A multi-stakeholder driven energy solutions framework for rural and remote areas in developing countries. A scoping review

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Provides a structured framework for analyzing multi-stakeholder dynamics in rural energy transitions, useful for further empirical research.

🏢実務担当者:Offers practical guidance on designing participatory processes for rural renewable projects, though context-specific adaptation is needed.

🏛政策担当者:Highlights the importance of governance and community ownership for sustainable energy access, informing rural electrification policies.

Introduction Multi-stakeholder community engagement is seen as essential to sustainable development, yet in practice it remains superficial, fragmented, and structurally constrained. In rural and marginalized contexts, engagement rarely extends beyond consultation, failing to redistribute decision-making power or integrate scientific expertise with lived experience. Although decentralized renewable energy systems have expanded rapidly, their sustainability is undermined by weak institutional capacity, financing constraints, technological fragmentation, and inadequate participatory integration. Current models compartmentalize governance, technical design, financing, and social acceptance, producing disjointed interventions that limit scalability and long-term impact. The field lacks a coherent framework capable of operationalizing structured, context-sensitive multi-stakeholder engagement in renewable energy planning. To confront this gap, we conducted a scoping review for the development of Community Engagement Framework for transformative energy transitions in rural and remote communities. Materials and methods The study adopts a scoping review methodology based on Arksey and O’Malley (2005) intending to map existing literature and identify key themes. A total of 1,213 records were identified through searches of Google Scholar, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar. After screening and eligibility assessment, 21 studies met the predefined inclusion criteria, focusing on community engagement in rural energy projects in African developing countries. Results and discussion Our findings stress that energy solutions in rural settings relies on inclusive, trust-based engagement, transforming users into co-creators. Results showed that multi-stakeholder collaboration bolsters social legitimacy, technical resilience, and sustainability. The results further revealed that, multi-stakeholder should be anchored on the following pillars i.e., good governance, community participation and ownership, technical system design, sustainable financing mechanisms, and socio-economic impact integration This review lays the groundwork for a structured multi-stakeholder that advances renewable energy innovation in rural contexts, offering scholarly insights and practical guidance for sustainability and acceptance.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2026.1823867first seen 2026-07-05 04:44:52