Hi Everyone,

My apologies for the very intermittent participation... Some quick thoughts on some other objectives that the vision document could include :

(1) Increase interdisciplinary co-operation: how SuSanA can help sanitation specialists (policy makers - govt departments, business ventures & NGOs, professionals, media, et al) to increase co-operation and interaction with specialists from other related SDGs - essentially, integrated approach to SDG implementation (we already have a SuSanA post on that). For instance, inviting Rose George to participate in SuSanA's discussion helped everyone learn several important points about women's rights as well as documents available for integrating women's rights in implementing sanitation projects - quick reference instead of having to do the research. Her latest TEDtalk on sanitation .

(2) Increase co-operation with other forums: HIFA/CHIFA which we have already done, Wiki (I remember WikiDoc James), and there are other forums - stackoverflow, quora, etc. Moderated & unmoderated forums can work differently but exploring both would be great. We also increased participation in LinkedIn and Facebook. We could have a formal schedule in place to be present across forums (where more structured co-operation is not possible) and a series of discussion series where structured co-operation is possible (for instance, with HIFA/CHIFA). A discussion series with HIFA/CHIFA on the TippyTap & handwashing solutions for healthcare providers in the most resource-scarce setting would be just awesome, we also need to interact with agri/energy sector. EVIDEM Collaboration (an open international forum for mainstreaming multi-criteria decision making in health sector resources allocation as the better alternative to cost-effective analysis - it is for health sector but sanitation has huge interlinkages with health and what we can compare notes on the development of evaluation criteria as well as approaches to engaging different stakeholders - compare the sanitation technology assessment criteria with MCDM in health sector) is another forum that I would very highly recommend. It would be even better to run a thematic discussion series across SuSanA, HIFA/CHIFA and EVIDEM Collaboration together. EVIDEM also has a rather strong policy/academia/corporate presence, HIFA/CHIFA has awesome engagement with professionals (including paramedical, which is really a huge thing) and SuSanA engages with all stakeholders (increases engagement across stakeholder groups continuously, some city in Karnataka, India, was going to engage with the SuSanA Forum last year if I remember correctly, three cheers for SuSanA, the members and Karnataka, India! ). Learning, sharing experiences, approaches that work, increasing presence & stakeholder interaction, etc.

(3) Chart how the potential of the forum can be used to aid each of the stakeholders achieve their professional objectives: For instance,

(a) showcasing projects (for ventures & NGOs - feature already exists in the website, could add some additional features to showcase the star value viz., aid effectiveness, best practices, transparency & governance, participative approach, multi-disciplinary approach, awards received) & can SuSanA also award outstanding projects or give a star based on some criteria - may not be feasible to do an in-depth analysis but something similar to 'Featured Forum User' - SOIL Haiti could be one of the first recipients ,

(b) the library can include some additional features to add credentials to authors/institutions (a star rating that authors can add to their resumes - much like impact factors as well as adding their www.academia.edu profile viz., a networking website for academics with 47.9 million members, please read wiki page - increase the opportunity for multi-disciplinary & inter-professional research, and we do need data visualization experts and other cutting-edge technologies as well) - we really do not have much of a picture of sanitation & WASH research & I am not sure about bibliometrics research conducted in WASH scientific/academia-led implementation research,

(c) showcase best practices in project conceptualization & implementation - focusing on transparency & governance - for policy makers, CSR, etc. A powerful image of best practices on these aspects can increase the overall country profile in the international scene (important for expanding business abroad, interest from international financial institutions, etc). And SuSanA can actually play a critical role in increasing transparency & governance as well. Transparency International (headquartered in Germany) can be a great institution to work with. We could have a TDS co-led with Transparency International and help professionals & institutions for all types (govt depts, business ventures, NGOs) be aware of critical issues, guideline documents, etc.

(d) increase co-operation with institutions of a specific type (for instance, Overseas Development Institute, has huge expertise in international aid effectiveness - comes in useful for India's CSR being co-ordinated at the national level now) - compare the focus themes in health research (implementation research, economics, etc) with WASH research. IFOAM is also a great institution to interact with, there has already been some interest shown (I remember some posts by Chris Canaday). Some institutions (particularly international aid) have experience across sectors - we could engage with them to understand how they view sanitation implementation compared to other sectors (IDRC, The Gates Foundation, UN/UNICEF, et al). NGOs, grant applications & process, how small NGOs can improve their KPI which can help increase their potential to receive grants, effectiveness, etc. How to increase media engagement (press, radio/tv, online, etc).

