Citizens Advice Research - Participant Information Sheet

Who is running this study?

This study is run by People Powered Retrofit (PPR) in partnership with Citizens Advice and partner organisations: Changeworks, Futureproof Cumbria, National Retrofit Hub, and Nottingham Trent University.

What is this study about?

We want to understand how homeowners experience advice when installing energy efficiency improvements, such as:

• Low carbon heating systems - like heat pumps

• Insulation, windows and doors

• Ventilation systems

• Renewable energy generation and storage (solar PV and/or battery systems)

We want to learn:

• What advice works well

• Where advice is missing or confusing

• How advice could be improved

Who can take part?

We want to hear from people who:

• Own their home in England, Wales, or Scotland

• Have made one or more energy efficiency improvements in the last 2 years (from 2024 onwards)

• Are interested in sharing their experience

What will taking part involve?

You can take part in one or more ways:

1. Short survey (about 5 minutes)

   • Online, (or by phone, with help from the research team)
     
     

2. Interview (about 45 minutes)

   • By phone, or online using a video call platform, such as Google Meet

   • Talk about your home, your advice experiences, and your retrofit journey
     
     

3. Workshop (about 3 hours)

   • In person, in Manchester, Edinburgh, London and Cumbria.

   • Group session to share experiences and discuss ideas for better advice

   • Held in accessible community venues; support for travel, childcare, translation, or BSL.

You can choose how much or how little to take part in.

Support for Participation

To help you take part, we offer vouchers and reimbursements:

• Survey: entry into a prize draw to win a food hamper worth £100 (terms and conditions for the draw can be found here: ttps://retrofit.coop/survey-prize-draw-terms-and-conditions).

• Interview: £25 payment

• Workshop: £100 payment, plus travel costs (up to £20) and refreshments

What are the benefits?

• Share your experiences to improve advice

• Help shape services that work better for homeowners

• Receive accessible summaries of the findings

Are there any risks?

• Talking about your experiences may feel stressful

• You can take breaks, skip questions, or stop at any time

• Support can be provided if needed

How will your information be kept safe?

• Your data will be private and secure

• Names and addresses will be stored separately

• Shared datasets and reports will be anonymised

• Project partners (Changeworks, Futureproof Cumbria, and the National Retrofit Hub) will collect data in their local areas. This data will only be shared with the research team at People Powered Retrofit, who will anonymise it before sharing it with researchers at Nottingham Trent University and Citizens Advice.

Consent

• Participation is voluntary

• You can withdraw at any time and ask us to remove your data

• We will explain everything before you agree

Questions or concerns

If you have any questions or would like to speak to our team, please contact us at: research@retrofit.coop

Thank you! Your experiences will help improve energy advice for homeowners across the UK.