From Winter 2022 to Summer 2023 Miller Research undertook an evaluation of SELKIE which was a European Territorial Co-Operation funded operation that aimed to facilitate the commercialisation of marine renewable energy, particularly wave and tidal energy.
SELKIE was funded as a Cross Border Innovation Operation run by a consortium of University College Cork and Swansea University – and GDG Ltd, DP Energy Ireland Ltd, Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum Community Interest Company and Menter Môn Cyf as a part of the Ireland Wales Programme.
In its aim to increase cross-border innovation SELKIE developed tools to support business planning, engineering, maintenance of delivery of MRE projects across nine work packages. This involved the development of modelling for three work packages, these were:
- Physical and numerical modelling of wave and tidal energy array
- Foundation and mooring model and pilot applications
- Installation, operations & maintenance and logics models
Other work packages involved technological innovations such as improving sensor technology, and the development of tools to support decision making such as the GIS Techno-Economic tool.
Wales and Ireland have substantial potential for the production of marine renewable energy, and operations like SELKIE are important in ensuring that this potential is met while supporting local businesses and communities to drive that development.
Our Evaluation
Miller Research undertook the evaluation of the SELKIE, to determine their progress against their objectives, and to measure the impact and benefits from the consortiums operations.
Working closely with researchers and staff, we explored it’s operations to identify progress, opportunities and barriers to its success based in a Theory of Change which we developed collaboratively with the delivery team. We undertook a series of interviews with internal and external stakeholders, as well as case studies, desk-based research, a quantitative survey, a counterfactual impact analysis and mixed methods data analysis. Our evaluation concluded that the SELKIE operation was delivered by a highly skilled and competent team whose organisation of the operation should be considered best practice.