International Conference on Evaluating Climate Change and Development Panel Submission
Proposed Panel Title: Measuring and Evaluating Institutional Capacity for Addressing Climate Change: Examples in Adaptation and Clean Energy
Presentation Title: Measuring Capacity of Energy Institutions to Address Clean EnergyIssues within the Enabling Environments of India and Central America
PresenterName and Title:Svetlana Negroustoueva, MPA, Evaluation Specialist
Presenter Email and Telephone Contact:, 703-522-8564
Team Member Names, Titles, and Institutional Affiliations:Svetlana Negroustoueva, MPA, Evaluation Specialist; Rayne Loken, MPH; Claudia Rossel, MPA
Abstract: A variety of generic and targeted tools exist to measure organizational and institutional capacity generally and several others that could be adapted to measure institutional capacity within the context of clean energy. In developing a qualitative data collection tool to elicit narrative data for an evaluation of USAID-funded clean energy programs in India and Central America, Development and Training Services, Inc. has found it useful to draw on existing tools and adapt them based on project interventions related to institutional capacity building and technical assistance.
The purpose of USAID’s Regional Clean Energy Initiative (RCEI) in Central America is the creation of an enabling environment and a more favorable investment climate. The goal is to promote the development and implementation of renewable energy projects while reducing overall energy consumption by means of energy efficiency programs in Central America, primarily through provision of capacity building opportunities and technical assistance to the institutions. Through the PACE-D Technical Assistance (TA) Program in India, USAID has been engaged with public and private sector stakeholders to try to promote clean energy policy adoption and technology deployment at the national and state levels. The TA initiatives are designed to address the growing needs of urban India while also ensuring that the needs of the rural populations are addressed.
This paper discusses lessons learned from adapting and applying an institutional capacity assessment tool, designed to collect qualitative data to measure capacity of the key institutions to address clean energy issues, within the framework of the enabling environment at the regional, national and sub-national levels in India and Central America. Data were collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussions conducted in September and October 2014 in the Central America region and India. Results of the study will provide a learning opportunity for the measurement of organizational and institutional capacity in the face of global climate change specifically under the USG’s clean energy pillar.