Local capacity building is crucial for ensuring the success and sustainability of energy projects. We understand the term capacity as encompassing a broad range of knowledge and skills necessary for supporting the dissemination of decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions. These knowledge and skills include community engagement, the design of technical solutions, project management, securing finance, operation and maintenance of systems, end-of-life management of the equipment, and the ability to navigate regulatory and policy frameworks.
Our experience from over 15 years of work in the field of energy access has taught us to start by recognising the existing capacities of local practitioners. The next step is to build on these capacities and to complement the practitioners’ know-how and skills by facilitating access to knowledge and experiences from a broad range of professionals. Consequently, capacity building partnerships with local and regional practitioners at eye level are a key element of the WISIONS initiative.