Expectations and perceptions of rural electrification: A comparison of the providers’ and beneficiaries’ cognitive maps in Rural Sumba, Indonesia

Abstract

The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) provide a global common vision for development that achieves equality and equity. SDG 7 on energy has motivated development actors worldwide to promote universal electricity access through rural electrification projects. However, implementing technological interventions in rural areas can be challenging due to differences in worldviews between implementing agencies and cultural communities in which the beneficiaries are embedded. These differences increase complexity of both technology and knowledge transfer as it involves a negotiation of meaning and an adjustment of norms. This study aims to investigate the influence of long-existing cultural practices on the knowledge transfer process for implementation of a renewable energy rural electricity project on Sumba Island in Indonesia. The development actors' expectations and the beneficiaries' perceptions are compared to explore the extent to which knowledge has been transferred. We employ a semi-quantitative method called fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) to obtain a comparable measurement that is qualitatively explainable. This method enables us to generate a simple statistical analysis based on sixteen key informant interviews. We also generate a belief-based model to predict the electricity access outcomes if the beneficiaries remained on the current level of knowledge. The analysis revealed differences between the providers' expectations and perceptions of the beneficiaries, which helps to explain why predicted electricity access outcomes do not meet expectations. The qualitative analysis also enables us to identify barriers to achieving SDG7 on Sumba Island. We argue that the subsistence nature of beneficiaries' economic practices limits expectations of becoming business entrepreneurs who can pay for electricity tariffs.