Clean Energy
Equity Index
United Nations Development Programme & IBM Service Corps Sustainability Accelerator
CONTEXT
Over the two-year Accelerator experience, Q4 2022 – Q4 2024, IBM will incorporate AI and geospatial analytics capabilities into UNDP GeoHub platform.
The target beneficiaries are vulnerable communities who lack reliable power in African countries where UNDP will work with governments to leverage these tools to implement a better public energy plan.
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IBMers and UNDP staff worked closely throughout the IBM Garage phase to lay the groundwork for this project. Enterprise Design Thinking methods were our guiding framework. Further, leveraging our design for AI toolkit enabled the team to build a foundational understanding of the data needs and implications of the AI model we were ultimately consulting for.
ACTION
IBMers and UNDP staff worked closely throughout the IBM Garage phase to lay the groundwork for this project. Enterprise Design Thinking methods were our guiding framework. Further, leveraging our design for AI toolkit enabled the team to build a foundational understanding of the data needs and implications of the AI model we were ultimately consulting for.
I led IBMers and UNDP staff through the process of mapping data sources and user needs, & built the golden thread narrative.
Persona slides for UNDP and regional government users
We started by working with our UNDP partners to identify the primary users of the index & develop personas.
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Andrea represented our primary users within the UNDP, and Matt represented our primary users within small national & regional governments.
Andrea needs to advise and advocate.
Matt needs to execute.
Impact statements for the Electricity Access Forecast and Clean Energy Equity Index
Next, we used a
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How might we _______ so that _______?
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paired with a
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We'll be successful when _________ .
statement to brainstorm our opportunities for impact with the UNDP. We used these impact statements to ground us as we moved forward in proposing a solution in our golden thread.
White boarding session to identify common phases of Matt & Andrea's processes
As-Is scenario mapping of Matts process
Aligned around our opportunities for impact, we set out to map the state-of-the-state.
To build a shared understanding of Matt & Andrea's typical processes, we identified common phases and steps that they would go through to identify hyper-local areas that currently do not have energy access and that forecasting shows will not in the short or long term.
For each phase, the UNDP identified what Matt & Andrea were doing and thinking, along with the data and systems they were accessing.
White boarding session to identify common phases of Matt & Andrea's processes
As-Is scenario mapping of Matts process
Mapping out the as-is scenarios for Matt and Andrea helped us to identify their greatest needs.
While some of us were crafting needs statements post as-is workshop, another group was mapping out the state-of-the-state for Geohub's data sources and architecture.
Together, we mapped the needs statements for our two initiatives directly to the data/architecture that was supporting our ability to meet those needs. Inversely, we were able to highlight gaps.
To-Be scenario mapping of Andrea and Matt's combined process
After mapping our data & needs statements, we revisited the scenarios that we had mapped for Andrea and Matt.
This time, we approached the scenarios as if Andrea and Matt had all of their needs met (armed with our new understanding of the data available to us).
Golden thread for Matt and Andrea
To tie it all together, we composed Matt & Andrea's future state in a Golden Thread narrative to serve as a north star for the implementation teams following us.
IMPACT
UNDP and IBM Corporate Social Responsibly agreed on the proposed solution, and leveraged the vision and roadmap the Garage team delivered to garner applications from development partners.In June 2023, Stoney Brook University was awarded a grant to support IBM and UNDP in bringing the Clean Energy Equity Index to life.
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GOLDEN THREAD
A people-first narrative that illustrated the desired outcomes for UNDP professionals and government officials.
TECHNICAL ROADMAP
Created with UNDP staff, & aligned directly to features prioritized from the Golden Thread.
CLEAN ENERGY EQUITY INDEX
Check out the live version of the map here!