Planning for SDGs in Sierra Leone

Enhancing the Social Value of Energy in Sierra Leone 

(2019-2021)

As a PhD candidate and postdoctoral fellow Arizona State University from 2019 to 2021, I led an international team of researchers to conduct over 1,000 interviews with households, nearly 300 surveys with businesses, and over a 100 focus groups discussions in public spaces, across four cities and small towns in Sierra Leone. The study aimed to link energy systems planning and SDGs by:

• Investigating how to intensify sustainable development outcomes of energy projects and investments in Sierra Leone by creating evidence for high impact translation pathways.

• Discovering knowledge practices that can create a community level focus on social and economic value creation to develop a portfolio of best practices in designing, operating and utilizing energy systems.

• Establishing the coordination capacities required to build a community of practice among the important stakeholders in the energy landscape of Sierra Leone, to facilitate strategic exchange and coordinated actions based on scientific evidence and practices.

View the findings here

The project created a open-access, online training program based on the methodology and findings of the study. 

Take the training here