A. Background

Following Decision No. 519 – TTg – HTQT issued by the Prime Minister on 3 April 2006, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of the RWSSP was signed on May 15 by the Minister of MARD and 14 international partners. By Decision 1423, the Minister of MARD subsequently on May 16 established the RWSSP Coordination Unit as an independent unit in MARD, associated with the International Cooperation Department.

The purpose the RWSSP is to create a collaborative mechanism for improved effectiveness of resource use in RWSS through coordination and harmonization of support to GoV policies, the National Target Programme for RWSS (NTP) and other programmes. This will contribute to nation-wide application of the National RWSS Strategy and to the Partnership goal of “reducing rural poverty and improved living conditions of rural people through universal, sustained and affordable access to RWSS services”.

The Partnership Programme Framework for the initial 5 year period emphasize the following priority intervention areas: a) strengthening of sector planning, monitoring and institutional capacity, b) focus on sanitation, c) provincial capacities and participatory processes, d) scaling-up of innovations and e) private sector involvement.

B. Progress since submission of last Partnership Note (May 2006, for MYCG)

Since the signing of the MoU, efforts have been focused on establishing the RWSSP Coordination Unit, the Partnership Steering Committee, and the initial work plan, budget and operational procedures. Key achievements in this context include:

• The Coordination Unit moved into its new office space in MARD in August 2006 and is now fully equipped and staffed (Director (ICD); 4 contracted national staff and a temporary international advisory input. Management Guidelines have been prepared for approval by the initial PSC meeting scheduled for early December.

• Following issuing of letter no. 3507/QD-BNN-TCCB by the Minister of MARD on 16/11/2006 on the establishment of the RWSSP Steering Committee, 16 representatives from GoV and international partners have been nominated, of which 11 from MARD and other ministries and agencies and 5 from international partners. The nominations and PSC working regulations will be reviewed by the PSC and submitted for final approval by MARD.

• The Annual Work Plan for 2006-07 and the operational budget for the inception phase (Jul 06-Jun 08) have been prepared and will be submitted to the PSC for endorsement.

• Financing of the operational budget for the inception phase has been solicited from partners.

C. Support towards implementation of the SEDP 2006 - 2010 and sectoral strategies and programmes

With establishment of Partnership structures and procedures being prioritized, only limited programme activities in support of the SEDP and sectoral strategies and programmes have been pursued during the past 6 months. However the following initiatives have been launched:

• M&E Technical Working Group: Following consultations with partners, ToR for the RWSSP Technical M&E Working Group (TWG) have been prepared. The group will act as a forum for discussions on initiatives to strengthen alignment of M&E systems in the RWSS sector. Initially the group will review the sector performance M&E system being piloted by Cerwass and UNICEF.

• RWSS Sector Reference Document (Directory): UNICEF, Plan International and the VUFO-INGO WES working group with support from the Partnership have developed this document, which will be circulated shortly.

• Unified Sanitation Sector Strategy and Action Plan (U3SAP): The RWSSP is consulting with the GoV agencies engaged in the preparation of the sanitation strategy, the Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) and the team responsible for preparing this process to define the consultative role to be performed by the RWSSP in the preparation of the strategy.

• Prioritization of sector research needs and establishment of RWSS Scientific Committee: ToR are being prepared for a consultancy which will define and support a process for collective review and prioritization of research needs in the sector and establishment of the proposed RWSS Scientific Committee. The Committee will act as a mechanism for more efficient and better coordinated implementation, dissemination and application of prioritized research initiatives.

• Monthly News Brief: Three RWSSP News Briefs have been issued informing partners on progress with respect to the establishment of the Partnership as well as recent sector developments.

D. Planned action in support of alignment of donor support to sectoral strategies and SEDP

The draft Annual Work Plan for 2006-2007 includes 11 sector programme activities to be pursued by the RWSSP until December 2007 (subject to PSC endorsement):

1. Support to harmonization and alignment of sector M&E (refer the description of the M&E TWG above)

2. Prioritization and coordination of sector research (refer the description of the RWSSP Scientific Committee above)

3. Support to preparation of implementation guidelines for the new National Target Programme for RWSS and alignment of donor regulations to these guidelines

4. Review of the National RWSS Strategy and support to establishment of a national and strategic action planning framework for implementation of the Strategy

5. Support to preparation of a national Action Plan for Water Quality Analysis

6. Support to preparation of the Unified Sanitation Strategy and Action Plan (refer description above)

7. Coordination of preparation of a catalogue of cost-effective technical solutions for sanitation

8. Establishment of informal RWSSP expert group for promotion of approaches for sustainable, safe and student-friendly school sanitation

9. Establishment of informal RWSSP expert group for review of options for province-based planning and demand-led approaches

10. Establishment of nation-wide IEC survey and library

11. Preparation of national strategy for enhanced private sector involvement in RWSS

Establishment of sector-wide information management systems, including a sector web-site and regular RWSS News Briefs, will also be supported. The Partnership will furthermore support consultations among partners on key issues of broad concern for sector stakeholders, including a) clarification of institutional responsibilities and improved coordination between central level national agencies supporting RWSS, and b) broadening application of budget support mechanisms in RWSS (based on initial learning generated from the new Targeted Programme Budget Support Programme for the NTP II supported by Ausaid, Danida and the Netherlands).

E. Milestones and critical issues for 2007

The PWSSP is still under establishment and needs to be further consolidated during 2007 to secure viability of Partnership structures and operations. In addition, the Partnership during its inception phase needs to demonstrate clear “value-added” as a coordination mechanism for “collaborative action” to foster understanding among partners for working “collaboratively”. It is essential in this context that partners experience that the RWSSP operates efficiently. The following factors are critical for achieving the desired level of consolidation, efficiency and value-added:

• Partner engagement: The Partnership is a coordination mechanism; it depends on individual national and international partners to finance and implement agreed activities in a collaborative fashion. The fact that partners have engaged proactively in defining the activities included in the Annual Work Plan for 2006-07 and indicated willingness to finance activities provides a strong foundation for the Partnership’s operations in 2007.

• Operational resources: Effective coordination requires capacity and resources to steer, coordinate and guide agreed activities and policy dialogue processes. It is a critical achievement in this context that the (relatively modest) operational budget for the 2 year inception phase has been financed. However, more than 60% of the budget is financed by a single international partner, who provides this support as part of a general effort to build the capacity of MARD to introduce and manage sector-approaches, including sub-sector partnership mechanisms. Long-term viability of RWSSP operations requires contributions from a broader range of partners, including in particular international partners with a direct stake in RWSS.

• Capacity to support collaborative processes: Building understanding for collaborative action among national as well as international stakeholders requires attention to “process” and gradual nurturing of collaborative behavior. While the RWSSP Coordination Unit, comprising 4 contracted national staff, is well positioned to provide this support, MARD acknowledges that medium-term international advisory support is required during the inception phase to build the required operational “process” capacity of the Coordination Unit. It is critical for the Partnerships ability to demonstrate its value added that support towards provision of this input is secured for 2007.

• Securing engagement of national RWSS sub-sector stakeholders: It was initially decided that the RWSSP during the 2-year inception phase would be embedded in the MARD International Cooperation Department, with a view to transfer the Partnership to the department within MARD holding the state management responsibility for RWSS and the RWSS-NTP at a later stage. To secure sub-sector level ownership to the RWSSP as a cooperation mechanism and sub-sector level engagement in RWSSP activities, it is critical for the RWSS to build strong operational linkages with national RWSS sector level agencies at the central as well as provincial levels during the coming year.