National ministries and local energy companies want to know more about RET and their usage, e.g. from countries such as Germany, regarded as a pioneer in the research and application of RET. These stakeholders will profit from the analysis of regional RET needs, the development of public decision-making processes, the formulation of research policies and the development of roadmaps for the transition from conventional to renewable energy supplies. By setting up modern renewable energy technology programmes at universities and vocational and secondary education institutions, and implementing research policies, innovation will be promoted and capacity will be built for students and policy makers to analyse appropriate renewable energy sources (e.g. wind energy, solar PV, solar-thermal energy and bioenergy for power and heat generation) in specific regions, such as the two model regions, for example. The resulting experience will be accessible to the private sector (e.g. the tourist industry in the model region Okavango Delta, Botswana), so that it can exploit renewable energy resources to efficiently meet local needs.

Based on the project findings, a plan will be rolled out to transfer the lessons learned to the whole Southern African region. The NEED network is creating a know-how transfer platform and acts as a vehicle to interlink the relevant stakeholders, e.g. research institutions and political decision makers. Other public institutions, the private sector, the RET industry and the local community will benefit from the anchoring of renewable energies in research policies, as structures for introducing and promoting RET are set up, and the installation of RET is facilitated.