Browsing by Author "Fouche, Elaine"

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    Development of a participatory planning approach for energy sustainability at a local government level
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Fouche, Elaine; Brent, Alan C.; De Kock, Imke; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Planning for a sustainable energy future is a necessity, but doing so, especially at a local government level, is complex. A sustainable energy future requires systemic changes to the current energy landscape, which requires a collective understanding of many perspectives, multiple objectives and interrelated variables within an environment faced with many uncertainties and risks. To deal with the complexity at a local government level, stakeholder involvement is non-negotiable. This study developed a participatory planning approach for local energy sustainability by answering the following research question: What should a participatory planning approach at a local government level entail to enable a move towards a sustainable energy future? The research comprised a single instrumental qualitative case study, conducted with Hessequa Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa, combined with a literature review of public participation, collaborative governance, participatory approaches, and problem-structuring methods. The identified research objectives were addressed through three published papers in peerreviewed journals. A synthesis of planning and decision-making literature shows that a participatory approach should facilitate mutual understanding of the problem, incorporate all stakeholders’ values and, ultimately, provide better trust in and acceptance of future decisions. The research elicited success factors that can inform the development and implementation of a participatory planning approach (research objective 1). An investigation of how renewable energy forms part of the strategy of a local government concluded that renewable energy plays a role in the strategic objectives of local government, although it has not been explicitly discussed as a main priority during the development of the municipal Integrated Development Plan and strategy (research objective 2). In addition, participatory processes formed an integral part of the strategy formulation, but limitations were identified. To overcome some of these limitations, a visualised strategy is proposed for effective communication with the public (research objective 3). The final research objective focused on the development, application, and evaluation of a participatory approach to plan for local energy sustainability, namely EDAS: to Explore, Design and Act for Sustainability. The research showed that EDAS could be a way forward for local governments and other institutions to plan for local energy sustainability; however, more work is needed at a local level to enhance public and stakeholder participation and to improve the EDAS approach for institutionalisation (research objective 4). The findings from this study contribute to the research fields of public administration, stakeholder participation, soft operational research, and energy sustainability. The research provides a novel participatory approach, namely EDAS, to plan for local sustainability and through application provides a solid case study of a local municipality in its journey towards sustainable energy. It is recommended that more research be conducted on applying and evaluating the EDAS approach in other local government contexts as well as in public enterprises.
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    Explore, design and act for sustainability : a participatory planning approach for local energy sustainability
    (MDPI, 2020-01-23) Fouche, Elaine; Brent, Alan C.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper focuses planning approach for local energy sustainability. The characteristics of a complex problem were reviewed to establish that the problem of sustainable energy at a local government level is complex. In order to better manage complex problems, the literature shows that soft operational research or problem-structuring methods need to be applied, and hence these methods were used as a starting point for developing a participatory planning approach. The requirements for a planning approach were elicited, namely that the approach must be participative and inclusive, holistic, simple and transparent. In addition, the approach must include the identification and assessment of risks as part of the deliberation process, the development of a realistic action plan must be attainable at the end of the stakeholder engagement, the approach must be dynamic, and should be formalised with clear institutional arrangements. A novel participatory approach, namely EDAS—to Explore, Design and Act for Sustainability—was then developed, applied, and evaluated as part of a case study with a local municipality in theWestern Cape Province of South Africa. The insights are relevant not only for local governments, but for any institution on a journey towards sustainability.
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    Journey towards renewable energy for sustainable development at the local government level : the case of Hessequa Municipality in South Africa
    (MDPI, 2019) Fouche, Elaine; Brent, Alan C.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of the research on which this article reports was to investigate how renewable energy forms part of the strategy of a local government, and to evaluate how participatory processes are utilised in the development and communication of this municipal strategy. The research was conducted with Hessequa Municipality, a local authority situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A new aspect of the research was an attempt to consider renewable energy options as part of the municipal strategy, and not as a standalone project. Action research was undertaken and the resulting qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Cognitive mapping was used to display the data and to analyse the causal relationships between different strategic themes. The causal relationships explicitly show that many opportunities for renewable energy solutions are evident in the form of: biomass-to-energy, low-carbon local economic development, small-scale embedded generation, waste-to-energy, and feed-in tariffs. The barriers for implementation are aging infrastructure and financial and legislative constraints. Participatory processes formed an integral part of the strategy formulation, and a unique visualised strategy was developed for communication with local citizens—a first for a local municipality in South Africa.