Monitoring and Evaluation in Rural Electrification Projects

ESMAP

2003

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Most large-scale rural energy programs, whether promoting conventional or renewable energy, focus on providing development assistance through the supply of electricity services to stimulate economic productivity and enhance quality of life in rural areas. However, few of these programs start with an in-depth assessment of markets for these services, including the needs of the people they are meant to serve. In addition, they often fail to evaluate specific impacts resulting from these services. Most rural electricity monitoring and evaluation programs measure strictly quantifiable information, such as the number of new grid electricity connections or the number of renewable energy systems installed. They typically are not designed to measure socioeconomic impacts, often resulting in the masking of poverty- and gender-specific consumer choices and perceptions. This incomplete understanding of market forces hinders the development of initiatives that respond to the gamut of rural energy needs and have positive, equitable, and sustainable development impacts. The purpose of this initiative is to develop a methodology for assessing end-user needs and the quantitative and qualitative socioeconomic impacts of rural electricity projects, with a focus on poverty and gender implications. The goal is to design a monitoring and evaluation methodology that is not an isolated data collection exercise, but rather an approach that is useful for project design and ongoing project implementation and post-project evaluation. To accomplish this task, the approach recommended in this report involves both qualitative participatory techniques and quantitative survey methods to yield a more comprehensive approach to program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The approach advocated in this report has been developed with the specific goal of applying it in a future rural electrification project in Cambodia, as well as more generally in other projects financed by the World Bank and other international donors.

Electrificación rural; Impactos socioeconómicos; Monitoreo y Evaluación; Nivel mundial;