Our Theory of Change
INSPIRE’s Theory of Change outlines pathways toward a credible and sustained just renewable energy transition in South Africa and across the African continent.
We seek to shift conventional social performance in host communities to trusted, impactful, and co-designed socio-economic benefit-sharing models that deliver long-term community benefits and secure the renewable energy sector’s legitimacy.
INSPIRE’s approach empowers the renewable energy sector by strengthening Social Performance through four core strategies: building practitioner skills, generating actionable insights, piloting scalable community-level interventions, and fostering collaborative learning. We work with companies, community shareholders, regulators, and other key partners to support the adoption of effective and inclusive practices that deliver meaningful socio-economic outcomes.
We recognise that achieving this requires tailored strategies for the renewable energy sector’s diverse stakeholders. That’s why we focus on fostering trusted relationships, building capacity, and aligning around shared goals to support impactful practice and policy. While we currently prioritise implementation support and capacity-building, we are actively working to deepen our engagement with government at all levels – including international – to sustain progress and amplify impact.
INSPIRE Programme Areas
Convene strategic collaborations and partnerships in the renewable energy ecosystem
Build renewable energy social performance capacity
Research and generate social performance knowledge
Innovate replicable and scalable socio-economic development models for amplified community impact
Advocate for and codify social performance good practice
RE Ecosytem Outcomes
Increased renewable energy sector collaboration through collaborative learning platforms and social performance communities of practice.
Skilled, resourced and empowered social performance practitioners and community organisations.
Evidence based analysis of and insights into renewable energy social performance for continuous improvements on impact.
Replicable and scalable socio economic development models for amplified impact in renewable energy communities.
Shared understanding within the renewable energy ecosystem on defining and realising social performance success.
RE Ecosytem Change
Social practitioners and community organisations providing skills, expertise and models for effective renewable energy social performance.
Renewable energy sector and state oversight bodies understanding and empowering effective social performance practices and approaches.
Impacts
Positive sustainable socio economic benefits for communities
The renewable energy sector is a trusted partner in the just energy transition