| Abstract |
The study was conceived with the aim of investigating the role of information access and utilization for capacity building in geothermal energy development in relation to the proposed Africa Geothermal Centre of Excellence. The study was initiated on the fact that access to and utilization of information is so fundamental for effective capacity building through teaching and learning and that specialized human resource capacity has been identified as a hindrance to exploitation of geothermal energy largely as a result of lack of available training institutions for geothermal sciences and engineering in the region. The objectives of the study were to determine the need for provision of information services, to determine the sources and channels of information, to establish the likely challenges of information access and utilization and provide recommendations and way forward for improving information access and utilization for capacity building in the proposed Africa Geothermal Centre of Excellence. The study is work in progress and underscores the importance of information access and utilization for capacity building in geothermal energy development. It describes and supports an inclusive need for information access and utilization, demonstrates how and identifies the sources of information, the information needs of different stakeholders in the geothermal energy subsector for capacity building in the proposed Africa Geothermal Centre of Excellence (AGCE). The result of the study indicates that information access and utilization is so pertinent in capacity building. The results of the findings show that the establishment of the ARGeo facility is a good platform for information access and utilization. Additionally, conference and workshops, the established geothermal database and online databases and electronic libraries are excellence sources of information that can enhance teaching and learning in the proposed African Geothermal Centre of Excellence. The study suggests that aggressive actions of information access and utilization ought to be in place to address the identified training needs in the field of geothermal energy development calling upon the inclusion of information scientists to provide an insight on the aspects of information access and utilization. The study concludes that in order to provide the skills and train actors in the geothermal industry for them to perform effectively, access to information and knowledge utilization is inevitable. |