North-South partnerships for sustainable energy: Knowledge-power relations in development assistance for renewable energy

Drawing on a case study of a North-South partnership between non-governmental organisations (NGOs), this paper examines knowledge-power relationships in partnerships for sustainable energy. It presents a framework for visualising and analysing the multiple knowledge challenges faced by development organisations assisting Southern communities in the adoption of off-grid renewable energy technologies (RETs). Partnerships between local and international organisations are seen as a means for meeting these challenges by bringing together complimentary skills and knowledge, but they can be affected by power imbalances between partners inhibiting their performance. Through a micro-analysis of knowledge-power relations between two renewable energy NGOs, this paper shows how the ways in which knowledge is framed and valued in partnerships for sustainable energy determine opportunities for inter-organisational learning and collaboration. Partnership models emphasising an efficient division of labour between partners and 'North-South knowledge transfer' may be less likely to deliver effective outcomes than previously thought. Given that the sustainable adoption of off-grid RETs requires processes of social innovation, partnerships that engage in an open negotiation of knowledge may stand a better chance of achieving 'sustainable energy for all' (UN, 2015). Based on a discussion of this finding, the paper concludes by proposing a participatory tool for the negotiation of knowledge and knowledge-power relations in partnerships for sustainable energy.