Development of a Municipal-Wide WASH Network for Quezon, Palawan

Q&A
Rating

2 participants | show more
PWX strategy

Rajesh Shah of Peer Water Exchange

This forum and the ratings have again surfaced an issue that needs to be clarified. PWX is a platform, a process, and a human network. By definition, it is a exchange where funders, implementers, observers, and others can come together. So, it does not restrict itself to one type of project or another. E.g. infrastructure or capacity buil...

This forum and the ratings have again surfaced an issue that needs to be clarified. PWX is a platform, a process, and a human network.

By definition, it is a exchange where funders, implementers, observers, and others can come together. So, it does not restrict itself to one type of project or another. E.g. infrastructure or capacity building or water or sanitation ...

The funders (Blue Planet, MSSCT, Row4Water, ...) use their criteria (which is currently project focused) to select projects out of the pool of ones already peer reviewed.

The strategy is to attract more and more funders and make this a vibrant exchange, more than a marketplace - that is collaborative, transparent, and efficient.

Peace,
Rajesh
- Gilles Corcos of Agua Para la Vida (APLV)
  
  All right Rajesh but your comment raises more questions than it answers. You say that the funders use their criteria which are currently project -focused. In fact the questions which applicants have to answer are very specifically project oriented, not capacity -building oriented or infrastrucrture -building oriented. To gauge the contri...
  
  All right Rajesh but your comment raises more questions than it answers. You say that the funders use their criteria which are currently project -focused. In fact the questions which applicants have to answer are very specifically project oriented, not capacity -building oriented or infrastrucrture -building oriented.
  To gauge the contribution that a fund seeker is likely to make to the business at hand (provide drinking water and hygiene to a population which does not have access to it), once you allow these fund seekers to be not implementers but intermediaries (capacity builders, or infrastructure fortifiers etc.). you need to completely restructure your set of questions about what they propose to do and right at the outset it becomes a lot more difficult to evaluate their contribution. Naturally I am not saying that capacity building or the ability to encourage and strengthen local governance and awareness of the need for public services is useless. What I am saying it that the tools for evaluating the real effectiveness of this type of intervention are not the ones you are using. And they are pretty difficult to develop. The length and nature of the questions raised by PWE members about this project should be enough to convince you of that.
  
  Cordially,
  Gilles
3 participants | show more
In response to Agua Para La Vida

Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop

I understand that this is a forum for engagement and learning. I don't seem to see any questions from APLV, so I'm not sure if there was real interest in learning more about our program, commenting on it or even offering insight. I don't suspect we will agree about the best way to implement a project since we are all working in different a...

I understand that this is a forum for engagement and learning. I don't seem to see any questions from APLV, so I'm not sure if there was real interest in learning more about our program, commenting on it or even offering insight. I don't suspect we will agree about the best way to implement a project since we are all working in different areas with very different issues and dynamics. I would very much invite you to ask questions when you are not clear or offer constructive feedback if you see something that you have experienced might be something we have to be wary about.

As far as our program being preposterous, I invite you to look at CWSA in Ghana, the IRC/Triple-S program in Uganda. These models are all about building capacity of all local government and civil society to engage in community-driven water supply. Granted, this may not work at all in Nicaragua which may be why it is not conceivable to you. t is working in the Philippines, and how we know that is because we have facilitated community implementation projects and some of the local government has not only asked us to work with them to create a MWTF, some have been able to get an executive order to create one and have invested in the village led projects.

As far as us being a funder and to be wary of us, ASD is the mother office of the office in the Philippines. We have staff working for the ASD (USA) office developing our international programs in the Philippines which I don't think is an unusual model. If you read a few of the other projects proposed in this round, you'll see that there are people who are answering the questions for their project proposal and they are either not in the field, or claim that they don't have the answers because they are not managing the project.

I respectfully ask that before you offer such a rating, that you at least try and engage in conversation to show that you are participating as a respectful member of the forum, open to learning, sharing and offering constructive feedback. The fact that you did not even ask one question to clarify any of your concerns, makes me wonder what your intention is as a member of this forum.

I can say that our organization has been respectful, comprehensive, consistent and considerate. We know that we always have something to learn and we definitely hope that we have something to share. We are doing something that is impacting the way WASH is done in the Philippines. It may not be possible in other countries, but it works for our beneficiaries in the Philippines, and in the end, that's all that matters.

In solidarity
gemma
- Rajesh Shah of Peer Water Exchange
  
  Thanks to Gemma for raising a valid point on both process and collaboration and the civility of the response. The process is that engage in Q&A first and base your final rating after (so that applicant and all reviewers learn and share). The second is to engage constructively. This community is composed of folks trying to do good. While...
  
  Thanks to Gemma for raising a valid point on both process and collaboration and the civility of the response.
  
  The process is that engage in Q&A first and base your final rating after (so that applicant and all reviewers learn and share).
  
  The second is to engage constructively. This community is composed of folks trying to do good. While sometimes we have to make yes/no decisions, most of the time we are trying to improve our own work and share our experience so that others may learn.
  
  Peace,
  Rajesh
- Gilles Corcos of Agua Para la Vida (APLV)
  
  Hola Gemma: I have followed the exchange that you have had with the other members of PWE. And I have agreed with a lot of what these comments have told you. If you look at their final judgments you will find that what they have to say on the average is less blunt than what I said but it amounts to the same message. And that message is tha...
  
  Hola Gemma:
  
  I have followed the exchange that you have had with the other members of PWE. And I have agreed with a lot of what these comments have told you. If you look at their final judgments you will find that what they have to say on the average is less blunt than what I said but it amounts to the same message. And that message is that you have not given us the tools to assess with any precision the part you play in providing drinking water and hygiene to your target population and the part that other actors play.
  
  Gilles Corcos
3 participants | show more
budget and data&pictures of past projects

Meera Hira-Smith of Project Well

1. Cannot see the budget in excel format. Can it be uploaded please? 2. It would be great to be directed to some of the reports of the projects implemented before, funded by PWX, accompanied by pictures. Thank you. 3. In case I have missed the information on the design of the type of water supply or sanitation please direct me for I did ...

1. Cannot see the budget in excel format. Can it be uploaded please?

2. It would be great to be directed to some of the reports of the projects implemented before, funded by PWX, accompanied by pictures. Thank you.

3. In case I have missed the information on the design of the type of water supply or sanitation please direct me for I did not see any such information in the technology section. Thank you.
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi Meera thanks for your questions. Here are the answers: 1) Actually, the budget is in the word doc of the hard copy of proposal. You can download the proposal and the budget is on the bottom 2) If you go to our PWX homepage, you can link to all our applications. Here's the direct link to the project that is most similar to this proj...
  
  Hi Meera
  
  thanks for your questions. Here are the answers:
  
  1) Actually, the budget is in the word doc of the hard copy of proposal. You can download the proposal and the budget is on the bottom
  
  2) If you go to our PWX homepage, you can link to all our applications. Here's the direct link to the project that is most similar to this project proposal.
  
  http://peerwater.org/apps/236-Barangay-Indatauan-Artesian-Well-Development-for-Community-Water-Service
  
  As you read, you'll notice that it is community driven where the community assesses, designs, plans, implements and maintains the project from start to finish. This is a comprehensive program that ensures that the decision-making is in the hands of the community from the beginning. The water system that the community had thought they were going to implement before our training changed as they collected their own baseine data, mapped their own resources, we supported them in the analyzing of the info and helped them design and implement their own chosen technological solution. This is the key to the communities success: ownership of the project and creating demand.
  
