A Global Plan of Action - Background Paper: Data, Evidence, Monitoring and Reporting

Why is Data and Evidence Important for Energy for Displaced People?

Delivering sustainable energy for displaced people is a relatively new area: as projects and programmes scale-up reliable data, hard evidence and clear monitoring and evaluation approaches are essential. Both to ensure that the energy needs and aspirations of displaced people are placed at the centre of humanitarian response, and also to facilitate long-term sustainable approaches for humanitarian organisations that make the best use of available resources. In this paper, the data and evidence needs of the sector are explored to start a discussion on how to provide clear and timely evidence for energy in humanitarian settings.

Delivering universal energy access by 2030 and meeting Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) requires meeting the energy needs of everyone, including displaced people. However, displaced people were not often included in national or international planning. The inclusion of data on displaced people in the Global Tracking Framework (2017) is a major step forward in drawing attention to the evidence needs in this area, but it is just a start. 

Detailed evidence is critical for decision-makers to be able to deliver sustainable energy as part of humanitarian programmes and projects. Working in this area is also important to be able to understand how people use energy as part of a highly complex humanitarian system. Without good information and clear data, humanitarian agencies, NGOs and local governments will be unable to respond effectively. The energy needs of displaced people will not be understood, nor will community priorities be incorporated into decision-making. In addition to this, markets and private-sector suppliers will not have the information they need to invest in humanitarian energy projects or work with other organisations to develop market-based solutions. Data is critical for all these reasons, as without good evidence programmes will struggle to be successful and action on humanitarian energy will find it difficult to achieve global change.

Problem analysis: What are the challenges we are facing?

The scale of the challenge faced is considerable, as to date there is:

• A lack of general data and readily available information, and limited specific evidence on the issues or in-depth studies that compare cross-cutting issues or regional evidence.
• Very few detailed studies on the impacts of existing energy programmes in displaced settings, including data from monitoring, learning and the knowledge emerging from those programmes.
• Inadequate training for practitioners, field staff or researchers on existing evidence and tools.
• A lack of standardised or published information: where data is available, for example from pilots and start-up projects, it is not consistent or available openly. Each pilot often has its own set of indicators and reporting structures, making it difficult to compare evidence across programmes.
• Insufficient learning from existing programmes, as information is often not published or made available to other practitioners.

 

Evidence is lacking across several areas, including new research needed on specific information on technological solutions and how different business models could and do work, baseline data on the energy needs of displaced populations and their host communities, how much energy costs and who pays for it in refugee camps, and accurate information on how much energy is provided currently in many camps and informal settlements. As well as new primary research, there is a need for clear knowledge, training and learning opportunities so that new information can be used by decision-makers. For example, while some tools and methodologies for data collection do already exist, (for example D-Lab tools), decision-makers are often not aware of these or trained in how to use them.

While only a few examples of evidence in this area exist, research has been done in recent years to understand the lack of energy in humanitarian settings: it is now increasingly accepted that currently the energy needs of millions of displaced people are being met inadequately or not at all (Lahn and Grafham, 2015). For example, some initial analysis and evidence gathering has been done by the MEI, Bellanca 2014, Gunning 2014, Lehne et al 2016, and Grafham 2016. There are also several new academic research programmes emerging in this area on quantitative data and sensor measurement, as well as the new Energy COP Community of Practice hosted by the SAFE initiative.

 

There is a considerable need for new information and evidence in humanitarian energy, the table below has been complied to suggest some specific areas for open discussion. Many of these areas are already topics of considerable research in the broader energy access sector, so could learn from those analysis and approaches to understand issues specifically in contexts of displacement.