The latest WASH sector innovation is not a pump but communication

About ten years ago I remember the revolutionary feeling of no longer needing to drive three hours back from a rural community with whom I was working in order to get advice on how to tackle a particularly complicated technical challenge. This was not because I had miraculously become a more experienced engineer overnight, but due to the fact that I was now able to call the office via a somewhat large and clunky mobile phone. The fact that I had to climb to the top of the recently constructed water reservoir to do so, did not really matter, as I had saved about three days in delays. Revolutionary yes, but it had taken about a year’s worth of wrangling with management to get the then expensive mobile phone contracts funded.NEW_LINENEW_LINEThe water, sanitation &; hygiene (WASH) development sector may not particularly stand out for its innovation and adoption of new and revolutionary technologies. Perhaps this is not because there are no new technologies, but rather that many of the technologies in use were developed decades ago and have stood the test of time. We take many of them for granted, like toilet paper or a postage stamp, but they do the job, most of the time.NEW_LINENEW_LINEToday, most of the challenges and innovation required in the sector is in the area of how technologies are used and ”delivered” as part of a bigger package aimed at achieving social, health and economic benefits. This is often referred to as the “soft” aspect of our work and, let’s face it, this aspect does not often make for sexy headlines.NEW_LINENEW_LINEBut that does not mean that the sector is stagnant in the use of new technology, particularly of late. It just might not be the technologies that one would expect. Coincidentally, for me, I am seeing a lot of this new innovation in the area of communications and how this is being used to improve the way in which the WASH development sector functions.NEW_LINENEW_LINEIf you take a standard water pump, for example, communication technologies are now being applied to efficiently report on and map functional status, to allow communities to access technical services or spare parts to repair their pump, and to allow households to pay for their services or even complain to their provider. Increasingly, also, communication technologies are allowing people, both sector professionals and communities with whom they work, to access information, much like I did ten or so years ago.NEW_LINE

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NEW_LINEIt is in this last area of innovation that the KnowledgePoint initiative holds huge promise. We as WASH sector professionals regularly hear stories of how particularly projects would have been so much better if only the key professionals driving the projects had had better information, if only they had collaborated or shared information with this or that organization.NEW_LINENEW_LINEAs an example, let's take that same scenario I faced ten year ago.NEW_LINENEW_LINEThe project was a small piped water system funded by an NGO and the majority of the labour for laying the pipes was being provided by the community. The problem I faced on that particular day was a relatively small one when I compare it to some of the original design decisions we took when developing the project. We had decided, given the context of the area to go with a solar pumped borehole system, but yet none of us involved had any experience in this area.NEW_LINENEW_LINEIt took up to a year for us to develop the design through trial and error and to arrive at an appropriate design for the context – and even then the implementation of that design threw up new unforeseen challenges. What we did not have at that time was an easy way in which to access and collaborate with other water sector development professionals (worldwide) in order to tap into their knowledge and experience. Conceivably we might have solved our issues much faster or even opted for a completely different design had we been able to do this.NEW_LINENEW_LINEZoom that scenario forward to 2012 when the questions and answer service that the KnowledgePoint initiative is developing has been launched. I am about to embark on a design journey with a community to solve their water supply issues. Due to their geographical isolation as a community, their relatively high water needs but particularly their high level of cash poverty, I think that a solar solution might be the answer. I have heard of this organisation called WaterAid, for arguments sake, and find a KnowledgePoint technical query page on their website. I log in and pose my query. I immediately receive feedback on the webpage but also in my email of key relevant online reading materials and previously answered queries. I am also told that I can expect a more focused response within three days.NEW_LINENEW_LINEA day later I am somewhat enlightened by reading some of the material and I receive an email from the WaterAid moderator asking for more specific details. The email also lets me know that, due to the nature of my query, that the WaterAid moderator has requested additional expertise from Practical Action. I respond, by email, providing the additional information. Two days later I receive a more detailed response that lays out particular sets of options, advice, additional reading materials and key supplier names and contacts for other organisations or individuals that have undertaken similar projects. In a very short space of time, I have accessed a wealth of very focused and appropriate information and advice that allows me, as a sector professional to make much better informed decisions. Additionally, the entire query, answers and related resources has now become part of a growing database of fully searchable previously asked questions. Anyone making a similar query in the future will now immediately receive a link to my query and its answer.NEW_LINE

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NEW_LINESo, what is so different and innovative about KnowledgePoint and a number of other networks and public forums that already exist on the internet? The key difference with KnowledgePoint is that it brings together the existing well respected technical advisory services that each of the participating organisations already runs using vetted experts. The new system intends to provide the service through a collaborative agreement between these organisations to facilitate the sharing of expertise and resources and thereby providing the best possible service for enquirers.NEW_LINENEW_LINEIn addition to this, KnowledgePoint intends to evolve the services and break down the traditional "developed - developing" country model by facilitating a space where development and humanitarian sector professionals everywhere can be both enquirers and experts, whilst still maintaining a quality and trusted service through organisationally controlled moderation.NEW_LINENEW_LINEEven if KnowledgePoint does not become the next Twitter or Facebook (in terms of users), it should achieve organisational collaboration, share and capture key expertise and resources, and through this positively inform the programmatic design decisions of a proportion of WASH development or humanitarian programmes. If so, then we will have achieved our goals. Naturally we will dream bigger and hope for more!NEW_LINENEW_LINEErik Harvey- WaterAid