G-PST’s philosophy relies on the inclusivity of a globally distributed, cross-disciplinary group of individuals across the electricity industry, including researchers, students, practitioners, educators, regulators, and governments from the developed and developing world. To enable a bottom-up system of communication across such a dispersed group, the G-PST established the bi-annual “G-PST Forum”. The forum acts as a venue to solicit suggestions and gather ideas for ongoing improvement of the G-PST, and serves to update its members on important G-PST developments and activities.
On February 28, 2022, G-PST hosted the inaugural forum, with over 65 partners and stakeholders joining the two-hour event. The co-chairs of the forum, Mark O’Malley, April Allerdice, and Janusz Bialek, provided an overview of the G-PST and outlined the role and purpose of the forum, followed by several forum members outlining how they have worked with G-PST so far and what value it brings to them or their organization. Participants split into five breakout groups, one for each G-PST pillar, and discussed a range of topics such as potential gaps in pillar strategy, means of strengthening existing initiatives, and opportunities for collaboration across pillars, organizations, and research groups.