Technical assistance (TA) programs can provide organizations and communities with the information, tools, and resources needed to support their development and resilience goals. The Energy Storage for Social Equity (ES4SE) TA program sought to empower undeserved communities through co-development of energy storage pathways and solutions to address community-defined challenges and needs. Evaluating the design, implementation, and outcomes of TA programs like ES4SE is critical to understanding whether program and participant goals were accomplished and how to adjust the TA approach to better meet participant needs. This evaluation explores the experiences and perceptions of community participants in the ES4SE TA program.
Twenty-four participants from the 14 communities in the first ES4SE cohort were surveyed using Q methodology. Q methodology integrates quantitative and qualitative research approaches to compare perspectives about an issue or experience. Participants were asked to rank 54 opinion statements that represented a range of possible experiences related to TA program development, implementation, and outcomes. After ranking the statements relative to one another, participants were asked about their statement rankings, lessons learned from TA, and recommendations for future programs. Statement rankings were compared using factor analysis and contextualized using quotes from participant discussion. The analysis and interpretation revealed three distinct factors, reflecting different perspectives among participants about their TA experience: those of Community Consultants, Project Specialists, and System Navigators.
Characterizing and comparing different participant experiences provides insight into how to improve future community-based TA by tailoring the program design and related services to the needs and preferences of participating communities. ES4SE program participants offered lessons learned and recommendations based on their own experience, which are organized by program stage: development, implementation, and outcomes. In some cases, these insights reflect achievements that should be built upon, whereas in others they represent missed opportunities or institutional constraints.
This evaluation demonstrates the overall performance of the ES4SE TA program in collaboratively assessing and addressing community challenges and needs across different energy development contexts, and more importantly, it identifies the diversity of participant experiences and advocates targeted ways to meet their needs through future TA programs. This technical memorandum provides further insight into these experiences and needs, and its findings provide lessons for community-based engagement beyond TA.