Policy Projects

Reports, highlights and other outputs from policy relevant research and engagement projects led by University of Bristol academics and partners. Our researchers work on collaborative and co-produced projects at local, national and regional scales.

• Testimonies from the Energy Crisis
  Research conducted at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with National Energy Action, has uncovered the lived experiences and behaviour changes made in some homes as people sought to reduce their energy bills in the winter of 2022/23. Using interviews and financial diary methods, researchers collected testimonies to understand experiences during the energy crisis, and how current and future policies might provide support.
• The Bristol Plan for Migrant Learners
  The Bristol Plan for Migrant Learners set out to understand how professionals work together to support young migrants. We knew that public services were under increasing pressure and that the system of professional support was increasingly fragmented, but needed greater insight into exactly what was happening, how it could be improved and what stood in the way of that improvement. This study set out to change that.
• Retrofitting Rentals: Exploring the energy efficiency of residential dwellings in Bristol
  Bristol stands as the fastest-growing UK core city. Its population grew 10% between 2011 and 2021, from 428,000 to 472,500 (UK Census, 2011 and 2021). It is a city where a large and growing proportion of residents rent their homes: 50,683 privately (26.8%) and 35,878 socially (18.7%) (UK Census, 2021). This means that more than a quarter of households in the city privately rent their homes, surpassing the national average by 6-9%.
• Local Action for the Global Goals: A Case Study of Bristol
  In 2019, Bristol was the first city in the UK to publish a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) to assess local progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2022 report provides updated data and information about Bristol’s progress, examines how other UK cities have approached sustainable development – especially considering recent challenges – and reflects on how national government could better partner with local governments to deliver that development.
• Protecting Vulnerable Tenants: reforming the law on protection from eviction
  We welcome the Renters’ Rights Bill and the rights and protections it provides for renters, but, if the most vulnerable renters are to be properly protected, reform is also needed to the outdated, complex, and difficult to enforce law on illegal eviction and harassment.