Strengthening Partnerships

Developing and maintaining partnerships in both the North and the South is an efficient and effective way to share knowledge and experience, and as such lays the groundwork for sustainable, long-term sector development.

Developing Operational Partnerships

With the recognition that professional sector support services at national level are a key factor in the success of sector development, a comprehensive programme has been initiated by IRC, in which capacity building of sector agencies is at the forefront.

As part of this programme, a study of resources and management (STREAM) has begun, with the aim of gaining insight into the processes and experiences around the development and functioning of water supply and sanitation resource centres in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

The project, funded by DGIS, covers a two-year period. Case study research will be carried out by organizations from each of the four regions. Subsequently, one global and four open regional meetings will be held to share knowledge and experiences and consolidate the lessons learned, recommendations, and possible follow-up activities.

Partners in the South

Two long-standing IRC partners in the South are CINARA in Colombia (since 1985) and NETWAS International in Kenya (since 1989). Both have evolved into successful sector resource centres, and offer support services such as training programmes and documentation services, with outreach in their respective regions.

Through joint research projects, innovative short courses, joint publications and information exchange, IRC continues to strengthen its ties with CINARA and NETWAS International. The latter has also, together with IRC, established a new centre in Uganda, which offers joint training courses and advisory services.

Training courses have proven to be a solid basis for further cooperation with other centres in the South. With CREPA in Burkina Faso, joint training courses led to a framework for collaboration for establishment of a documentation and information centre, in which ETSHER and EIER are also involved. With PAID/Cameroon and IPD/AOS (Burkina Faso), where joint training courses have been given since 1991, community management research has been added as an area of collaboration.

In Asia, the Nashik Research and Training Centre in India and Sarvodaya Rural Technical Services in Sri Lanka are strong partners in training. In Kerala, India, discussions are underway regarding incorporation of a sector resource centre function into the structure of the Socio-Economic Units Foundation.

Partnerships have also lead to fruitful research activities, as has been the case with the community management research done with the Aga Khan Health Service in Pakistan, Agua del Pueblo in Guatemala, CINARA in Colombia, PAID in Cameroon, Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH), and NETWAS International in Kenya. A more recent partner is TREND, in Ghana, with whom joint projects on monitoring systems development have been initiated, and research activities related to capacity building in low-income urban areas are being formulated.

Others with whom new partnerships are being forged are IWSD in Zimbabwe, and NCWSTI in South Africa. These two institutes, as well as TREND, are all ITN Africa centres. At the ITN Africa Conference in Pretoria, a paper was presented entitled Partnerships in Local Capacity Building, emphasizing the collaborative role IRC and local partners can play in addressing this challenge.

International Partners

IRC has a long-standing relationship with the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. The Council provides an important platform in the sector, which brings together NGOs, donor agencies, professional institutes and others. IRC actively participates in the working groups, networks and task forces of the Council. These activities provide IRC an opportunity to strengthen its ties with the various organizations involved, as well as contributing to its research and development work.

With the Secretariat of the WSSCC discussions were started on IRC support to the Council's home page, and the linked INTERWATER and GESI home pages, as well as a news service on the Internet. The Council has also requested IRC support in setting up a documentation system for the Council and its regional chapters.

With its other partners, which are represented on IRC's Governing Board, discussions have been initiated to jointly develop new initiatives. With UNICEF headquarters longer-term collaboration was agreed late in the year, on the Global Environmental Sanitation Initiative and on school sanitation promotion. A manual on school sanitation and hygiene education was developed and discussions are underway to embark on a project that emphasizes improving school sanitation and hygiene education in schools in six countries. The project aims to produce guidelines in three languages, newsletters, a web page on school sanitation, an interactive CD-ROM, low-cost teaching aids, and low-cost technology options for school sanitation and hygiene education.

With WHO discussions continue on operation and maintenance activities at country level, and with the UNDP-World Bank Water and Sanitation Program, with whom IRC produces the annual abstract journal Woman, Water, Sanitation, work has begun on a gender initiative.

Partners Close to Home

For Netherlands-based institutions, IRC has always played a role in information exchange, through its Documentation Unit, its training programmes and guest lectures.

The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) in the Hague is an important source of participants in IRC's briefing programmes. Other close contacts are the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam, the Institute for Housing Studies in Rotterdam, and the Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in the Hague, all of which receive training inputs, lectures and guidance for students.

With the Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (IHE) in Delft, IRC has been cooperating in the training sphere for several years. Areas of current collaboration include post-graduate courses in Delft and in Cali, Colombia; input to IHE's course on rural water management; and assistance to MsC and PhD students at IHE.

Bundling the complementary skills of each institute could allow IHE and IRC to respond even more effectively to the needs of the water and sanitation sector, so in 1997 a formal agreement was reached with a view to more intensive collaboration during the coming five years. Promoting capacity building; enhancing education and training activities; improving access to sector information; and lending support to institutions in developing countries are the main objectives of the relationship.

In 1998, IHE will provide inputs to IRC activities related to low-income urban areas and water resources management, and IRC will contribute a segment on community-oriented management in a two-week Operations and Project Management course, part of a one-year Sector and Utilities Management course. Development of a joint training course exploring the interfaces between utility and community management is also planned in the near future.