The Smart Villages Initiative aims to provide universal access to modern energy services by 2030. It focuses on local, mini-grid and home-based energy solutions for rural communities, which are currently lacking electricity access. The initiative brings together scientists, entrepreneurs, villagers and policymakers to identify barriers to rural energy provision and development impact. It runs regional engagement programs globally to provide capacity building, workshops and events. The goal is to foster entrepreneurship around energy services and integrate energy access with other development initiatives at the community level.

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THE SMART VILLAGES INITIATIVE
Dr Bernie Jones
October 2015

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IN THE WORLD TODAY…
■ More than 1 billion
people without access to
electricity
■ 3 billion people still
cooking on dirty,
inefficient and harmful
stoves
■ As a result, 4 million
people dying each year

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UN SE4ALL INITIATIVE
■ Ensure universal access to modern energy
services by 2030

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UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY BY 2030
30%
70%
New connections in rural areas
IEA World Energy Outlook
Grid extension
Mini-grid and
home-based

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ENERGY AS A CATALYST FOR DEVELOPMENT

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SMART CITIES: NEED FOR A VILLAGE LEVEL
ANALOGUE
SMART
VILLAGES
SMART
CITIES
47% of world’s
population and 70% of
the world’s poor live in
rural villages

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SMART VILLAGES: SOME KEY FEATURES
Education and health services
 ICT connectivity: distance learning and world’s knowledge base
 Modern health services and tele-medicine
Foster entrepreneurship in provision and use of energy services
 Capture more of the agricultural value chain
 Create new businesses
Through ICT connectivity, participate in governance processes
 At local, regional and national levels
 Creating smart communities with strong rural/urban linkages
Building more resilient communities better able to
respond to shocks
 Clean water and sanitation
 Affordable and nutritious food

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SHIFTING THE BALANCE OF OPPORTUNITIES
BETWEEN CITIES AND VILLAGES
Technological
advances
Game changing
technologies

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THE SMART VILLAGES INITIATIVE
Focus: local solutions for rural communities: mini/micro-
grid and home-based approaches
Policy advice: an insightful, ‘view from the frontline’ of
the challenges of village energy provision for
development, and how they can be overcome
Engagement: bringing together the key players:
scientists, entrepreneurs, villagers, NGO’s, financers,
regulators and policy makers etc:
 What are the barriers?
 How can they be overcome?
 What messages to funders and policymakers?

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Frontline
experience
Smart Villages
Initiative
More
effective
policy &
interventions
SVI: CONNECTION – INTERPRETATION – SYNTHESIS

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Project team:
Universities of
Cambridge and
Oxford
Key partners:
- National Science
Academies
- Practical Action /
TERI / Kopernik
Funding:
charitable
foundations:
CMEDT & TWCF
SMART VILLAGES INITIATIVE: A PARTNERSHIP

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SIX REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMES
 East Africa – June 2014
 SE Asia – January 2015
 South Asia – April 2015
 South America – January 2016
 West Africa – April 2016
 Central America – November 2016

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SIX REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMES
 East Africa – June 2014
 SE Asia – January 2015
 South Asia – April 2015
 South America – January 2016
 West Africa – April 2016
 Central America – November 2016
• Workshops → reports/policy briefs
• Briefing meetings
• Capacity building events
• Media training/dialogue
• Entrepreneurial competition
• Final event pulling together key stakeholders

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CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES
Forward look workshops
Research projects
Communications / outreach:
■ Book of Essays
■ Pocket guide
■ Webinars
■ Website: www.e4sv.org
Ongoing interaction with policy-makers and
stakeholders
Concluding events:
■ European Union
■ International (UN, World Bank etc.)

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THE SMART VILLAGES INITIATIVE
1. A key aim: identify framework conditions to:
 foster entrepreneurial activities
 maximise leverage of public sector funding
2. An underlying premise: to maximise social
benefit and development impact:
 integrate energy access with other development initiatives
 take a community level approach
3. An important concern:
 to catalyse rapid progression through the various levels of
energy access

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Thank you for your attention
www.e4sv.org | info@e4sv.org | @e4SmartVillages