University expert informs citizen panel in Surrey
Elmbridge Borough Council held citizen panel events between June and October 2025. These were part of the Elmbridge Climate Panel series to shape their Climate policy.
The last event was held on 18 October 2025 and the panel is now finalising its outputs. Citizen Panels are a form of deliberative process tested in the UK. The BBC announced the launch of this series in May 2025.
Elmbridge Borough Council invited Dr Nikolas Thomopoulos as Expert Commentator. He was asked to provide a UK and international overview about sustainable transport. Nikolas supported citizens using outputs of his Surrey and international research projects.
Examples included the UKRI-ESRC funded Co-creating accessible futures and WISE-ACT projects.
The Council had also asked Nikolas to be available in October and answer any citizen queries. Other experts were from Surrey County Council and from diverse local community groups. This collaboration demonstrated the local impact of international research at Surrey Business School. Using citizen panels facilitates deliberative processes to meet climate goals.
Dr Thomopoulos said: “It is always exciting to see global Sustainable Development Goals being actively pursued at local level. It is even more exciting to see a bottom-up approach with residents being inquisitive about how their local authority is transforming University expertise into real-world practice at their doorstep. I really enjoyed the discussions with panel participants of diverse age and backgrounds about how we can manage new technologies to serve environmental and societal needs.”
We're looking forward to finding out the updated plans and projects of Elmbridge Borough Council!
Related sustainable development goals
