Ask IRC & KnowledgePoint
Do you have a question on water and sanitation issues? Ask your question here.
This page provides updates on KnowledgePoint, a collaborative helpdesk service currently developed by a core group of organisations: WaterAid, Practical Action, RedR, EngineerAid and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. The KnowledgePoint initiative has won a small grant from the Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) to develop the test model.
Further down the page you will find links to selected web resources.
The latest WASH sector innovation is not a pump but communication
16 Dec 11
About ten years ago I remember the revolutionary feeling of no longer needing to drive three hours back from a rural community with whom I was working in order to get advice on how to tackle a particularly complicated technical challenge. This was not because I had miraculously become a more experienced engineer overnight, but due to the fact that I was now able to call the office via a somewhat large and clunky mobile phone. The fact that I had to climb to the top of the recently constructed water reservoir to do so, did not really matter, as I had saved about three days in delays. Revolutionary yes, but it had taken about a year’s worth of wrangling with management to get the then expensive mobile phone contracts funded. (Posted on the HIF Blog by Erik Harvey- WaterAid)
Networking event: The future of technical enquiry services
17 Nov 11
The core group of KnowledgePoint has made quite some progress lately. We would like to share this with the wider KnowledgePoint / WASH-helpdesk group and get your feedback. When: Friday 9 December, 13:30 – 17:30 at IRC, The Hague. Organised by KnowledgePoint partners and hosted by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.
Invitation to KnowledgePoint meeting in December 2011.docx (946.3 kB)
Three months on for KnowledgePoint and the HIF
02 Nov 11
2 Nov 2011. The HIF KnowledgePoint project has been running for three months, and, as a result of our HIF grant, we have been able to increase dramatically our rate of progress towards collaborative knowledge-sharing for technical support. Here is a brief overview of progress so far.
The first stage of our work sought to gather views on KnowledgePoint from stakeholders, and then to match those perspectives to a review of existing technology. The processes and technical requirements implied by the interviews and research in Stage one were amalgamated into a draft specification. The specification in turn was reformulated as a mockup, a graphical draft of how the system could work before any development begins. (posted to HIF blog by Timothy Kent, project manager KnowledgePoint)
Collaboration brings specialisation: a perspective on KnowledgePoint
20 Oct 11
I'm waiting in anticipation for KnowledgePoint to be up and running for the WASH sector. A Humanitarian Innovation Fund Small Grant Award has enabled the new collaborative information service to move towards a stage where its members can quickly and easily exchange questions and answers on all issues relating to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Practical Action has been running an enquiry service since 1968 in one form or another and what we have come to realise is that not all the answers are in one place. In order to get the best information at the right time you need to have access to a good number of people, and ideally these people are going to have the experience to cover the most difficult issues. This is why WASH Knowledge Point makes sense, as it brings the expertise of organisations such as Practical Action together with that of WaterAid, IRC, RedR, EngineerAid and hopefully many more in the future. (posted to HIF blog by Neil Noble, Practical Action)
KnowledgePoint receives HIF grant
06 Oct 11
The Humanitarian Innovation Fund provided GBP19,500 for the first phase of KnowledgePoint, from August to December 2011. KnowledgePoint aims at cross-organisational enquiry handling for life-saving expertise across the globe. A short description of what has been funded and a link to the project blog can be found here.
Http://www.humanitarianinnovation.org/projects/small-grants/knowledgepoint
More questions: reflecting on what the HIF grant means for technical support services
02 Sep 11
Receiving a HIF grant represents a huge step forward for our team. We are excited to have a chance to develop what we hope will be a widely used service for the sector, and to share the experience with all who are involved in humanitarian innovation and the wider community. This post is about looking back… a quick summary of how we got here. (posted by Nick Dickinson, IRC and Tim Kent, project manager KnowledgePoint).
MyWASH social network for WASH sector
27 Apr 10
MyWASH is your social network on the Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) development sector. On this social network you can discourse, share, stay in the loop, keep up to date and learn. Please invite your colleagues and peers to this network to enable new contacts and discussions to emerge or to listen into.
Join WASH KnowledgePoint for a stronger technical enquiry service
19 Apr 10
KnowledgePoint acts as a one-stop-shop entry point for people looking for technical support: for answers to their questions. Until now questions are often answered in an uncoordinated way, often without the possibility of sharing the responses with a wider audience. Read the flyer and see how you can join this initiative!
WASH_Knowledgepoint_A4-leaflet_07.pdf (498.9 kB)
IRC WASH Helpdesk, its use and usefulness - satisfaction report 2009
06 Apr 10
The Q&A service is an opportunity for IRC to share sector knowledge with others and forms as such an essential part of one of the core tasks of IRC. Through a user-satisfaction survey insight was gained into the usefulness of this service.
WASH Helpdesk Satisfaction Report 2009_25Jan2010.doc (413.0 kB)
WASH Helpdesk Blog
26 Mar 07
Question and Answer Blog on water supply, sanitation and hygiene issues. It is a selection of questions and answers handled by information specialists as well as content specialists at IRC. Since November 2006 these Q&As are made available on the WASH Helpdesk Blog.
