Dr Harriet Thomson is an award-winning interdisciplinary academic with world leading expertise in energy research and social science. Her research interests broadly concern the role of public policy and policymaking processes in shaping energy systems, structural inequalities in the distribution of housing and access to affordable and clean forms of energy, health and wellbeing outcomes, and indicators for measuring the complex realities of energy poverty. These are themes that carry through to her research-led teaching, both in her home institution, and abroad as a visiting lecturer.
Conducting transformative policy-relevant research and doing so in a participatory and holistic manner are core elements of her research ethos. To achieve this, she has consistently worked across disciplines and sectors to forge collaborations and international networks, comprising policymakers, regulators, local communities, and other key stakeholders. These efforts have resulted in several active international consortium projects in Europe and across Latin America, and to date she has been awarded in excess of £4.8 million in research funding from the European Commission, British Council, GCRF, and other sources.
Dr Thomson’s research outputs have been used to influence the framing of policy approaches to address energy poverty worldwide, including the European Commission’s Clean Energy for all Europeans package, and more recently, the launch of a monitoring observatory in Mexico. The significant policy impacts of her research were recognised by the ESRC, who awarded her an Outstanding Early Career Impact prize in 2017.