DPMI training 2011: An Invaluable Asset for my career as a Development Practionner

I participated in DPMI training in May and June 2011 at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. DPMI training is an intensive 3 weeks training that prepared students and development practitioners to learn about tools, skills, innovative methods to succeed as a development worker. 

The training was organized around 3 modules, and cover most of themes, concepts, techniques used by the global development community (donors, project implementers, stakeholders, international organizations). 

As a development practitioner, I found this training to be well suited to my needs, and hope this initiative will perpetuate to guide students, workers

Results Framework: Access to clean water Rural Peru

Best take away from the module 3

Participatory Method:

Participatory methods refers to communities participation
Participation can be a mean or a goal (explained in presentation)....Focus has been more on using participation as a mean...

Challenges and benefits of participatory development

Challenges	Benefits
Cultural barriers Too much democracy Lack of interest Draws on and uses collective knowledge Facilitation neutrality Marginalized groups excluded Establishing a comfortable open environment Be like me, dictatorship;	Community ownership Consensus building Use local assets Time consuming, action research, mutual growth, obstacles to empowerment removed; improves communication;

Facilitation:

Qualities of a good facilitator:

Good listener

Knowledgeable,

Conversant with the topic

Interrupt when necessary

Asking good questions

Top 10 tips for facilitation

Paraphrase

Check for meaning
Give positive feedback
Expand
Increase the pace
Devil’s advocate
Relieve tension
Consolidate
Change the process
Summarize

Some facilitation techniques:

Core competency: Ashoka

My Development Philosophy

Intervention Grid: Access to clean water rural Peru

Performance Management Plan Indicator Worksheet-

(one worksheet per proposed indicator)

1. Name and number of Strategic Objective: SO 1 Improved access to clean, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation systems in rural Peru.

2. Name and number of Intermediate Result: IR 2 Improved quality of existing water sources

3. Indicator (state in QQTP terms): By 2015, there will be a 50% reduction of total suspended solids (TSS) from current (2011) levels in the water supply in participating rural communities in Peru in accordance with WHO standards.

4. Is this an Annual Report indicator? yes, by the WHO annual report.

5. Precise definitions of terms included in the indicator: Total suspended solids: the dry-weight of particles trapped by a filter, typically of a specified pore size. Rural: participating communities x miles away from urban areas....

6. Unit of measure: milligrams of solids per liter of water

7. Disaggregated by: what categories does the data fit into? Communities with government sourced water/communities with newly implemented local sources (water catchment etc) -type of water sources

8. Indicator Justification and Management Utility: This is the standard measure for the WHO It will assess which methods of water supply are best at providing clean safe drinking water to rural communities.

9. Data collection method: Filtering one liter of water in the communities with dry weight filter and measuring the total suspended solids, measured in milligrams per liter. Equation: Dirty pad weight in grams - clean pad weight in grams/ ml of sample * 1,000,000

10. Data source: NGO collects the data from local water sources

11. Data analysis: Looking at initial baselines levels of TSS (2011) and annual measurements of TSS levels in the water that is sourced to rural communities once implementation of project has begun.

12. Presentation of Data: Data will made available locally to the rural communities affected and published in an NGO (or other managing organization) project report.

13. Review of data (how and by whom will data quality be safeguarded?): Data will be verified by a certified third party not involved with this specific project or organization.

14. Reporting of data (how, by whom and to whom will data be reported?): Annual reports linked to website for donors, and NGO reports to the government and local communities.

What we need to do for the Intervention Grid:

1. Brief description of major activities

IR 2:

1. Activity 1: Training community members in water and waste management practices, and use of technical components.
2. Activity 2: Implementing sustainable water systems
3. Activity 3: Water overflow management

2. Target audience for each activity
1. Activity 1: community leaders, farmers, women
2. Activity 2: Community members in rural towns
3. Activity 3: rural populations

3. Implementers (include partners as appropriate)
1. Activity 1: our project team; local experts (if applicable/existent)
2. Activity 2: Contractors working with local builders and community members willing to be trained
3. Activity 3: NGOs, ---> grassroots orgs----> local people who are very familiar with land -----> local experts in water systems

4. Timing (when and for how long)
1. Activity 1: 6 months, then ongoing---retraining once per year for 4 years; ultimately should be sustained by the community with project team members providing initial leadership & training (cycle of training trainers to train others)
2. Activity 2: 4 years building infrastructure
3. Activity 3: 1 year of assessment, 1 year of planning with communities, 2 years implementation/building necessary components

5. Brief rationale/justification for your choices (why are these implementers doing these activities with this target audience?)
1. Activity 1: If community members have a working knowledge of how to increase efficiency of water use, they will be able to use less water. Additionally, better practice in human waste management will reduce contamination of water sources.
2. Activity 2: Water systems such as rain catchment systems, fog catchment systems, and the utilization of other local water sources will ensure that communities are optimizing the water that is available rather than depending on government sources which are unsatisfactory. Localized waste management, such as composting toilets, will ensure that waste is being treated rather than dumped into local water supplies.
3. Activity 3: Implementing water-flow management strategies will ensure that communities will have control of their water supply despite heavy rains or droughts.

