Core Team
Ben Garside, Head of Energy, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Ben is one of the creators of the EDM. He leads IIED’s work on energy access and renewable energy, with a particular interest in pro-poor and inclusive business models. He co-led with Sarah Wykes and local partners the piloting of the EDM approach in Indonesia, and our work in Kenya. This included the development of the Kitui and Meru County Energy Plans (CEPs) and technical assistance to national and local governments and other stakeholders under the Sustainable Energy Technical Assistance (SETA). He has worked in low-income countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He has published extensively on topics such as decentralised energy systems, people-centred energy services, and the role of energy in achieving the SDGs.
Emmanuel Ngewo, EDM Lead, Kenya
Emmanuel has over 15 years of expertise, working with Kenyan and international NGOs and as a consultant on energy and climate policy, programming and advocacy. He has been working on EDM in Kenya for six years, first with CAFOD and now with STEER Centre. His work has including supporting design of County Energy Plans (CEPs) in Meru, Machakos, Kakamega, Vihiga, and Kisii counties, leading on local community engagement for the EDM approach. He also carried out classroom training of government officials and other stakeholders under the SETA project.
Dr Sarah Wykes, Senior Research Associate in Energy Planning, STEER Centre, Loughborough
Sarah is one of the co-creators of EDM. She has over twenty-five years of experience and expertise in policy advocacy, research and project design and implementation in the field of energy, climate, and international development. She has worked in academia, international development organisations and NGOs, with extensive experience of working with partners in Southern countries. Her applied research includes innovative work on social protection approaches to energy access (Energy Safety Nets) which became a major research project under the UN’s SEforALL iniative 2020). She co-led the international team supporting the Kitui and Meru CEPs and was Technical Co-Lead on the SETA project.