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Interface Workshops, 28th November 2019, Kigeme, Rwanda

Following the installation of the micro-grid in Kigeme refugee camp, the HEED team returned to the camp on the 28^th of November 2019 to host a workshop to hear from the community on the current and potential use of the micro-grid and to showcase the user interface designs.

The workshop, led by Sandy Robinson and Vijay Bhopal from Scene, along with other team members from Practical Action and Coventry University, was attended by over 20 participants, including Mesh Power, who installed the micro-grid.

The function of the micro-grid installed by HEED in Kigeme Camp is to provide energy via lighting and sockets to two nursery schools and a playground. Although the micro-grid is a sustainable energy solution in delivering sufficient energy to the nurseries, the workshop provided an opportunity for the participants to explore the ways in which energy from the micro-grid can be better utilised.

As the nurseries are operating seasonally, there are times when the buildings are closed, and therefore using little or no power, however, the micro-grid does not currently have the capacity to add new buildings to the system.

As a result, many participants felt the community would benefit from having interactivity with the micro-grid so they could manage the use of energy more effectively. The discussions illustrated the active engagement of the community in thinking about how best to maximise the use of energy created by the micro-grid.

Directly after this session, Sandy and the team, along with participants, played a game specialised devised to get the participants thinking about energy as a finite resource. Participants had to negotiate and share finite ‘energy tokens’. Vijay commented that:

‘We practised this the day before and simplified it. The participants loved the game and really got it. It was a good way of demonstrating the idea of energy as a finite resource, and it segued into a discussion on how the community can manage the energy resource themselves’.

After lunch and during monsoon style torrential rains, the HEED team divided the participants into two groups to showcase the user interface designs, one lead by Vijay and the other by Jordan Silverman, technical manager at Scene.

In Gihembe – another refugee camp in Rwanda in which the HEED project is also working – an interface board is already installed that are connected with multi-functional solar streetlights, which show through a series of flashing lights when the streetlight has sufficient power to support additional devices.

In involving the community in thinking about an interface for micro-grid, conversations emerged about governance systems, as well as the interface itself. The insights gained from the sessions demonstrate the importance of incorporating information about the ways in which energy interventions will continue after the project has finished into the design process.

Community Co-design Workshop, 18th October 2019, Kathmandu, Nepal

On Friday 18^th October 2019, HEED hosted a workshop in Kathmandu for representatives of the internally displaced communities, who are involved in the HEED project in Nepal. The event was led by Professor Elena Gaura in partnership with project partners Practical Action. The aim of the event was to present some of the lessons learned through the project, particularly in Nepal, which can be applied not only to humanitarian energy projects but also to other off-grid energy access interventions.

The workshop started with a review of the HEED project, including an opportunity for attendees to view the photo and video exhibition on the journey of the Nepal project. This was followed by a discussion on co-design processes for community energy interventions, for example, the solar streetlights intervention in the camps in Uttargaya, Nepal.

Opening up conversations on the co-design process provides an opportunity for the communities involved in the HEED project to provide feedback on the challenges and best practice, ensuring the development of inclusive, fit-for-purpose and sustainable energy interventions.

This workshop also allowed Elena and the team to find out more about how self-governance is understood and envisaged by internally displaced communities and the meaning of ‘community ownership’ of energy systems to them.

This will enable the HEED project to develop energy design protocols that centre on community-based needs and aspirations, encouraging and supporting long-term sustainable, community-appropriate and transformative energy solutions.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is hosting the first Global Refugee Forum on 17 and 18 December 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The event, which is being held at Ministerial level, brings together countries to strengthen international responses by focusing on six areas: arrangements for burden and responsibility-sharing, education, jobs and livelihoods, energy and infrastructure, solutions, and protection capacity.

The forum is part of the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees, agreed by the UN General Assembly in December 2018. The driving principles of the Global Compact on Refugees is to find ways of improving global responses to refugee situations. This will include greater support for the countries and communities who are welcoming refugees and simultaneously, delivering programmes that improve conditions and generate pathways to encourage refugee self-reliance.

