Learning brief: evidence-based advocacy for renewable energy

Over the last five years, the Voice for Change Partnership (V4CP) has been supporting civil society to advocate for improved renewable energy policies. What have we learned?

Through the V4CP programme, from 2016-2020, SNV strengthened civil society organisations (CSOs) to effectively voice their views. Jointly, V4CP contributed to systems change and effective solutions to ensure that the interests of low-income and marginalised communities are included in government and business policies and practices.

Reflections and learnings from the V4CP work on renewable energy are presented in this learning brief. Here you will find key advocacy successes of the programme in the energy sector across four countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya), including:

• alignment in the clean cooking sector,

• increased coordination with and within national government, and

• renewable energy plans by local governments.

Based on the results and learnings from the V4CP programme, several approaches have proven effective for influencing the enabling environment. They are interlinked and can be applied depending on the specific context, the status of the sector, as well as the capabilities of (government and other) stakeholders. The most effective advocacy approaches were identified as:

• strengthening the voice of the people,

• the role of evidence in influencing policy development,

• alignment of the sector,

• the role of multi-stakeholder processes in policy dialogue,

• increased coordination within government, and

• supporting local governments in developing & implementing programmes.

For more information, download the V4CP energy learning brief.