The Journey of the SESA Toolbox: From Idea to Product
The global drive toward sustainable energy solutions has never been more critical, especially in regions where energy access can transform lives and economies. SESA—Smart Energy Solutions for Africa—is at the forefront of this movement, representing a collaborative effort between the European Union and nine African nations: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania.
A Collaborative Vision for Africa’s Energy Future
Funded by Horizon 2020, SESAs mission is to deploy scalable energy technologies and business models that can be easily replicated across different regions. This initiative isn’t just about introducing technology; it’s about sparking economic development and fostering social cohesion throughout Africa. Each of the nine participating countries will host one or more living labs where technologies and business models are applied for use cases like emobility, microgrids or clean cooking during the project’s timeline and will continue beyond. The SESA projects aims to capture the valuable knowledge and learnings gained by those involved.
The end goal? To compile these insights into accessible toolkits comprising videos, guides, reports, and more, all housed within an open database.
Introducing the SESA Toolbox
This database, known as the SESA Toolbox, will soon become a freely accessible resource for anyone interested in various aspects around sustainable energy solutions. We look forward to the official launch at the SESA 4th Regional Event taking place in Morocco from 14 – 16 October 2024. From that day the toolbox will be available. The platform promises to be a game-changer for policymakers, entrepreneurs, educators, and anyone invested in the future of energy in Africa. But how did we get there?
Crafting the Content: A Collaborative Effort
With 30 partners and additional SMEs participating, content creation is a collaborative and dynamic process. To manage this effectively, a shared spreadsheet—overseen by ICLEI World Secretariat—was developed to track and monitor the progress of upcoming toolkits. Every two weeks key representatives from the many activities in SESA meet and update the spreadsheet, ensuring that content development remains on track and organized until the project’s end.
From Mock-Up to User-Friendly Design
Given the expected volume of toolkits, it was crucial to design an intuitive platform where users can easily navigate the available content. Cenex Netherlands, one of the project’s partners, led the creation of a mock-up (Figure 1) and wireframe for the toolbox. This design features a filtering system that categorizes toolkits by different colours, making it easy for users to identify and select relevant content.
For more specific searches, users can refine their selection using filters on the left-hand side of the page or by utilising the search bar. Additionally, a tour guide function was incorporated to help visitors understand how to make the most of the website (Figure 2).
Figure 1 Mock-up SESA toolbox
Figure 2 Mock-up of the Toolbox Tourguide Overlay
Engaging with the Tools
Once users have filtered through the content and identified a content of interest, they can simply click on it to access more detailed information. Each page is designed to be comprehensive, featuring descriptions, embedded videos, external links, and contact options for further inquiries (Figure 3). Keywords associated with each entry ensure that content is easily searchable. A rating system was proposed to allow users to gauge the quality and usefulness of each tool, but the value of this feature was considered low given the variety of reasons for people to access certain content. Which is why this feature was ultimately not pursued.
Figure 3 Mock-up of the Toolkit page
The Final Design: A Collaborative Achievement
In collaboration with project partners the final iteration of the SESA Toolbox website was developed under a subdomain of the main SESA website, making it easy to switch from one to the other. With the final version nearing completion, tools are now uploaded in preparation for the official launch.
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