SDC Backstopping Mandate in Water & Sanitation

Currently its geared towards the achievement of the WIs mid-term objectives 2010-15 being to: i) Influence the global policy dialogue on IWRM; ii) Influence at global level to achieve the WASH and food security related MDGs and beyond; and iii) Maintain and strengthen the know-how of Swiss actors so that they are speaking with one voice and influence the international sector debate. Whereas the objectives i) and ii) correspond to the WIs-specific interventions based mainly on global strategic networking activities and the implementation of global projects, the objective iii) relates to the division’s wider thematic responsibility for water within SDC.

Water-related issues have always been of central concern in development cooperation and play also a key role in Swiss development cooperation in the drive to achieve its overall goal of poverty reduc-tion and sustainable development. Since its very beginning SDC has supported partner countries in the implementation of their drinking water supply and sanitation services as well as watershed management programs. Water issues are addressed within SDC at different levels: through Regional Cooperation in the South and East, Humanitarian Aid, Global Cooperation and the Water Initiatives Division (WIs). Worldwide, SDC engages at a level of about 70 million CHF per annum multilaterally (within international organizations) and bilaterally (in more than 200 projects on the ground).

Since 1983, Skat collaborates closely with SDC in the water sector. This fruitful and effective collaboration has been formalized in 1996 in a “SDC Backstopping Mandate in Water & Sanitation (BSM W&S)”. Since then, Skat has suc-cessfully conducted 6 phases of BSM at the services of SDC and stands today in the 7th phase (2012-2014). This continuity in itself is a major achievement and reflects the unique services Skat can provide based on its established backstopping experiences, its familiarity with many of SDC’s sector programs, its extended networks and its recognition as a professional resource centre. The close interplay between consultancy and resource centre are further a strength allowing that a wealth of up-to-date knowledge enriches Skat’s resource centre activities.

Services provided:

The backstopping mandate aims at reinforcing and complementing SDC’s internal capacities and competences in the field of W&S (water for people) and promotes the implementation of the SDC sector strategy and policy. With the overall goal of contributing to improved sustainability of W&S projects / programs / initiatives and increased capacities of the key stakeholders (empowerment), the mandate specifically builds up, maintains and supports the offer and activities of the WIs in the fields of:

• Capitalization and sector documentation where the sector’s, and in particular SDC’s and its partners’, experiences and knowledge are systematically documented, capitalized and fed back into the internal and global debate;
• Networking and knowledge sharing where influential, committed and dynamic communities of practice and networks at relevant levels are supported/facilitated (e.g. RésEAU, AGUASAN) and efficient knowledge sharing and dissemination mechanisms are exploited;
• Provision of advisory and support services on demand where brief counselling and day-to-day support to the WIs and to further SDC staff and partners in the sector are provided;
• Innovation in themes and concepts where W&S sector where tools and innovative ways for mainstreaming new topics, ideas, concepts, approaches and methodologies are developed.