  In the Indatuan proposal, the MWTF and was already established so the community already had the support of the government. In the current proposal, part of the process is to create the MWTF and build their capacity to be able to design a municipal strategic plan, lobby for more funding from the government, and implement a coordinated plan to service all the needy barangays in their municipality. This project is not designed to do a "one-off" project that is isolated and independent. This program is designed to create a network of Water/Sanitaiton Associations in the municipalities who can connect, be supportive, share info, and in some cases may even collaborate in WASH efforts as we've seen in another one of our projects where the 2 villages came together to build one water system, because it was the most economical, practical and sustainable choice.
  
  I hope you see that this project and our organization aims to build WASH self-reliance at every level of community. In our programs, MWTFs are formed to ensure government engagement, participation and collaboration. We also build the capacity of local NGOs (in this case IDEAS) who work directly with community in other service projects so there is a team of local experts in WASH tech implementation as well as community organizing around WASH. These local NGOs can be the ground support for the communities and governments as they implement and maintain as well as train them in appropriate technologies.
  
  3. there is no specific design (yet) for this proposal. As I mentioned, the community will decide which technology will suit them after they undergo our WASH Orientation, they've mapped their resources and done a comprehensive WASH Inventory Survey, and after we've helped them analyze their findings and make the best decision. In a majority of our projects that are similar to this, we've found that many of the communities who had originally thought they were going to implement a certain technology will often change their minds after they undergo the first phase of our program which is the WASH Orientation, Inventory, Analysis and Planning.
  
  If you would like to see a selection of the kinds of technologies that we promote, here is a link. The technologies are not limited to these listed as we can also work with communities to design innovations around some of these technologies to suit their situation.
  
  http://www.asingledrop.org/single-drop-safe-water/what-we-do/technology-solutions
  
  I hope that is helpful!
  
  Best
  Gemma
  - Rick McGowan of Team Blue
    
    It appears that ASD is requesting a $250,000 grant that would be completely planned, managed and implemented "by the community" and seeks to allocate an unusually large amount of funding for one PWX project. It was mentioned that the community designs the project from start to finish. That sounds interesting should certainly be considere...
    
    It appears that ASD is requesting a $250,000 grant that would be completely planned, managed and implemented "by the community" and seeks to allocate an unusually large amount of funding for one PWX project.
    
    It was mentioned that the community designs the project from start to finish. That sounds interesting should certainly be considered. Please specify precisely who among the community members are going to have the numerous and complex skills required to plan, design, procure parts and materials, carry out environmental assessment, hire skilled contractors, prepare designs, construction plans, detailed budgets, and act as construction supervisors, inspectors, system operators, and all of the other administrative, technical, and community mobilization skills needed to plan, design, construct, maintain water systems of the order of magnitude that is being proposed.
    
    While I strongly support community involvement in planning service delivery, I am also well aware of the downside, for example, how "the community" is going to be involved in all the technical (engineering design, water treatment, environmental assessment, system management, etc.), financial and administrative (preparing bidding documents, procurement plans, bidding, proposal assessment, etc.) tasks required. Does ASD have sufficient staff with collective experience to carry out such a project of this magnitude and complexity?
    
    It seems that you are suggesting that the community will assess, design, plan, implement, operate and maintains the project from start to finish. While the prospective beneficiaries should certainly be fully involved in decision making, you need skilled and experienced people to successfully carry out such a complex project.
    
    You say that this would be a comprehensive program that ensures that the decision-making is in the hands of the community from the beginning. Communities can make some decisions, but you still need the technical, financial, organizational and other skills to successfully carry out a project of the magnitude that you suggest. Does ASD have the wide range of skills and experience to successfully carry out all those tasks? If so, you should strengthen your proposal by specifying in more detail those skills and experience in your proposal.
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rick Thanks for your questions! Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/W...
      
      Hi Rick
      
      Thanks for your questions!
      
      Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/WSA), a training NGO (IDEAS) and the government (MWTF).
      
      The funds requested from PWX is for the following
      
      1) the development of governmental and local NGO's capacity to partner and design and plan coordinated projects to support village-driven and civil-run water/sanitation service/supply
      
      2) the implementation of one water and/or sanitation project with technology
      
      The purpose of the above activities, respectively
      
      1) The creation of a MWTF creates a government Task Force because the Philippines does not have a Department of Water and or Sanitation. Infrastructure projects are implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways DPWH. When planning community services, such as water, their interest (if any) is big infrastructure which is cost intensive and often cannot be funded. And often times, their engineering background, as most are civil engineers, is only for the design of buildings and roads, but not water systems. Creating a MWTF that consists of government officials who have some stake in the provision of water and sanitation (municipal engineers, municipal planning and development office, health, education) and building their capacity in:
      - Integrated WASH Strategies
      - appropriate technologies
      - engineering training for affordable water systems design for small and medium size in communities
      - WASH planning and technology implementation
      - lobbying for WASH funding through government budget allocation...
      
      .... is crucial for coordinated planning and effective support for community-driven water solutions.
      
      In our experience, after the formation of these MWTFs and building their capacity, WASH has become a priority and local government has allocated funding for more local projects that they help design in the form of a municipal wide WASH action plan
      
      2) What's the local NGO role? In this case IDEAS. The government does not have the resources to assign their workforce to offer organizational and conduct technology trainings. This is where the building of a local NGO comes in. They serve as the trainers, evaluators, in eventually project supervising.
      
      3) What is the village role? ASDSW, in collaboration with IDEAS and with the support of the MWTF, help create and/or strengthen a WSA who can implement, design their strategies and plans, construct the technologies and maintain it
      
      As far as the expertise to design the systems, during the WASH Orientation, Analysis and Planning phase, after the select community mobilizers and leaders identify their issues, we introduce all the different technology alternatives for them to choose from to address their need whether it be water access, quality or sanitation. From there, they decide which technology is most appropriate and our team of engineers (we have 4 engineers on staff) help them design it. Ideally, we'll work alongside the Municipal Engineers who are part of the MWTF and engineers in the NGO (in this case IDEAS) so that they are part of or even lead the design process under our supervision and mentorship.
      
      As far as the management of the program, this program will be funded by multiple funders. In the case where ASD receives the funding, we will be the managers of the funding. So if we were to receive the PWX funding, we would manage the funding. For funding that the government allots towards the program, they will manage. For other donors that we work with who we will also approach for funding, like the Latter Day Saints, they have worked with us before, and as the Program managers, we will likely be the fund managers as well. But this is just for the implementation phase. When the system is built and up and running, then the WSA will collect fees, maintain the system, create a community fund and as we are seeing with some of our past WSAs, reinvest into community development. Incidentally, the user costs vary with every WSA based on the affordability for the beneficiaries. During the planning after the system is designed, we support a process in which the WSA come up with a costing structure, propose it to the community, explain exactly where the money goes, and get agreement from the communities.
      
      So, the decision making is in the hands of the community. We literally just facilitate a process in which we offer the information that they need to make informed decisions. We don't impose our ideas about what they should implement, but we do help them ask the right questions so they can make the most effective choices.
      
      I hope that helps!
      
      Thanks
      gemma
      
      I hope that's helpful!
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rick Thanks for your questions! Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/W...
    
    Hi Rick
    
    Thanks for your questions!
    
    Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/WSA), a training NGO (IDEAS) and the government (MWTF).
    
