement and renewable energy technologies, including:

1.   Community Engagement Toolkit

The Energy Saving Trust produced a package of resources to enable communities to undertake the steps necessary to deliver a community renewable energy project. The toolkit consists of:

• Factsheets providing factual information about all renewable energy technologies at community scale, helping to decide which is the most suitable.
• Case studies showcasing local examples of how other communities have done it before.
• Checklist to helps communities to understand each step along the way.
• Powerpoint presentation designed for communities to deliver a presentation on how to use the technical information contained in the factsheets.
• Literature library identifying further sources of information and support.

All the documents are available to download from here: http://www.claspinfo.org/community-engagement-pack

2. Community Engagement Training

In addition to the production of the toolkit Neighbourhoods Northwest designed, piloted and delivered an accredited community engagement training course (for communities and community stakeholders) on how to use the technical support toolkit and planning training (for planners and other local authority staff) on how to engage with communities on developing their own renewable energy scheme.

All presentation materials, notes and frequently asked questions from each of the training workshops are available to download from here:

http://www.claspinfo.org/community-renewable-energy-training-programme

http://www.claspinfo.org/community-renewable-energy-planners-workshops