The key objective of the African Energy Policy Research Network (AFREPREN/FWD) is to strengthen local research capacity and to harness it in the service of energy policy making and planning . Initiated in 1987, AFREPREN/FWD is a collective regional response to the widespread concern over the weak link between energy research and the formulation and implementation of energy policy in Africa
AFREPREN/FWD has successfully implemented over 90 research projects involving 234 African researchers and policy makers in 19 countries of Eastern and Southern Africa and forged close collaborative links with West, Central and North African energy researchers and policy makers. Findings of the research undertaken by AFREPREN/FWD have been published in 12 major publications and over 280 working papers as well as numerous journal articles, research reports, dossiers and newsletters. Until 1994, the AFREPREN/FWD Researchers Programme was grouped around six major energy subject areas, namely:
Institutions and Planning
Renewable energy technologies
Biomass energy
Electricity
Oil and Gas
Coal and Gasification
In the 1995-98 phase, the major themes of the AFREPREN/FWD were:
Institutions
Finance and Markets
Capacity Building
Management and Efficiency
Local and Regional Environmental Impact of Energy
Climate Change and Energy