Rural Water Supply Network
| Rural Water Supply Network | |
| |
| Location: | St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| Type: | NGO |
| Class: | Network NGO |
| Key work: | research facilitation, technology development, commercial technology application, consultancy |
| Website: www.rwsn.ch | |
The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) functions as a global knowledge network with its secretariat hosted by a Skat Foundation, a resource centre based in Switzerland. It aims to facilitate the provision of safe water and sanitation to the poor and deprived through the promotion of sustainable technologies that are affordable and responsive to the needs of the users. RWSN blends a strong engineering capacity with the principles of balanced development, including institutional, financial and social aspects. The network acts as a depository of knowledge and provides support to sector partners; it pools the experience and expertise of its members and places the results of their work in the public domain through the production of publications and international specifications. RWSN concentrates on affordable, groundwater-related technologies that are easy to maintain and acts as a focal point for standardisation of low cost water supply technologies.
Assisting sector partners initiatives through knowledge sharing and dissemination is at the core of all RWSN activities. The organisation helps in cross-fertilisation of experiences and prevents "reinventing the wheel". RWSN helps in the preparation of case studies, technical notes and field monitoring reports. It provides technical back-up on low cost technologies and assists in the introduction of implementation procedures.
Main activities
- Increase access to basic water and sanitation services
- Maximise the impact of investment through successful application of cost-effective technologies
- Institutionalise technology selection and standardisation in a demand responsive environment
- Address institutional aspects of co-operation between all stakeholders
- Reduce well drilling costs
- Improve sustainability of existing water supply facilities through ensured supply chains for spare parts.
- Mobilise additional resources, especially at local level.