Edit on 20 Dec 2016: This thread was started before we had a working group on behaviour change. The result of this discussion, which was also taken to the core group, was to create a new working group (now number 13) with the topic "behaviour change". The new working group started end of 2016.

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Hi,

This is a question that I had initially raised in another thread ( here ) but now I'd like to start a new thread for it:

I am wondering which of our SuSanA working groups has the most interest in behavior change (and also handwashing and hygiene, which is related)? It could be Working Group 4 (as it includes hygiene in the title), but I think it's more likely WG 12 as nutrition has a lot to do with behavior change, hygiene and handwashing.

Claire replied in the other thread:

Regarding the question of which working groups has the more interest in behaviour change, I'm quite sure that almost all groups have an interest in this issue of behavioral change because it is a means to achieve access to sustainable and appropriate sanitation and public health. Why not keeping this thematic transversal (it is already in a thematic discussion series)?

I still think it's better to give it a "home" in one particular working group, where the working group leads and the members can push this topic forward in various ways. I also think it is not really "cross-cutting" to all the other working groups. Of course there are some overlaps, but e.g. I don't think it relates (much) to the working groups on cities and planning (WG 6), emergency sanitation (WG 8 ), operation and maintenance (WG 10)...

I would propose that:

1. Behavior change becomes one more topic of WG 12 (and this is reflected in the description of WG 12) or alternatively in WG 9 perhaps (as an advocacy topic).
2. We change the title and description of WG 4 to make it clearer that its focus is on technologies, systems, pathogen kill, hygienisation but not really about behavior change (or handwashing and hygiene).

Your opinions?

For people who are new to SuSanA: please see here information about the 12 working groups (WGs) of SuSanA:
www.susana.org/en/working-groups/overview
(they have by now become very large (WG 2 is the smallest with 1200 members and WGs 4 and 9 are the largest with 3000 or more members each; naturally, a SuSanA member can be a member of several, or even all, working groups; you can change that at any time yourself in your personal details settings when you log into the SuSanA website (not the forum website). Each working group has its own moderated e-mail mailing list, e.g. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. which can be used to reach the members; but they are only used quite sparingly in order not to overload people with e-mails)


Regards,
Elisabeth

P.S. I have now created a "sticky post" in each working group sub-category to point the user to the respective thematic location on the forum, e.g. see here for WG 2: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/55-wg-2-market-development
(a sticky post is the one highlighted in yellow which always stays on top of the list)