The work of IRC and its partners from 2000 to 2008 has focused more than ever before on sustainability issues and poverty reduction, as a result of a more integrated approach to water, sanitation, and hygiene programmes.

The emphasis has shifted from community level to the local government level through a larger number of medium-sized projects, all with a specific focus, often embedded in water resources management. These projects often followed an action-research and learning approach and included stronger partnerships with resource centres.

As an organisation, IRC became fully autonomous since 2007, and has since focused more on “the market” to obtain funds.

Largest ever project on financing

In 2007 and 2008 our cost recovery and finance work, our partner network, our knowledge on effective approaches and our web site helped to bring the largest ever project for IRC with four country level partners. The 10 million euro WASHCost action research project started on 1 February 2008 and will finish in 2012. It will collect and collate information relating to the real disaggregated costs in the life-cycle of water, sanitation and hygiene service delivery to poor people in rural and peri-urban areas.

Highlights of this decade

From 2001 to 2007 IRC, worked with two partners in the north and eight partners in the developing world on the second, five-year WELL Resource Centre Network on water, sanitation and environmental issues. The northern partners were two UK based organisations, the Water Engineering Development Centre (WEDC) at Loughborough University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). This work was linked with IRC’s Resource Centre Development Programme with partners in 19 developing countries. From some of these partners, Junior Professional Officers joined an exchange programme (2001-2006) for young water and sanitation sector professionals in the Netherlands and their counterparts in developing countries.

Lessons learnt from these programmes are now included in the current business plan.

From 2003 to 2007 IRC was a leading partner in the Euro-Med Participatory Water Resources Scenarios (EMPOWERS), a multi-country (Egypt, Jordan, West Bank/Gaza) action research and development project led by Care International UK. The project was a clear example of trying to follow an integrated approach especially at district level, to promote a service delivery approach and a comprehensive planning cycle.

Working on innovations

Thematic groups have also been established with international and national allies working on innovations for sustainability and poverty reduction. They include:

• Scaling Up Rural Water Services - Sustainability through Support for Community Management.
• The Multiple Use Systems (MUS) project as part of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, a multi-institutional, research-based initiative that aims to increase water productivity for agriculture in order to improve livelihoods and leave more water for other users and the environment.
• Financing and cost recovery for poverty reduction, a platform of individuals (and the organisations they represent) with a shared interest in this key issue in the water and sanitation sectors.
• IRC is also a founder member of the Water Integrity Network, as part of its programme that supports improved transparency and accountability to reduce sector corruption. Activities include advocacy, action research, dissemination of publications, events, training and advice.

What trends in four decades?

Bridging the knowledge gap for improved water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and joint learning and sharing knowledge of IRC and partners have been the red thread in 40 years of IRC. Together we have influenced sector policy on innovative topics. Combining global and local knowledge and skills since 1968 as a WHO international reference centre we also published thousands of newsletter articles, hundreds of books, manuals and videos. Some of them were translated into local languages for use in local WASH programmes. We have assisted more than 50 local partners and international networks develop into autonomous organisations.

What trends have we seen in our work linked to developments in the water and sanitation sectors? The focus has changed over the decades:

• 1968-1979: mainly on technology development (standpipes and slow sand filtration);
• 1980-1990: from technology to community participation;
• 1990-2000: from community participation to community management of rural water supply; sanitation gradually coming onto the agenda;
• 2000-2008: a much more integrated approach to water, sanitation, and hygiene; more focus on sustainability and poverty reduction; a stronger focus on learning for change.

Dick de Jong

Tags: advocacy, financing, governance, information and communication, knowledge management, scaling up, transparency, water and livelihoods