Blog post by Sandy Rushtion and Matthias Ghyselen

Introduction

On June 13th-14th 2024, the teams from Energent and People Powered Retrofit met in Ghent for a series of service design workshops and discussions to support Energent’s development of a new citizen-led renovation service. The visit was attended and followed by a colleague from REScoop.eu as well, for sharing impressions with the network. People Powered Retrofit’s representatives for the visit were Harriet Darling - Householder Service Manager - and Sandy Rushton - User Researcher. They led Energent’s team through a series of workshops and discussions focusing on the intake, assessment, and execution phases of their new service.

About the visit

During the workshop, Energent’s team shared feedback from the assessment and advice services that they have already developed, and their plans for future design and on-site support services. Harriet presented learning from People Powered Retrofit’s own householder support services; her first-hand experience delivering a householder advice and retrofit support service was really useful here and there were many lively discussions with lots of questions.

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Sandy also led a value proposition workshop, building on the customer personas that Energent had already developed through the Citizen Led Renovation support programme. The workshop attendees explored the jobs that customers want to get done, their pain points, and what ‘gains’ look like for them. They then compared how well the new services ‘fit’ each customers’ pains and gains. This helped the Energent team to understand better the customer needs their new services are meeting, where their unique strengths are, and what is outside of the scope of the services they’ve designed.

What we learned?

Matthias from Energent highlights the value of the learning experience:

“Energent was delighted to welcome People Powered Retrofit to Ghent for a highly productive and insightful two-day meeting. Their expertise in citizen-led renovation and service is invaluable. Using Strategyzer’s Value Proposition Canvas was a novel experience for us, and this different approach yielded valuable new insights. We are eager to apply this tool again in the future for our other services. In addition to developing our value propositions, it was fascinating to delve into PPR’s unique way of working. Their methodologies and practices provided us with fresh perspectives and practical knowledge.”

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Sandy shares the perspective from People Powered Retrofit team:

“We left Ghent feeling inspired! It was a pleasure for us to meet the passionate team behind Energent and learn more about the services that they offer. It was also valuable for us to look critically at our own citizen-led renovation one-stop shop while sharing our experiences with the Energent team. We had a chance to reflect on the decisions we’ve made as our householder advice service has developed, and by sharing what has and hasn’t worked we hope that we’ve helped Energent on their path to delivering a deep retrofit service for their region.”

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Next steps

Following the initial pilot runs, Energent will spend the summer optimizing its processes in preparation for a service relaunch in autumn 2024. The valuable insights gained from the recent two-day meeting have provided clear direction for their efforts in the coming weeks. Energent's team is excited to take the next big step in developing their new service and is confident they are on the right track.

By incorporating the feedback and knowledge shared during the workshops, Energent is better equipped to continue developing more tailored and effective renovation services for the local community. This collaboration facilitated by the OSR-Coop Project undoubtedly positively impacts their journey to expanding towards a fully functional One Stop Shop. Energent’s team remains committed to continuous learning and improvement as they move forward and expand their services.

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