Building institutions and skills in Africa

Overview

Cluster 5 works on the systems of capacity that African-led sustainable energy transitions require. We move beyond narrow understandings of capacity as skills and training alone, and instead study how multiple domains of capacity, including knowledge systems, institutions, governance, finance, infrastructure, environmental stewardship and social inclusion, interact to enable or constrain sustainable energy for development.

The cluster's role within AISESA is not only to generate conceptual and analytical insights on capacity, but also to support actionable learning, institutional strengthening and practical transformation processes that can inform decision-making by governments, researchers, practitioners, communities and regional actors. Its outputs include a systems-oriented capacity framework, an integrated capacity map, and a Living Observatory that makes African expertise visible, connects people and institutions, and documents both successes and failures to inform future practice.