SARI/E Small Grants Program
The SARI/Energy Small Grants Program was aimed to foster institutional relationships among not-for-profit, training, academic, research and advocacy organizations of South Asia for regional energy cooperation. Winrock International India, USA, Winrock International India, and Institute for International Education (IIE) partnered in this initiative. The specific objectives of the SARI/Energy Small Grants Program were to: Increase regional cooperation in the energy sector; Increase engagement of local partners who can influence policy in regional cooperation and energy access; Promote focused capacity building; Develop proof-of-concept of innovative research ideas; Promote integration of key developmental issues (e.g. energy/water, energy/security, energy/income generation); and contribute concrete inputs to the broader SARI/Energy program.

The SARI/Energy Small Grants Program conducted five rounds of grants in seven South Asian countries– Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka - that have enabled increased access to energy and regional cooperation in the energy sector. The 38 grant projects totaling over $900,000 focused on issues that are important to regional cooperation in sustainable energy including: Energy and Water; Renewable Energy; the Power Sector; Energy Efficiency; the Energy Sector; Rural Electrification; and Energy and Security.

Overall, the grants promoted the implementation of effective policies and agreements for cross-border cooperation on sustainable energy by: Promoting awareness of prospects & benefits of energy trade among utility planners, engineers, academia, policy makers, NGOs, and consumers; Enhancing the understanding of key stakeholders to identify problems (technical, economic, political, social) & potential solutions regarding energy cooperation and access; Ensuring shared knowledge and skills & create networking opportunities for stakeholders involved in developing technical, economic, political & social infrastructure for regional energy transactions, both central and decentralized (on-grid and off-grid); Developing models for energy access that can be replicated throughout the region.

Twelve volumes of SARI/Energy Small Grants Program were published, with the first issue in August 2003. Contents included interviews/ viewpoints of experts in the region, the SARI/Energy Small Grant request for proposals (RFP) details, details of grants awarded and their progress, Fourthcoming events, and other announcements.

By working together with Nexant Inc., the Small Grants home page (www.sari-energy.org/SmallGrants) was regularly updated. Sections include an overview of the program, details on project partners and grantees, their final reports, RFP details, Fourthcoming events, the newsletters, press releases, and relevant contact information.

Four Regional Grantees Meetings were held in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal with the objective to foster inter-regional information sharing; for grantees and partners to share training and research outcomes to reach agreements on workable models to increase regional energy cooperation and trade; to help grantees form relationships with each other; and to increase networking and knowledge-sharing among organizations and professionals with common goals within the South Asian region.

The final outreach report or compendium of activities that synthesized the project findings, best practices, and lessons learned of all the projects. Evaluation forms were sent to each grantee for updates. This report is shared (soft and hard copies) with the grantees and other SARI/Energy partners, donor agencies and stakeholders.