An institutional development perspective on prepaid solar electrification and gender relations in rural off-grid communities

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The goal of this research project is to understand the extent and ways in which prepaid electricity services impact on gender relations in rural low-income communities. Prepaid solar electrification is the provision of renewable energy on apay-as-you-go basis for people without electricity access. This emerging and highly topical electrification strategy aims to break down financial barriers that exclude so many people from efficient, effective and safe energy access. Currently1.6billion people lack electricity access worldwide. Studies show that prepaid solar electricity is likely to have a large impact on the lives of women, as they spend the majority of their time at home, caring for the family. As yet, however, littleis understood about the extent of this impact and the ways in which it may occur, either in practice or in theory. Therefore, it is anticipated that by gaining an understanding of how prepaid electricity impacts gender relations in practice, analysed using a synthesis of concepts from science and technology studies (STS), gender studies and institutional development theory, this investigation can identify ways to maximize beneficial development outcomes for women from ruralelectrification programmes and advance theory in this field.Fieldwork will require partnership with a prepaid solar energy provider in Tanzania or Kenya and involve the collection of primary research material in two key forms: semi-structured interviews and focus groups. This will require two trips, eachestimated to take approximately three months. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a selection of rural prepaid electricity customers before and during their use of the service, as well as a selection of people who are not using the service at all. These comparisons of time and situation are necessary to establish the validity of proposed links between gender relation development and the use of prepaid electricity. It is important to acknowledge changes that would have occurred anyway, regardless of this intervention. Semi-structured interviews have been chosen to allow for both structure and flexibility within the interviewee researcher dynamic. The data captured from the interviews will be qualitative, based on concepts synthesized from the literatures mentioned above. The questions will be set by the researcher and tailored based on the interviewee's responses, thereby benefitting from iterative learning within each conversation.Focus groups will be used to explore likely subtle changes in gender relations and evidence for them. The groups will take a number of forms in order to compare perceptions between different segments of the prepaid energy consumerpopulation, as well as invite different group dynamics for sharing. By systematically comparing different viewpoints and experiences, this methodology aims to draw robust and well-considered findings. It also hopes to capture the contestedand negotiated nature of gender relation development. Focus groups have been chosen because they act as relaxed group interviews, enabling interaction and discussion within a group of people, with the researcher acting as moderator.