Dear all,

I am happy to let you know that after the open consultation process and the adoption of the revised SuSanA Vision Document by all SuSanA parter organisations, the document was officially launched in Stockholm during the 24th SuSanA Meeting.

It's available here: www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...library/details/2715

We thank you all who contributed to this process for your valuable inputs.

Kind regards,
Cecilia – on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat

Dear Elisabeth,
thanks for your feedback.

Dear all,
please find the updated version of the Vision Document in the SuSanA library: www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2715 . The group picture in the header was changed. The new one was taken during the 23rd meeting in Chennai.
The Vision Document will be shared with all SuSanA partners on a no objection basis and will be launched at the 24th SuSanA meeting in Stockholm.
It will be complemented by the "interlinkages document" that explores the relation between sanitation and the other SDGs. We will share this document in this thread soon. Stay tuned!

Best regards,
Anne (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

Hi Anne,

I like your new selection of photos for this document very much, in particular your second version. Picking a SuSanA group photo for the header (instead of that Indian girl) works really well, I think.

And in the second version in the footer you have a photo of a vacuum truck (new), one of handwashing in the Philippines (old) and one of reuse on green leafy vegetables in Zimbabwe (old). I like the photo of a vacuum truck as it stresses that the topic of "fecal sludge management" (and how to make it sustainable) has become a big topic for SuSanA in recent years.

To all: Anne has reminded me that there is a deadline for feedback on this document and the photos by this Monday, 12 June. So you can still have your say until then!

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Elisabeth,

many thanks for your suggestions.

We have created two new versions based on the pictures of the SuSanA flyer. We have also incorporated one of the pictures from the SuSanA meetings (the 20th meeting in Dakar). I liked that idea!

One version still has an UDDT. As it comes along with other pictures, I don't have the feeling that it reinforces the messages that SuSanA stands for EcoSan only, but I am happy to hear some feedback from others!

How do you like the selected pictures?

Best regards,
Anne

(on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

Hi Anne,

you said:

@Elisabeth: You said that the pictures in the heading of the paper should be changed. I agree. Would you like to suggest any alternative pictures from the SuSanA Flickr Account?

Selecting suitable pictures always takes a long time as there are many parameters to consider. Therefore, to save us time, I would suggest that you use some of the same pictures that were used in the SuSanA flyer (see here on the Forum: forum.susana.org/10-announcements-regard...-available-june-2016 or here in the library: www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2084). Oh wait, now I just realised that the flyer from 2016 had only two photos (handwashing and group photo). The flyer from 2014 had more (also available here: www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2084).

How about having a photo or two from SuSanA meetings, i.e. the nice group photos?
As I said above: I would not use any photos of UDDTs, as we don't want to perpetuate the wrong image that SuSanA = ecosan = UDDTs.

Otherwise I can only recommend that someone scours through SuSanA's photos on flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/collections/
You could perhaps look at the click rates and pick out photos that have been proven to be most popular (although that might be certain technology photos which might also not be suitable),

Perhaps we can also encourage members to submit their favourite sustainble sanitation photos (if they are not yet in the SuSanA flickr database of photos).

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi everybody,

many thanks to Sowmya, Elisabeth and Arno for your valuable feedback and comments!
The author’s team (Roland Schertenleib, Elisabeth Kvarnström, Kim Andersson and Patrick Bracken together with the SuSanA Secretariat) is currently preparing a new version of the Vision Document taking into account your comments. We will also work on the layout and design of the paper.

@Elisabeth: You said that the pictures in the heading of the paper should be changed. I agree. Would you like to suggest any alternative pictures from the SuSanA Flickr Account?

After the consultation process with the wider SuSanA community, we envisage having the final version ready by mid-June, which will then be shared with all SuSanA partner organisations on a no-objection basis. We will be happy to share it with you all here in the forum. The final version will be launched to the global public at the 24th SuSanA meeting, prior to the Stockholm World Water Week 2017.

Just as a reminder: SuSanA has 295 partner organisations currently: www.susana.org/en/partner and all of them need to support the aims of SuSanA and thus agree to the Vision Document at the moment of the partner application.

