Breaking the Mold: Solar Sister's Decentralized Approach to Environmental Sustainability

Well-intentioned environment-focused development organizations often command operations for last-mile populations, overlooking the transformative potential of local leadership. Solar Sister stands apart, demonstrating a shift in evaluation practice in the environmental sector where the US team assumes a supportive role in M&E, allowing local leadership to drive impactful change. At the heart of Solar Sister’s decentralized approach lies its commitment to fostering local expertise and capacity building within the populations most affected by the climate crisis. Examples include establishing local M&E teams that champion evaluation and their own capacity building, developing localized solutions for data collection and verification, and utilizing reflective analysis practices to ensure voices across the organization are heard. In this session, Solar Sister will share concrete examples of how the organization has operationalized decentralized leadership across monitoring, evaluation, and learning, aiming to inspire a leadership shift in the environmental and clean energy space.
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