Frequently Asked Questions

The CLASP Policy Resource Center (CPRC) is managed through the collaboration of CLASP's Climate, Communications, Research, and Clean Energy Access teams. Learn more about the team on the CLASP website.

Users can expect routine updates by country every 6-18 months and ad-hoc updates as soon we become aware of new policies or policy revisions. If you notice that a policy is missing or needs an update, please submit your feedback! Please note that whenever you return to the site, you will need to clear your browser's cache in order to ensure you are seeing the most up-to-date information.

To find more information on our methodology for policy research and collection, please visit our Methodology page.

We welcome users’ feedback! If you wish to share your feedback or submit new or revised policy information, please fill out our Feedback & Updates form.

Yes, users can subscribe to CPRC database updates (for policy updates) and to CPRC News (for new resources, partnerships, and events) by filling out the Feedback & Updates form. CLASP expects to share a summary of updates every 1-2 months.

The CPRC Database covers Quality Standards for off-grid products (e.g., small solar-powered electronics; biomass and solar stoves; off-grid household; or lite commercial refrigerators etc.). These products are typically powered by renewable energy sources, like solar, and are used in areas where there is no electricity or the electricity supply is intermittent. More information about off-grid solar appliances and equipment can be found on VeraSol.org and EfficiencyforAccess.org.

The U.S., Samoa, Vietnam, and Singapore have some individual policies that cover multiple products with differing information (e.g., adopted and revised dates). In these cases, you can find a Product Status table at the bottom of the parent policy's Policy Detail page. Please note that information displayed in the Policy Search table will not fully reflect the scope of these policies.

Product Status tables detailing child policies of a parent policy cannot currently be downloaded through either the Policy Search or Policy Details pages due to difficulty with formatting. Please reference the Product Status table at the bottom of the Policy Detail page for such policies.

Yes, you can use the magnifying lens button in the top right corner of any CPRC page to search the whole CPRC website, including pages outside of the database. The search function is helpful if you are looking for specific key terms, or to see if the CPRC covers a topic of your interest.

You can look for policies in the CPRC database in three ways:

1) Pre-selected Search Based on Key Topics
Using the left and right arrows on the Homepage, scroll through the call-out boxes, which are grouped by product category or policy area. Clicking on a call-out box will take you to the Policy Search table with the filters corresponding to your selection applied.

2) Targeted Search
Click on the Search Policies button at the top right corner of any CPRC page to open a new Policy Search page. From there, use the filter panel on the lefthand side of the page to refine your search by Geography, Products Covered, and more.

3) Using Key Words
You can use the magnifying lens button in the top right corner of any CPRC page to search the whole CPRC website. The search function is helpful if you are looking for specific key terms, or to see if the CPRC covers a topic of your interest.

From the Policy Search page, you can use the filter panel on the lefthand side of the page to refine your search by Geography, Products Covered, and more. For a detailed guide on how to apply and modify filters to refine your search results, please see our Refining Search Results page.

In the Policy Search table, click on a Policy Title to visit the Policy Detail page for the policy of interest. Policy Detail pages contain all the available information related to each policy, including the information available in the search results table and more. For example, you can see the policy description and scope, as well as the policy source and label pictures when applicable and available. 

We recommend opening Policy Detail pages in a new tab. If you open the page in the same tab and press the back button, your search filters will be retained but you will lose your place if you are looking at a policy beyond the 'Load More' button.

For policies in the U.S., Samoa, Vietnam, and Singapore that cover multiple products with differing information (i.e., adopted and revised dates), you can find a Product Status table at the bottom of the parent policy's Policy Detail page.

Users can download policy information in two ways:

1) Download search results from the Policy Search table
You can download your search results in .xlsx format from the Search Policies page by clicking Download XLSX. Note, only the results that are displayed in the search results table will be downloaded. Use Show/Hide Columns to add/remove fields that you would like to download.

2) Download information from the Policy Detail page
To download details in .xlsx format for a single policy, select Download the data on the Policy Detail page.

Note: For policies in the U.S., Samoa, Vietnam, and Singapore that cover multiple products with differing information (i.e., adopted and revised dates), you can find a Product Status table at the bottom of the parent policy's Policy Detail page. These child policies will not be included in either Policy Search or Policy Detail downloads due to difficulty with formatting.

If you are returning to the CPRC database, you will need to clear your web browser's cache in order to ensure you are seeing the most up-to-date information. Otherwise, your browser may load outdated content that has been stored in your web browser's cache from a previous visit.