BRAINSTORM TIME!!!!

: (the sustainable design aspect)

• Build composting toilets? yay sustainability!
• water catchment?
• How to conserve water? yes--more efficient use & possibly greywater reuse for gardens?
• and maybe changing to drip irrigation from traditional irrigation for agriculture/small farmers
• solar water filtration? I don’t know how much it suns in Peru though
• rainwater and fog capture

The programs to train rural highland communities in fog and rainwater capture will be measured
by the successful training of at least 5 individuals in a given community and the distribution of
necessary resources to participants. Additionally, the use of these methods will be monitored
on a monthly basis to determine if they are used continually, properly, and if equipment is well
maintained. The program will be considered effective in given communities only if at least two
community members demonstrate unassisted, proper use of the method and equipment nine
months after implementation of the training.



which can then be used to set up a sustainable (outcome, w00t) education system within the community.

EXIT STRATEGY PLANNING TOOL

SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES	1.  What must be sustained? Check as many options as apply. _X_An activity                 _X_A benefit stream     ___An institution ___Program coverage ___Level of service (program intensity) ___Quality of service ___Key relationships
	2.  Can benefit streams be maintained without continued activities? _X_Yes ___No
	3.  If answer above is “no”:  Who will maintain activity streams, and with what resources?
EXIT STRATEGY CHOICES	4.  Which of the following exit strategy approaches are most appropriate for this project? ___Phase down: Sponsor reduces activity level but continues providing some support May be preparatory to phase out or phase over Special challenges include: pacing; redefining target population; maintenance of benefit stream __ Phasing over: Sponsor substantially reduces support for an activity or service Successor institution identified that will continue providing activity or service Sponsor assists successor institution in securing needed resources and developing critical capacities Special challenges include: pacing; capacity building; and decision-making about scope and scale of activities _X_ Phasing out: Sponsor discontinues support and involvement No new sponsor is identified to continue the activity Special challenges include: safety net considerations; maintaining the benefit stream without maintaining the activity that initially produced the stream
	5.  Summarize details of the approach(es) you have selected. Include key activities and timing. If appropriate, identify the successor institution. Incorporate, in your strategy, to the extent feasible, the best exit strategy practices. Activity 1: Train the trainer -- ensure continuation of knowledge of water and waste management and efficient water usage; ensure maintenance of existing infrastructure (including filters); ongoing community-run programs (education/awareness) and monitoring water quality (if the government or another NGO is not in charge of providing this service?) Activity 2: Infrastructure will be built and maintained, knowledge will be transferable. Activity 3:  Water supply routes and knowledge will be established and will need to be maintained. All of these activities involve the transfer of knowledge. We believe that we can phase these elements out so that the communities involved will be sufficiently skilled to maintain the infrastructure and training that we set up. (One way to do this is the trainer certification program,
	6.  Describe how you will meet the special challenges (noted in item #4) that are associated with the exit strategy(ies) you have selected. Challenges proposed by item #4 will be met by training community members and appointing them as leaders to continue the project under a community organization. NGO will gradually reduce presence until 7% of adults in  the community demonstrate ability to replicate activities with little to no NGO assistance. If this is not met by 2015, then the N GO will reevaluate and attempt to stay until this quota met. Safety net: Continued support of community with semi-annual training sessions combined with annual reports on status of water quality. Maintained benefit stream: With careful planning and implementation, the continuation of benefits should become completely managed and sustained from within the communities receiving these benefits.
MONITORING ISSUES	What indicators will you use to monitor exit strategy success? [Note: Choose only those indicators that are relevant to your exit strategy] Status indicators (that show that the problem addressed by the program has been significantly reduced): -ongoing water quality monitoring -presence and stability of infrastructure Organizational capacity indicators (that show that one or more partners can manage the effort): -certification program for community trainers (will receive certificate upon meeting training program requirements) Financial indicators (that show that needed resources are in place): -when we run out of money, we go home(?) Time indicators (that show what is to be in place by a particular date): - all of this should be accomplished by 2015, however, we have a 1-2 year leeway for exiting, in case the communities are not ready.

Best exit strategy practice:

1) Start planning exit st from the beginning.

2) Develop partnerships and local links

3) build local org and human capacity

4) mobilize local and external resources

5) stagger the phase out of various program activities and resources

6) Allow roles and relationships to evolve and continue after exit.