In addition to the Vision Document we are also working on a so-called “Interlinkages Document”. This document will explore the relation between sanitation and the other SDGs and highlight some opportunities and challenges for the sanitation sector and SuSanA. This shall form a good basis to discuss together with the SuSanA WGs and the SuSanA community a roadmap or action plan that Arno is mentioning in his post.

Thank you all once again! We will keep you updated!

Best regards,

Anne (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

P.S. Save the date for the 24th SuSanA meeting - It will take place on Saturday, 26 August 2017 in Stockholm!

Just to add a broader perspective to this exercise:

The real question people may be asking is “Will SuSanA produce an action plan?” as part of this document? Could be the paper should be formally tabled with SWA and through the SuSanA Forum we crowd-source advice leading to an SDG 6 action plan for the sector.

And there are others that are potential collaborators, staking their claims:

GWP www.gwp.org/en/we-act/themesprogrammes/S...eparedness-Facility/

UNSC (the stats people) www.unwater.org/sdgs/indicators-and-monitoring/en/

HLWP (High Level Water Panel) sustainabledevelopment.un.org/HLPWater and their Action Plan sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/do...on_Plan_DEF_11-1.pdf

CN Hilton Foundation www.hiltonfoundation.org/news/137-rising...obal-challenge-sdg-6

UNESCAP www.unescap.org/events/regional-seminar-...water-and-sanitation

SDNS (Sust Devel Solutions Network) mainly republishing UN data (eg JMP) www.sdgindex.org/assets/files/sdg_index_...shboards_compact.pdf

So this may be the next step in further developing SuSanA’s approach here. It's really more of a communications strategy than a vision document that is needed if we want to see impact. We haven’t really started to pull that sort of strategy together. A first step would be to seek out the people behind the above activities (mainly KM and communication people), draft a basis for collaboration and then fire the whole thing up on the Forum in order to create sector-wide consensus and a policy and implementation action plan with critical linkages to regional initiatives. Without this broader approach we will risk seeing a repeat of the old and last minute forgotten MDG from 2000 and an even larger percentage failure by 2030. So this is a call for an action plan from SuSanA to catalyse and help coordinate the above efforts.

The call for feedback has been posted here on the forum for a while and the feedback period is closing soon: 31 March.

With this post, I would like to encourage all SuSanA members to take a look at the document that w're supposed to comment on, as it's an important new document for SuSanA, of similar importance to the "vision document" from ten years ago.

The new document is called "Contribution of Sustainable Sanitation to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development" and talks about SuSanA's possible contributions to achieving the SDGs.

I have a number of small comments which I am listing here below:

1. Who is the target audience for this document? Is it "everyone"? Could we narrow it down a bit and then adjust the language accordingly, e.g. by making it easier to understand if our target audience are people from outside the inner circle of experts?
2. The language so far seems very academic and wordy, hard to understand, especially for non-native English speakers.
3. Why keep calling it our “vision document” whilst this term doesn't apper in the title or subtitle. To avoid further confusion I suggest we stop calling it vision document. And instead of Agenda 2030 I would prefer to have the word "Sustainable Development Goals" in the title. I think SDGs is now better understood than Agenda 2030.
4. Font is very small.
5. Are the photos in the header and footer line really all that suitable? I must say I am very bored with seeing the same photos there since so many years. I also don’t think that we should have a photo of a UDDT on the front page. This would continue to support this notion that SuSanA = ecosan = UDDT - which is not the image we want to have.
6. Add page numbers
7. Page 2, point 3: long complicated sentence
8. Figure 1 font too small
9. Figure 2: colours not easy to read. Also, I find some of the claims are exaggerated like the one for SDG 5 on gender equity. I don’t think having toilets will suddenly help so much to reduce gender gaps (even though I agree that toilets are more important for the wellbeing of women than men); Same issue for SDG9 on innovation and infrastructure; I don’t think sanitation would have a huge impact on that
10. To save space, I think Figure 2 could be dropped. The SDGs are all interlinked so any other sector will say the same thing about their topic, e.g. you could also put energy in the centre, or education (like we put sanitation in the centre here)
11. Page 3: that definition by Webster for sanitation doesn’t convince me. “The act or process of making sanitary and the promotion of hygiene and prevention of disease by maintenance of sanitary conditions.” So what is the definition of “sanitary” then? Can’t we rather use the definition of sanitation that we use in the Wikipedia article (if indeed we need a definition here; we probably don't).

