Background
Vietnam has experienced a high urbanisation rate over the past years. Recent data from UN Habitat anticipate that by 2020 34,7 % of Vietnam's population will live in urban areas. The existing urban infrastructure, however, is already at the current urban population rate insufficient to provide for environmentally appropriate wastewater and solid waste disposal. Wastewater collection and treatment plants hardly exist in Vietnam or are in a rather poor condition respectively. Solid waste disposal rarely meets international environmental standards.
Fragmented legislation, uncoordinated urban planning, limited investments and institutional hindrances, insufficient operational cost recovery for the operation and maintenance of operator assets as well as low environmental awareness among the population are the main reasons for the deficits in the sector. Rising water demand and increased soil sealing negatively affect the already existing waste and wastewater disposal problems in the urban centres. Beside the wastewater- and solid waste- induced risks, the urban population increasingly suffers from severe seasonal flooding.
Altogether, the environment is severely polluted and public health in cities as well as down-stream rural areas are at risk.
Vietnam's development goals represent ambitious targets for urban infrastructure development and public services. Among others, 90% of the urban population shall have access to safe drinking water, 100% of the urban wastewater shall be collected and treated, and 100% of domestic solid waste is disposed in accordance to the prevailing environmental standards by 2020. These objectives correspond to the goals formulated under MDG 7 (protection of the environment and sustainable usage of natural resources) of the UN Millennium Declaration.
The Program
Ca. 25 persons, nominated by the Association of Vietnamese Water Suppliers and selected by GIZ, are supposed to become part of a «pool of trainers». In the present program, these trainees will receive an introduction
- to the methodical and didactical skills to work as a self-responsible trainer;
- how to act as a multiplying person for the problems and chances of a country-wide provision of waste water services
- to the related questions of a cost recovery of the waste water sector
The trainees with a professional background in the water sector will join the majority of the program (which consists of a total of 7 trainings/workshops, see the «Schedule» on the right).
The training program is divided into two major parts. The first one is consisting of 4 «Training of Trainers (ToTs)». The goal here is to train participants in didactical and methodical regards and thus enable them to work as trainers in the waste-water field themselves.
ToT 1 (in December 2015) provided participants with the basics on
- how to concept and plan a training course;
- how to use methodical & didactical tools;
- the use of a »Training Needs Assessment» (TNA);
- the participatory process and the «role-play» between trainer and trainees
- presentation techniques and time management;
- interactive techniques like Fishbowl discussion, World-café, etc.;
ToT 2 (in January 2016) aimed to provide participants with the basics on
- how to create a course design;
- how to define learning objectives, structure, content and methods of a course;
- how to assure effective facilitation;
- how to put PALA (Participatory Adult Learning Approaches) into practice,
- Experiencing interactive techniques, and
- Follow-up on action plans.
ToT 3 (in March 2016) showed participants
- how to implement a training course practically
- practical demonstration lessons using the GFA Modules
- Adult-Learning principles (PALA)
- practical rehearsals of the interactive techniques
- field visit, its preparation and aftercare
- preparation of action plans for the upcoming courses
- how to write a report on training courses
ToT 4 (in August 2016) with the following topics:
- Experiences and reports from the test-courses held by the trainees
- Introduction to the content of «Corporate Development Planning for Wastewater Utilities» (GFA Manual No 1)
- Introduction to the three manuals on financing aspects of the waste water sector in Vietnam (written by Margraf Publishers): Mod. 9 [Financial Management]; Module 10 [Asset Management]; Module 11 [Cost Covering Tariffs]
- Roadmap and group forming to moderate the new manuals on financial aspects of the waste-water sector
Workshop 1 (in September 2016) offers these issues:
- Adaptation of the new modules #9 [Financial Management]; Module #10 [Asset Management]; Module #11 [Cost Covering Tariffs] to the needs in Vietnam
- Forming of training-teams for the new modules
and finally Workshop 2 (in November 2016):
- The trainees will have the opportunity to share their experiences and reports from the course held on November on Module 11 «Cost recovery and tariffs» and discuss the main challenges/difficulties of the training regarding the content, the perception in the utilities, the training methodologies, etc.;
- Participants will make proposals on how to improve the course (Module 11) regarding the content, the methodologies, the balance inputs/working groups, etc. and how how to improve the other modules (ie 9 and 10) and to profit from this experience for the next national trainings;
- Participants, Margraf Publishers and representatives of VWSA/GIZ will discuss on how to maintain a pool of trainers, set a platform for interaction, exchange and learning and about the perspectives for a way forward.