Knowledge Management and Transfer for Microenergy Systems - Crossing Borders Worldwide
General Information and Introduction
This is the documentation of a session block at the Micro Perspectives for Decentralized Energy Supply 2013, International Conference, Feb. 27 - Mar. 1, 2013
In cooperation with:
Energypedia
Session facilitator:
Jonas van der Straeten, Postgraduate Program Microenergy Systems
Introduction
During the management and transfer of knowledge between diverse groups, such as academics and practicitioners, the North and South, enterprises and investors, companies and clients, and even between diverse academic disciplines, one must find a means to understanding. <o:p></o:p>
Multi-stakeholder interaction requires bridging communication borders with diverse methods and tools that either translate or determine common languages, and eventually turn theory into practice.
Challenges
Like many other processes, knowledge management and transfer is plagued with a myriad of challenges. The most basic that will be touched on in this workshop include the lack of incentives, even knowledge and communication that are foundational to communication capacities. Other challenges ranges from competition for, and confidentiality of information shared. Lastly, there is always the challenge in discerning what information is most pertinent to whom. <o:p></o:p>
Strategies
In developing communication channels and tools, is the need for strategies. Understanding what and where the right forums are for knowledge management transfer can help agents differentiate between explicit and implicit knowledge. Strategies may also help motivate practitioners and academics to contribute to knowledge sharing.<o:p></o:p>
Sessions
1)Debajit Palit, The Energy & Resources Institute, New Delhi, India
Two multi-stakeholder projects are most relevant to this session. They demonstrate micro energy systems that are closer linked to communities at a local level.
Offgrid Access System in South Asia (OASYS)
OASYS introduced business models for decentralized off-grid electricity generation in developing countries. OASYS started in 2009, with the motivation of researching technical aspects and general cost-effectiveness. The research firstly discovered to main knowledge gaps:
a.Lack of knowledge regarding Business Models and institutional arrangements for delivery
b.Limited or lack of experience in project scale-up and project sustainability
Research Questions
As a result, two questions arose to explore criteria relevant to the aforementioned knowledge gaps:
1)‘Are there cost-effective and reliable off-grid electricity supply solutions that can meet the present & future needs, are socially acceptable, institutionally viable and environmentally desirable?’
2)‘Do these local solutions have the scaling-up and replication potentials and can these solutions be brought to the mainstream for wider electricity access in the developing world?”
Geographical Scope & Analysis Dimensions
To help guide and direct the research, the geographical area of South Asia was decided as the region to apply a multi-dimensional analysis strategy. Since roughly half of all people without access to electricity are found in South Asia, in addition to the region housing some of the best examples of decentralized energy, it was determined as the most suitable geographical scope of the project. Elements in the multi-dimensional analysis include four angles of focus: techno-economic analysis, governance mechanisms, socio-political dimension, as well as environmental aspects. Also, four cross-cutting themes were defined through the research: capacity building, cross-referencing, cross-learning, dissemination for policy translation.
Research Team & Partners
The research team included partners from the United Kingdom as well as India:
•University of Dundee/De Montfort University
•School of Environment & Development, Manchester University
•Edinburgh Napier University
•The Energy and Resources Institute
•TERI University
•UK Research Council
•DFID
Research Objectives
The objective of the research and its activities was to transfer successful examples to new places. In addition to the comparative study of grid versus off-grid electrification processes as well as South Asian versus international regional, the research also tried to review existing projects and programs through literature reviews of roughly 100 research papers. The process was time consuming and difficult, but necessary to establish good base knowledge. A technologically independent framework was also developed as part of the research, as context resources determined the existence and feasibility to implement technology. Throughout the process, the cooperation between practitioners as well as academics was also emphasized.
The Solar Transitions Project
The Solar Transitions Project was also introduced as part of the session. The project was led by the University of Oslo and funded by the Research Council of Norway, but included nine other global participants.
Human Diversity as a Success Factor
A successful aspect of this project was the “human diversity” as represented by the presence of researchers and practitioners, social scientists and technology implementers in a wide range of disciplines; from countries including India, Kenya, Austria, Norway and the USA.
Sub-Factors
Four sub-categorial factors investigated in this project included 1) practical details and social organization of village scale power supply, 2) socio-economic impacts and people’s interests and demands, 3) implementation and management strategies, and lastly 4) relevant support mechanisms and barriers at state and national levels. The last two preceding factors were found to me most important in researching how mini grids actually work, and how to effectively transfer a the successful concept of the mini grid from India to Kenya. Mini grids were specifically chosen as capital investments for implementation have already been completed. Additional research objectives included contributions to the improvement of solar systems currently on market, and a socio-technical assessment to determine how to implement the most appropriate micro energy system in Kenyan markets.
Knowledge management findings form the project were how to learn new systems, and then effectively adapt the system to new locations selected according to criterion that did not prioritize technology.
Results from Two TERI Projects
Results from both the projects described above included renewed emphasis on collective cooperation, as well as value for more critical review of case studies that may not always be useful but only representative of marketing initiatives. Other findings highlight the importance of involvement of all actors in robust technical and management models that review new and long with previous discoveries.
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