Online courses and webinars
Online courses and webinars
ASCI has developed certificate programs on WASH for teachers and practitioners that are delivered on the e-mode. These guided self-study programs can be completed by the participants at their own pace. Several other online programs are under development.
ASCI also conducts webinars on critical topics of current importance. The training programs and webinars can be accessed from this website.
Baseline Studies
Baseline Studies
ASCI has expertise in conducting baseline studies. It has developed templates and frameworks that can be customised to various contexts for analysing the macro and micro-environment for WinS in India. The areas of analysis include national and state policies and directives, availability and adequacy of WASH
infrastructure, efficiency of operations and maintenance processes, level of awareness and behaviour i.e. practice of safe WASH and so on. ASCI has conducted baseline studies for several cities including Warangal, Unakoti, Vishakhapatnam, Narsapur, and Sabarkantha.
Benchmarking & Monitoring
Benchmarking & Monitoring
Benchmarking is an important tool for performance management and accountability. In schools, benchmarking can be used to develop a baseline on key WASH indicators, spot the areas of concern and then build a strategy to identify critical areas of concern and plan accordingly to improve the condition.
In 2014, The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GoI), launched the “Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya”(SBSV) initiative to ensure that all schools in India have access to separate functional toilets for boys and girls. The initiative also has its emphasis on promoting safe and appropriate hygiene practices in schools and behavior among children. ASCI has developed a benchmarking framework with focus on 5 essential elements of WASH. This framework was piloted and field tested before finalizing.
With view to recognize, inspire and celebrate excellence in WASH in Schools, MHRD adopted this benchmarking system and instituted Swachh Vidhyalaya Puraskar(SVP) in partnership with ASCI and UNICEF. The schools are selected based on performance in 39 SVP indicators under 5 categories i.e. Water, Toilets, Handwashing, Operation & Maintenance and Behaviours & practice.
The SVP which has been implemented over two years was open for Govt aided schools for 2016-17 & govt. & private schools for 2017-18. While 2,68,403 schools participated in SVP 2016-17 the number of participating schools more than doubled (5,33,856) in SVP 2017-18. ASCI has used advanced data analytics to support decision making.
The benchmarking tool is widely disseminated by ASCI in various national and international forums and is in congruence with SDG goals.
Action Plan
Action Plan
ASCI has developed a performance improvement framework that can be used by decision makers at various levels (schools, districts, states and the national) for developing a systematic approach for improvement. It is a document that helps in clarifying the requirements – infrastructure and otherwise- and aids goal setting. It aids the user in detailing the resources (financial, human etc) required to reach the goal, formulate a timeline for when specific tasks need to be completed and assign responsibilities. This action plan template has been tested and found to be extremely useful by cities/districts/states and led to systematic budgetary allocations towards WinS.
Capacity Building
Capacity Building
ASCI deploys its field level implementation expertise to develop knowledge products and training programs tailored to the requirements of different stakeholders. It has developed training modules for corporates, leadership program in WASH, Modules for Elected representatives, State level decision Makers, Master Trainers, School teachers, School management committees, Janitors and Child cabinet members. It has experience in developing and conducting both face to face and online training programs and webinars.
It has conducted several capacity building workshops for thousands of practitioners from across the country and has participated in international workshops as lead panellists/organiser. It is the nodal capacity building institute for Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar (SVP) and has trained across the length and breadth of the country. In partnership with UNICEF (India), Emory University and Government of India, it has developed and conducted ‘WASH in Schools Leadership Course’, a capacity building workshop and was successful in training WASH professionals in government, private and social sectors.
ASCI also provided WASH orientation to District Education officials and teachers. It has also run specific programs for sanitation workers and students with a focus on these two stakeholders as WASH agents of change. It has also developed and implemented online modules on WASH for teacher training.
Fund Raising
Fund Raising
ASCI has expertise in developing customised proposals to help cities and states raise funds from corporates and philanthropists. It has worked with corporates (eg. OICL, REL, TASL) to deploy Corporate Social Responsibility funds toward WinS.
ASCI has also developed policy notes for enhanced allocation of funds towards WinS by State Governments. It has developed policy notes on leveraging funds through convergence between various departments involved in different aspects that impact the WASH indicators. ASCI has been a technical support for fund raising for several state governments. Eg: RECL report shared in the folder.
Crowd Sourcing
Crowd Sourcing
A successful WinS program requires participation by internal and external stakeholders. Support and participation is required in terms of financial contribution, volunteering time, donation of infrastructure/materials, and also innovative ideas.
ASCI has experience in developing campaigns for crowdsourcing resources and ideas/innovations for improving WASH performance in schools. A particularly successful campaign was for crowdsourcing of soaps in the city of Warangal to meet the two year requirements of 221 government schools and benefit more than 45000 students.
Operation and Maintenance
Operations & Maintenance
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of facilities is a critical component for sustaining WinS program. This is also one of the most challenging aspect for two
reasons. One due to availability of sufficient funds for maintenance and two due to lack of awareness about correct O&M practices.
ASCI has developed standard operating practices and checklists to promote proper maintenance. It has also developed several pictorial communication products clearly delineating the steps and dos and donts for ease of understanding. ASCI has developed policy notes for different states and been successful in deployment of enhanced funds towards WASH O&M.
Menstrual Hygiene Management
Menstrual Hygiene Management
Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) is fundamental to dignity and wellbeing of girls. Poor facilities in schools lead to high absenteeism among adolescent girls and negatively impact their education and health.
ASCI has conducted baseline and endline studies on MHM awareness and practice in schools. The findings have been used to influence policy, infrastructure
development and training initiatives and also funding from corporates under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). ASCI has supported state governments in
enhancing emphasis on MHM in policy and practice.
ASCI has also developed knowledge products to promote MHM understanding. In specific it has worked on the role of boys and men in supporting MHM. In partnership with WASH United, it has conducted a detailed study on impact of an interactive activity and game-based MHM education toolkit in Andhra Pradesh. The toolkit uses a human-centered design process that works closely with end
beneficiaries
ICT Tools
ICT Tools
ASCI has pioneered the use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) for WinS. In collaboration with technology partners it has developed portals and mobile apps where large amount of data can be captured, stored, analysed and used for informing decision making and research. Some of its projects include Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar, Shala Swachhta Gunak (Benchmarking tool Gujarat), National Teachers Award, Attendance Monitoring App (Malda, West Bengal) etc.
It has extensively implemented ICT for monitoring the progress of construction activities in schools. It is currently working towards implementing a project on use of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning tools to enhance participation of children/youth in school wash decision making and monitoring.
Research & Impact Assessment
Research & Impact Assessment
ASCI has expertise in conducting action research and impact assessment studies. This expertise is an extension of the several field-based projects that it has been involved in over the years. It has conducted research and impact studies on effectiveness of organizational activities (policy, infrastructure, training , behaviour change campaigns etc) and the significance of changes brought about by those activities.
Data Analytics
Baseline Studies
ASCI has experience of working on large data bases on WinS in India. It supports several state governments in collecting and analysing WASH data.
ASCI has built a comprehensive data analytics platform for Ministry for Human Resources Development for the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar initiative since 2016. The platform captures data from all schools and becomes a decision-making tool for all stakeholders. This is aimed at being a pioneer in data driven decision making in the area of WINS. It has a database of WASH status of more than 5 lakh Government schools in India. It has analysed and created an interactive data analysis dashboard that permits comparison on multiple indicators at aggregated national and state and district level. The dashboard also provides trend analysis.
The dashboard can be viewed on this website