Related events will be held ahead of the Forum in Geneva, including the spectacular lighting of the city’s iconic Jet d’Eau and an exhibition of crafts by MADE51 – an initiative bringing beautiful refugee-made products to a global market.

If you have questions, please contact the Global Refugee Forum Coordination Team at hqgrf@unhcr.org.

The jet d’eau water fountain in Lake Geneva, Switzerland 

On October the 3rd 2019, after the panel discussion featuring Professor Elena Gaura on ‘Refugees and Technology’, Chatham House hosted a drinks reception and photo exhibition on energy in the displaced setting. The exhibition curated by HEED showcased the work of Edoardo Santangelo, a humanitarian photographer, who has spent the last 18 months working alongside HEED in Nepal and Rwanda recording the lived experiences with energy initiatives in the displaced context.

Drawing on his extensive knowledge of energy and international development, Edoardo uses photoreportage as a way to record the impact of development programmes in the lives of the displaced. His photos have been published in various editions of the Poor People Energy Outlook and used in numerous humanitarian publications, workshops and conferences worldwide.

After opening the exhibition with a reflection on the photos by Edoardo, attendees had an opportunity to talk with HEED team members about the project aims and objectives. HEED, in commissioning Edoardo to produce a visual storytelling of the project, hopes to encourage other research studies to think creatively about how to capture the ways refugees and displaced communities encounter energy and respond to energy initiatives.

The Moving Energy Initiative, a Chatham House project, seeks to increase knowledge about the current energy situation in the displaced context. As part of that remit is raising awareness the impact of new technologies have on the lives of displaced populations.  On Tuesday, 3rd of October 2019, Chatham House, under the direction of Owen Grafham from the Moving Energy Initiative, invited HEED project’s co-investigator, Professor Elena Gaura, to be part of a panel discussion on ‘Refugees and Technology’. On the panel, alongside Elena, were Jenny Casswell, from Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation, GSMA, and Moulid Hujale, Humanitarian Journalist and Digital Producer.

The panel addressed how refugees are informing technological innovations that reflect lived practices and ways to develop best practice to safeguard refugees when using technology, such as algorithmic bias, violations of privacy and data breaches. Elena, along with the other panellists, also emphasised how important it is to give refugees a platform to engage with and understand new technology that improves energy sources as it assists with community cohesion and develops livelihood opportunities.

The Moving Energy Initiative is working with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Energy 4 Impact, and a consortium of other expert organisations. The project has a range of initiatives, including the publication of a global level report, Heat, Light and Power for Refugees: Saving Lives, Reducing Costs, and pilot projects in Jordan, Kenya and Burkina Faso.

Photo@MEI

As one of sixteen EPSRC projects that showcased at the EPSRC ‘Engineering Research for Grand Challenges,’ HEED  spoke with future engineers about the role engineering and digital technology has in planning for the energy needs and aspirations in the displaced context.

The stand, hosted by team members from Coventry University, Professor Elena Gaura and Dr Nandor Verba, was visited by a range of interested parties, including engineers, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and policymakers, to hear about the HEED energy design interventions, such as cookstove monitors and solar street lighting.

Elena and Nandor were impressed by the responses to the aims of the project and hope that this will encourage greater investment to address energy poverty, one of the most urgent global societal challenges.

The event, which took place on the 17th Sept, was held at the Southbank Centre, London, as part of The Global Grand Challenges Summit, a jointly hosted event by UK, US, and Chinese academies of Engineering.

 

The Humanitarian Energy Conference (HEC) is an annual global event, overseen by Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) Humanitarian Working Group and the Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA). Hosted by the Clean Cooking Alliance and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), it has support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Shell International, and the IKEA Foundation. The aim of the conference is to bring together humanitarian agencies, NGOs, development organizations, private companies, governments, funding entities, and researchers on a global level to work together to improve energy access for displaced and crisis-affected people.

