This document describes The Minigrid Game, a participatory gaming approach used by Energy Action Partners to facilitate community energy planning. The game uses an engaging simulation to involve community members in collaboratively designing renewable energy microgrids. It was tested in three villages in Sabah, Malaysia, where it helped communities provide input on system design parameters, payment methods, and energy use patterns. Participants expressed interest in applying lessons from the game to improve their existing microgrids and energy access.
Driving Behavioral Change for Information Management through Data-Driven Gree...
WEBINAR | THE MINIGRID GAME | Introduction and Case Studies - Ayu Abdullah, Energy Action Partners
1. THE MINIGRID GAME
A PARTICIPATORY GAMING APPROACH TO
COMMUNITY ENERGY PLANNING
Webinar | May 15, 2018
Organized by Smart Villages,
LCEDN,
and Energy Action Partners.
2. OUR MISSION
To expand individual
opportunity and
strengthen communities
through collaborative
programs focused on
sustainable energy
access.
VISION
To promote resilient and
inclusive
communities while
preserving social
cohesion, a strong sense
of identity, and
community values.
CORE VALUES
We prioritize human
development
outcomes over
infrastructure
provision.
was founded in 2014 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote community development
through training, capacity building and development projects related to sustainable energy.
We maintain offices in Boston, Kuala Lumpur, and Hargeisa, Somaliland.
3. Energy
Action
Partnersoutline
‣ Community participation and gaming
‣ Why is community participation important?
‣ Different levels of participation
‣ Why gaming?
‣ The Minigrid Game
‣ What is it?
‣ How we use The Minigrid Game
‣ Outcomes
‣ Village context
‣ The Sabah experience
‣ Q&A session
‣ Let’s play The Minigrid Game!
4. WHY IS COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
IN MINIGRID PLANNING SO IMPORTANT?
5. Energy
Action
PartnersWhy community participation?
A FEW COMMON NON-
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
Poorly sized system
Unable to meet community
demand or ability to pay
Insufficient revenue
Ineffective enforcement leads
to underpayment or theft
Insufficient savings
Tariff is too low to afford
maintenance or repairs
Poor maintenance
Initial funding dries up and
no one takes over O&M
Load curtailment conflicts
“Unfair” load shedding during
dry seasons
No productive use
Investment in machinery not
coordinated with system
design
Stronger reliance on community participation in planning and
management can mitigate many of these challenges
6. Increasinglevelofparticipation
Energy
Action
Partnerscommunity participation
REASONS FOR STRONG COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
1. Receiving information from the community
leads to better design.
2. Educating community improves user
cooperation and enhances their ability and
motivation to look after the system.
3. Involving community in planning and
management can leverage local authority and
make a system more resilient to future
challenges.
7. HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE A HIGH LEVEL OF COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION FOR A TECHNICALLY COMPLEX TOPIC?
9. Energy
Action
Partnersgaming
WHY A GAME?
‣ Engaging: playful environment increases attention and interest
‣ Experiential: players learn by direct experience through simulation
‣ Self-mobilizing: players become active participants while external
actors become facilitators
‣ Non-judgmental: simulated world allows exploration of taboo
topics
‣ Consensus building: cooperative game requires discussion and
collaborative decision-making
11. Energy
Action
PartnersThe minigrid game
WHAT IS THE MINIGRID GAME?
‣ It’s both a participatory minigrid design and planning tool and an
educational tool.
‣ As an educational tool, it helps users understand operations
and the economics behind microgrids.
‣ As a design tool, it creates a collaborative environment and
allows for users to negotiate and reach consensus on design
parameters, as well as management policies.
12. Energy
Action
PartnersThe minigrid game
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
The goal:
To collaboratively design a
renewable energy minigrid that
enables the community to thrive at
present and into the future.
The outcomes:
To increase skills and
understanding, transparency of the
system’s limitations, productive end
use.
13. Community
Community Organizers Practitioners
Energy
Action
PartnersThe minigrid game
BROADER PLANNING PROCESS
Building
trust and
exploring
options
Participatory
planning
process
Community
confirmation
and
commitment
Design and
implementa
tion
Operation
and self-
governance
Community
expression
of interest
15. Energy
Action
PartnersThe sabah experience
VILLAGE CONTEXT
‣ Three, rural communities in the Ulu Papar district of Sabah,
Malaysia
‣ Strong sense of community and institutions
‣ Villagers are self-sustaining, subsistence farmers
‣ They also hunt and fish, sell rice, vegetables, fish and meat to one
another. Other sources of income include rubber sales, running
homestays and working as tour guides or in construction
‣ Local challenges: Relocation due to a planned dam, limited
household incomes, poor connective infrastructure (roads),
limited electrification
16. Energy
Action
PartnersThe sabah experience
THE MINIGRID GAME IN ACTION
‣ In July 2017, three Minigrid Game workshops were hosted in Terian,
Buayan and Timpayasa
‣ Pre-workshop social mapping activities were conducted to help calibrate
game parameters
‣ Each workshop lasted approximately 2-3 hours
‣ Players formed minigrid ‘household’ teams while an ‘operator’ facilitated
the game and discussions
INTRODUCTION TO
GAME
INITIALIZATION
AND TEST PLAY
GAME ROUNDS (MINIGRID
SIMULATION)
DISCUSSIONS
CHANGING MINIGRID
SETTINGS AND PARAMETERS
(DESIGN)
CONCLUSION AND
FEEDBACK
25. Energy
Action
PartnersThe sabah experience
OUTCOMES
Kampung Terian Kampung Buayan Kampung Timpayasa
Key
challenges
• Micro-hydro system
damaged by landslide
• No consensus on use of
funds for repairs
• Meters ill-suited for current
needs
• Limited power supply
during drought
• No community microgrid
or power system
Outcomes
• Preferred a prepaid system
• Used the game to test
different tariffs
• Explored peak demand
fines
• Expressed interest in
obtaining the game to
continue using with the
rest of the community
• Preferred a prepaid system
• Mismatch between Game’s
prepaid collection and
actual collection
• Expressed interest in an
upgraded prepaid meter
that would display
information similar to the
game’s user interface (e.g.
load profiles and real-time
energy use)
• Preferred a prepaid system
• Used the game to learn
about their consumption
patterns, peaks and ability
to pay
• Household bills were
higher than the other two
• Expressed interest in
individual home systems
over a microgrid, but liked
the fact that a community-
based microgrid would
enable payment sinto a
shared fund