(e) Increase presence in other sectors - as mentioned in one of my posts in a TDS, an important international conference on sustainable agriculture had representation by the world's largest fertilizer companies but no participation/agenda to discuss how soil amendments from sustainable sanitation can contribute. We could have a website section on how sustainable sanitation professionals/institutions are engaging with other sectors & increasing the overall presence and profile of sustainable sanitation - for instance, participating in conferences of other SDG sectors to showcase interlinkages/contribution of sustainable sanitation.

(f) Sanitation in Disaster Resilience - contributing to the Hyogo Framework for Action HFA): Specifically integrating with HFA . Sanitation during Ebola is one of the best examples of how a forum of experts can quickly contribute to a disaster response program. Both the 'sanitation during ebola' documents as well as the interaction & cross-posting with HIFA/CHIFA. Disaster resilience is still one of the least focus areas in several countries & SuSanA can play a powerful role. I remember some posts by Mughal about sanitation in highly flood-affected countries (for instance, Bangladesh) as well as small island nations. We could work with HIFA/CHIFA to put together a disaster response as well as disaster resilience toolkit and help that get integrated into the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) of NGOs - this happened in case of Ebola, thanks Elizabeth von Muench! Also our learning and closing the know-do gap as well as how this expert contribution increased awareness and subsequent inclusion of sanitation in Ebola management and response document by the WHO. We will need the same for cholera & all sanitation-related diseases during natural disasters.

(g) Learning Forums: I remember the Coursera posts. Maybe a joint discussion across SuSanA, HIFA/CHIFA & EVIDEM about self-learning courses (University of Loughborough is one of the first to start an online self-learning course in sanitation, isn't it?). Can we engage with educational institutions such as John Hopkins, Stanford University, Harvard who create several of these courses on how they can create a course for multi-disciplinary co-operation projects or topics etc. Their criteria for deciding on topics, etc. These courses often include group projects for the students - so we will have structured modules for interaction on specific topics where SDG linkages have to be strengthened. We could contribute to and learn from the health sector as well.

How the interlinkages with other SDGs translate into specific objectives that capitalize on SuSanA's strengths (membership, website, Forum). As well as increasing focus on implementation research & academia participation.

Thanks and warm regards,
Sowmya

Dear all,
This year SuSanA is celebrating its 10th year of activity. SuSanA was founded in 2007, motivated by the UN’s decision to declare 2008 as International Year of Sanitation in the run up to the 2015 deadline for the MDGs. Since its foundation SuSanA’s partners and members share a vision of sustainable sanitation and is dedicated to understanding and promoting viable and sustainable sanitation solutions.

The 2015 deadline has passed, and as we all know, the sanitation target was sadly missed by quite a margin. However, post-MDG, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the accompanying Sustainable Development Goals have set a clear path for continuing efforts and aim to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030.

This new context for the sanitation sector offers new opportunities but may also require a rethink of how major actors, including SuSanA, can and should function in this context and what role they could play.

We are pleased to let you know that the SuSanA Core Group and the SuSanA Secretariat together with Roland Schertenleib, Elisabeth Kvarnström, Patrick Bracken and Kim Andersson have reviewed the position and mission of SuSanA in the context of the SDGs and revised SuSanA’s document “Towards more sustainable sanitation solutions” from 2008 which is often also referred to as the vision document.

The revised document with the new title “Contribution of Sustainable Sanitation to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development” reflects the new context of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and outlines SuSanA’s contribution to the Agenda 2030.

A draft version of this document was presented at SuSanA’s 10th Anniversary celebrations on 17th January 2017 and is now open for public discussion with SuSanA members and any other interested parties.

You have three different options to join this discussion:

• Post your comments directly in this discussion thread on the SuSanA Forum
• Follow this link and comment directly on the vision paper on google doc. docs.google.com/document/d/1_W2gw3ez69S4...K9Q/edit?usp=sharing
• Send us your feedback via Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The draft vision document 2030 is also available in the SuSanA library: www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2715

A first comment, which we received during the anniversary celebration meeting, highlighted already that SuSanA’s role with regard to the SDG#17 (“Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”) is missing in the document.

We would appreciate your feedback before 31 March 2017. Afterwards we will update the document and share an updated version with the SuSanA community.

We envisage launching the final version of SuSanA’s vision document: “Contribution of Sustainable Sanitation to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development” at the 24th SuSanA Meeting connected to this year’s Stockholm World Water Week.

Thanks in advance and best regards,

Annkathrin Tempel (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)