What is the Just Infrastructure Lab programme?

The Just Infrastructure Lab programme (JIL) is an EWB-SA programme that utilises a project-centric approach to support community-based organisations (community partners) to be infrastructurally resilient. The Just Infrastructure Lab utilizes EWB-SA’s network of engineers, students, and industry partners to work with community partners to develop resilient infrastructure plans and implement critical solar, water and architectural (building compliance) projects for community-benefiting facilities such as children’s homes, with plans to expand to other fields such as agriculture. Providing the community partners with clarity on priority infrastructure and professional recommendations that can support future fundraising activities.

In South Africa, there is a lack of attention given to using technology to develop innovative solutions for under-served communities. This is particularly true for solutions that have the potential to scale across the country. Community-benefiting facilities such as Child and Youth Care centers face challenges with providing adequate sanitation and security when basic services such as electricity are interrupted. The impacts of load shedding and water supply challenges are magnified by higher residential densities witnessed in these facilities, for instance a power outage, which shuts down cameras within a children’s home, could impact on children’s safety within the facility due to unmonitored bullying or external intrusions. 

The JIL Programme’s Objectives are: 

  • To design and build innovative socio-technical solutions to improve the infrastructural resilience of facilities benefiting underserved communities.
  • To give young engineers and students first-hand experience in project-based solutions development in solar, water and architectural (building compliance) projects.

A key idea behind the programme is that complex community challenges require a “socio-technical systems” approach – it’s only with a deep understanding of the social dynamics of the challenges faced by a community, that technology can be used to improve the lives of people. Thus, EWB-SA’s Human Centred Design (HCD) Thinking principles are central to the process followed for each JIL project.

history of the jil programme

The JIL programme is an evolution of EWB-SA’s social impact infrastructure projects through learnings from previous versions of the programme. The original version of JIL was called the Design a Difference (DAD) programme launched in 2020, with a very broad focus of “mostly, but not exclusively, infrastructure related projects in water, electricity, transportation, buildings, healthcare and education infrastructure etc.”. 

The Design a Difference programme was rebranded to the Just Energy Transition Lab (JET Lab) in 2021. This was to reduce the scope to focus specifically on energy transition for underserved communities, with flagship projects such as the “Non-Profit Solar Project”, using an independent power producer model to install and maintain rooftop solar equipment for NGOs that care for underserved and vulnerable people. To read on this initial rebranding and the founding ideas behind the programme, please click through to this blog post. 

Focusing exclusively on independent power production proved to be too narrow, as many facilities geared to benefit from the JET Lab had critical water and building infrastructure challenges that EWB-SA’s network had the capacity to address. So, to incorporate these legitimate infrastructure needs, the JET Lab evolved into its current state: the Just Infrastructure Lab (JIL), addressing prevalent water and building infrastructure challenges when implementing electricity solutions for NGOs that care for underserved and vulnerable people. 

What projects are in the programme?

Kids Haven

Focus: Water

Kids Haven is a children’s home in Benoni (Gauteng, South Africa) which provides care for children with street connections and children in crisis (including homeless and vulnerable children). As with other establishments of its type, securing funding is crucial to continuing and improving its operations. 

Although the initial project contact with Kid’s Haven was focused on supporting them with reducing their energy costs (which would also respond to the impact of the national loadshedding crisis), it became apparent that a more pressing infrastructural priority for them were the existing water-pressure and water supply related challenges.

Achievements

This project is still on-going. Some of the activities that have been completed so far include:-

  • Community Partner (CP) Engagement & definition Scope of Work
  • This included a current state and research workshop with the CP in addition to the technical site visit activities
  • Architectural inputs were also valuable to ensuring building compliance
  • Selection of Service Provider for work to be completed 
  • Consisting of a series of technical review meetings to confirm the final works agreement

Impact

  • Prioritisation and technical scoping of the water challenges have been instrumental in guiding and supporting the organisation’s maintenance projects
  • Architectural inputs were valuable to ensuring building and other regulatory compliance

CHANCE Children’s Home

Focus: Energy

CHANCE Children’s Home in South Africa provides care for children that are orphaned, neglected, or abused. In existence for over 24 years now, the Home provides shelter to 72 children. It is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, located in Nigel, Gauteng.  

Opportunity

The Home has historically been operating from government funding, which covered the majority of their expenses, with the rest being funded by donations. During the COVID-19 crisis, donations have reduced dramatically, creating significant financial challenges.

The Home is looking for ways to reduce their costs and has identified their electricity costs as a source of savings. The aim of the project was to reduce their electricity costs, by an average of 33%.

Achievements

The project has successfully been able to conclude the installation and O&M plans for the solar plant. The plant has been operational since 2021 with continuous O&M support being offered by the project. 

These activities included the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of a 32 KW solar PV system at the Home. 

  • The completion of Phase 2 of the project, entailed the finalisation of the Operation and Maintenance contracts for the plant. 
  • Phase 2 is a real differentiator on this project, since it puts a plan in place that ensures that the home will receive maximum benefit from the plant over its 15-year lifespan. 

Impact

Since installation, the plant has been able to generate a little over 60 000 kWh of renewable energy, which equate to close to R173 000 of calculated savings towards CHANCE’s electricity bill over the 3 years of project operation.

Bicycles in Makers Valley

Focus: Mobility; Engineering Education

This programme was based in the Makers Valley area which is in the east of the Johannesburg CBD. The project intended to address the mobility challenges in the area through the exploration of bicycles as potential vehicles to respond to this design challenge. 

The primary community partner in this project was the Makers Valley Partnership (MVP). (This relationship also facilitated the introduction to other potential partners in the area, such as the Makers Valley Steering Committee). 

The project intended to involve engineering students in working communities towards social impact. Students were briefed on design challenge and they were involved in scoping and proposing conceptual design solutions to address the presenting mobility challenges in the area. The project also presented the opportunity for vacation work which involved desktop research student engagement.

Achievements

  • Successful partnership between academic (University of the Witwatersrand) and community (Makers Valley) stakeholders
  • Authentic assessment based project design and student development 
  • Concept generation to presenting community mobility-related challenges
  • Community Partner was involved at every stage of the project development and were responsible for selecting the promising concepts

Impact:

  • Active engagement of students with community challenges
  • Fostering relationships between academia and community

Towards a non-profit IPP

How might we use the “Independent Power Producer” (IPP) model to bring the benefits of cheaper, renewable energy to non-governmental organisations that care for the under-served?

That’s the design question that we’re tackling in this project. This is an exciting opportunity to work on an idea that may prove very helpful to Children’s Homes, Frail Care Facilities, Shelters for Women, and other NGOs caring for vulnerable and under-served people. Click through to the project page to learn more.