High Performance Community Initiative

Recognising Community Achievements

• Successfully implement project activities
• Adopt and promote improved hygiene and sanitation practises.
• Demonstrably improve the health of community members.
• Have effective community management for sustaining improved hygiene and sanitation initiatives.
• Are equitable; considering the opinions and preferences of traditionally less advantages members of society.
• Can demonstrate additional community led development activities.
• Promote partnership with Local Level Government.

RWSSP is launching a High Performance Communities Initiative in order to record and recognize such communities. Successful project implementation alone will not be enough to qualify.

PURPOSE OF THE INITIATIVE

• To recognize the achievements of high performing communities
• To learn from examples of good practice in order to improve policy on what works.
• To act as a motivational tool for NSAs to encourage greater community involvement and enthusiasm in project implementation.
• To have a record of high performance communities for other development partners and donors.

ON BEING RECOGNISED

• Once identified, communities will receive a certificate of recognition and appreciation from the RWSSP PMU.
• The project will be documented as a case study which will be made available to other projects and development partners, including other donors and Provincial/District authorities.
• Details of awards will be included in SPLASH, the RWSSP newsletter.
• Specific examples will be sent as a press brief to the national media to receive national press recognition.
• Field visits from neighbouring participating communities may be arranged to see examples of good practice first hand.
• Communities will be recognised in RWSSP project reports, circulated to government departments, EU and NAOs office.
• Development partners will be specifically encouraged to attend any project opening and given a thorough brief on the project.

SUBMISSION OF NOMINATIONS

Communities should be nominated by the contracted NSA to the PMU. An application and guidelines are attached. Self nominations are not permitted. If considered appropriate a member of the PMU will visit the nominated community. The nomination will then be considered by the PMU before awarding recognition as a high performance community. If a community is not awarded recognition they will receive notification of areas requiring additional strengthening and they will be encouraged to re-apply once these have been addressed.


Communities who completed projects under RWSSP Phase 1 of RWSSP are equally eligible to apply.

It is worth remembering that the standard will be set high. We want to collect examples of best practice and recognize exceptional achievement .


WHAT NOW ?

There may be some communities which qualify immediately, in which case let us know. Other communities may wish to work towards achieving recognition - encourage them to do so and then apply when you feel they have reached the required standard. There is currently no closing date for nominations. The Initiative will run until at least December 2011

These details can be found on our website; www.rwssp.com

Finally

You do not need to wait until the project is nearly finished to apply. If a community has already demonstrated excellence and have plans for sustaining their achievements then let us know.

There is inevitably a degree of subjectivity in awarding excellence. However, as a guide, some of the achievements we will be looking for, both in the initial NSA submission and during the subsequent visit are detailed below, in no order of preference:

• High degree of understanding and enthusiasm in the community about the outputs & goals of the project.
• 10% collected already or on track with clear strategy.
• High level of understanding in the community, including children, of improved hygiene and sanitation practises
• Evidence of community involvement, particularly women, in final design of project outputs.
• Evidence of community organisation during project implementation ie organized fund collection, community action and implementation plans.
• Equitable and appropriate allocation of project resources in the community.
• No current land/property disputes related to the project.
• Technically well implemented project.
• Documented process for long term management e.g. committee/individuals with TORs , constitutions, fund raising intitaives.
• Community members clearly have necessary skills to sustain project outputs
• Documented guidelines, developed by the community, on water use rules and regulations.
• Evidence of widespread improved hygiene and sanitation practises in the community.
• Evidence of improved health, based on baseline surveys.
• Zero open defecation
• Strategy for continuing messages of improved hygiene and sanitation, eg school programmes etc.
• Evidence of new development initiatives/priorities/plans
• Evidence of partnership dialogues/activities.
• A project implementation process that demonstrably improves the profile of women in the community.