Work Package 6: Australian Energy Transition Workshops

Bringing the energy sector together to shape the future

The future of Australia’s energy system is shaped by industry foresighting, policy decisions, and consumer behaviours. This work package creates a dedicated space for collaboration, discussion, and strategic planning, ensuring that Scenarios for Future Living reflect both top-down industry perspectives and bottom-up lived experiences.

Leads

Key researchers

Key research questions

  • What probable, possible, and preferable futures emerge when a diverse group of energy stakeholders participate in foresighting workshops?
  • How can industry foresighting practices and the Scenarios for Future Living inform and influence each other?
  • How can we build industry capacity for more imaginative, participatory foresighting to improve energy transition planning?
  • What role should holistic foresighting practices play in energy system governance?

Our approach

WP6 recognises that industry foresighting practices shape how households experience and respond to energy transitions. By creating an iterative relationship between industry scenario planning and consumer research, this work package ensures that energy transition planning is comprehensive, inclusive, and forward-thinking.

Research methods

  • Energy transition workshops – A multi-year program of cross-sector workshops bringing together stakeholders from government, business, and civil society to explore alternative energy futures through foresighting, system transformation and speculative design activities.
  • Integrating foresighting methods – Expanding the range of foresighting techniques used in the energy sector, connecting foresight efforts across the whole energy system, and ensuring greater participation from diverse industry and consumer perspectives.
  • Capacity building and industry engagement – Helping energy stakeholders develop and apply advanced foresighting practices, fostering an ongoing community of practice that extends beyond this project.

Key outputs

  • Australian Energy Transition Reports (Years 1, 2 & 3) – Summarising probable, possible, and preferable futures for the residential energy transition, providing a foundation for policy discussions and governance responses. These reports will also inform WP1's ethnographic household research and WP3's Scenarios for Future Living development.

By bridging the gap between industry planning and real-world energy experiences, WP6 ensures that the energy transition is more inclusive, collaborative, and strategically aligned, supporting better decision-making across the entire energy system.