• Could use this WHO definition which is mentioned in the Wikipedia article: "Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and feces. The word 'sanitation' also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal."
• Or this definition from Wikipedia, first sentence: "Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes as well as the treatment and proper disposal of sewage or wastewater." - not saying that Wikipedia is the be all and end all, but if we don't like the definition there, we can also change it.

The reference list wastes a lot of space by listing 5 links to UN and UN-Water documents. Rather link to the most important one or just their website.

The SuSanA website on Page 4 should stand out more and not just be listed under references.

I think there needs to be a proper authors box and date, so that people know in future out to cite this. How about even adding “To be cited as: xxx” That would be useful.

Also I assume this will be open access. If yes, it should say so: CC-BY CA (same way as it was done for the vision document). There we made it (but could be shorter here): Copyright Information: All SuSanA materials are available under the open access licence CC-BY SA. Proper acknowledgement of the source should always be given when materials are used.

I invite everyone to post their own comments or to react to any of my comments to enter into a discussion (and thanks to Sowmya who had posted her thoughts above which were well noted; it was great food for thought but not easy to translate it into actual changes to this particular document without completely re-writing it or starting a new document).

Regards,
Elisabeth

Dear Roland,

Thanks for your comments. I agree that several of the points in the PPT have already been covered in the draft document - indeed, that was the point (to have a holistic map of what has already been covered in the draft document and some suggestions along with process map to understand implementation pathways). Agreed about slides relating to next steps as well (need not be part of the draft document).

To be precise, please find below 5 questions:

1. The draft document recognizes the sanitation interlinkages across the SDGs (page 2). This essentially translates into adopting multi-sector approaches to achieving WASH goals. How are multi-sector approaches reflected in the list of "specific objectives" mentioned in page 4 of the draft document?
2. Should we have a specific objective (in the page 4 list) focusing on multi-sector approaches in sanitation project implementation?
3. The specific objectives listed in page 4 can be classified into (a) technical documentation & information compiling regarding sanitation, and (b) supporting/interacting with sanitation sector players (policy makers, funding agencies, et al). The list relates to "within-sanitation" domain. If we take multi-sector approaches as a specific objective, how is it reflected in terms of (a) technical documentation & information compiling, and (b) supporting/interacting with other sector players? An excellent example of the technical documentation for multi-sector approaches is TMIH's conceptual framework that shows the clinical/technical interlinkages between health & WASH (SDG targets do not provide such detailed documentation). We need such well-researched "technical conceptual frameworks" for each of the inter-related SDGs as a first step.
4. Given that there are as yet no established institutions/mechanisms for exploring multi-sector approaches for each of the interlinkages between SDGs, how can SuSanA play a leading/significant role in exploring multi-sector approaches with respect to documentation & implementation to the extent it relates to sanitation? (This is where SuSanA's library, project profiles section and TDS/coordinated sessions with other forums come in, I guess?)
5. How are synergies & opportunities (made possible through multi-sector approaches - beyond the dependencies) addressed in the list of specific objectives in page 4?

And, it would be great to have a 1-2 sentence Vision Statement as well.

Notes Regarding Multi-Sector Approaches to WASH:
Multi-sector approaches have been recommended by several international institutions, including the UNICEF , World Bank and USAID .

Multi-sector approaches call for achieving goals of one sector through (by incorporating them within) the efforts of another sector.

For instance, the USAID document referred above specifically calls for incorporating WASH practices (hand washing etc) in health/nutrition related activities - this means that WASH will need to get handwashing goals achieved through health sector efforts. Earlier, Rose George had posted a document on how gender goals can be incorporated in sanitation projects - in this instance, gender goals have to be achieved through WASH projects.

