Applications of Research Results

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Applications of Research Results Lessons
Learned (ARL) Component
CIDA-AIT Partnership 2003-2008
Development of Pilot Projects Proposals
Nowarat Coowanitwong, Ph D Prajapati Shapkota
Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management
Applications (SEA-UEMA) Project
Professional Training Program on Development of
UEM Project Proposals November 30 December
2, 2005
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In this Presentation

• Background to SEA-UEMA Project
• ARL Component
• What is a Pilot Project?
• PP Management, steps, implementation, proposal
  writing and presenting results
• ARL Pilot Projects, Locations
• Examples of Pilot Projects
• PP Selection, eligibility, application procedure
  and evaluation criteria
• Deadlines

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SEA-UEMA Background

• SEA-UEMA is a CIDA-AIT Partnership (2003-2008)
• To improve urban environmental conditions in SEA
  region.
• Project has two prong approach
• Educational Activities
• Graduate Education and Post-doctoral Research
• UEM Applications and Networks - Components
• UEM Sub-sector Networks Professional Support
  Programs (SNP)
• Alumni Demonstration Projects (ADP)
• Joint Action Research (JAR)
• Applications of Research Results and Lessons
  Learned (ARL)

Gender Equality and Environment are the two
cross-cutting themes of the project
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Application of Research Results and Lessons
Learned (ARL) Component

• Objectives
• To implement pilot projects from selected action
  research, AITs UEM theses or UEM related
  research
• To disseminate research results, lessons learned/
  experiences gained / good practices through
  various media
• To share sound UEM practices and policies by
  policy dialogs/ workshops/ conferences
• Exchange of UEM expert visits
• Information sharing and knowledge building
  through network members

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ARL Component

• Achievements
• UEM student research summary (1998-2003)
• Newsletters (Vol. 5, Issues 1 2 Vol. 6, Issues
  12)
• Policy dialogue in Thailand (Aug 25-26, 2005)
• Policy dialogue in Vietnam (Nov 25 28, 2005)
• International Conference on Integrated Solid
  Waste Management (ISWM) in SEA (Jul 5-7, 2005)
• Plan till March 2006
• Print proceedings of ISWM
• Newsletter (Vol. 6, Issue 3)
• Proceedings of Policy Dialogs in Thailand and
  Vietnam
• Call for pilot project proposals
• Policy dialog in Laos (Mar 06)
• Mini-conference in water sanitation in Laos
  (Mar 06)
• ADP JAR result dissemination workshop (Mar 06)

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Pilot Project (PP)

• A Pilot Project is a small scale project
  realistic in nature carried out to break through
  the following
• an idea,
• a project, or
• a policy recommendation
• -They have been studied or tested elsewhere in
  the context of commitment to apply on a broader
  scale.
• -It is a trial implementation of a firmed-up plan
  or a policy, the results of which could effect
  and inform broader scale implementation.
• -It is a part of a comprehensive program with
  clear goals.
• -The primary objective of a pilot project is to
  implement at the field level for UEM in its
  sub-sectors.

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Why Pilot Project?

• Merges the planning and implementation stages of
  project development
• Serves as a way to educate management and build
  support for project
• Verifies cost and benefits
• Allows evaluation of hardware, software, database
  design, procedures and alternatives

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PP Management

• Objectives must be clearly defined
• Scope should be manageable and can be kept
  within the track
• Project design
• Has substantial cost
• Cost should be justified in light of the parent
  project it precedes
• Geographical scope must be big and complex enough
  to test the robustness
• Success dependent on the corporate climate of the
  organization

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PP Major Steps

• There are four major steps in carrying out a
  pilot project
• Determine the objectives and define scope
• Perform the background study and build a database
• Present the results and make your recommendations
• Explain the tentative outcome of the piloting
  activity.

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PP Implementation Steps

• Establish the objectives and criteria
• Prepare data and enlist the main operations
• Start the piloting activity in the desired
  conditions (one may have to wait for favorable
  weather for certain activities)
• Perform analysis from the derived data
• Compare the derived data with ideal conditions
  and analyze the risk factors
• Evaluate and interpret the results

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PP Writing a proposal

• Define the following while making a proposal of a
  pilot project
• Objectives, goal and scope
• Project background literature review
• Piloting methodology (in short)
• Description of the project with its various units
  (in short)
• Project implementation plan and schedule
• Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
• Incorporation of gender equality
• Expenditure project budget
• Expected results output and outcomes

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PP Presenting Results

• While presenting the results of implementing a
  pilot project, the following should be clearly
  outlined
• Objectives, goal and scope
• Project background literature review
• Piloting methodology adopted
• Activities carried out during the implementation
• Gender concerns addressed during the project
  period
• Environmental impacts observed
• Expenditure incurred during the implementation
• Variance from the proposed plan
• Actual results of piloting
• Lessons learned
• Conclusions and recommendations

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ARL PP

• PP implemented by ARL Component
• Selection by Application Selection Committee
  (ASC)
• Based on the recommendations made by the ARL
  Component through the Project Management Team
  (PMT).
• Duration of a project would be from 6 - 12 months
  depending on its nature
• Budget outlay for each is US 15,000 - 20,000
• Each project proponent is expected to indicate
  partner inputs either in cash or in kind.

