Session FT 3.33

Transfer of organisational and technical know how between Northern and Southern countries

 

 

 

 

Conveners

• Veolia Water
• Groupe des Eaux de Marseille
• Building Partnerships for Development

Training and transfer of know-how are of primordial importance to the future of the emerging countries. In their ongoing attempt to build modern economies, they have high expectations of these transfers.
Upgrading water and wastewater management services cannot go ahead without reinforcing local capacities and skills, both technical and managerial. Failure to transfer organizational know-how in parallel with technology transfer can greatly diminish the associated benefits.
The growing technical complexity of the water business and the demand for tighter control of environmental and health risks require greater efforts in training, development and transfer of know-how.

Lessons learned

 

1. Transfer of advanced know how need time to be sure that local agents control new skills and are able to apply them independently.
   
2. Various innovative approaches set up in Southern countries are relevant for being implemented in Northern countries (eg: Mobile branches  - specially designed buses – to visit associations and populations in poor, peripheral and rural areas).
   
3. To be successful, the transfer should work both way and should be reciprocal. The 2 parts involved in a transfer should benefit from it, although benefits are of different kinds.
   
4. One of the main tasks of the organizing authority is to continually drive the operator (public or private) to make progress, to prevent it from being content with mediocre results: this goes through transfer of know how aiming at developing the skills of operators.
   
5. It is worthwhile to transfer know how aiming at optimizing the existing infrastructure so that it can service more people using the same infrastructure, without waiting for new investment
   
6. The size of a global company enables each municipality, wherever it is located, to benefit from best practices. This “size” effect speeds up the dissemination of high-level expertise to Southern Countries.

Key messages

 

1. Trusting local talents is a prerequisite for successful transfer of know how.
   
2. It is necessary to transfer not only technical but also organizational know-how.
   
3. It is necessary to respect the cultural differences, specificities and limits of each partner involved in the know how transfer.
   
4. Know how should be transferred in a view to facilitate access to water for all and reach MDGs. In this respect, it is particularly important to transfer experiences aiming at implementing a socially acceptable price for service lines, since the main obstacle is the cost of the service line.
   
5. The pace and the contents of know how transfers should be adapted to the capacity of local organizations to bear them and benefit of them.
   
6. South-South know how transfers should be intensified, especially within the same cultural areas.
   
7. Without consultation with the population, no sustainable transfer of know how will be achieved in destitute wards.
   
8. When they are appropriate and well managed, transfers of know how are one of the driving forces behind development and economic growth.
    

Orientations for action

 

1. Implement systems of governance that foster training and the transfer of skills.
   
2. Set up partnerships as ambitious as possible, not only limited ones.
   
3. Consider local autonomy as an objective to reach for the transfer of know how
   
4. Set up Regional Water Training Centers in order to boost South-South transfer of know how.
   
5. Make access to water and sanitation for all a priority of transfer of know how.
   
6. Transfer of know how should also encourage social innovation.
   
7. Promote water service employees and people involvement in order to favour their adhesion to the know how transfer.
   
8. Extend financial solidarity to speed up international kno

Local Actions presented

Social engineering in Casablanca neighborhoods

Suez Environnement and Lydec

Water supply in Mali villages carried out by NGOs in partnership with an operator

Société des Eaux de Marseille (Marseilles water company)

Access to water and health education for the most vulnerable populations

Amendis and Redal