Urban Transformation in South Africa Through Co-Designing Energy Services Provision Pathways
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
Energy is a critical enabler of development. Energy transitions, involving changes to both systems of energy supply and demand, are fundamental processes behind the development of human societies and are driven by technical, economic, political and social factors. Historical specificities and geography influence the character of energy transitions. In a world that is experiencing unprecedented urban growth, modern urbanised societies are highly dependent on energy. By 2030, more than 50% of people in developing countries are expected to live in cities, which is a figure set to grow to 66% by 2050. This urbanisation trend is even more prominent in South Africa, where 64% of its population already live in urban areas and is expected to rise to 70% by 2030. South African cities are highly dependent on energy, and access to and the provision of energy services affects urban energy transitions. Furthermore, access to affordable and reliable energy services is fundamental to reducing poverty and advancing economic growth. In response to this, many cities in South Africa and beyond have adopted sustainable energy provision strategies and solutions as a way of promoting economic development and greening of urban economies. However, Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA)'s State of the Energy in South African Cities report (2015) identifies that much remains to be done in order to transform South African cities towards a more sustainable urban energy profile, which is in turn aimed at improving welfare, supporting economic activity, creating 'green collar' and other jobs, and reducing carbon emissions. The project's focus on urban energy transitions is therefore both timely and necessary.
Cities in South Africa are notable for their central role in the governance of energy. Municipalities are constitutionally mandated to serve as electricity distributors and are responsible for maintaining infrastructure, providing new connections and setting minimum service level standards as well as pricing and subsidies levels for poor consumers. Therefore, municipalities have become major actors in urban energy infrastructures. Nonetheless, systemic change is hampered by: a.) the lack of integrated energy strategies; b.) the declining performance of energy supply networks in South Africa; c.) the high carbon intensity of South Africa's energy supply, at a time when South Africa is actively seeking to decarbonize the economy; d.) a stalled level of electrification in certain poor urban areas in South African cities; and e.) the continued prevalence of energy poverty, even in grid-connected South African urban households. A key issue is the continued prevalence of a focus on energy supply, as opposed to the broader and more complex notion of energy services.
It is clear that municipal processes and systems will have to change in order for energy transitions to occur. This project investigates the dynamics and co-evolution of municipal processes so as to create pathways to new, greener and fairer urban energy configurations. The project establishes a dialogue between work on socio-technical transitions and on energy geographies to analyze and identify energy transition pathways towards municipal-scale energy services regimes. The project's embeddedness in ongoing urban energy transition work will provide an evidence-base for co-designing pathways for energy services provision in South Africa's cities, alongside exploring opportunities in new energy configurations for transformations to urban green economies. This research project consists of SA research partners (the University of Cape Town's Energy Research Centre) and UK partners (King's College London; the University of Manchester; Plymouth University and the University of Sussex), together with the local energy transition expertise of Sustainable Energy Africa.
Cities in South Africa are notable for their central role in the governance of energy. Municipalities are constitutionally mandated to serve as electricity distributors and are responsible for maintaining infrastructure, providing new connections and setting minimum service level standards as well as pricing and subsidies levels for poor consumers. Therefore, municipalities have become major actors in urban energy infrastructures. Nonetheless, systemic change is hampered by: a.) the lack of integrated energy strategies; b.) the declining performance of energy supply networks in South Africa; c.) the high carbon intensity of South Africa's energy supply, at a time when South Africa is actively seeking to decarbonize the economy; d.) a stalled level of electrification in certain poor urban areas in South African cities; and e.) the continued prevalence of energy poverty, even in grid-connected South African urban households. A key issue is the continued prevalence of a focus on energy supply, as opposed to the broader and more complex notion of energy services.
It is clear that municipal processes and systems will have to change in order for energy transitions to occur. This project investigates the dynamics and co-evolution of municipal processes so as to create pathways to new, greener and fairer urban energy configurations. The project establishes a dialogue between work on socio-technical transitions and on energy geographies to analyze and identify energy transition pathways towards municipal-scale energy services regimes. The project's embeddedness in ongoing urban energy transition work will provide an evidence-base for co-designing pathways for energy services provision in South Africa's cities, alongside exploring opportunities in new energy configurations for transformations to urban green economies. This research project consists of SA research partners (the University of Cape Town's Energy Research Centre) and UK partners (King's College London; the University of Manchester; Plymouth University and the University of Sussex), together with the local energy transition expertise of Sustainable Energy Africa.
Planned Impact
The project will have an impact in informing policymaking as well as business and community engagement in municipalities in South Africa and Southern Africa. Our research project involves sustained and detailed engagement with beneficiaries in South Africa:
Policy beneficiaries: policymakers at the national level, especially those concerned with urban energy systems and energy infrastructure and economic planning, or with environmental planning (such as the Departments of: Energy; Economic Development; Environmental Affairs; Human Settlements); d.) local government bodies at the level of individual case studies, including energy agencies at the scale of urban municipalities. These beneficiaries will benefit from engagement in the project through published outputs and from attendance at community-focused stakeholder impact workshops (see 'community beneficiaries' below), policy workshops, and the project website.
