Hi Elisabeth,

Thank you for the interest! The ConCaD project is still running, extended due to corona time. During the two years time, we developed the course materials for the face-to-face and online courses, and collaborated with six partner training institutes (PTIs) so that they give the course further, on demand, and as frequently as needed. These partner institutes are in Bangladesh, India, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Uganda and Zambia. In Ivory Coast, the course is given in French language.

You highlight a very important point around availability of and affordability for consultants. An initial market study done by the project team showed that a three-day duration was the best trade-off between consultant availability and the content to be covered. The PTIs can choose under which modalities they want to offer the course (for example, during three Saturdays instead of a block course during the week). Regarding the cost of the workshop, this depends as well on each PTI, which develops its own business model tailored to the local context. Some workshops will be given on an individual payment basis, while others may be fully sponsored by bigger organisations for their staff and partners. It is clear for example that workshops given to public sector stakeholders like municipal sanitation officers will need to be fully funded externally.

Regarding the online course, it is open access on YouTube. An hybrid learning offer of private online sessions, mixing the online modules with the presence of trainers and interaction with the participants, is under development.

The replication of the workshop by the PTIs on their own is starting. Thus, I cannot give you outputs and impacts at the moment. One element is sure: the overall success of the program will depend on the extent to which big organisations will push for the CWIS agenda on the ground. A main incentive for consultants is that this course will help them to understand and bid successfully for the new generation of CWIS tenders. Please stay tuned!

Best regards,

Philippe

PS: please note the shortlink:    www.sandec.ch/concad

Hi Philippe,

This is interesting, you said:
"This eLearning offer is part of the Consultant Capacity Development (ConCaD) initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. ConCaD  aims to build capacity in private sector consulting firms, municipalities and among sanitation professionals to conceptualize, plan, design and supervise the implementation of inclusive urban sanitation projects and programmes."
Website:  www.eawag.ch/en/department/sandec/projec...ve-urban-sanitation/

According to your website, the project ran for 2 years and ended two weeks ago in May. 
Could you say something about its outputs and impacts? Were you able to train many consultants? In which countries? What is their feedback? What were the other courses that you offered apart from this one?

I imagine it's not easy to deliver trainings to consultants as they are busy people who need chargeable projects for their time and might not have "training budgets" which are available to employees in bigger organisations. But it's a great idea to offer free training to them!

Regards,
Elisabeth

Excellent initiative in promoting this online course so that we can train ourselves in this period when we are all at home. The concepts and fundamentals of the ideas presented are sure to help a lot in the discussion of the big sanitation problems.

Dear all,

I am happy to announce a new YouTube-based free online course on Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (#CWIS) .

CWIS is the emerging approach for urban sanitation projects and programmes. But what does it entail? Which tools do you have at hand? How to improve service delivery and involve the private sector? And as consultants, how to understand and respond to CWIS Terms of Reference? This course is tailored for consultants and sanitation professionals willing to update themselves on the latest trends in urban sanitation planning, and seeks to answer these questions. The course is organised in three parts: Part 1 - Introduction & diagnostics ; Part 2 - Urban sanitation programming in practice ; Part 3 - Urban sanitation systems . It also features bonus videos on inclusive urban sanitation in five cities .

This eLearning offer is part of the Consultant Capacity Development (ConCaD) initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. ConCaD  aims to build capacity in private sector consulting firms, municipalities and among sanitation professionals to conceptualize, plan, design and supervise the implementation of inclusive urban sanitation projects and programmes. The purpose of increased consultant capacity is to improve the delivery and sustainability of sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. 

This course is complemented by a face-to-face training (also available in French ) and a resource package providing a wealth of references to deepen each topic. The face-to-face training is given in collaboration with six partner training institutes in Bangladesh, India, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Uganda and Zambia. All materials and information are available at www.sandec.ch/concad.

Please share and don't hesitate to provide us feedback!

Best regards

Philippe Reymond