This year, as part of a side event at the HEC conference, HEED delivered a workshop for over 40 energy practitioners, policymakers and energy suppliers. Lead by HEED project partners, Practical Action and Scene, the workshop presented the aims of the project and introduced the Renewable Energy Recommendation Tool (HEED -RERT). In keeping with HEED’s vision of encouraging collaboration between researchers, stakeholders and service users, the workshop allowed for critical discussion on RERT and ways the tool could benefit practitioners when planning energy needs in the displaced context.

Melania Tarquino, project manager for HEED (Practical Action), felt attending the conference, not only increased exposure for HEED’s work but would also inform the project in going forward:

‘The conference itself was very interesting, I especially enjoyed the networking and experiences exchange with other project managers that work in similar contexts. I couldn’t find any other implemented project working on communal access to energy as ours, or at least not off-grid. Hence, many people were interested in knowing about our experience, for example, to keep the security of the systems and to create awareness in the community. This means that many of the positive and negative lessons that we will have learnt at the end of HEED will be really valuable for the sector since it is clearly an innovative project.’

In being part of the HEC conference it gave HEED a platform where knowledge was shared, best practice discussed, and play an active part towards finding affordable, reliable and sustainable energy systems and services for all crisis-affected people.

On the 9th of July, HEED team member and Research Fellow at Coventry University, Nandor Verba, travelled to a displaced encampment in Uttargaya, Nepal to inspect design interventions and install an interface board. The primary aim for this trip was to inspect the work done by the supplier Comtronics on the installation of the solar streetlights in Nepal.

After successfully remedying minor data issues with the solar streetlights, Nandor went on to check and retrieve data from the footfall monitors and replace monitors that were unresponsive.  He also found time to orientate the local community organiser about the charging stations that are found on the streetlights.

Similar to the work being done in Rwanda, HEED has piloted solar street lighting that has the capacity to store excess energy that can be used for other electrical goods, such as mobile phones. These multi-functional streetlights not only have charging stations but are also linked to an interface board that lights up when the streetlight has sufficient power to support additional devices. In transferring the locks and keys to the charging stations to a local community organiser it encourages group ownership of the design interventions to promote project sustainability.

This was Nandor’s first on-site visit to the camp and found the working with the community a positive, enriching experience:

‘One of the most rewarding experiences of being on site was being able to stand with the community as we watched all the streets lights come up at night, shifting dark spaces into pools of light. This captured for me what the project was about, working side by side with displaced communities to produce new and innovate ways of thinking about how we can address energy needs and aspirations.’

 

The end of June saw the completion of a three-stage commissioning check of the microgrid and solar street lights design interventions In Rwanda. Led by two members of the HEED team from Coventry University, Dr Jonathan Nixon, a Senior Lecturer at Coventry University based in the Fluids and Complex Systems Research Centre, and Daniel Bammeke, a doctoral candidate, the first stage of the commissioning checks were performed at Coventry University using data gathered remotely. These checks saw Jonathan and Daniel analyse the data collected so far from all three camp sites to detect any system anomalies in preparation for their on-site inspections in the Kigeme, Gihembe and Nyabiheke refugee camps in Rwanda.

Jonathan and Daniel subsequently flew to Rwanda to deliver the second stage of commissioning checks. Their aim was to perform vital tests on the interventions to address damaged devices. These on-site inspections are key to the success of the project as by rigorously checking, including a visual inspection of the devices and activating control signals in situ, it ensures the control systems are functional and can continue to produce robust, transparent data.

In Kigeme camp, the microgrid design intervention is a micro-grid system designed to provide two nursery schools and a playground with power via lighting and sockets. In Nyabiheke refugee camp, a community hall is the site for the micro-grid intervention, which provides power for the lighting and sockets. In both locations, the monitoring and control systems are incorporated into the micro-grid, which HEED uses to collect system and usage data and execute control commands. Placing these interventions in communal buildings allows HEED to understand how communities use energy and could potential predict the level of energy required to maintain institutional and civic structures in the refugee context.