    The funds requested from PWX is for the following
    
    1) the development of governmental and local NGO's capacity to partner and design and plan coordinated projects to support village-driven and civil-run water/sanitation service/supply
    
    2) the implementation of one water and/or sanitation project with technology
    
    The purpose of the above activities, respectively
    
    1) The creation of a MWTF creates a government Task Force because the Philippines does not have a Department of Water and or Sanitation. Infrastructure projects are implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways DPWH. When planning community services, such as water, their interest (if any) is big infrastructure which is cost intensive and often cannot be funded. And often times, their engineering background, as most are civil engineers, is only for the design of buildings and roads, but not water systems. Creating a MWTF that consists of government officials who have some stake in the provision of water and sanitation (municipal engineers, municipal planning and development office, health, education) and building their capacity in:
    - Integrated WASH Strategies
    - appropriate technologies
    - engineering training for affordable water systems design for small and medium size in communities
    - WASH planning and technology implementation
    - lobbying for WASH funding through government budget allocation...
    
    .... is crucial for coordinated planning and effective support for community-driven water solutions.
    
    In our experience, after the formation of these MWTFs and building their capacity, WASH has become a priority and local government has allocated funding for more local projects that they help design in the form of a municipal wide WASH action plan
    
    2) What's the local NGO role? In this case IDEAS. The government does not have the resources to assign their workforce to offer organizational and conduct technology trainings. This is where the building of a local NGO comes in. They serve as the trainers, evaluators, in eventually project supervising.
    
    3) What is the village role? ASDSW, in collaboration with IDEAS and with the support of the MWTF, help create and/or strengthen a WSA who can implement, design their strategies and plans, construct the technologies and maintain it
    
    As far as the expertise to design the systems, during the WASH Orientation, Analysis and Planning phase, after the select community mobilizers and leaders identify their issues, we introduce all the different technology alternatives for them to choose from to address their need whether it be water access, quality or sanitation. From there, they decide which technology is most appropriate and our team of engineers (we have 4 engineers on staff) help them design it. Ideally, we'll work alongside the Municipal Engineers who are part of the MWTF and engineers in the NGO (in this case IDEAS) so that they are part of or even lead the design process under our supervision and mentorship.
    
    As far as the management of the program, this program will be funded by multiple funders. In the case where ASD receives the funding, we will be the managers of the funding. So if we were to receive the PWX funding, we would manage the funding. For funding that the government allots towards the program, they will manage. For other donors that we work with who we will also approach for funding, like the Latter Day Saints, they have worked with us before, and as the Program managers, we will likely be the fund managers as well. But this is just for the implementation phase. When the system is built and up and running, then the WSA will collect fees, maintain the system, create a community fund and as we are seeing with some of our past WSAs, reinvest into community development. Incidentally, the user costs vary with every WSA based on the affordability for the beneficiaries. During the planning after the system is designed, we support a process in which the WSA come up with a costing structure, propose it to the community, explain exactly where the money goes, and get agreement from the communities.
    
    So, the decision making is in the hands of the community. We literally just facilitate a process in which we offer the information that they need to make informed decisions. We don't impose our ideas about what they should implement, but we do help them ask the right questions so they can make the most effective choices.
    
    I hope that helps!
    
    Thanks
    gemma
    
    I hope that's helpful!
- Rick McGowan of Team Blue
  
  It appears that ASD is requesting a $250,000 grant that would be completely planned, managed and implemented "by the community" and seeks to allocate an unusually large amount of funding for one PWX project. It was mentioned that the community designs the project from start to finish. That sounds interesting should certainly be considere...
  
  It appears that ASD is requesting a $250,000 grant that would be completely planned, managed and implemented "by the community" and seeks to allocate an unusually large amount of funding for one PWX project.
  
  It was mentioned that the community designs the project from start to finish. That sounds interesting should certainly be considered. Please specify precisely who among the community members are going to have the numerous and complex skills required to plan, design, procure parts and materials, carry out environmental assessment, hire skilled contractors, prepare designs, construction plans, detailed budgets, and act as construction supervisors, inspectors, system operators, and all of the other administrative, technical, and community mobilization skills needed to plan, design, construct, maintain water systems of the order of magnitude that is being proposed.
  
  While I strongly support community involvement in planning service delivery, I am also well aware of the downside, for example, how "the community" is going to be involved in all the technical (engineering design, water treatment, environmental assessment, system management, etc.), financial and administrative (preparing bidding documents, procurement plans, bidding, proposal assessment, etc.) tasks required. Does ASD have sufficient staff with collective experience to carry out such a project of this magnitude and complexity?
  
  It seems that you are suggesting that the community will assess, design, plan, implement, operate and maintains the project from start to finish. While the prospective beneficiaries should certainly be fully involved in decision making, you need skilled and experienced people to successfully carry out such a complex project.
  
  You say that this would be a comprehensive program that ensures that the decision-making is in the hands of the community from the beginning. Communities can make some decisions, but you still need the technical, financial, organizational and other skills to successfully carry out a project of the magnitude that you suggest. Does ASD have the wide range of skills and experience to successfully carry out all those tasks? If so, you should strengthen your proposal by specifying in more detail those skills and experience in your proposal.
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rick Thanks for your questions! Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/W...
    
    Hi Rick
    
    Thanks for your questions!
    
    Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/WSA), a training NGO (IDEAS) and the government (MWTF).
    
    The funds requested from PWX is for the following
    
    1) the development of governmental and local NGO's capacity to partner and design and plan coordinated projects to support village-driven and civil-run water/sanitation service/supply
    
    2) the implementation of one water and/or sanitation project with technology
    
    The purpose of the above activities, respectively
    
    1) The creation of a MWTF creates a government Task Force because the Philippines does not have a Department of Water and or Sanitation. Infrastructure projects are implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways DPWH. When planning community services, such as water, their interest (if any) is big infrastructure which is cost intensive and often cannot be funded. And often times, their engineering background, as most are civil engineers, is only for the design of buildings and roads, but not water systems. Creating a MWTF that consists of government officials who have some stake in the provision of water and sanitation (municipal engineers, municipal planning and development office, health, education) and building their capacity in:
    - Integrated WASH Strategies
    - appropriate technologies
    - engineering training for affordable water systems design for small and medium size in communities
    - WASH planning and technology implementation
    - lobbying for WASH funding through government budget allocation...
    
    .... is crucial for coordinated planning and effective support for community-driven water solutions.
    
    In our experience, after the formation of these MWTFs and building their capacity, WASH has become a priority and local government has allocated funding for more local projects that they help design in the form of a municipal wide WASH action plan
    
    2) What's the local NGO role? In this case IDEAS. The government does not have the resources to assign their workforce to offer organizational and conduct technology trainings. This is where the building of a local NGO comes in. They serve as the trainers, evaluators, in eventually project supervising.
    
    3) What is the village role? ASDSW, in collaboration with IDEAS and with the support of the MWTF, help create and/or strengthen a WSA who can implement, design their strategies and plans, construct the technologies and maintain it
    
    As far as the expertise to design the systems, during the WASH Orientation, Analysis and Planning phase, after the select community mobilizers and leaders identify their issues, we introduce all the different technology alternatives for them to choose from to address their need whether it be water access, quality or sanitation. From there, they decide which technology is most appropriate and our team of engineers (we have 4 engineers on staff) help them design it. Ideally, we'll work alongside the Municipal Engineers who are part of the MWTF and engineers in the NGO (in this case IDEAS) so that they are part of or even lead the design process under our supervision and mentorship.
    
    As far as the management of the program, this program will be funded by multiple funders. In the case where ASD receives the funding, we will be the managers of the funding. So if we were to receive the PWX funding, we would manage the funding. For funding that the government allots towards the program, they will manage. For other donors that we work with who we will also approach for funding, like the Latter Day Saints, they have worked with us before, and as the Program managers, we will likely be the fund managers as well. But this is just for the implementation phase. When the system is built and up and running, then the WSA will collect fees, maintain the system, create a community fund and as we are seeing with some of our past WSAs, reinvest into community development. Incidentally, the user costs vary with every WSA based on the affordability for the beneficiaries. During the planning after the system is designed, we support a process in which the WSA come up with a costing structure, propose it to the community, explain exactly where the money goes, and get agreement from the communities.
    
