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Ben Garside
Senior researcher, Shaping Sustainable Markets
Ben Garside currently leads IIED's work on energy access and renewable energy, with a particular interest in pro-poor and inclusive business models that improve impacts for the poorest. This includes building cross-sector problem solving processes that tailor energy services to better suit local needs and contexts.
Ben also works on understanding how 'social learning' – co-learning for change – approaches can help catalyse solving the complex problems associated with climate change and food insecurity. His experience spans across the fields of energy, agriculture, information and communication technologies, and climate change adaptation. He has worked in low-income countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Access to energy and renewable energy; climate change adaptation; pro-poor business models; building dialogue for change across diverse stakeholders; community-level participatory research; monitoring and evaluation for impact; inclusive information and communication technologies; and the roles of aid in leveraging business for sustainable development.
Pro-poor energy – more access, better impacts (people-centred energy transitions; energy policy analysis and advocacy; productive uses of energy); renewable energy and climate; social-learning and climate uncertainties.
Engineering background with extensive experience in ICT consultancy and telecoms; postgraduate degree in development management at the London School of Economics.
English and Spanish (intermediate)
Ben Garside's blog posts
Social learning can be effective in tackling 'wicked' problems such as climate change. And research shows there are better results when strong processes are at the centre of these approaches.
With the energy sector expanding, how can the perspectives of local communities and end users shape future power?
In late February, discussions over the post-2015 development agenda reached a milestone. The co-Chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG), the body tasked with preparing a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposal for consideration by the UN General Assembly in September 2014, issued a "Focus Areas Document".
Rio+20 failed to deliver any significant globally binding agreements on energy. Will voluntary Sustainable Energy For All initiative commitments fare any better?
<p>Given the recent protests against fuel subsidies, how will Nigeria’s planned power reforms, set to start in earnest this year, play out?</p>
The informal sector has so much innovation that often goes unnoticed by academics, government and mainstream businesses alike. My month in Chile working with a grassroots movement of wastepickers reminded me of this — as well as the potential to harness some of the power of this informality in more organised models that benefit the poorest.
Ben Garside's blog posts with other authors
A recent IIED study looked at how the process of decision making can help address challenges created by the uncertainties of future climate change. Our research highlighted the benefits of moving from technocratic solutions to a process-based political approach.
Universal energy access is a laudable aim, but attempts to achieve it must take on board local contexts and sensitivities, say Sarah Wykes and Ben Garside.