 

The focus of the site inspection of Gihembe refugee camp was to perform commissioning checks on twelve solar powered streetlights, four of which are multifunctional.  The four multifunctional street lights are an innovative solution to energy poverty as each of the four solar powered streetlights have the ability to store excess energy generation. This means, for example, electrical items, such as mobile phones, can be charged by using the sockets attached to the streetlight. The multifunctional streetlight, just like the microgrids, also have monitoring and control systems incorporated in their designs, that allow HEED to gather data on usage.

In addition, after overseeing the transfer of operations from suppliers, MESHPower, to HEED governance, Jonathan and Daniel spent time in Kigali delivering training to contractors on the maintenance of the systems.

After successfully completing the on-site checks, the final step of the commissioning checks saw Jonathan and Daniel return back to Coventry, where they sent remotely controlled signals to the respective intervention designs. This confirmed whether systems’ issues were fixed or it was necessary to contact camp-based contractors to implement solutions. According to Jonathan, the visit to Rwanda provided not only an opportunity to resolve issues with operating systems but also a to transfer knowledge:

‘Building time into the project means I am able to work with energy suppliers and train contractors on renewable energy systems and micro grids. This allows the HEED project the platform to promote renewable energy systems modelling and optimisation as a viable option in the displaced context.

More importantly, I feel that as humanitarian engineering has a significant role in combating energy poverty through cost-effective carbon reduction solutions, we need to encourage community engagement with the process. When we understand how vital the role of renewable energy has in addressing energy poverty, then we will begin to see increased economic development, ways to improve social welfare and a fairer distribution of resources’

We are excited to announce that HEED is one of the 16 EPSRC projects being showcased at the EPSRC ‘Engineering Research for Grand Challenges,’  on Tuesday 17th Sept 6pm to 8:30pm. This evening event, held at the Weston Roof Pavilion, Southbank Centre, London, features a selection of EPSRC-funded research projects that show  how investment into engineering and digital technology is working towards resolving the most pressing global societal challenges.

The EPSRC ‘Engineering Research for Grand Challenges’ is part of the three-day Global Grand Challenges Summit being held from the 16^th-18^th September at the Southbank Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. The Global Grand Challenges Summit, jointly hosted event by UK, US, and Chinese academies of Engineering, brings together 900 future engineers, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and policy makers. This summit hopes to generate ambitious, collaborative research that addresses technological and societal issues that impact on the present and future sustainability of communities and the planet earth.

Further details about the three day event can be found on the RAEng website  

 

A key feature of the HEED project is that it brings together refugees, policy makers and NGOs with team members to engage with design interventions that help understand energy needs in the context of displacement. 

The week of the 1st– 5th of July 2019 saw HEED team members from Coventry University, Dr Kriti Bhargava and Feba Ninan,  along with Melania Tarquino from Practical Action, doing just that by visiting key stakeholders and camp management officials in the refugee camps of Kigeme, Gihembe and Nyabiheke.

Kigeme was the first camp to be visited, where HEED hosted an inaugural lunch with representatives from UNHCR, MINEMA, Migration, WorldVision, Cartas, ARC, the camp’s refugee executive committee, camp leaders and staff from the school and playground who are taking part in the research.  

This event gave the HEED team an opportunity to explain the purpose and answer any questions about the cookstove monitors, which had been installed on clay stoves in the camp the day before. In particularly, they were able to address the concerns of the community about the security of the microgrids and cookstove monitors, which will be through the appointment of ‘community mobilisers’. 

HEED is employing a number of residents in all three camps to be community mobilisers to oversee the day-to-day running of the design interventions and encourage greater community engagement and ownership of the project’s aims. In Kigeme, their role will be to check and change the rechargeable batteries on twenty sensor-based monitoring devices installed on clay stoves. These monitors will measure the temperature inside and outside of the clay ovens to help understand domestic cooking energy usage. 