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Tentative Locations for PP
Geographically, a PP may be in any focus cities
of the project member countries as given below
Proposals for PPs in other cities of SEA
countries are also encouraged based on
justification of potentials and needs.
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PP Example 1 Composting

• Project Pobsuk Recycle Center under Pakkret
  Municipality, Nonthaburi, Thailand
• Organic composting plant for about 50 households
• Managed by a committee and its staff of 5 who
  collect organic waste form the households,
  pulverize and compost.
• Based on studies done by JICA and optimized
• Objectives
• To test municipality plan to implement source
  segregation of organic waste and compost
• To benefit sub-urban agriculture with decreased
  use of chemical fertilizers, improved
  productivity
• Diversion of organic waste from landfills.

Positive results have geared up local authorities
to implement the plan for Pobsuk village of 240
households and entire municipality.
Source Brochure The Pilot Project Pobsuk
Recycle Center by Pakkret Municipality,
Nonthaburi, Thailand.
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PP Example 2Urban Land Development

• Project Study urbanization program to develop
  agricultural land to urban land for delicate
  issue of compensation to the farmers to change
  their agricultural land to urban land
• Taken up with a step-by-step strategy
• Objective To offer poor households access to a
  legal plot as a pilot phase in Adis Ababa,
  Ethiopia.
• Initially piloted for a selected 462 farmers.
• Each farmer provided wooden poles, iron sheets
  and a loan of about US 95 for the construction
  of dwelling.
• beneficiaries were invited to belong to a savings
  group and the revolving fund generated was used
  for income-generating activities
• Access to urban plot would entitle them to urban
  water and sanitation facilities.

In less than 6 months, 85 of plots were
occupied. This piloting helped develop a larger
plan for acquiring land for urban field
development.
Source Becker, C. (2002) Access to an urban
field in Ethiopia (in Governing Cities?
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PP Example 3 Strategic Sanitation Approach (SSA)

• Project Developed by UNDP-World Bank Water and
  Sanitation Programme, has two fundamental
  principles
• responsive to demand by providing what people
  want and are willing to pay for
• incentives/penalty
• Objectives
• To pilot test the two fundamental principles of
  SSA in two wards in Bharatpur, India which have
  with poor sanitation and high concentration of
  poor people
• To refine SSA principles and concepts to
  determine willingness to pay for services.

A Guide to Strategic Planning for Municipal
Sanitation consisting of a modified set of
strategic concepts and principles based on the
findings of research was developed to be followed
for developing and implementing strategic
initiatives at the local, municipal and state
levels. Source Tayler K. (2002). Limiting theory
and practice in development process the case of
urban sanitation from Zetter R. White (eds)
Planning in Cities ITDG Publishing, UK
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PP Principles of Selection

• Based on relevance of research results in 3 UEM
  sub-sectors. Selection made from proposals based
  the following
• Results of completed graduate thesis/research for
  master/doctoral studies in UEM at AIT
• Results of JAR under the SEA-UEMA Project
• Any relevant action research results UEM
  sub-sectors
• A draft plan or a policy study in a city relevant
  to UEM sub-sectors.

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PP Eligibility

• The proponent should be a public/private
  organization or an individual or a group
  belonging to an organization. Eligible
  individuals or organizations are
• National or local government agencies involved in
  UEM
• AIT alumnus attached to government or a NGO
• Academic and research institutions with UEM
  research background
• NGOs with a background of UEM
• AIT faculty members from environment related
  fields of study.

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PP Procedure for Application

• Interested individuals and SEA-UEMA project
  partners are encouraged to submit proposals for
  pilot projects
• Step 1 Send an expression of interest (EOI) in
  about 1500 words (3-4 pages) along her/his,
  their CV
• EOI should clearly indicate the concept, scope,
  rationale, location and its anticipated results.
• Step 2 Review of EOI by PMT and applicant is
  requested for a full project proposal on the
  specified format
• Focus on urban poor and integrate gender equality
  
• Step 3 Proposals are evaluated by ARL Component
  and submitted to ASC upon recommendation of the
  PMT

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PP Evaluation Criteria

• Potentials of practical applicability or
  innovativeness with tangible impact on urban
  environment that can benefit the urban poor
• Solidity of baseline or support research for
  piloting
• Clarity and manageability of the project proposal
• Ability to address gender equality
• Potentials of public or community participation

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PP Evaluation Criteria .

• Use of local resources and appropriate technology
• Clarity of status as a component of a larger
  proposal or a project, including public
  organizations advocacy commitment to it
• Potentials of implementing the results in a
  broader perspective
• Realistic and relevant budget

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PP Deadlines
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For more information please contact

• Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management
  Applications (SEA-UEMA) Project
• Urban Environmental Management
• School of Environment, Resources and Development
• Asian Institute of Technology
• P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang
• Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
• Telephone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail uemapplications_at_ait.ac.th
• Website http//www.sea-uema.ait.ac.th

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• Thank you for your Attention