The videos belonging to this course introduce essential knowledge to understand the energy system, including a number of problems and directions for solutions that could facilitate an inclusive energy transition. The videos frequently mention technical and institutional elements of the energy system. These components work in synergy to collectively perform a useful function. Readers interested in the theoretical embedding of this discipline may look for books on systems engineering or systems thinking. There is a wealth of additional approaches and methods to explore, design and evaluate systems. Unfortunately, in this course, we are only able to scratch the surface of this exciting field.

We will use the remainder of this module to explain the background, relevance and use of the first analytical method we use in the process to write a strategic action plan: actor analysis.

But first, let us introduce you to…

Introducing Miriam, a community leader in Aru, Uganda 

To help you get a better understanding of the concepts explained in this track, meet Miriam. Miriam is our fictitious community leader in Aru, Uganda. Throughout this verified track we will regularly come back to Miriam, as her community and its energy problem serve as an example for this track. Miriam will conduct an actor analysis, a multi-criteria decision analysis and develop a strategic action plan for her community.

Miriam, an electrical engineer by training, is responsible for energy policy in Aru, a fictitious town in the North-West of Uganda with a population of 5000. Growing up just outside Aru, Miriam is aware of many of the challenges faced by the local community. The community mainly gets its energy from collecting and burning biomass. Tasks that require a great amount of time and physical energy.  Since the start of her appointment, Miriam has been approached by a number of individuals, NGOs and companies warning her about the reliability of the local energy system.

It seems, however, that no-one is in charge of the problem, it seems like everyone is pushing their own agenda. In addition, she feels overwhelmed by the number of projects, initiatives and deals they propose to solve Aru’s problems. Some initiatives contain detailed, technical descriptions of how the proposed projects should work. It seems, however, that the projects do not differ much from the project she has been hearing about before she left the town for studying. How does one make the energy system in the greater Aru region more inclusive?