A successful energy efficiency program should be based on four functional pillars:

• Driving demand for energy efficiency upgrades.
• Ensuring access to financing products for energy efficiency upgrades.
• Identifying or developing a robust workforce of energy professionals.
• Evaluating key program metrics to track progress and inform program design.

Step-by-step guidance for developing discrete plans of action for each of these pillars is provided through the links above.

An overall implementation plan should be developed from the outset to manage the entire process. An implementation plan empowers program managers to identify all tasks required across the four pillars (e.g., marketing, financing, workforce, and program metrics) and to specify their sequence, their expected duration, and the personnel responsible.

Each pillar?marketing, financing, workforce, and evaluation?requires its own steps for development, but an implementation plan will help you coordinate and balance all activities so that your program successfully meets its goals and objectives.

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PROCESS MAPPING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

Austin Energy's detailed planning process was critical to the successful launch of its Clean Energy Accelerator Program. Austin Energy developed a series of process flow charts that were instrumental in finding program weaknesses and potential bottlenecks and making sure the right people were in place to address problems.