Business beneficiaries: South African businesses such as energy infrastructure, energy systems and renewable energy manufacturing and installation corporations; and urban development and design firms, engineering corporations, or consultancies. Business beneficiaries will benefit from published, workshop and webinar impact mechanisms mentioned above (in the discussion on policy beneficiaries), as well as from a specific, business-focused output: an Executive Summary Report targeting business impact, informed through engagement with businesspeople and corporations throughout the project's lifetime, therefore making sure that the report targets topics, issues and solutions relevant to SA businesses.
Community beneficiaries: these will include local community stakeholders at case study sites, including municipal and wider community actors. These beneficiaries represent those who will be most directly affected by energy transitions projects and policies. It is expected that many of these beneficiaries will be located in and around our case study municipalities, although one of the project's aims is for the identified transition pathways to be open to upscaling and application across a wide range of municipalities. Community beneficiaries will also include NGOs, civil society organizations, and individual citizens. They will benefit from all the activities mentioned above, with a particular focus on the stakeholder impact meetings.
Policy, business and community beneficiaries: will benefit from the provision made within the project for these beneficiaries to participate at stakeholder impact meetings and policy workshops in the UK and South Africa. These events will be key knowledge sharing, mutual learning and networking opportunities for policymakers, businesses and community stakeholders. Those beneficiaries participating in policy workshops in South Africa will benefit from case study site visits to selected smart eco-cities, enabling on-the-ground policy and practice learning.
Finally, we aim to achieve broader societal impact through enabling the construction of cleaner and more equitable urban economies and environments, thus helping to ensure successful energy transitions, the emergence of a sustainable green economy, and better, more prosperous, and environmentally resilient urban communities.
Policy beneficiaries: policymakers at the national level, especially those concerned with urban energy systems and energy infrastructure and economic planning, or with environmental planning (such as the Departments of: Energy; Economic Development; Environmental Affairs; Human Settlements); d.) local government bodies at the level of individual case studies, including energy agencies at the scale of urban municipalities. These beneficiaries will benefit from engagement in the project through published outputs and from attendance at community-focused stakeholder impact workshops (see 'community beneficiaries' below), policy workshops, and the project website.
Business beneficiaries: South African businesses such as energy infrastructure, energy systems and renewable energy manufacturing and installation corporations; and urban development and design firms, engineering corporations, or consultancies. Business beneficiaries will benefit from published, workshop and webinar impact mechanisms mentioned above (in the discussion on policy beneficiaries), as well as from a specific, business-focused output: an Executive Summary Report targeting business impact, informed through engagement with businesspeople and corporations throughout the project's lifetime, therefore making sure that the report targets topics, issues and solutions relevant to SA businesses.
Community beneficiaries: these will include local community stakeholders at case study sites, including municipal and wider community actors. These beneficiaries represent those who will be most directly affected by energy transitions projects and policies. It is expected that many of these beneficiaries will be located in and around our case study municipalities, although one of the project's aims is for the identified transition pathways to be open to upscaling and application across a wide range of municipalities. Community beneficiaries will also include NGOs, civil society organizations, and individual citizens. They will benefit from all the activities mentioned above, with a particular focus on the stakeholder impact meetings.
Policy, business and community beneficiaries: will benefit from the provision made within the project for these beneficiaries to participate at stakeholder impact meetings and policy workshops in the UK and South Africa. These events will be key knowledge sharing, mutual learning and networking opportunities for policymakers, businesses and community stakeholders. Those beneficiaries participating in policy workshops in South Africa will benefit from case study site visits to selected smart eco-cities, enabling on-the-ground policy and practice learning.
Finally, we aim to achieve broader societal impact through enabling the construction of cleaner and more equitable urban economies and environments, thus helping to ensure successful energy transitions, the emergence of a sustainable green economy, and better, more prosperous, and environmentally resilient urban communities.
