AE4H hosted their second innovation lab in summer 2019. Professionals from all over the world who work in Universities, Private Sector, Social Enterprises, Public Sector, Government, NGOs and Non-Profits worked together to tackle the sustainable energy access.
The ‘innovation lab’ is a non-traditional workshop format wherein participants focus on what they want to do next and how they might work together, rather than on sharing past results. Deep discussions in small groups are a feature, and we avoid ‘death by power point’. These are invite-only events that feature a highly diverse set of participants (expertise, nationality, age, gender, etc.).
Lab Themes & Objectives
This event brought together experts and practitioners in the field of energy access for the purpose of developing new insights on the delivery of affordable energy services in regions with limited access to electricity. The objective of the lab was to identify how delivery of a range of specific energy services can help spur local economic development and social value creation.
The aim was to produce a set of working papers that outline follow-up activities which advance off-grid energy innovation to support key end user needs/energy services, including:
- Business services
- Agriculture
- Electric cooking
- Electric mobility
- Education & public health
- Clean water access
- Communications & entertainment
- Heating & cooling
Participants worked collaboratively to identify best practices, barriers to implementation of sustainable energy projects and enterprises, and to scope follow-up activities that will advance knowledge. Participants formed teams, and discussed partnership requirements and potential sources of funding to support research and other follow-up activities.
The lab was also a place for enjoyable networking, allowing new collaborations to emerge organically between participants