A collaboration between members of ICSD’s Africa and European branches is creating opportunities for joint research, shared learning and doctoral student development.
Prof Lauren Graham and Prof Leila Patel from the Africa Branch, together with Marianne Sandvad Ulriksen from the European Branch, collaborated on a successful research proposal to DANIDA. They are now working together on COM-PRES: Communities and the Private Renewable Energy Sector: Distributing Social Development Benefits in South Africa. The project investigates how private renewable energy investments can support social development and reduce inequality in host communities.
During August and September, the team came together at the University of Southern Denmark to share progress across their research workstreams. The gathering also enabled the project’s PhD students to build skills in citizen science, strengthen connections as a doctoral cohort, and learn about Denmark’s approaches to just energy transitions and community engagement.
The collaboration illustrates the potential within ICSD’s international network to connect expertise across regions, develop joint funding proposals and create valuable learning opportunities for emerging researchers. It also offers a foundation for exploring further student exchanges and research partnerships between branches.
ICSD hopes to facilitate more connections of this kind, bringing members together to learn across contexts and advance social development through collaborative research.
