The thesis examines the process of technical change in industrialized and developing country situations, and extracts lessons from this analysis for the design and implementation of forest energy development programmes. It notes how the role of technology users is of great importance in innovation" whether this process involves "high technology" development in large, competitive firms, or "appropriate technology" development to meet basic needs in poor, rural communiti~s. In reviewing the results of the past ten years of work in renewable energy programmes in developing nations, it finds that a major factor in the poor performance of such work is the lack of provision for user participation in innovation. Forest energy development programmes, which have been an important part of renewable energy development assistance, also have suffered from this insufficient attention to technology users. It is postulated that new approaches to forest energy development that provide for a more interactive relationship between R&D establishments and technology Llsers will have greater. success in bringing about innovations in this sector. The experience of charcoal production, charcoal stove, and forestry development under the Sudan Renewable Energy Project, supported by the Sudan Energy Research Council and the US Agency for International Development, demonstrates the positive results of just this sort of interactive innovation strategy. The SREP, in its ~ priori commitment to user participation, uncovers valuable resources of indigenous technical knowledge and skills, which play an integral part in the design and dissemination of these 3 forest energy technologies. The project's success provides an empirical justification of the importance of technology users to the innovation process, and its example h~s larger implications for renewable energy development, government R&D management, and development assistance policy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:375856 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | Gamser, M. S. |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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