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| R Number: R7387 |
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| Contractor; GHK Research and Training | |
| Dates: May 2001 - March 2002 | |
Purpose and Outputs
The ultimate objective of the study is to develop general awareness of the need for a strategic information-based approach to sanitation planning. The experience in Bharatpur and elsewewhere has revealed that this is an urgent need. At present, many municipalities in South Asia and other parts of the world do not have a strong ‘planning’ culture, largely because existing incentives encourage the adoption of ad-hoc solutions to pressing problems.
In keeping with the strategic philosophy developed in the course of R6875, the immediate aims of the present research are to identify concrete options for moving towards this goal.
It will set out to achieve these aims by :
- Disseminating written material on the strategic approach;
- Holding a series of workshops on the approach, linked to ongoing projects and programmes; and
- Working with local training institutions to develop training courses designed to encourage greater use of strategic approaches to sanitation planning.
Specific written outputs will include a revised second edition of the guide to ‘Strategic Planning for Municipal Sanitation’. A second written output will be a summary note, not exceeding 20 pages in length, setting out the main findings from the R6875 research in a form that is accessible to policy makers and programme planners.
When conducting the workshops, the aim will be to explore the ways in which strategic principles can be incorporated into local processes. This will mean, for instance, exploration of the ways in which a strategic approach to sanitation can inform the MAPP process that is at the centre of the APUSP and also how it can inform moves towards decentralisation and improved municipal management in Pakistan. The focus of the training courses will be on process. Our experience is that traditional training tends to treat technical subjects in isolation from their context and this means that they are less effective than they might be. We believe that a focus on process can help to eliminate this problem.
Dissemination and uptake strategy
The dissemination and uptake strategy will involve the implementation of a number of linked initaitives, including:
- Distribution of a revised and improved Guide in both hard published form and via the internet. Discussions have started with publishers and there is interest in publishing the guide in book form.
- Production of a short version of the guide, setting out the key findings and recommendations of the research in a readily accessible form. There is a strong possibility that WSP would be interested in using this as a field note, to complement the Bharatpur field note that has already been produced. (
- Promotion of strategic concepts through the SANIGATE internet site.
- Linking of dissemination workshops and training programmes to ongoing projects and programmes, including the APUSP and CUSP in India. Also, linking workshops and training programmes to government priorities – for instance local government reform in Pakistan.
- Additional papers and articles, spelling out the key findings of the research, including a paper for a professional journal.
Research approach and methods
The research will be structured so that the various elements can inform one another. The workshops will be held first, so that comments and suggestions by participants can be fed back into the review of the Guide. The workshops will also be used to identify possible training institution partners for the development of training courses. The training materials will also draw on the contents of the Guide, as amended in the light of feedback from practitioners and workshop participants.
Each workshop will last 2-3 days and will involve field work in a suitable local location. Workshop participants will be encouraged to consider ways in which the lessons learnt might be applied in their own work situations. The workshops will use an interactive participatory approach, with the research team members encouraging the development of ideas around the basic principles and processes set out in the Guide. Following the workshops, debriefing sessions will be held with key local participants to assess lessons and explore options for follow-on training courses.
The review of the Guide will be carried out in London, drawing on comments and suggestions received by email, fax and through personal contact.
Local training institutions will play a major role in the development and testing of the training materials. The aim will be to link the formal aspects of the training courses with ‘project work’ based on the trainee’s own work experience. This will help to ensure that the trainees see the training as relevant rather than as a one-off exercise that has little to do with their day to day working lives.
Target Institutions and Beneficiaries
The research is targeted at the following groups:
- Those who are responsible for developing and shaping policy in general and sanitation policy in particular.
- Municipal planners, engineers and others who are charged with turning policy into practice at the municipal level.
- Trainers and educators who are responsible for developing the capacity to turn policies and principles into practice, including both those with responsibility for HRD strategy development and those who develop specific training courses.
The direct beneficiaries of the research will thus be secondary stakeholders - municipal engineers from government agencies, local and regional NGOs, consulting engineers and training institutions. There are clear indications from the responses already received to the municipal sanitation planning ‘Guide’ that representatives of international development agencies will also be interested in the results of the research. If secondary stakeholders adopt more strategic approaches to sanitation provision, the ultimate beneficiaries of the research will be poor people living in poorly serviced areas.
| Contact Details for Further Information Kevin Tayler Tel: 0171 736 8212 |