ENGAGER is a research network aimed at developing and strengthening an international community of researchers and practitioners focused on combating energy poverty – a condition typically manifested by the inability to secure adequate levels of domestic energy services (such as heating, lighting, cooling, appliances). ENGAGER brings together scholars and practitioners based both within and outside Europe who focus on various aspects of complex energy poverty challenges. The ENGAGER 2017-2021 COST Action seeks to bring about transformational change in the investigation and amelioration of household-level energy poverty in Europe. It is facilitating the development of comprehensive, innovative and evidence-based policy frameworks. Its objectives are:
- creating a trans-disciplinary analytical approach for understanding the driving forces of energy poverty by integrating the state-of-the-art in energy poverty scholarship and moving beyond national definitions;
- developing a common framework for determining the extent of energy poverty via the formulation of harmonised EU-wide indicators for measuring and monitoring energy poverty at regional, national and the COST-wide level;
- creating an active platform for European dialogues on researching and addressing energy poverty among four sets of relevant stakeholders (EU institutions, advocacy groups, think tanks, academia, business);
- generating multiple forms of innovation by forging direct connections between research and policy on energy poverty, on the one hand, and activities in the domains of energy efficiency, welfare provision, utility regulation, and public health