 Following the meeting in Kigeme, the HEED team went on to Nyabiheke Camp, where they met with representatives from MINEMA, Migration, WorldVision, the camp’s refugee committee, other camp leaders and community mobilisers. Later, along with Practical Action, Kriti and Feba met with the sixty households, including the appointed community mobilisers, that are participating in the project to distribute solar lanterns fitted with sensor-based monitoring devices.

These monitors will enable the HEED project team to ascertain whether the lanterns are being used primarily as mobile or static devices. They are powered with a rechargeable battery which, with the aid of the community mobilisers, will be changed as and when required.  

Gihembe was the last camp visited, where an interface board was installed. 

This interface board will register the level of charge in the solar streetlights, which will indicate where excess energy has been generated and can be used for personal use. This will both help meet community and personal energy needs and provide new insights into ways energy usage can be meet through thinking creatively about engineering design.  

 

The period before the monsoon season in Nepal is notorious for thunderstorms, with heavy rain and strong winds.  This year was no exception. In April we learnt that the storms were of such magnitude in the Bara and Parsa districts of southern Nepal that they resulted in  deaths and the destruction of homes.

Sadly these thunderstorms affected the displaced encampment in Uttargaya where HEED is currently working to install design interventions intended to monitor energy usage.  Although there were no casualties, several homes were destroyed making thirteen families homeless, and a number of electric power lines were brought down that resulted in a loss of electricity to the residents.

Damage was also caused to two of the project’s interventions: one of the seven footfall monitors that are attached to street lights and one of the WIFI outdoor amplifiers. Responding to the situation, a team from HEED, including a PhD student from Coventry University and project partners from Practical Action, visited the Uttargaya from May 22^nd -30^th 2019 to remove and replace the footfall monitor and WIFI amplifier with new units.

In addition, the site visit provided the team with an opportunity to download data from the SD cards in the footfall monitors and to install in twenty-one homes a number of Individual Appliance Monitors (IAMs) and Raspberry Pi gateways that had been shipped over from the UK in February.  In all, sixty-three IAMs were attached to a range of household appliances that are in regular use by households, such as phone chargers, TVs, fans and fridges, to monitor usage and collect data.

For Brandi Jess, a doctoral student at Coventry University who oversaw the design intervention installations in Nepal, this trip gave her greater insight into the issues that displaced people encounter in accessing energy:

‘Being able to deploy energy interventions in Nepal has allowed me to get first-hand knowledge of what life is like in the camp and how energy poverty impacts their lives. I feel this research is so important not only to address the energy needs within this community, but to also extend the knowledge and findings to other displaced communities to be able to address energy needs and aspirations.’

The data collected on this trip will be analysed over the next couple of months to better understand energy usage, needs and aspirations for  displaced populations.

Congratulations to HEED team member Dr James Brusey, who has recently been awarded a Professorship in Computer Science from Coventry University.

Professor Brusey, who has been involved in the delivery of E4E workshops in Nepal for HEED, is being recognised for his work on applying Reinforcement Learning (RL) to real-world problems. RL is a sub-discipline of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and is a form of machine learning related to, but separate from, supervised and unsupervised machine learning.  He explains that a key function of RL is an ability to deal with situations involving uncertainty, which makes it highly applicable to a range of projects, such as autonomous, self-driving cars,  as:

‘rather than learning a mapping from, say, a picture of a cat or dog to the phrase `cat’ or `dog’, RL learns a mapping from situations (or states) to actions, such as how to find a route through a maze. Critically, RL is able to handle cases where both the knowledge of the state and the result of actions are uncertain’.

Professor Brusey is hopeful that his work will increase opportunities for the creative use of RL in other fields, for example, the way RL is revolutionising the way neuroscience is conducted as it is able to navigate mathematical models that can explain complex neurological phenomena. He also sees his professorship as an opportunity to reach out to the wider community in understanding how RL, alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, and IoT (Internet of Things) can be translated into systems that develop meaningful lived practices.

Find out more about Professor Brusey’s work via his research profile,follow him on twitter @ jbrusey or save a date in your diary for his inaugural speech, which will around 1st December 2019 at Coventry University .