Newsletter of Skat - Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development
Dear Friends and Partners,
The electronic newsletter of Skat is sent to you approximately three times each year. Skat News provides you with brief summaries of selected recent and ongoing projects and initiatives, links you to further information and documents, and provides you with relevant contact addresses. Your feedback at mailto:info@skat.ch is welcome.
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Skat Projects and Activities
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*** DesPro- Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralisation support to Ukraine Project ***
The Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralisation support to Ukraine Project (DesPro) is implemented in Ukraine by Skat and funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The aim of DesPro is to ensure the provision of effective and affordable services in the areas of water supply and in social services in the frame of decentralised structures. The aim of the first phase of the project (2007-2009) is the introduction of a replicable model of decentralised communal services at the rayon, village and municipal levels that is accepted and approved at oblast and national levels. At this stage DesPro focuses on three key objectives: 1) to improve skills of the local communities in identifying, planning, introducing and managing services; 2) to improve the ability of oblast, rayon, village and city authorities to plan, finance, implement and coordinate affordable services in a participatory and innovative manner; 3) to support the Government of Ukraine in development of a state programme on decentralisation and its task to coordinate and harmonise national policy initiatives. DesPro's target regions are Vinnytsya Oblast (Kalynivskiy and Tulchinskiy Rayons) and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Bakhchisaraiskiy and Leninskiy Rayons). For further information please contact: Jürg Christen (juerg.christen[AT]skat.ch) or Claudia Schneider (claudia.schneider[AT]skat.ch)
*** Sustainable Reconstruction Initiative in Tsunami affected villages of Karaikal, Pondicherry, India ***
The Swiss Red Cross and Swiss Solidarity, in collaboration with the lndian NGO Development Alternatives, took the initiative to reconstruct Tsunami damaged houses in the Karaikal region, Pondicherry state supporting 908 families in three villages Karaikalmedu, Kottucherrymedu and Kilinjalmedu. Skat is in charge of the conceptual and technical backstopping.
Since the beginning of the project in June 2005, three village settlements have been designed and house designs have been developed in response to people's needs and cultural requirements. Likewise, 150 houses have been handed over to the beneficiaries in October 2007, and 758 are under construction and will be completed by March 2008. 70 artisans were trained in safe and sustainable construction techniques and supported the set up of five enterprises producing fly-ash blocks. Finally, other training and capacity building activities took place regarding greening the new settlements, eco-friendly ways of village street construction, and hygiene issues. For further information please contact: Daniel Schwitter (daniel.schwitter[AT]skat.ch)
*** Knowledge Audit on HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean ***
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and its partners in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) identified the need to strengthen the access and use of knowledge of HIV/AIDS for the design, management and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes in the region. Thus, it looked into the possibility of developing a HIV/AIDS Regional Knowledge Management Centre. The first activity for developing the Centre is an audit that was meant to investigate how the knowledge system on HIV/AIDS works in the region. Skat was the organisation selected to implement the Audit during the months of August and September 2007.
A total of 53 representatives of 25 different institutions and organizations working in 11 different countries in LAC were interviewed and 7 resource centres were visited in Brazil, Peru and Trinidad & Tobago. The audit was conducted in a participatory way in close collaboration with the LAC KMC Advisory Group.
The Knowledge Audit was able to identify important sources of knowledge, as well as the most important gaps that exist in the HIV/AIDS knowledge system in the LAC region. In the process, a list of important stakeholders has been identified, and based on the Audit findings recommendations were presented with a view of establishing the HIV/AIDS Knowledge Centre for the Region. For further information please contact: Bertha Camacho (bertha.camacho[AT]skat.ch)
*** Project Appraisals in New EU Member States ***
The Financial Mechanism Office of the European Economic Area (EEA) through the Swiss Centre for International Health (SCIH) of the Swiss Tropical Institute has mandated Skat to conduct appraisals of project proposals in new EU member countries. The mandate consists of the assessment of existing buildings and infrastructure, including project document, budget, feasibility, time lines, as well as the consideration of sustainability aspects in four countries:
Czech Republic: Skat undertook evaluations of project proposals to improve health facilities.
Poland: Skat carried out appraisals of 36 project applications concerning thermo-modernisation measurements in public buildings, mainly schools, health centres, fire brigade facilities, etc.
Latvia: Skat conducted 5 project appraisals related to health, childcare, and cultural heritage. Project appraisals included centres for children with special needs, restoration of protected wooden architecture buildings.
Lithuania: Skat is currently in charge as lead expert to appraise 7 projects concerning restoration works of cultural heritage protected buildings, such as old manor houses, remains of a castle, and a wooden church. For further information please contact: Claudia Schneider (claudia.schneider[AT]skat.ch)
*** Course on Network Management in Latin America ***
In collaboration with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation GTZ - Brazil, Skat conducted a Training Course on Network Management with the aim to strengthen management and communication capacities of members of the Red Latinoamericana de Prevención y Control de la Contaminación del Suelo y de las Aguas Subterráneas. The course was carried out in Sao Paulo, Brazil between the 13th and 15th of August. Participants representing different environmental institutions in the region came from 5 countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Mexico.
