iSWEET Toolkit

The Small Water Enterprise Alliance Partners have always been committed towards skill development and capacity building in WASH and Drinking Water Sector. The latest offering towards consolidating the sector is the ‘Digitized Toolkit’. The tools included in the toolkit provide end to end guidance to establish, operate, and manage a small water enterprise. The processes and the models presented in the toolkit facilitate a thorough understanding of the stakes involved in setting up and managing the small water ventures.

The information has been presented in 10 modules. Every module consists of tools about a range of topics starting from site selection for a water station to managing its finances. The tools cover processes both before and after the establishment of the safe water enterprise. The toolkit can be used by all the stakeholders involved in the institution of the small water enterprise. The frameworks that have been incorporated into the tools have been developed after a rigorous study of the best practices used in safe water stations across India. The content in the tools has been validated by the leading safe water implementers in the country.

The Screening module guides the careful analysis and selection of sites and potential partners. The location of an SWE is critical, but the full operation of the Station is much more than just the physical plant and the site. Its local operating Unit/ecosystem includes these as well as the people, relationships, skills, reach, and effort that must all come together to achieve local ownership, sustainable operation, and health improvement. Module 1 provides the tools to select the right location and establish a working relationship with a collaborative partner.

The Setting up of a Small Water Enterprise module contains four Tools designed to help in setting up the physical structure of the SWE Station, guide the selection of the water treatment technology, and get the station ready to start operation. Using these tools, the Station is made ready for operation.

The Water Quality Monitoring module defines the steps and standards of quality assurance and due diligence to ensure the continual performance of high-quality SWE Stations, for delivery of treated drinking water to customers. The Tools in this module are designed to guide the Operator through these steps and provide parameters against which the delivery of Quality Assurance can be measured.

The Information, Education and Communication module describes the strategies, tactics and the challenges involved in mobilizing the communities to create WASH awareness about the benefits of consuming safe drinking water, keeping good hygiene and adopting sanitation best practices. The tools in this module describe the various approaches and mediums to influence people at a community level about the hazards of drinking impure water and encourage them the start consuming safe drinking water.

The Financial Management module provides detailed guidance and offers comprehensive templates that cover all aspects of financial planning, bookkeeping, and accounting for a Small Water Enterprise. The five tools given in this module enables the bookkeepers to create comprehensive financial accounts that can be audited by external professionals.

The Monitoring and Evaluation module provides detailed information on the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) process which is to be followed by Small Water Enterprise implementers. This is particularly designed to be used by M&E professionals employed with the organization, as well as decision makers at management level who are responsible for program oversight and respective funding prospects. Monitoring informs the occurrence of an event and evaluation informs the rationale and approach of such occurrences. Both together with planning form the basis of results-oriented approach in the organization.

The Asset Management lays out details of capital asset investment required in small water enterprises (SWE), various models for asset ownership and also set of processes and instructions which are needed to plan, control and manage the fixed assets to ensure the asset is fully utilized over its useful life with least maintenance costs.

The Project Management module lays out different stages of managing a project, which are – setting up to launch, on-going project monitoring and customer complaint management. Project management involves the planning and organization of an entity’s resources to move a specific task, event, or duty towards completion. For successful implementation of SWEs and their continuous monitoring it is important to have a structured project management approach defining key project areas with timelines and tools to implement them.

The Integrating Women in SWEs module outlines the steps to be adopted by SWEs towards inclusion of women in its program. The purpose of this SOP is to provide program clarity and the imperatives for onboarding, supporting and retaining women in the SWE program. This module also helps in identifying challenges faced by women in SWEs. It also highlights a set of indicators as a measure of implementation of the program.

The Social Impact Assessment module helps in assessing the performance of new as well as existing Safe Water Enterprises to ensure the sustainability in all aspects like: Socially, Operationally, financially, institutionally and environmentally.