A current WEF Value Proposition (5 min read) may be downloaded here as a PDF.
About
The Westminster Energy Forum (WEF) provides unique value for senior-level stakeholders in government, and in the wider energy and climate arena, by addressing the UK’s strategic challenges in a cross-silo, integrated manner, evaluating both emerging threats to the delivery of energy and climate policy and infrastructure, and / or opportunities for its innovation and development.
The overarching nature of the WEF programme cuts across typical sector 'silos' to provide insights that aim to be 'pathfinding' in nature, thereby helping to facilitate a wider understanding of the prevailing and emerging risks affecting long term decarbonisation.
Operational support comes from the industry value chain via a limited set of annual subscriptions that enable the WEF to convene an equal number of experts from the public sector, diplomatic and NGO domains free of charge, ensuring that the WEF can convene the right balance and mix of personnel while remaining unbiased and free of lobbying.
An active list of c.1000 experts in the UK and overseas is maintained across 150+ organisations to form the WEF's strategic intelligence network. After nearly 20 years of operations the WEF has become a trusted and reliable partner for decision-makers with a deep and extensive network of participants both in the UK and internationally. All our seminars and webinars are hosted by various WEF members through the political year, with all event outputs made freely available to the WEF network.
Strategic Themes that define the WEF Programme
The WEF programme is based on powerful, qualitative gap analysis to identify which emerging risk issues need extra focus and debate for the benefit of all stakeholders. It gives senior civil servants a guaranteed forum in which to brief, and to exchange ideas in confidence, with a well-informed industry and NGO constituency, creating many opportunities for B2G and B2B follow up outside of typical trade association or commercial conference-type environments.
The WEF's Annual Programme is informed by five strategic themes which cut across our two workstreams and that drive the pathfinding nature of all WEF agendas throughout the political year. These Themes currently are:
- Uncertainties and Trends in Climate Science, and in Patterns of Climate Change Risks
- Geopolitics of International Energy Transitions, and Implications for Net Zero Delivery
- Delivering and Benchmarking the UK Energy Transition via its Policies and Regulation
- Energy System Transformation using new Infrastructure with a viable Licence to Operate
- Climate Impacts, & Transition Challenges, for Corporate Strategy and Financial Markets
The WEF is in a strong position to continue operating its Leadership Network and Knowledge Exchange Programme to 2030 and beyond.
Coordination with Key Public Sector Agencies
We liaise regularly with up to 50 Directors within key public sector agencies, typically government departments and regulatory bodies, to consider the kinds of emerging issues that would benefit from broader discussion by policymakers, industry, NGOs et al. In this way the WEF delivers a programme that is collaborative, relevant and forward-looking.
Key governmental bodies who engage with the WEF include: DESNZ, FCDO, MOD, HMT, DIT, DEFRA & Cabinet Office.
Regulatory contacts who are part of the Programme include: Ofgem, OGA, ONR, NDA, Environment Agency and HSE, and others with a central role such as the Bank of England.
Delivering Value for Participants in the WEF Network
The WEF maintains a deep understanding of emerging and strategic issues at policy level in order to define relevant agendas that effectively analyse climate risks and energy transitions for a wide expert network.
Successfully pathfinding the risks and opportunities to a clean energy transition is achieved by actively integrating experts from across a wide range of different interest groups, and by maintaining multiple points of contact at senior level in all organisations within the WEF network.
The WEF is trusted and valued by government, regulators and the wider sector that it serves, ensuring an appropriately diverse approach to representation on its panels.
The WEF constituency is well-established, including 150 organisations and a 50:50 public-private sector split overall, forming a diverse and well-informed group of practitioners who form a knowledge transfer network that is material to the design and delivery of policy and infrastructure.
WEF allows places to be used transferrably within participating organisations, and we seek to maintain the costs of WEF membership for corporates at well below commercial event rates so that we cover our operational costs while delivering optimal value for time and money for everyone involved.