Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Energy access projects succeed with genuine local co-design and long-term capacity strengthening.
Conclusion
Energy access projects and programmes are more likely to succeed when they are genuinely co-designed with local stakeholders, inclusive of marginalised groups, and supported by long-term capacity-strengthening. (Conclusion, Paragraph 43)
Government Response Summary
The FCDO agrees and recognizes the importance of the conclusion, stating it already promotes community engagement through inclusive models and places GEDSI principles at the centre of its approach, including through existing programs like TEA and MECS and a new GEDSI toolkit. A study commissioned for 2025 will further inform future programming to ensure community voices are central.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Government Response: Agree 21. The FCDO recognises that insufficient community engagement can undermine the effectiveness, sustainability, and equity of energy access projects. The FCDO promotes community engagement through inclusive models such as cooperatives, public-private partnerships, and locally governed projects. In our interventions, we place Gender, Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles at the centre of our approach, ensuring value for money in delivery, while addressing systemic barriers like financing gaps, regulatory hurdles, and infrastructure limitations. Our Centre of Expertise in Green Cities, Infrastructure and Energy has developed a GEDSI toolkit that has attracted extensive interest from partners and is being piloted in the energy sector in Zambia. 22. Programmes like TEA and MECS include a focus on local partnerships and inclusive design, for example supporting local researchers and innovators to participate in wider regional calls for proposals and build partnerships with UK and other international researchers and innovators. 23. The FCDO is also investing in locally led action and equitable partnerships, with a dedicated study commissioned in 2025 across the Ayrton Fund portfolio to identify best practices and gaps in community engagement. This work will inform future clean energy innovation programming and help ensure that community voices are central to project design and delivery. 24. We recognise the importance of inclusive community participation across all stages of design, governance, and implementation, and we actively promote these principles in our energy access programmes. Current FCDO guidance and delivery models encourage participatory approaches, including gender and social inclusion, and require partners to demonstrate engagement with local stakeholders.