‘Charge my Street’ launched in 2016 with the goal of improving accessibility to EV charge-points for residents without off-street parking in the Northwest. To raise awareness of their work the community interest organisation recruited a graduate to complete a business sponsored master's by research in collaboration with the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation (CGE) at Lancaster University.

Daniel Heery of Charge my Street commented, “The year before we took on two interns through CGE, this was a great success, so we enquired about doing another longer-term project. The opportunity was a great way for a graduate researcher to work with us, while also developing academic skills.”

The successful applicant Tom Barker, a marketing graduate from Edge Hill University said, “It has been great to work with a company while also getting a master’s degree at Lancaster. My project raises awareness of Charge my Street’s activities and encourages a switch to EV in target communities. I have been able to use my marketing experience in a completely new sector which has been really interesting”.

This promotional work and market research has been important for Charge my Street as they expand across the region. The organisation focuses on connecting with communities and improving their ability to make a smooth transition to EV.

“The more charge points we install the more likely communities will make the switch to EV. We know that for each car that we manage to switch we save 40-50 tons of CO2, so it’s a great prize. We wanted someone to promote the benefits to local people and encourage usage once installed, this was a gap in our capability that Tom has been able to help us with.” Daniel explains.

The project is currently underway and due to finish in January 2022. Tom comments, “It’s going really well so far, a completely different experience this year than I imagine it has been for researchers in the past due to the impact of the pandemic, but everyone has been really helpful, and I've been made to feel like I'm part of the team despite working from home.”

“As part of my market research I have hosted two virtual focus groups to find out how the community feels about transitioning to electric vehicles. The key themes were that there’s a misunderstanding over car charging timescales, for instance many couldn’t tell the difference between a rapid charger or a fast charger. Other themes related to price and accessibility, particularly for those living in terraced housing.”

Tom went on to say, “I have integrated myself in the team, managing Charge my Street’s social media channels, creating their newsletters, and I've contributed to the new web design.”

The project’s support has helped the team at Charge my Street develop an effective marketing strategy focused on digital engagement.

Daniel comments, “Getting to grips with the social media has been a really important step, especially as we expand into new regions. Plus, it has supported the role out of our ‘digital first policy’. Our aim is that all our enquires will be channeled through the website and integrate effectively with our social media channels. This way we’ll have a good understanding of demand in target areas.”

“At the end of this project Tom is going to continue working with us but with more focus on stakeholder engagement. From our perspective the sector is expanding fast, and we need to be quick to take advantage of new opportunities.”

This project is part of Eco-I Northwest, which offers funded postgraduate study and R&D and innovation support to businesses across the UK. The initiative is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is delivered by 6 of the region’s universities; Lancaster, Central Lancashire, Cumbria, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores and Manchester Met. To find out more about business and/or graduate opportunities please visit: /global-eco-innovation/business/eco-i-nw/ or email business@cgeinnovation.org