Two weeks ago we helped to organise two workshops to help share the learning from the Cambridgeshire Renewable Infrastructure Framework (CRIF) that’s been gathered by Sustainability East.The CRIF has now become a RIF and it’s hoped other counties in the east of England will take on the methodology to carry out similar projects, identifying how they can move to low-carbon infrastructure.
I was at one of the events, which was held at Suffolk County Council’s Bury St Edmonds office. It hosted a range of local government officers and councillors who were interested in the RIF and what it might offer their authorities.
Sheryl French, who was the project lead for the CRIF, was among the speakers and gave an introduction to the C/RIF methodology. I’ve included a short video interview with Sheryl to help, too. This, by the way, is a playlist – so afterwards it will, if you want, show you all the interviews from the event.
The main points
- Sheryl identified the importance of working in a collaborative and open way.
- That CRIF identified early on both the audiences it needed to engage with and the problems it would have in terms of dealing with a politically sensitive issue (in the video Sheryl mentions wind farms).
- How CRIF set an evidence base for its work.
- This helped identify the constraints and assets of the project were.
- As Sheryl explains in the video this was coupled with developing an appreciation of the development of a clean-tech sector of businesses in Cambridgeshire.
See the rest of the workshop
These posts help to give a fuller picture of the day
- RIF: Jonathan Galton – How the RIF approach can help and how it links to planning policy
- RIF: Daniel Archard – Developing the renewable energy evidence base
- RIF: Ian Walker – The Community Energy Fund
- RIF: Catherine – Complex problems need complex solutions
- RIF: Catherine – Project methodology
- RIF: Catherine – Planning exercise