Smart Villages focusses on rural energy access and development with new insights on the real barriers to energy access in villages in developing countries – technological, financial, social and political – and how they can be overcome. We have chosen to focus on remote off-grid villages, where local solutions (home- or institution-based systems, and mini-grids) are both more realistic and cheaper than national grid extension. Our development model is an integrated bottom-up approach, which starts with the community, their capacity and priorities, and co-develops a set of sustainable and affordable solutions to help them address their own development priorities to achieve a lasting impact.