    So, the decision making is in the hands of the community. We literally just facilitate a process in which we offer the information that they need to make informed decisions. We don't impose our ideas about what they should implement, but we do help them ask the right questions so they can make the most effective choices.
    
    I hope that helps!
    
    Thanks
    gemma
    
    I hope that's helpful!
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi Rick Thanks for your questions! Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/W...
  
  Hi Rick
  
  Thanks for your questions!
  
  Actually, the proposal we submitted was for a full community development program, not just a project. I'll be more specific about "community" as I think that is where much of the confusion may be. In general, we use community to define the collective partnership of a local people's organization (PODS/WSA), a training NGO (IDEAS) and the government (MWTF).
  
  The funds requested from PWX is for the following
  
  1) the development of governmental and local NGO's capacity to partner and design and plan coordinated projects to support village-driven and civil-run water/sanitation service/supply
  
  2) the implementation of one water and/or sanitation project with technology
  
  The purpose of the above activities, respectively
  
  1) The creation of a MWTF creates a government Task Force because the Philippines does not have a Department of Water and or Sanitation. Infrastructure projects are implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways DPWH. When planning community services, such as water, their interest (if any) is big infrastructure which is cost intensive and often cannot be funded. And often times, their engineering background, as most are civil engineers, is only for the design of buildings and roads, but not water systems. Creating a MWTF that consists of government officials who have some stake in the provision of water and sanitation (municipal engineers, municipal planning and development office, health, education) and building their capacity in:
  - Integrated WASH Strategies
  - appropriate technologies
  - engineering training for affordable water systems design for small and medium size in communities
  - WASH planning and technology implementation
  - lobbying for WASH funding through government budget allocation...
  
  .... is crucial for coordinated planning and effective support for community-driven water solutions.
  
  In our experience, after the formation of these MWTFs and building their capacity, WASH has become a priority and local government has allocated funding for more local projects that they help design in the form of a municipal wide WASH action plan
  
  2) What's the local NGO role? In this case IDEAS. The government does not have the resources to assign their workforce to offer organizational and conduct technology trainings. This is where the building of a local NGO comes in. They serve as the trainers, evaluators, in eventually project supervising.
  
  3) What is the village role? ASDSW, in collaboration with IDEAS and with the support of the MWTF, help create and/or strengthen a WSA who can implement, design their strategies and plans, construct the technologies and maintain it
  
  As far as the expertise to design the systems, during the WASH Orientation, Analysis and Planning phase, after the select community mobilizers and leaders identify their issues, we introduce all the different technology alternatives for them to choose from to address their need whether it be water access, quality or sanitation. From there, they decide which technology is most appropriate and our team of engineers (we have 4 engineers on staff) help them design it. Ideally, we'll work alongside the Municipal Engineers who are part of the MWTF and engineers in the NGO (in this case IDEAS) so that they are part of or even lead the design process under our supervision and mentorship.
  
  As far as the management of the program, this program will be funded by multiple funders. In the case where ASD receives the funding, we will be the managers of the funding. So if we were to receive the PWX funding, we would manage the funding. For funding that the government allots towards the program, they will manage. For other donors that we work with who we will also approach for funding, like the Latter Day Saints, they have worked with us before, and as the Program managers, we will likely be the fund managers as well. But this is just for the implementation phase. When the system is built and up and running, then the WSA will collect fees, maintain the system, create a community fund and as we are seeing with some of our past WSAs, reinvest into community development. Incidentally, the user costs vary with every WSA based on the affordability for the beneficiaries. During the planning after the system is designed, we support a process in which the WSA come up with a costing structure, propose it to the community, explain exactly where the money goes, and get agreement from the communities.
  
  So, the decision making is in the hands of the community. We literally just facilitate a process in which we offer the information that they need to make informed decisions. We don't impose our ideas about what they should implement, but we do help them ask the right questions so they can make the most effective choices.
  
  I hope that helps!
  
  Thanks
  gemma
  
  I hope that's helpful!
3 participants | show more
Budget, service charge, etc

My-Anh Ha of East Meets West Foundation

Hello, I'd like to ask a couple questions: 1. Is there a detailed budget breakdown for the proposed project? 2. The project document specifies that “the community pays the WSA for the service”, how does the community pay the WSA and how much is the charge? Has any Willingness-To-Pay survey been carried out for the project? 3. What is the...

Hello, I'd like to ask a couple questions:

1. Is there a detailed budget breakdown for the proposed project?
2. The project document specifies that “the community pays the WSA for the service”, how does the community pay the WSA and how much is the charge? Has any Willingness-To-Pay survey been carried out for the project?
3. What is the WASH infrastructure in this project? If the project infrastructure is a water supply system, what are the specifications of the system?

Thank you!

Best,
My-Anh
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  HI My Anh Thanks for your questions. Please see above for some of your questions. As far as the user fees for the service, when the village builds a piped water system with tapstands (which is the most common), the WSA comes up with a costing structure that is affordable to the community. They host a general assembly meeting open to ever...
  
  HI My Anh
  
  Thanks for your questions. Please see above for some of your questions.
  
  As far as the user fees for the service, when the village builds a piped water system with tapstands (which is the most common), the WSA comes up with a costing structure that is affordable to the community. They host a general assembly meeting open to everyone in the community and breakdown the costs for the service so people will know where their money is going. When we are conducting the business management part of our training, we facilitate the process where the WSA comes up with the minimum amount of households who must pay a certain amount in order for the system to be sustainable, (maintenance, labor, admin) as well as carve out a community savings for reinvestment. We have one community WSA that has already begun to reinvest using this savings by reforesting their watershed because they know it is important to protect their source of water.
  
  The whole project is designed based on our WASH Orientation, Analysis and Planning Workshop. This is phase 1 of the project where the community leaders, MWTF and IDEAS will attend the orientation and learn the deep connection between WASH and how to address WASH holistically. then the community team will go out and conduct a WASH Survey and mapping to collect baseline data, test water sources, interview community members and map their resources. From there, we will convene with them again and analyze their results and introduce possible appropriate technological solutions that they consider. Please see above for some examples of how the planners changed their minds about what they thought they wanted to do after they underwent our WASH program. Another story is in relation to a community that had dug wells, but were thinking that they would build a piped water system because the dug wells were usually contaminated. After our training, they changed their minds after realizing that their dugwells were perfectly fine if they just chlorinated it and then installed handpumps instead. But what was significant about this change of heart, was that they knew they generally had at least 3ft of flooding during the heavy rains, so instead of just building a normal hand pump at ground level, they modified the design with our supervision, to rais the foundation above the expected flood level.
  
  As mentioned, the specifications of the system will be determined during the training, analysis and planning.
  
  Thanks
  Gemma
  - My-Anh Ha of East Meets West Foundation
    
    Hi Gemma: Thank you for your responses! The confusing part is that the project application does not specify clearly from which partthe funding requested from PWX goes. A few more thoughts I have from the discussion so far, are: 1.) You mentioned $35,000 requested from PWX is to “cover the capacity building of both MWTF and the WSA, as ...
    
    Hi Gemma:
    
    Thank you for your responses! The confusing part is that the project application does not specify clearly from which partthe funding requested from PWX goes. A few more thoughts I have from the discussion so far, are:
    
    1.) You mentioned $35,000 requested from PWX is to “cover the capacity building of both MWTF and the WSA, as well as, the water strategy that the village decides to implement.” By saying “the water strategy,”do you mean the investment of the water system? I don’t think we can estimate how much the investment cost would be considering that we don’t know what kind of system it would be.
    