We need technical & ICT/capacity development documents for each of the SDGs interlinked with sanitation. The first objective listed in page 4 relate to collecting and compiling information but they relate to sanitation goals within the sanitation domain. For instance, in SuSanA, we have posted sustainable & low-cost technologies related to handwashing (including TippyTap and the Gates Foundation supported development of alternatives to soap) - how can we get these solutions be made aware of & included within the efforts of health sector? The same applies to each of the other inter-linked SDGs.

Thanks and regards,
Sowmya

Dear Sowmya,

Many thanks for your thoughts and interesting ideas. I think you go already a step further and make interesting and useful suggestions for the implementation of the new vision. In fact, many of your points are included in the vision document but in a more general way. The discussion how to implement the new vision will be an important the next step and your suggestions will certainly be a useful input for this discussion. I also expect that many of your points will be addressed in the upcoming market study within the Gates project.

As mentioned in the post by the Secretariat, the draft of new 4-page vision document "Contribution of Sustainable Sanitation to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development" was prepared by a small team (including myself) in collaboration with the SuSanA Secretariat and will replace SuSanA's old vision document "Towards more sustainable sanitation solutions" from 2008. The new document has already been reviewed by the Core Group.

We are now mainly interested to know if also the other partners and members of SuSanA basically agree with the new vision outlined in the concise 4-page document or if there are any important objections. Any specific comments/suggestions which can easily be integrated into the existing text are of course also very welcome.

Based on the comments the document will be finalized so that it can be hopefully officially launched during the World Water Week 2017 in Stockholm.

With many thanks and best regards
Roland Schertenleib

Dear Elisabeth,

Thanks. I agree that the comments were too long... Your point is valid, we will need a structure for the discussion. As a suggestion, please find attached a PPT with some slides providing the structure for summarizing/finalizing the vision statement. Most of the inputs should be going into filling up some box(es) in the slides.

Essentially, we start with a mantra, sketch the most important needs/imperatives based on the sanitation SDG & extant sector status, SuSanA agenda - then & now/being discussed, formal structures already in place for implementation, opportunities for increasing efficiency and/or effectiveness of implementation - what was explored but not formalized and/or notes to be considered --> broad outline of the vision & objectives. Iterate between vision & objectives until a 1-sentence vision statement and a list of objectives are formulated.

The info in the other slides are for supporting the vision-objectives iteration and having a better understanding of the context (eg., considerations/constraints, opportunities, risks if any, key people/groups with engage with, next steps).

Reg mantra: for instance, "early detection, early response" was the mantra for stopping smallpox, Larry Page's Ted Talk . I couldn't think of any immediately for SuSanA's 2030 Agenda. Hence, thought of "The World's Largest Open Forum for Sanitation: Increasing Influence & Impact" as the pivot for thinking of the vision statement.

The content in the SuSanA Vision Document as well as comments in this thread can be fed into these slides... thought we can do this once we know the discussion framework & context (hence the PPT).

Warm regards,
Sowmya

Dear Sowmya,

Thanks for your post with all these really interesting ideas.
I am just a little bit at a loss how you would want to see those integrated into the 4-page document that we are meant to comment on here ("Contribution of Sustainable Sanitation to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development”)?

I think the call for comments was more for things that are relatively easy to change and add or edit, not for a complete re-write.

Would your comments perhaps be more suitable for either a new document or for a new discussion thread here on the forum or for a thematic discussion of sorts? Could you perhaps break it down into baby steps for me (small doable actions) as I am a bit overwhelmed with it at this stage.

Regards,
Elisabeth

P.S. I am also planning to comment on the Contributions document in the next few days and was hoping to read other people's comments as well.
However it might be helpful if the secretariat could clarify what type of comments are requested. You said:

We are happy to receive your comments, feedback and ideas.

Arno commented in an e-mail to me:

For starters one might ask what is the point of asking more people to comment on the document after it has gone through multi-drafts already. WG heads have already made comments presumably since it went through the Core Group. That people don’t find it necessary to comment on may be an indicator that it is a rather good piece of work.

So it might be useful to have greater clarity on this. Thanks.