Research Assistant contribution to the MIT Resilient Communities Lab with Professor Janelle Knox Hayes in conjunction with Rose Winer (MCP'23) , Shivali Gowda (MCP '23), Jungwoo Chun (MIT PhD '22), Shekhar Chandra (MIT PhD '22), Nolen Huggs (MCP '24) | 2021-23
The research team interviewed 41 community-based organizations (CBOs) working on solar in low- and moderate-income communities (LMI) in the US to determine challenges, opportunities, communication barriers, motivations, and the nature of relationships of CBOs with state and local governments. These interview transcripts were open coded to identify, categorize, and determine the predominance of CBO typology and key concepts. The key concepts coded included but were not limited to: types of opportunities, challenges, motivations, relevant policies, and nature of relationships. Axial coding was then performed to relate the open codes to one another and to identify relationships. In this article, we use documentary evidence of the CBOs, their organizational structures, and their organizational goals to develop a preliminary typology of these organizations. Specifically, we explore the correlation between key typologies such as tenure, staff capacity, population served, organizational structure, and region with the organizational activities performed by solar related community-based organization.s, such as advocacy, education, outreach, planning, and installation. Our preliminary observations and hypotheses are illustrative of our interview sample and will be tested further through the administration of a larger nationwide survey.
Draft: In progress
Spatial distribution of Solar CBOs and priorities across the USA. Credits: Shivali Gowda, Ipshita Karmakar,Janelle Knox Hayes.