SVI Technical Reports compilation
The Smart Villages Initiative researched and published 15 technical reports between 2012 and 2017. For ease of reference, they can all be accessed here.
Technical Reports
Human Centred Design of Telehealth System – Report
This report details the human-centered design approach taken by STI4D and OMASI to design the Telehealth system, as part of the InnovateUK funded project: ‘Innovative Access to Healthcare in Remote Communities‘. This document does not standalone, and is supported by numerous reports describing the research questions the HCD process seeks to answer, and the outcomes …
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Off-grid multi-energy reporting system and AI load controller – Full Technical Report
This report was written to summarise all findings from an InnovateUK Funded research project, aiming to develop a product which could: 1. Report on an entire solar system (AC currents, AC voltages, DC currents, and DC voltages), independent of the equipment manufacturer. 2. Divert excess energy directly from the solar panels to an auxiliary load, …
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Tele-Health System Design Priorities
As part of InnovateUK funded project: ‘Innovative Off-Grid Access to Healthcare’. research was carried out into the healthcare system in Tanzania, and more specifically for rural communities around Terat, Tanzania, where our partner organisation is based (See the Community Remote Healthcare Priorities Report). The findings confirmed that there is a need for improved access to …
Remote Telehealth Consultation Trial – Report
This report summarises the key findings from the first two remote telehealth consultation trials, held in Loswaki village in Jan/Feb 2021, including detail on the health trial set-up, the sequence of activities for each, the number of patients that attended, and how the requirement for medicines to be transported to the patients was fulfilled. Patients …
Community Remote Healthcare Background and Priorities Report – Simanjiro, Tanzania
This report outlines the health needs and priorities of remote Maasai communities in Northern Tanzania, specifically in the Simanjiro region where our project partners, OMASI are based. The research was done as part of an Innovate Funded Project, exploring how video consultations and batched medicine delivery could help provide quality access to healthcare for remote, …
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Solar-powered Milling Machine Evaluation
This report describes the results of tests conducted to assess the viability of an electric 3-phase 2.2kW Agsol hammer mill, imported from Kenya, for use in rural Maasai communities in Simanjiro, Tanzania. The objectives of the tests were to assess the viability of powering the mill from offgrid (solar) energy technology, and (for different mill …
The Smart Villages Initiative: Findings 2014-2017
In the Smart Villages concept, the provision of sustainable energy services to rural communities, in turn enabling the connectivity made possible by modern information and communication technologies, can have a catalytic impact on the lives of villagers when appropriately integrated with other rural development initiatives. Smart villages provide many of the benefits of 21st Century …
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TR15: Can Smart Villages help to stem biodiversity loss?
Biodiversity is important at various levels, including the economic, social and environmental. It is critically important for rural communities through the provision of ecosystem services, including energy access, a link that is often overlooked. The concept of ‘Smart Villages’ is that modern energy access in the form of sustainable renewable energy can contribute as a catalyst for development—education, health, food security, environment, productive …
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TR14: Rural Electrification and Democratic Engagement
As the purpose of this paper is to give a broad overview of the importance of energy access for democratic political engagement, such issues are not robustly tackled within this comparativelybrief insight into what is a vast and constantly changing arena. The goal here is to give an insight into the potential of the Internet and social media (enabled by …
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TR13: Education and the electrification of rural schools
The Smart Villages Initiative aims to provide policy-makers, donors, and development agencies concerned with rural energy access with new insights on the real barriers to energy access in villages in developing countries and how they can be overcome. This report aims to give an overview of the links between electricity access and education through a review of the literature in this area. It …
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TR12: Electrification of health clinics in rural areas
This report provides an overview of the status of, and challenges facing, the electrification of health clinics in rural areas in the developing world. In addition, it considers the opportunities provided by telemedicine and the barriers to this, along with some examples of innovation and work in this field. The content of this report has been drawn from a review of the …
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TR11: Making Smart Villages a Reality
Access to reliable, affordable and clean energy is a cornerstone of sustainable development. Despite this 1.2 billion people continue to have no access to electricity and a further 3 billion are energy poor. Often cited reasons for the lack of progress include the technological and financial difficulties associated with bringing electricity to rural areas due …
TR10: Indigenous communities, ICT and rural development
The vast majority of the rural development literature focuses on relatively homogenous ethnolinguistic communities based in periurban and middle-rural areas. This literature has borne much fruit and there is now a general consensus among academics, practitioners and policy makers on the broad parameters of what is required to catalyse rural development in these areas, though …
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TR9: Business models for mini-grids
This report focuses on mini-grids that generate a substantial portion of electricity using renewable energy sources. The IEA (2011) estimates that mini-grids are the best solution for providing electricity to 45% of the rural population without access to electricity. Mini-grids can utilise locally available energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydro. Using locally available renewable energy sources has the advantage of low …
TR8: The future of DC systems for the off-grid environment
Rural areas that are not connected to an electricity grid are nevertheless seeking to increase their use of electricity to support services such as healthcare, education, and entertainment, and for productive uses to increase incomes. Such increases in electricity use in rural communities—“ climbing the energy ladder”—require a step-change in electricity provision to currently off-grid households. The supply of electricity through centralised generation and …
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TR7: Energy and agriculture for smart villages in India
The concept of the “smart village”, as developed by the Smart Villages Initiative, is that modern energy access acts as a catalyst for development—education, health, food security, productive enterprise, environment, and participatory democracy—which in turn supports further improvements in energy access. In the global context, energy access can provide a much needed driver for sustainable economic growth and development for …
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TR6: Rubagabaga Mini-Hydro Public-Private-Community Partnership Project – Baseline data analysis
The Smart Villages Initiative is undertaking a set of rigorous impact evaluations to understand the relationship between modern energy access, its productive use, and rural development outcomes. Through building an evidence-base, the Smart Villages Initiative will help stimulate the investment of public and private sector resources in off-grid energy and rural development and ensure that …
TR5: The Smart Villages Initiative: Interim review of findings
This report summarises the findings and recommendations arising from the engagement activities of the Smart Villages Initiative in East Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and South America over the first 18-month period (October 2014 – March 2016) of the first phase of the initiative. Over that period, workshops and other engagement activities involved over 600 …
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TR4: Business models for home-based electricity services
This technical report reviews the business models used by pioneer firms in the solar home-based electricity services industry, specifically pico-solar lighting systems and solar home systems. Drawing on the grey and academic literature, the report provides a detailed industry overview, assesses key components of business models, and identifies remaining challenges and ways forward. Industry overview …
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