    2.) I think it makes it less confusing if you only include one barangay into this project proposal (which, according to you, is totally covered with the requested $35,000 funding). The rest of the funding ($180,000) for the other six barangay can go into another project.
    
    3.) I agree with Rick in his comment on the community–expertise issue. First of all, I agree with you about the principles of a community-centered development project, in which the community (through its different forms of organization and methods of participation) must have total ownership of the project. The project cannot be sustainable without the community’s involvement and participation. The community self-reliance aspect of the project, however, does not mean that the community does everything by themselves. I understand that in fact, it would mean the community, being equipped with sufficient capacity, connection, confidence, and of course, cash - after your community development/capacity building process – makes the informed decision with the necessary technical assistance from experts in the sector. They would need assistance with the water and sanitation related technical expertise that they don’t own yet. I think this point should be emphasized in your proposal (including a clear explanation from where you expect to pool such technical support).
    
    4.) You mentioned the method by which you collect information on Willingness-To-Pay (WTP), which is “a general assembly meeting open to everyone in the community”. The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households. How would you plan to organize all the logistics for meeting(s) for this large a number of people (4,000 household representatives) and make sure you get the information that you need from all of them? What if not everyone in the barangay go to the meetings? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to conduct a WTP survey where you have your trained staff visit all the households in the village, making sure that every of them knows what the water tariff and/or sanitation fee are, and they can tell you if they are willing to pay for the service and join the system?
    
    5.) I agree with another opinion that it would be very ambitious to set the one-year time frame for this kind of project.
    
    Thank you!
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi My anh ha 1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized. 2) the reason I proposed t...
      
      Hi My anh ha
      
      1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized.
      
      2) the reason I proposed this for the $180k but only asked for the $35k is because this is a program, not a project. projects tend to be a one-off thing, and I wanted to make sure that the reviewers knew that we were not just going to build a water system for one village. We wanted to show the importance of having a strategic plan for an entire municipality so that the relevant stakeholders are all receiving support to build their capacity to play an important role in designing a WASH Network. the more communities can connect to learn from each other; the better capacity the government has to support WASH projects they by right should be providing for the communities; and the increased stable of technological training services that a local NGO can offer, does the following
      - institutionalizes WASH information
      - builds local capacity for every relevant stakeholder to play an integral role in providing wat/san services
      - alleviates the burden of any one organization to scale up programs.
      
      3) Currently, ASD has the technical capacity to train any and all the stakeholders in the appropriate and community-identified technology. But, in the proposal, we state that we work with the local government and a local NGO to increase their capacities to have the expertise that they need. But that is part of this program. We don't abandon them, we work with them until they are at a point where they can be autonomous. We have a full staff in country and are available to them for continued coaching mentorship and training as needed/requested.
      
      4) There are 7 different barangays included in this PROGRAM proposal. During the training, the community implementing group will decide how they engage the community at-large. In most cases, they begin with a general assembly. then a door to door survey will be conducted to let those who were not able to attend about the plans. In both scenarios, this is also how they recruit volunteers from the community at large to build the water systems.
      
      5) as mentioned above, this is a one year time frame for the MWTF and IDEAS capacity building and the creation of 1 PODS in 1 barangay for 1 water system
      
      Thanks
      gemma
    - Rick McGowan of Team Blue
      
      Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently dr...
      
      Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that
      "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently draw down the financial resources available to PWX for only project.
      
      Also, as I also mentioned above, I think that it would be useful to tighten up the project objectives and coverage. It seems to me that A Single Drop is trying to cover too many aspects of RWSS development and address the needs of to many beneficiaries, within the constraints of their relative modest sized (but certainly committed) agency. The project seems to be well conceived in most respects, but it just has to be downsized so as to be do-able within the human and financial resources that might be available at this time.
      
      So, I suggest that you tighten up your proposal in terms of cost, number of beneficiaries, and breadth of provision of services. This would give ASD an opportunity to field-test how a smaller pilot project might be first implemented to better assess their capacity and capability (human, financial and technical) on an initially scaled-down project. If it is successful, then additional resources should be made available accordingly.
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi My anh ha 1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized. 2) the reason I proposed t...
    
    Hi My anh ha
    
    1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized.
    
    2) the reason I proposed this for the $180k but only asked for the $35k is because this is a program, not a project. projects tend to be a one-off thing, and I wanted to make sure that the reviewers knew that we were not just going to build a water system for one village. We wanted to show the importance of having a strategic plan for an entire municipality so that the relevant stakeholders are all receiving support to build their capacity to play an important role in designing a WASH Network. the more communities can connect to learn from each other; the better capacity the government has to support WASH projects they by right should be providing for the communities; and the increased stable of technological training services that a local NGO can offer, does the following
    - institutionalizes WASH information
    - builds local capacity for every relevant stakeholder to play an integral role in providing wat/san services
    - alleviates the burden of any one organization to scale up programs.
    
    3) Currently, ASD has the technical capacity to train any and all the stakeholders in the appropriate and community-identified technology. But, in the proposal, we state that we work with the local government and a local NGO to increase their capacities to have the expertise that they need. But that is part of this program. We don't abandon them, we work with them until they are at a point where they can be autonomous. We have a full staff in country and are available to them for continued coaching mentorship and training as needed/requested.
    
    4) There are 7 different barangays included in this PROGRAM proposal. During the training, the community implementing group will decide how they engage the community at-large. In most cases, they begin with a general assembly. then a door to door survey will be conducted to let those who were not able to attend about the plans. In both scenarios, this is also how they recruit volunteers from the community at large to build the water systems.
    
    5) as mentioned above, this is a one year time frame for the MWTF and IDEAS capacity building and the creation of 1 PODS in 1 barangay for 1 water system
    
    Thanks
    gemma
  - Rick McGowan of Team Blue
    
    Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently dr...
    
    Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that
    "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently draw down the financial resources available to PWX for only project.
    
    Also, as I also mentioned above, I think that it would be useful to tighten up the project objectives and coverage. It seems to me that A Single Drop is trying to cover too many aspects of RWSS development and address the needs of to many beneficiaries, within the constraints of their relative modest sized (but certainly committed) agency. The project seems to be well conceived in most respects, but it just has to be downsized so as to be do-able within the human and financial resources that might be available at this time.
    
    So, I suggest that you tighten up your proposal in terms of cost, number of beneficiaries, and breadth of provision of services. This would give ASD an opportunity to field-test how a smaller pilot project might be first implemented to better assess their capacity and capability (human, financial and technical) on an initially scaled-down project. If it is successful, then additional resources should be made available accordingly.
- My-Anh Ha of East Meets West Foundation
  
  Hi Gemma: Thank you for your responses! The confusing part is that the project application does not specify clearly from which partthe funding requested from PWX goes. A few more thoughts I have from the discussion so far, are: 1.) You mentioned $35,000 requested from PWX is to “cover the capacity building of both MWTF and the WSA, as ...
  
  Hi Gemma:
  
  Thank you for your responses! The confusing part is that the project application does not specify clearly from which partthe funding requested from PWX goes. A few more thoughts I have from the discussion so far, are:
  
  1.) You mentioned $35,000 requested from PWX is to “cover the capacity building of both MWTF and the WSA, as well as, the water strategy that the village decides to implement.” By saying “the water strategy,”do you mean the investment of the water system? I don’t think we can estimate how much the investment cost would be considering that we don’t know what kind of system it would be.
  
