Awareness of Climate-Smart Energy Technologies

The indicator assesses the proportion of the target group members who are aware of the promoted climate-smart energy technologies (such as solar lamps, domestic biodigesters, improved cooking stoves, or building insulations) and the benefits they provide. The data helps you design your promotion activities and evaluate their effectiveness and reach.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of your target group members:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

The phrasing of the question depends on what you are asking about, for example:

Q1: Have you ever seen or heard about this [show the technology or a photo of it]?

A1: yes / no / is not sure           

(ask the following question only if the previous answer is YES; the question is used to verify whether the person is really aware of the technology)

Q2: Can you please tell me what you know about this technology?

A2: _

1) yes, the respondent is aware of the [specify the technology]

2) no, the respondent does not appear to be aware of the [specify the technology]

(ask the following question only if the respondent is truly aware of the technology)

Q3: Do you think there are any benefits to using [specify the technology]?

A3: yes / no

(ask the following questions only if the previous answer is YES)

Q4: What would you say are its most important benefits?

A4: list the key benefits your intervention promotes - one benefit per answer (ensure that enumerators do not read them to the respondents); include an option "other - specify: .............................."

Note: It is VERY important that you keep probing: “What other benefits do you see?”; “Anything else?”

To calculate the indicator’s value:

  - decide on the number (or type) of promoted benefits a respondent needs to know to be considered as “aware of the benefits” (be realistic and do not make the threshold too high)

  - count the number of respondents who can state at least the minimum number of promoted benefits

  - divide this by the total number of respondents (including those who did not know the promoted technology)

  - multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage

Disaggregate the data by the respondents’ gender, age group, location, wealth and other criteria relevant to the context and focus of your intervention.

1) If you need to assess awareness of several different technologies, decide how many technologies (and their benefits) a respondent needs to be aware of in order to be considered ‘aware of the promoted technologies and their main benefits’. When preparing the survey, use Q1 – Q4 for each of the assessed technologies. During the analysis stage, count the percentage of respondents who were aware of the minimum number of technologies and their benefits.

2) It is recommended that you report separately the percentage of respondents who:

  - are aware of the technology but not of its benefits

  - are aware of the technology and at the same time are aware of the minimum number of key benefits

  - are aware of each of the different benefits that your project promotes (for example, how many said that a certain technology saves them time, how many said that it is more convenient to use, how many said that it saves them money, etc.)

Using such data can sharpen the focus and increase the effectiveness of any promotional activities.

3) It is very important that the enumerators are well-trained in probing methods, so that the respondents mention all the benefits they are aware of. Without proper probing, it is likely that they might forget to mention some of the benefits they know. At the same time, the probing must be done in a sensitive, non-leading manner, so that respondents do not feel pushed into providing a certain answer. 

4) If you are interested in whether the respondent is aware of a certain type of benefits (e.g. environmental or health benefits), you can either:

   - narrow down Q4 (and also the entire indicator) to focus on one type of benefit only (e.g. health); or

   - divide it into sub-questions, each asking about a different type of benefits. 

5) Also consider collecting and analysing data on who people heard about the technology from / where they saw the technology. This might help you understand whether any changes in people's awareness can be attributed to your intervention.

6) Coordinating the collection of this data with any promotion campaigns or initiatives will help you assess their effectiveness.