Energising Development (EnDev)

Key Facts

Energising Development Partnership – EnDev (--> EnDev Wiki)  Website: Endev.info Contact: EnDev@giz.de More Information: EnDev Report on Impacts

Energising Development - EnDev - is an impact-oriented initiative between the Netherlands, Germany and since 2011 Norway. EnDev promotes the supply of modern energy technologies to households and small-scale businesses. The Partnership cooperates with countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Since its start in 2005, EnDev has taken a leading role in promoting access to sustainable energy for all. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is acting as the lead agency for implementing the Energising Development Programme.

To date 181 million Euros have been committed by the Dutch, German and Norwegian government to support access to energy for the poor since 2005. EnDev surpassed its original goals and by December 2011, over 8.5 million people have had either electricity or improved cookstoves. In addition, more than 35,000 social infrastructure institutions and small enterprises are benefiting from access to modern energy services.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is acting as the principal agency for implementing the partnership. GIZ can build on more than 25 years experience in the energy sector and operates local offices worldwide for the planning and implementation of development measures. Implementation is conducted in close cooperation with the Dutch NL Agency. While NL Agency contributes its expertise in the fields of monitoring and evaluation, GIZ uses its infrastructure in developing countries and its experience in setting up and implementing energy programmes.

Scope

Activities are carried out in low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, with sub-Saharan Africa being the focal point. EnDev concentrates on expanding activities already underway. There is a strong cooperation with national partners such as central government ministries, local government administrations, civil society organisations and the private sector.
EnDev is a global sector programme, hence funds are not committed on the basis of bilateral governmental negotiations; rather eligibility for funding is performance-based. However, the measures supported by EnDev are aligned to the German bilateral development cooperation portfolio.

Enhancing access to energy is a precondition for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In that respect, EnDev does not aim for simply connecting households and institutions from a technological point of view. EnDev intends to maximise the impact of energy access by taking into account energy use and target group demand. Long-term sustainability of energy access is a key parameter. EnDev supports the provision of:

• Energy for lighting/household applications: provision of modern energy for lighting and small electrical appliances to households (e.g. information and communication technologies)
• Energy for cooking: development of self-sustaining markets for the production and sales of improved cooking stoves
• Energy for social infrastructure: provision of modern energy services to schools, hospitals and community centres
• Energy for productive use: provision of modern energy services to small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives and craftsmen for (additional) income generation.

The technologies and services predominantly promoted in EnDev’s country programmes include photovoltaic energy, grid densification, micro-hydropower, energy-efficient cooking stoves and biogas. 

EnDev Criteria

The selection process for measures to be supported by EnDev combines competition with needs assessment and focal areas defined by the German and Dutch financiers. The competition approach allows for a fast scaling-up of successful activities and flexible reallocation of funds between countries according to performance. Performance is being measured in terms of the number of people provided with sustainable access to modern energy services per allocated euro. Longterm sustainability is a core criterion for activities to be supported within the EnDev framework. Special attention is paid to the broader developmental impacts of the energy
activities implemented.

EnDev is working with results-based management. Baseline studies are conducted before project intervention and systematic impact studies after households, social infrastructure or small and medium sized enterprises gained access to a form of modern energy. Experiences with the programme show that competition between different projects and technologies stimulates local contributions and cost efficiency. EnDev ensures additionality of its interventions. An activity is only considered eligible if it provides access to modern energy services that would not materialise without the intervention of EnDev.

The figures reported by EnDev include the following adjustment factors (rationalizing the initially measured number of beneficiaries):

• the sustainability adjustment factor, accounting for the fact that the access to modern energy technologies is unfortunately not sustainable in all cases;
• the windfall gain factor is an adjustment for the fact that some households would have gained access to modern energy services even without EnDev support, and
• the double energy factor accounting for the fact that some households and social institutions gaining access were already benefitting from -another- modern energy service (as, by definition, any beneficiary will only be counted once: upon its first connection to such service).

Activities clearly focus on those energy services and resources, which are reliable, affordable, socially acceptable and environ-mentally sound. EnDev initiatives should supplement ongoing activities. Hence, the core criteria for activities to be supported under EnDev relate to both quantitative output and long-term sustainability.

EnDev is a promising development instrument that scores high on efficiency, scale and sustainability (which are often antagonistic). It combines advantages of a programmatic, long-term local presence with a unique benchmarking process that allows rewarding strong performers.

Learning and Innovation

It is of utmost importance to find solutions which are appropriate to a specific local context. All activities have the same objective: development through access to energy.

EnDev as a global programme is able to create and share knowledge between activities in more than 18 countries worldwide. The cultural diversity represented in the programme is a key for innovation. Sharing experience and learning together is the basis for success.