  2.) I think it makes it less confusing if you only include one barangay into this project proposal (which, according to you, is totally covered with the requested $35,000 funding). The rest of the funding ($180,000) for the other six barangay can go into another project.
  
  3.) I agree with Rick in his comment on the community–expertise issue. First of all, I agree with you about the principles of a community-centered development project, in which the community (through its different forms of organization and methods of participation) must have total ownership of the project. The project cannot be sustainable without the community’s involvement and participation. The community self-reliance aspect of the project, however, does not mean that the community does everything by themselves. I understand that in fact, it would mean the community, being equipped with sufficient capacity, connection, confidence, and of course, cash - after your community development/capacity building process – makes the informed decision with the necessary technical assistance from experts in the sector. They would need assistance with the water and sanitation related technical expertise that they don’t own yet. I think this point should be emphasized in your proposal (including a clear explanation from where you expect to pool such technical support).
  
  4.) You mentioned the method by which you collect information on Willingness-To-Pay (WTP), which is “a general assembly meeting open to everyone in the community”. The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households. How would you plan to organize all the logistics for meeting(s) for this large a number of people (4,000 household representatives) and make sure you get the information that you need from all of them? What if not everyone in the barangay go to the meetings? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to conduct a WTP survey where you have your trained staff visit all the households in the village, making sure that every of them knows what the water tariff and/or sanitation fee are, and they can tell you if they are willing to pay for the service and join the system?
  
  5.) I agree with another opinion that it would be very ambitious to set the one-year time frame for this kind of project.
  
  Thank you!
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi My anh ha 1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized. 2) the reason I proposed t...
    
    Hi My anh ha
    
    1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized.
    
    2) the reason I proposed this for the $180k but only asked for the $35k is because this is a program, not a project. projects tend to be a one-off thing, and I wanted to make sure that the reviewers knew that we were not just going to build a water system for one village. We wanted to show the importance of having a strategic plan for an entire municipality so that the relevant stakeholders are all receiving support to build their capacity to play an important role in designing a WASH Network. the more communities can connect to learn from each other; the better capacity the government has to support WASH projects they by right should be providing for the communities; and the increased stable of technological training services that a local NGO can offer, does the following
    - institutionalizes WASH information
    - builds local capacity for every relevant stakeholder to play an integral role in providing wat/san services
    - alleviates the burden of any one organization to scale up programs.
    
    3) Currently, ASD has the technical capacity to train any and all the stakeholders in the appropriate and community-identified technology. But, in the proposal, we state that we work with the local government and a local NGO to increase their capacities to have the expertise that they need. But that is part of this program. We don't abandon them, we work with them until they are at a point where they can be autonomous. We have a full staff in country and are available to them for continued coaching mentorship and training as needed/requested.
    
    4) There are 7 different barangays included in this PROGRAM proposal. During the training, the community implementing group will decide how they engage the community at-large. In most cases, they begin with a general assembly. then a door to door survey will be conducted to let those who were not able to attend about the plans. In both scenarios, this is also how they recruit volunteers from the community at large to build the water systems.
    
    5) as mentioned above, this is a one year time frame for the MWTF and IDEAS capacity building and the creation of 1 PODS in 1 barangay for 1 water system
    
    Thanks
    gemma
  - Rick McGowan of Team Blue
    
    Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently dr...
    
    Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that
    "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently draw down the financial resources available to PWX for only project.
    
    Also, as I also mentioned above, I think that it would be useful to tighten up the project objectives and coverage. It seems to me that A Single Drop is trying to cover too many aspects of RWSS development and address the needs of to many beneficiaries, within the constraints of their relative modest sized (but certainly committed) agency. The project seems to be well conceived in most respects, but it just has to be downsized so as to be do-able within the human and financial resources that might be available at this time.
    
    So, I suggest that you tighten up your proposal in terms of cost, number of beneficiaries, and breadth of provision of services. This would give ASD an opportunity to field-test how a smaller pilot project might be first implemented to better assess their capacity and capability (human, financial and technical) on an initially scaled-down project. If it is successful, then additional resources should be made available accordingly.
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi My anh ha 1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized. 2) the reason I proposed t...
  
  Hi My anh ha
  
  1) "water strategy", its not just the water system. It's the development of the CBO that will build and maintain the system. It's the community outreach. Its the WASH education. Its the entire plan on how to ensure that WASH education and services are available to the public and institutionalized.
  
  2) the reason I proposed this for the $180k but only asked for the $35k is because this is a program, not a project. projects tend to be a one-off thing, and I wanted to make sure that the reviewers knew that we were not just going to build a water system for one village. We wanted to show the importance of having a strategic plan for an entire municipality so that the relevant stakeholders are all receiving support to build their capacity to play an important role in designing a WASH Network. the more communities can connect to learn from each other; the better capacity the government has to support WASH projects they by right should be providing for the communities; and the increased stable of technological training services that a local NGO can offer, does the following
  - institutionalizes WASH information
  - builds local capacity for every relevant stakeholder to play an integral role in providing wat/san services
  - alleviates the burden of any one organization to scale up programs.
  
  3) Currently, ASD has the technical capacity to train any and all the stakeholders in the appropriate and community-identified technology. But, in the proposal, we state that we work with the local government and a local NGO to increase their capacities to have the expertise that they need. But that is part of this program. We don't abandon them, we work with them until they are at a point where they can be autonomous. We have a full staff in country and are available to them for continued coaching mentorship and training as needed/requested.
  
  4) There are 7 different barangays included in this PROGRAM proposal. During the training, the community implementing group will decide how they engage the community at-large. In most cases, they begin with a general assembly. then a door to door survey will be conducted to let those who were not able to attend about the plans. In both scenarios, this is also how they recruit volunteers from the community at large to build the water systems.
  
  5) as mentioned above, this is a one year time frame for the MWTF and IDEAS capacity building and the creation of 1 PODS in 1 barangay for 1 water system
  
  Thanks
  gemma
- Rick McGowan of Team Blue
  
  Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently dr...
  
  Following on what I said before about this proposal, it just seems that its goals and objectives are well beyond the typical size of beneficiary groups co-financed by PWX funding. For example, the statement above says that
  "The project is supposed to serve 20,000 people – meaning approximately 4,000 households." This would apparently draw down the financial resources available to PWX for only project.
  
  Also, as I also mentioned above, I think that it would be useful to tighten up the project objectives and coverage. It seems to me that A Single Drop is trying to cover too many aspects of RWSS development and address the needs of to many beneficiaries, within the constraints of their relative modest sized (but certainly committed) agency. The project seems to be well conceived in most respects, but it just has to be downsized so as to be do-able within the human and financial resources that might be available at this time.
  
  So, I suggest that you tighten up your proposal in terms of cost, number of beneficiaries, and breadth of provision of services. This would give ASD an opportunity to field-test how a smaller pilot project might be first implemented to better assess their capacity and capability (human, financial and technical) on an initially scaled-down project. If it is successful, then additional resources should be made available accordingly.
3 participants | show more
budget precisions

Marc Despiegelaere of Protos

Although i'm not familiar with the philippines context this project seems very interesting but ambitious to carry out within a one year framework, and i share some of the observations made by the collegues above. I also had some difficulty interpreting the budget: 1) can you give some details about how much money directly goes to whic...

Although i'm not familiar with the philippines context this project seems very interesting but ambitious to carry out within a one year framework, and i share some of the observations made by the collegues above.

I also had some difficulty interpreting the budget:
1) can you give some details about how much money directly goes to which water and sanitation infrastructure investments?
2) if i understand correctly you ask for 35,000 USD on a budget of 250,000. who funds this and is this funding already secured?

