Meet our latest Wonder winner...

This month we're celebrating someone whose inspiring work bridges behavioural economics and sustainability. The Warwick Wonder Award recognises her flexible approach, working with people at Warwick and in our local community, developing new ideas and taking on new challenges.

Want to say well done? Log in to congratulate our winning colleague in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Lory Barile, Economics

Lory has built strong research collaborations within behavioural economics and sustainability, connecting with local government, schools and communities.

Despite the challenges of shifting priorities and complex partnerships, she remains unwaveringly committed, leading projects like Retrofit Rocks.

The Retrofit Rocks project addresses the local barriers to the uptake of retrofit schemes in Coventry, with the aim to reduce household carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty.

The project has been recognised by the 'Local Government Association' (a national group of local governments) as an innovative and best-practice example of place-based collaborative working.

Balancing full-time teaching and research, Lory’s optimism, inclusivity, and generosity continue to shine through.

Transcript

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor: So for our Wonders Award, we are here in the Department of Economics to see Lory Barile, an Associate Professor who does amazing work in education, supporting sustainability at the University, and working with the city council to understand why certain communities don’t take up funding opportunities for home insulation and greener living. Lory’s work makes a real difference to our local community.

Robin: What a surprise!

Stuart: Nobody knows what’s going on, do they?

Robin: Lory doesn’t know what’s going on.

Stuart: Really? Somebody's just had a dawning realisation!

We have our Wows and Wonders, where people are nominated for going above and beyond. You’ve been nominated—and you won! You are our Wonder for the fantastic work you do. Your teaching, education support, sustainability work, and research are all incredible. But in particular, you are being recognised for how you work with local stakeholders to tackle big issues and help communities lead greener lives.

You’re quite stunned, aren’t you? Look—guess what? A star!

Thank you for everything you do across all these domains. Let’s give Lory a huge round of applause! Well done!

Find out more about Retrofit Rocks - a place-based approach to house retrofitting.

Lory's nominator told us:

"I am immensely proud to have Lory as a colleague and and her commitment and optimistic and inclusive approach makes working with Lory a pleasure... Her commitment to sustainability should be applauded, her drive and passion and unfaltering optimism in the face of challenging and complex relationship development should also be commended."

Bret Willers, Head of Climate Change at Coventry City, Council said:

"This pilot project has been very successful about raising people’s awareness as to how to better insulate their homes and how to access free funding to improve energy efficiency. We hope that this pilot will contribute to increase the take up of schemes available to households to meet the City’s commitment to tackling climate change and addressing fuel poverty."

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