Water Sector Communications and Knowledge Management Program Final Report Released
The final report for the Water Sector Communications and Knowledge Management (WS/CKM) program was recently posted on the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse. The report highlights the improvements the ME&A-led team made to the process of supporting USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3) water sector communications and knowledge management.
Designed to fill a critical need among USAID staff and external stakeholders for greater understanding of cross-cutting water issues, the ME&A-led WS/CKM supported the USAID Water Office’s communications and knowledge management needs with research, analysis, writing, editing, tracking, and strategic planning. The final report details progress made during implementation matching accomplishments to the scope of work from 2011 to 2014. WS/CKM was a follow-on task order that built upon the successes of the ME&A-led Water Tracking, Estimating, and Reporting Support (WaTERS) Program.
From 2006 to 2015 through WaTERS and WS/CKM, ME&A published the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act: Report to Congress and the annual Safeguarding the World’s Water report. ME&A’s WS/CKM program team also designed, wrote, and published the e-magazine Global Waters to share the challenges, opportunities, approaches, and lessons learned in USAID water-related efforts. The magazine featured in-depth articles exploring solutions to the ongoing water crisis, opinion pieces by top development professionals, and first-hand accounts from stakeholders and beneficiaries in the field.
In addition, the ME&A-led WS/CKM team supported USAID’s worldwide water projects portfolio across a multimedia spectrum. Besides publishing Global Waters, ME&A produced videos, the USAID Water Office public website and internal “Water Point” website, and many reports to Congress on water-related issues. The WS/CKM team also managed and developed communities of practice for the Water Office and facilitated the Water Office’s annual retreat to address new issues, including development of its first ever Water and Development Strategy, assignment of a politically appointed Global Water Coordinator, and reorganization of the Water Team to a Water Office.