Thanks.
- Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
  
  Hi Gemma, Would you consider a slight modification/change in timing of your approach? If the community completes the orientation, assesses the situation, and designs a solution, then it would be much easier for others to assess the proposal and support the project. Here we are looking at a process where we don't understand the players, t...
  
  Hi Gemma,
  
  Would you consider a slight modification/change in timing of your approach?
  
  If the community completes the orientation, assesses the situation, and designs a solution, then it would be much easier for others to assess the proposal and support the project. Here we are looking at a process where we don't understand the players, the issues, nor the solution.
  
  It would be easier for PWX members to get involved when the specific solution is developed, which could vary for each of the 7 barangays, as i understand. Wouldn't it also be easier to see one or two projects and the learnings from them before committing to a larger set from the get go?
  
  What is your database and information center? Is is available for others to see?
  
  Regards,
  Rajesh
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh Actually, I think its really valuable to follow process. Its all process. A technology is only as sustainable as the process it took to own it, create demand for it, implement it and maintain it. Our process focuses on creating the mechanisms where organizations such as ours is not where the project gets momentum, but from the...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    Actually, I think its really valuable to follow process. Its all process. A technology is only as sustainable as the process it took to own it, create demand for it, implement it and maintain it.
    
    Our process focuses on creating the mechanisms where organizations such as ours is not where the project gets momentum, but from the people/government themselves to be able to replicate it. Of all the projects that I've seen in this platform, we are one of the few who have engaged government deeply. If we want to address the long term challenges of any water/sanitation situation that by right, government should be providing, then there has to be a legacy that institutionalizes this information within the community and creates a mechanism for community and government engagement. Our model has been proven and is receiving international recognition for what some have considered innovative. If this platform is truly for learning and exchange, then bringing in different strategies that not only have succeeded on the ground, but have also been funded in this forum (see Indatuan), wouldn't this be a place to get the most learning for both ourselves and the people reviewing? I have been reading the conversations in this round, and some questions seem standard and answers predictable and that is not to say that that's a negative thing. That's just a testament to the fact that we all know what we're doing. So wouldn't it be the BEST place to follow a process not only from assessment but beginning from inception to implementation? To challenge our knowledge and be open to successful models?
    
    We have given very detailed answers about our process and this is not because we're trying it for the first time. It's because we've developed it out of our experience in the field, trusting the wisdom of the community and cultivating a culture of institutionalizing WASH education and socail infrastructure development around the provision of WASH services.
    
    I hope that's clear
    Gemma
    - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
      
      You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings. I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got internat...
      
      You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings.
      
      I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got international recognition for your work, the one visible project may not provide the entire picture of your efforts to coordinate gov't, communities, NGOs, institutions, and companies. Clearly, at the completion of the project, usually there is analysis and reporting of the picture, and how that project gets turned into a model.
      
      Also, a project leads to connections (as you observe) to nearby commuities and the gov't. The project mentioned is not close to the current proposed, so i am interested in where your branch office is and its relationship to Quezon.
      
      Finally, in terms of capturing important datapoints of the process, i want to know about your database and clearinghouse technology and process.
      
      Considering your split time between Africa and Philippines, is there someone else at ASD who will work on the PWX side?
      
      Thanks,
      Rajesh
      - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
        
        Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
        
        Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
        
        Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
        While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
        
        Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
        
        Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
        
        Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
        
        Hi Rajesh
        
        Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
        
        We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
        
        We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
        
        Thanks
        gemma
      - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
        
        Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
        
        Hi Rajesh
        
        Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
        
        We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
        
        We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
        
        Thanks
        gemma
      - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
        
        Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
        
        Hi Rajesh
        
        This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
        
        Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
        
        We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
        
        I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
        
        Thanks
        gemma
    - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
      
      Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
      
      Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
      
      Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
      While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
      
      Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
      - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
        
        Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
        
        Hi Rajesh
        
        Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
        
        We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
        
        We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
        
        Thanks
        gemma
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
      
      We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
      
      We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
      
      Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
      
      We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
      
      I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
  - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
    
    You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings. I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got internat...
    
    You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings.
    
    I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got international recognition for your work, the one visible project may not provide the entire picture of your efforts to coordinate gov't, communities, NGOs, institutions, and companies. Clearly, at the completion of the project, usually there is analysis and reporting of the picture, and how that project gets turned into a model.
    
    Also, a project leads to connections (as you observe) to nearby commuities and the gov't. The project mentioned is not close to the current proposed, so i am interested in where your branch office is and its relationship to Quezon.
    
    Finally, in terms of capturing important datapoints of the process, i want to know about your database and clearinghouse technology and process.
    
    Considering your split time between Africa and Philippines, is there someone else at ASD who will work on the PWX side?
    
    Thanks,
    Rajesh
    - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
      
      Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
      
      Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
      
      Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
      While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
      
      Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
      - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
        
        Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
        
        Hi Rajesh
        
        Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
        
        We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
        
        We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
        
        Thanks
        gemma
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
      
      We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
      
      We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
      
      Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
      
      We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
      
      I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
  - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
    
    Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
    
    Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
    
    Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
    While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
    
    Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
      
      We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
      
      We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
    
    We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
    
    We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
    
    Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
    
    We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
    
    I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi Rajesh Actually, I think its really valuable to follow process. Its all process. A technology is only as sustainable as the process it took to own it, create demand for it, implement it and maintain it. Our process focuses on creating the mechanisms where organizations such as ours is not where the project gets momentum, but from the...
  
  Hi Rajesh
  
  Actually, I think its really valuable to follow process. Its all process. A technology is only as sustainable as the process it took to own it, create demand for it, implement it and maintain it.
  
  Our process focuses on creating the mechanisms where organizations such as ours is not where the project gets momentum, but from the people/government themselves to be able to replicate it. Of all the projects that I've seen in this platform, we are one of the few who have engaged government deeply. If we want to address the long term challenges of any water/sanitation situation that by right, government should be providing, then there has to be a legacy that institutionalizes this information within the community and creates a mechanism for community and government engagement. Our model has been proven and is receiving international recognition for what some have considered innovative. If this platform is truly for learning and exchange, then bringing in different strategies that not only have succeeded on the ground, but have also been funded in this forum (see Indatuan), wouldn't this be a place to get the most learning for both ourselves and the people reviewing? I have been reading the conversations in this round, and some questions seem standard and answers predictable and that is not to say that that's a negative thing. That's just a testament to the fact that we all know what we're doing. So wouldn't it be the BEST place to follow a process not only from assessment but beginning from inception to implementation? To challenge our knowledge and be open to successful models?
  
  We have given very detailed answers about our process and this is not because we're trying it for the first time. It's because we've developed it out of our experience in the field, trusting the wisdom of the community and cultivating a culture of institutionalizing WASH education and socail infrastructure development around the provision of WASH services.
  
  I hope that's clear
  Gemma
  - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
    
    You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings. I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got internat...
    
    You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings.
    
    I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got international recognition for your work, the one visible project may not provide the entire picture of your efforts to coordinate gov't, communities, NGOs, institutions, and companies. Clearly, at the completion of the project, usually there is analysis and reporting of the picture, and how that project gets turned into a model.
    
    Also, a project leads to connections (as you observe) to nearby commuities and the gov't. The project mentioned is not close to the current proposed, so i am interested in where your branch office is and its relationship to Quezon.
    
    Finally, in terms of capturing important datapoints of the process, i want to know about your database and clearinghouse technology and process.
    
    Considering your split time between Africa and Philippines, is there someone else at ASD who will work on the PWX side?
    