Considering the specific needs of the participants, the course was developed following the scheme of the guide "Work the Net" including topics such as Network Governance and Structure, Network Management, Communication Strategy in Networks and Operational Network Planning. A variety of methods were used in the course including conceptual inputs, working groups, case studies and group discussions. For further information please contact: Bertha Camacho (bertha.camacho[AT]skat.ch)
*** Sustainable Reconstruction Initiative in Tsunami affected villages of Tamil Nadu, India ***
Following the results of the rapid appraisal and relief activities conducted by the Swiss Red Cross in the Tsunami affected areas of South India in 2004, the possibility of a rehabilitative collaboration with the Karaikal unit of South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) was explored. A project proposal for restoration of livelihoods of fishermen in two villages of Karaikal was developed and eventually approved by Swiss Solidarity. Skat was given the mandate to provide management and backstopping services to reconstruct the tsunami affected villages of Tharangambadi and Chinnangudi of Nagapattinam district.
Since the beginning of the project in November 2005, two village settlements have been designed and house designs developed in line with people's needs and cultural requirements. Additionally, 450 houses were handed over to the beneficiaries in August 2007. Another 450 houses are under construction and will be completed by April 2008. The project has also initiated activities regarding greening the new settlements and capacity building of women's organizations, self-help groups, and families. Finally, on-the-job training is continuously provided to local artisans. For further information please contact: Daniel Schwitter (daniel.schwitter[AT]skat.ch)
*** SDC-Skat workshop on Mobility and Rural Roads in West Africa ***
Skat was entrusted with a recent external evaluation (2006) of the SDC Support Mandate in Mobility. This evaluation highlighted the need to strengthen SDC's knowledge management and to build on institutional memory in order to demonstrate how mobility and transport are contributing to the achievement of the MDGs. To this end SDC/Skat organised and facilitated a regional workshop from the17th to the 21st of September 2007 in N'Djamena (Chad) with the objective to share experiences and to reflect on common findings among practitioners. A total of 21 participants from SDC, Helvetas, Intercooperation, IFRTD and partners attended the event.
In order to optimise SDC's experiences from Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Nepal, the workshop was set up in a participatory way including working groups, in-depth discussions, and a field visit. These methods allowed participants to get a better understanding of the critical questions with regard to (1) financial & management systems for rural road maintenance, (2) capacity building of local actors and (3) the impact of rural road rehabilitation. Some of the direct outputs of the workshop were:
- Exchange of knowledge and practices of the different programmes and projects
- Reflection of Lessons Learned and identification of knowledge gaps and challenges
- Identification of future joint actions and their requirements
- Commitment of the partners involved for future joint actions
For further information, look at http://www.trans-web.ch/mobility/countries.htm#Regional or contact Roger Schmid (roger.schmid[AT]skat.ch)
*** Emergency Performance Monitoring Training in Uganda ***
UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) commissioned Skat to undertake a Training Workshop on Emergency Performance Monitoring in Kitgum, Uganda.
The training was part of the Regional Office's strategy to improve Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in all UNICEF initiatives in eastern and southern Africa. The key objective of the workshop was to improve M&E skills and capacities of country staff and partners, especially when concerning emergency situations. An average of 35 participants, representing local governments, NGOs and UN agencies working in Uganda were trained. The training methods were interactive and dynamic, giving participants the opportunity not only to learn new M&E approaches but also to benefit from lessons learnt based on their experience. For further information please contact: Bertha Camacho (bertha.camacho[AT]skat.ch)
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Skat Publications
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*** Work the Net Guide ***
This hands-on guide describes how formal networks can be set up, managed and used in an efficient and effective way. The process-oriented approach is explained with a flow chart, and checklists summarise the crucial steps. A resource section provides relevant publications and websites.
'Work the Net' is one of the results of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) project 'Networking, Information and Knowledge Management by Regional Organizations' (NeRO), which provided an exchange platform for information and knowledge management approaches and instruments between regional development organizations focusing on the management of natural resources in the Asian context. The guide is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The French version is expected in 2008.
*** A Networked research Approach ***
Despite the rhetoric of bottom-up development, the international development agenda remains dominated by the economic interests and institutional priorities of the North, and supported by knowledge generated through northern universities, resource centres and think tanks. One means of addressing this imbalance is to ensure that the research used to determine and justify development priorities is both southern-driven and accessible to southern-based policymakers and development practitioners. IFRTD has pioneered and tested a Networked Research Approach that fully reflects its southern-driven networking principles. Skat assisted in the elaboration of this guide, which is now
available for free on the website of IFRTD (http://www.ifrtd.org) in English, French or Spanish.
The Skat Foundation edits various publications in the fields of water supply and environmental sanitation, waste management, sustainable building and settlement development, and transport and mobility. Browse through our list of publications on our website: http://www.skat-foundation.org/publications . For any enquiries please send a mail to mailto:publications@skat.ch
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Impressum
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Skat, Vadianstrasse 42, CH-9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Phone +41 71 228 54 54, fax +41 71 228 54 55, mailto:info@skat.ch
Web http://www.skat.ch
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