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e4sv.org
THE SMART VILLAGES INITIATIVE:
TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE
Dr Bernie Jones

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e4sv.org
SMART
VILLAGES
SMART
CITIES
47% of world’s
population and
70% of the world’s
poor live in rural
villages
Technological
advances
Game
changing
innovations
WHY “SMART” IS SMART

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e4sv.org
THE SMART VILLAGES INITIATIVE
Focus: sustainable local energy solutions for rural
communities
Policy advice: an insightful, ‘view from the frontline’ of
the challenges of village energy provision for
development, and how they can be overcome
Engagement: bringing together the key players:
scientists, entrepreneurs, villagers, NGO’s, financers,
regulators and policy makers etc:
 What are the barriers?
 How can they be overcome?
 What messages to funders and policy makers?

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e4sv.org
SIX PRIORITY REGIONS
 East Africa
 Southeast Asia
 South Asia
 South America
 West Africa
 Central America/Caribbean /Mexico
ACTIONS/OUTPUTS
 >40 workshops/consultations
 37 workshop reports
 28 policy briefs
 15 technical reports
 13 webinars
 4 research projects/collaborations
 >500 presentations
 8 international competitions
 >70 profiles and case studies
 >50 essays and stories
 >2000 international network

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e4sv.org

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e4sv.org
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
1. Capacity Building & Knowledge Exchange
2. Research & Evaluation
3. Insights from the USES workshop
4. Recommendations

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e4sv.org
CAPACITY BUILDING AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
■ Need for skills and institutional capacity at grass-roots levels
■ Training/qualification programmes (eg University of Nairobi, Barefoot)
■ Business skills & support to entrepreneurs (incubation, industry orgs)
■ Awareness of technology options for end users (seeing is believing)
■ Awareness of issues/environment for researchers (IBEKA)

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e4sv.org
RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
■ Need for academia and frontline organisations to collaborate
■ Infrequency
■ Low level of local r&d
■ Opportunity for feedback – ie local experience directs research
■ Importance of Adequate vs Comprehensive solutions
■ Application-focus for researchers – may be new
■ Coordinating agencies
■ Recognise contribution of the village!

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USES WORKSHOP FEEDBACK
■ Different stakeholder groups require distinct approaches
■ gvmt, communities, businesses, NGOs
■ Need for better N-S and S-S research collaboration
■ Early engagement and feedback necessary
■ Tailoring of messages/information
■ Importance of social science research vs physical sciences
■ New forms of academic output – projects?
■ Fund outreach, not just core work
■ Be aware of constraints in comms to rural

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e4sv.org
RECOMMENDATIONS
■ Build outreach/communications into research (& fund)
■ Identify coordinating agencies or gateways
■ Realise knowledge comes from many places
■ Encourage bi-directional information flow
■ “How-to”, not just “what”
■ Innovate
■ Share data

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e4sv.org
Thank you for your attention
www.e4sv.org | info@e4sv.org | @e4SmartVillages