Organisations
Publications
Caprotti F
(2020)
Scales of governance: Translating multiscalar transitional pathways in South Africa's energy landscape
in Energy Research & Social Science
Cantoni R
(2022)
Solar energy at the peri-urban frontier: An energy justice study of urban peripheries from Burkina Faso and South Africa
in Energy Research & Social Science
Phillips J
(2021)
The materiality of precarity: Gender, race and energy infrastructure in urban South Africa
in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
Petrova S
(2019)
Everyday politics of austerity: Infrastructure and vulnerability in times of crisis
in Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
Baker L
(2018)
Tensions in the transition: The politics of electricity distribution in South Africa
in Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
Baker L
(2017)
Commercial-Scale Renewable Energy in South Africa and its Progress to Date
in IDS Bulletin
Caprotti F
(2018)
Future cities: moving from technical to human needs
in Palgrave Communications
Bouzarovski S
(2016)
Spaces of exception: governing fuel poverty in England's multiple occupancy housing sector
in Space and Polity
Description | The project was extended by a month after an extension was successfully applied for, and the project therefore ended on 31 March 2019. The intensive research that took part in 2017-18 has given way to an intensive period of data analysis and work on publications. The findings from our project that have seen the light so far include: a) discussions of South Africa's energy landscape and prospects for energy transitions (see publications by Phillips and Baker). In particular, the project moved towards a call for focusing on electricity distribution as a key aspect of achieving a 'just' energy transition: 'the reconfiguration of electricity distribution faces significant political and economic challenges that are rooted in the country's socio-economic and racial inequalities and its heavy dependence on coal-fired power' (Phillips and Baker 2019: 177). b.) further elaborations of critical approaches to energy poverty and vulnerability (see publications by Bouzarovski and Petrova); in particular, in the context of South African cities, the project has underlined how it is key to take into account wider, structural drivers of continued difficulty for energy access for the urban poor. These drivers are rooted in South African cities' specific history and politics. c.) work on policy and other obstacles to transformation (see reports by SEA, Urban Transformations book chapter by the project team, and forthcoming publications by Caprotti and Essex). Although there exist strong institutional drivers to universal energy access in South Africa, there is a conundrum whereby the poorest still largely lack access to energy that is safe, clean and reliable. In our work, we have highlighted how it is often institutional barriers, and barriers related to the scales of governance (between government departments, and between different 'levels' of government), as well as institutional lock-ins, that stand in the way of achieving progressive change for the urban poor. d.) In light of the above, the project's final event (on disruptive approaches to energy transformations) highlighted how there exist opportunities for innovative approaches to energy and electricity provision to the urban poor that can, through technical and social innovations, both be informed by poor communities and also effectively 'sidestep' policy obstacles so as to provide energy and electricity access (although we recognise that such access is often of lesser scope than grid access, and may be temporary due to its existence in what are often policy 'grey zones'). |
Exploitation Route | Our findings can be used to inform a.) policymaking in the area of energy transitions and transformations, particularly with regard to the provision of more equitable access to off-grid and renewable energy sources in informal settlements; b.) empower local community groups and NGOs to engage with and inform the policy process. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Energy Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
Description | Please see the Narrative Impact return for the previous year. This information has not changed over the current submission period. |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Education |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | GCRF Impact Acceleration Account |
Amount | £21,445 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2018 |
End | 03/2019 |
Description | UMBANE: powering innovative sustainable businesses with productive use appliances in South African informal settlements at the margins of the grid |
Amount | £497,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Newton Fund |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Urban Infrastructures of Well-Being |
Amount | £297,751 (GBP) |
Funding ID | UWB190088 |
Organisation | The British Academy |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2019 |
End | 11/2021 |
Description | A blog post, titled 'Global energy services: towards a comprehensive understanding' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2016/understanding-global-energy-services/ |
Description | A blog post, titled 'Green energy transitions in South Africa: On what terms? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2017/green-energy-transitions-in-sa-wicked-problem/ |
Description | A blog post, titled 'Light services: energy poverty reconsidered' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2017/light-services-energy-poverty-reconsidered/ |
Description | A blog post, titled 'Low carbon transitions in South Africa: the governance and skills gap?' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2017/lct-sa-governance-skills-gap/ |
Description | A blog post, titled 'Why South Africa is finding it difficult to wean itself off coal' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2016/difficult-to-wean-off-coal/ |
Description | A blog post, titled 'Your piece of the sun: energy poverty and gender in urban South Africa' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2017/your-piece-of-the-sun/ |
Description | An article in The Conversation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | An article lead authored by project collaborator Lucy Baker (University of Sussex), titled 'Why South Africa is finding it difficult to wean itself off coal' was published in The Conversation on March 15, 2016. The article tackles the key question of how to enable transition to sustainable or low-carbon forms of energy in the South African context. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://theconversation.com/why-south-africa-is-finding-it-difficult-to-wean-itself-off-coal-55045 |
Description | Blog entry: Wicked Problems, Complex Solutions? Urban Transformations And Energy Provision In South Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A blog entry, the first in a series of blogs linking the project's research theme to broader concerns and thematics of contemporary interest with regards to both urban energy transformations in South Africa, and, more broadly, the issue of transitions to lower-carbon societal and energy futures. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2016/wicked-problems-complex-solutions-urban-transforma... |