    Thanks,
    Rajesh
    - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
      
      Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
      
      Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
      
      Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
      While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
      
      Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
      - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
        
        Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
        
        Hi Rajesh
        
        Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
        
        We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
        
        We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
        
        Thanks
        gemma
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
      
      We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
      
      We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
      
      Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
      
      We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
      
      I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
  - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
    
    Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
    
    Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
    
    Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
    While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
    
    Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
      
      We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
      
      We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
    
    We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
    
    We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
    
    Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
    
    We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
    
    I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
- Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
  
  You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings. I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got internat...
  
  You are right, its all process. PWX is all about process, about changing the funding process, the implementation process, and the reporting process! In 5 years we have a varied response to this process and the implementation and reporting process are still fledglings.
  
  I guess we peers want more details because, while you have got international recognition for your work, the one visible project may not provide the entire picture of your efforts to coordinate gov't, communities, NGOs, institutions, and companies. Clearly, at the completion of the project, usually there is analysis and reporting of the picture, and how that project gets turned into a model.
  
  Also, a project leads to connections (as you observe) to nearby commuities and the gov't. The project mentioned is not close to the current proposed, so i am interested in where your branch office is and its relationship to Quezon.
  
  Finally, in terms of capturing important datapoints of the process, i want to know about your database and clearinghouse technology and process.
  
  Considering your split time between Africa and Philippines, is there someone else at ASD who will work on the PWX side?
  
  Thanks,
  Rajesh
  - Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
    
    Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
    
    Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
    
    Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
    While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
    
    Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
    - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
      
      Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
      
      Hi Rajesh
      
      Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
      
      We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
      
      We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
      
      Thanks
      gemma
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
    
    We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
    
    We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
    
    Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
    
    We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
    
    I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
- Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network
  
  Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU). Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies. While they are interested...
  
  Thinking about this more for the past couple of days, i feel confident in the project's success. The part i am not as confident about is all the other partners. The part i am unsure about is the government (LGU).
  
  Having little insight into Filipino LGU's, my doubts stem from some experience with similar agencies.
  While they are interested in delivering services, they (individuals and bureaucracy) have their own agendas and processes. Also, giving over control and authority to a community is not generally in their DNA.
  
  Their role in the success of the larger muni-wide scheme and the effort in the first project to include and develop them is the part i am unsure about.
  - Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
    
    Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
    
    Hi Rajesh
    
    Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
    
    We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
    
    We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
    
    Thanks
    gemma
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi Rajesh Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ...
  
  Hi Rajesh
  
  Yes, the history of working with government has not been a bright one, but that is why we are working really hard to find ways to engage them so that they take a support role in the program. However, I think the biggest difficulty with government people you are thinking about are the elected officials. Elected officials are the ones with the agenda. We are working primarily with officials who are in their positions regardless of who is in office. This insures that the information has greater chance of becoming institutionalized, which is one of our key goals.
  
  We believe we have found a way to engage the government by building their capacity to be part of the planning and find effective ways for them to provide resources without having to fully fund it or maintain it. They act as Task Forces who can conduct WASH Orientation seminars themselves as well as start building a WASH network throughout their entire municipality. In one of our projects, the LGU invited us to work with them and we have helped them to design and plan for a water system for up 7 barangays, around 15,000 people.
  
  We know that the government will never be able to fund entire water programs, but with their engagement, we have a much better chance of institutionalizing WASH strategies so there's no need to re-teach WASH after every generation and it becomes part of their mandate.
  
  Thanks
  gemma
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi Rajesh This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand. Our main of...
  
  Hi Rajesh
  
  This program proposed IS going to be the entire picture of our efforts. We are starting this program from its inception in the community from the development of the planning teams and partners all the way to implementation. There was a request from IDEAS and the LGU for this program and we are meeting their demand.
  
  Our main office is a few hours from Quezon and the staff who will be conducting all the trainings are native Palawenos, so they have a deep understanding of how their local governments functions and their respective idiosincrysies and challenges.
  
  We have our own internal reporting system for our projects. We have just finished a retreat with our partners, funders, beneficiaries and local government officials who have all undergone our WASH Orientation/Planning and PODS program and we all went through each phase of the project and shared our learnings, challenges and recommendations. Our Training Manual should be published by the end of this year. One of our training modules for the WASH Orientation has already been published by one our funding partners.
  
  I'm not the only one answering these questions. Eventually, we may be able to have our staff be more engaged in this process directly, but they are normally all out in the field and they often don't have access to the net and sometimes even electricity. and their training days are often 10-12 hours. It's not the best use of their time.
  
  Thanks
  gemma
- Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop
  
  Hi Marc I hope some of the answers detailed above have helped you understand our model better. To clarify, the specific water and sanitation infrastructure project has not yet been determined. Because this section of the "program" (see above) one of the main purposes is to build the capacity of the MWTF and the local NGO. In doing so, we...
  
  Hi Marc
  
  I hope some of the answers detailed above have helped you understand our model better.
  
  To clarify, the specific water and sanitation infrastructure project has not yet been determined. Because this section of the "program" (see above) one of the main purposes is to build the capacity of the MWTF and the local NGO. In doing so, we are piloting a project in one village where they all work together to define their roles, contribute their expertise, and implement a project together. We already know that this particular village may likely choose a piped water system for their technology as we have already done a site assessment of their community. But how that water system is designed and who it serves will be determined by the MWTF and village leaders during the WASH Orientation. I say that because we have had projects where village and government leaders will attend the WASH Orientation thinking that they want to do one thing and decide to do another after the WASH Training. For example, in one of our past funded PWX projects in Indatuan, they changed their strategy after they did their WASH mapping. In another project, we had leaders from 2 neighboring villages attend a WASH Orientation, Analysis and Planning Workshop that we conducted. When they came into the program they had thought they were going to build 2 different water systems. But after doing the mapping, they realized there was one spring that could service both villages, so they came together, formed one WSA, ASD engineers designed the system with their input, volunteers from both villages came together to build the system, and there is one WSA managing the 2 villages water system. Both villages have representatives on the Board and both have collectors, repair staff and promoters.
  
  The $35000 requested covers the capacity building of both MWTF and the WSA as well as the water strategy that the village decides to implement. The budget estimates the costs for a small scale water system to service the barangay. ASDSW has built and designed many water systems in the Philippines and based on our experience, this would be an average cost for this type of system. But, again, in our experience, we expect that when the MWTF is fully confident about their roles and are clear about how they move forward, we will see government allocation for WASH services. We've seen this in the form of transport, financial resources, materials and other resources, venue support, etc.
  
  As far as the other $180K, ASDSW as well as IDEAS and MWTF will actively look for funding to support the other 6 barangays. Again, we have investors in the Philippines who are open to look at any of our programs as they have seen success and have had them fund projects based on our recommendation. The 1year timeline only reflects this pilot project with the one barangay. the funding for the other 6 barangays will be ongoing. We proposed this as a program because one of the outcomes from this program would be to create a network of WSAs in one municipality that have been designed by a coordinated effort from the MWTF and can connect to each other for sharing, support and if appropriate, training.
  
  I hope that's clear.
  
  Thanks
  gemma

plan 295Development of a Municipal-Wide WASH Network for Quezon, Palawan

by A Single Drop in Philippines

Status: Rejected

Peer Review

Summary

Background

Location

Attachments

Focus

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 20,000

School Children Getting Water: 9,000

People Getting Sanitation: 0

People Getting Other Benefits: 40,000

Start Date: 2010-10-01

Completion Date: 2011-09-30

Technology Used:

Phases:

Community Organization:

Government Interaction:

Ancillary activities:

Other Issues:

Maintenance Revenue:

Maintenance Cost: $3,000

Metrics:

Cost: $250,000

Co Funding Amount: $180,000

Community Contribution Amount: $35,000

Fund Requested: $35,000

Implementing Organization: A Single Drop for Safe Water

Attachments