Two new evaluations published

The Centre research team has published two new evaluation reports for review.

Knowledge and management of energy bills

The ‘East End Energy Fit’ project was funded by the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme. The project supported people on a one-to-one basis to understand and manage their energy bills.  The project was timely because of the heightened worry in our community about the cost of living crisis.

Across the life of the project, funding enabled a range of support for people accessing energy advice, from advocacy and debt management to accessing grants and services.  In total, over £513,000 debt was managed and £566,000 of additional income was secured for participants.

Other outcomes include 59% of people feeling less stressed about their bills, 64% of participants becoming better at managing their financial worries, 81% of people planning ahead for better energy management and 99% of people taking an energy saving action for themselves.

Read the full report.

Connection and loneliness for people with disabilities

The ‘It’s our Turn’ project explored the experience and challenges of connection and loneliness for people with disabilities and identified understandings and solutions to challenges faced.

The work was carried out by community researchers between the Bromley by Bow Centre and partners Real, ICM, Foundation CIC, On Our Radar.

Four categories of ideas emerged from the research; activities, systems to build connection, online resources and the development of new inclusive spaces.

Six community concepts were tested and attracted 184 attendances across 30 sessions. Participants reported improvements in a sense of connection, confidence and wellbeing.

The report creates an opportunity to use the learning identified to build systems change, moving from piloting activities to implementing them sustainably and tackling some of the barriers participants found.

Read the evaluation summary.

Read the full report

For further information naomi.mead@bbbc.org.uk