Description | Blog post, titled: Municipalities Under Pressure - Energy Transitions, The Apartheid Legacy And South Africa's Fractured Urban System |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A BLOG ENTRY, IN A SERIES OF BLOGS LINKING THE PROJECT'S RESEARCH THEME TO BROADER CONCERNS AND THEMATICS OF CONTEMPORARY INTEREST WITH REGARDS TO BOTH URBAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND, MORE BROADLY, THE ISSUE OF TRANSITIONS TO LOWER-CARBON SOCIETAL AND ENERGY FUTURES. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://www.urbanenergytransformations.co.za/2016/municipalities-under-pressure-energy/ |
Description | Municipal workshop on 'Supporting the development of gender-sensitive sustainable energy solutions and strategies for low income households in South Africa' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A half-day workshop was held with the City of Johannesburg and their non-governmental partners in municipal energy governance and was attended by 16 invited participants. The aim of the workshop was to supporting the development of gender-sensitive sustainable energy solutions and strategies for low income households in Johannesburg and in South Africa more broadly. The workshop was convened and facilitated by project partners Sustainable Energy Africa, with contributions informed by the research conducted under the Award from the project's Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr Jon Phillips. A draft version of a High Level Action Plan was presented by Sustainable Energy Africa, forming the basis of discussion with municipal energy managers and non-governmental partners on how the draft Plan might be adapted and implemented. Plans were made for the City of Johannesburg Department of Environment, Infrastructure and Service Delivery (EISD) to work with Sustainable Energy Africa to present recommendations to the mayoral committee, and for EISD with support from Sustainable Energy Africa to hold a mayoral committee workshop developing awareness and capacity around the feasibility and sustainability of grid electricity and alternative energy options for low income households. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Participation in InnovateUK brokerage presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | On 17 June 2020 the PI and Co-I presented at the InnovateUK Energy Catalyst Round 8 brokerage event on public-private collaborative partnerships. There were 175 registered attendees, 16 participants, and a video of the presentations and discussions was available via InnovateUK from June to August 2020. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://energy-catalyst-round-8.b2match.io/home |
Description | Side event at the UN Habitat World Urban Forum, Kuala Lumpur |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A side event was held at the 9th Session of the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum (WUF9), held in Kuala Lumpur, 8-13 February 2018. The side event aimed to stimulate discussion around the potential for 'urban experiments' to contribute to the implementation of the UN's New Urban Agenda (adopted in October 2016 at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development Habitat III, in Ecuador). Around 50-60 WUF9 participants from cities around the world took part in the event. Some of the key learnings from the audience discussion and feedback forms were summarised, published and fed back to the participants. The audience discussion responded to a series of short vignettes of different types of urban experimentation, presented by David Hees (on the iShack solar energy project in Cape Town, South Africa), Melissa Kerim- Dikeni (on the work of the Nelson Mandela Bay Regional Innovation Forum, also in Cape Town), Dr Rob Cowley (on the ongoing process of experimentation in Corridor Manchester, UK), and Prof May Tan-Mullins & Dr Ali Cheshmehzangi (on experimental 'smart city' gov- ernance in the city of Ningbo, China). A pdf of the presentation slides and a video of the presentations are available online at the Smart Eco-Cities project website, URL below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.smart-eco-cities.org/?p=609 |
Description | Side event at the UN World Urban Forum 2018, Kuala Lumpur |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A side event was organised at the 2018 UN World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur. The side event was titled 'What can urban sustainability experiments do?' It attracted an audience of 53, most of whom were policymakers, practitioners, members of third sector organisations and NGOs, researchers and the general public. A total of 85 project reports were disseminated to the audience before, during and after the event. Email communications were received from audience members stating that they had found the side event useful for their own work. The side event enabled the participation at the WUF of study members from South Africa, and NGOs (such as IShack, an energy in informal settlements-focused South African NGO) that have been involved in our research, |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_D1KiWHaQ |
Description | The University of Plymouth's Sphere magazine published a 2-page article covering the research project. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The University of Plymouth's Sphere magazine published a 2-page article covering the research project. The article covered the project's primary aim and contribution in seeking to understand the potential for energy transformations in South African municipalities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/institutes/sustainable-earth/publications |
Description | Workshop with Polokwane Municipality and other stakeholders |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A half-day workshop was held with Polokwane Municipality to review, reflect, learn, share and take forward the work relating to the Energy and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan of the municipality. The workshop was convened and facilitated by project partners Sustainable Energy Africa, with contributions informed by the research from the project's Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr Jon Phillips. 25 participants undertook a facilitated self-evaluation of progress towards the goals of the strategy. The exercise provided a review process for the municipality and the stakeholders that they work in partnership with, as well as providing valuable insights for the project's research into the successes and challenges that policy makers and practitioners have experienced in fostering urban energy transitions. Plans were made for further engagement to provide valuable continuity in support for municipal action of climate change and energy in Polokwane, facilitated by Sustainable Energy Africa as project partners. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |