The challenge

The Western Australian Government launched the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI) to improve the energy efficiency of public housing stock and deliver benefits for low-income tenants. The program aimed not only to reduce household power bills but also to improve health, comfort, and resilience outcomes for vulnerable households while contributing to broader emissions reduction targets.

DEED needed an independent evaluation of SHEPI to determine whether the initiative was delivering on its objectives, identify lessons learned, and provide evidence to inform future policy and program design. Given the diverse tenant population, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and the range of interventions trialled, the evaluation needed to be both technically robust and socially responsive.

Our solution

Rennie designed and delivered a comprehensive evaluation framework grounded in leading practice and culturally responsive principles. Our approach was structured across four key phases:

• Foundations: Established a clear scope, evaluation questions, and governance arrangements, ensuring alignment with DEED’s policy objectives and stakeholder expectations.
• Outcomes framework: Co-designed an outcomes framework and evaluation plan with DEED, setting out priority domains of performance, data collection methods, and stakeholder engagement approaches.
• Mid-term review: Conducted a formative review of implementation, sharing early findings, identifying emerging risks and opportunities, and refining the evaluation framework.
• Summative evaluation: Delivered a final assessment of outcomes and impacts, synthesising qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights and recommendations to guide future investment decisions.

These findings were developed through a three-phase approach of discovery, benchmarking against industry peers, and collaborative design workshops to co-create future-state scenarios and an actionable roadmap.

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Our impact

The evaluation gave DEED clear evidence of SHEPI’s effectiveness, benefits, and lessons for future energy efficiency initiatives.

By combining technical analysis with community-informed insights, we enabled DEED to understand how well the initiative met its objectives and what adjustments were needed for greater impact. The evaluation outputs strengthened accountability, supported policy development, and highlighted opportunities to scale successful elements. These outcomes included:

• A culturally responsive outcomes framework co-designed with stakeholders.
• Evidence-based assessment of SHEPI’s impact on household energy costs, health, and wellbeing.
• Mid-term insights that informed adjustments during program delivery.
• Practical recommendations for scaling and targeting future social housing energy efficiency programs.
• Enhanced transparency and accountability to government, tenants, and delivery partners.

Key insights

• Energy efficiency delivers benefits beyond bills. While reducing household energy costs was a central driver, tenants also reported marked improvements in health, comfort, and resilience to extreme weather conditions. These benefits often carried more weight for vulnerable households than the financial savings alone. By capturing these outcomes in the evaluation, DEED could demonstrate the wider social and wellbeing impacts of energy efficiency investments, strengthening the case for scaling initiatives beyond purely economic measures.
• Culturally responsive evaluation strengthens validity. Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tenants and community organisations helped uncover experiences that might otherwise have been overlooked. This approach not only enriched the quality of data but also built trust and legitimacy among stakeholders who are often underrepresented in technical evaluations. It highlighted how energy efficiency programs can be adapted to cultural and community needs, ensuring that outcomes are both inclusive and equitable.
• Iterative evaluation adds value during delivery. The mid-term review was critical in surfacing issues early, giving DEED the opportunity to make timely adjustments rather than waiting until the program’s conclusion. This created a feedback loop where challenges could be resolved, and successful practices reinforced, while the initiative was still live. The ability to refine implementation mid-stream proved far more effective than relying solely on end-of-program lessons, which often come too late to influence outcomes.
• Clear frameworks improve decision-making. By structuring outcomes into well-defined domains, DEED could assess the trade-offs between cost reduction, tenant wellbeing, and emissions impacts with greater clarity. This approach provided a more holistic picture of performance, helping decision-makers allocate resources more effectively. A clear framework also enabled consistent tracking across different phases of delivery, reducing ambiguity and ensuring that progress could be measured in both quantitative and qualitative terms.
• Evidence drives policy credibility. The evaluation gave DEED an independent and defensible evidence base to justify further investment in social housing energy efficiency. With robust findings that combined technical data and lived experience, the Department could engage stakeholders with confidence and demonstrate accountability to government and tenants alike. This strengthened the credibility of SHEPI as a model for future initiatives and positioned DEED as a leader in evidence-based energy and housing policy.