Linking research and policy in water and sanitation: findings from the SPLASH ERA-Net

The overall goal of the SPLASH ERA-Net is to improve the coordination of European water research aimed at reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Within this, one of the focus areas of SPLASH is to foster participatory transfer of research into policy. This paper documents the results of an investigation into how to improve the application of research throughout the whole process of designing, conducting and communicating research, to those engaged in policy making and practice. The findings of this consultation have been revealing about the inadequacy of the present design and implementation of research programmes and their uptake into development and policy. However, it also generated ideas, some based on good practice, of how this can be improved and made to work effectively. These are important lessons which can be taken forward into the design and implementation of future research programmes to ensure better uptake of EU Member State research

Schoolgirls' experiences of managing menstrual hygiene in Uganda

A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) Survey was conducted among 134 secondary schoolgirls in Uganda about their experiences of managing menstrual hygiene in school. The first part of this paper outlines how sensitive information was obtained by using participatory tools in small focus group settings. The second section summarises qualitative and quantitative findings about schoolgirls’ knowledge of biological facts and management methods, their attitudes about menstruation formed through their social and cultural environments, and their hygiene practices associated with accessing, changing, drying and disposing of sanitary products. The purpose of the study was to voice schoolgirls’ opinions about very real, but rarely addressed, monthly challenges

Accelerating the transfer of water for development research evidence into policy

A study by the SPLASH European Research Area Network (ERA-Net) on the design, management and communication of water research relating to low-income countries identified gaps between research evidence and policy at each of these stages. This effectively limits the use and impact of research. Improving interaction between researchers and policy makers allows more informed decision making based on research evidence, and greater impact on development. It also facilitates more demand-led research. Based on extensive global consultation with both researchers and policy makers in the water for development sector, recommendations are made for improving the use of research evidence in policy making

A baseline scenario of municipal solid waste management

The baseline scenarios of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) activities that will expose the specific challenges militating against sustainable waste management in many developing countries, are not properly documented or not understood. This paper established a baseline scenario of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Ghana, through material flow analysis and understanding of MSW handling practices, using the Wa Municipality as a case study. The study was theoretically based on empirical observation and an exploratory design. The findings showed that sustainable waste management has remained elusive because MSWM in the case study area and Ghana in general, consist of some waste collection, transportation and open dumping, where the entire amount of waste is open dumped without pre-treatment. The sorting of waste at the generation sources, and the provision of adequate MSWM infrastructure, through an integrated solid waste management system can ensure sustainable waste management in the country

The SPLASH ERA-Net: towards better water policies: how can increasing the uptake of research findings help?

The aims of this presentation are two-fold. Firstly, to introduce the SPLASH ERA-Net project, and secondly, to present the findings of an ongoing consultation (including the findings of an electronic conference) relating to the links between research findings and policy development. SPLASH is the name of the European Union Water Initiative European Research Area Network (EUWI ERA-Net). It is a consortium of 15 ministries, funding agencies and national research and technological development authorities from 11 European countries. SPLASH aims to improve the effectiveness of European-funded research on water for development and to develop the capacity of local organizations to coordinate and communicate their research activities. The project focus is Africa and the Mekong region. One of the key focus areas of SPLASH is the effective transfer of research knowledge into policy and practice, as it is assumed that when knowledge resulting from research is made available to decision and policy makers and is incorporated into decision making processes, then better policies are developed and better decisions are made. The project has reviewed the influence of research on water for development on government strategies in the EU Member States. To develop understanding further, SPLASH conducted an e-conference on the subject of: Towards better water policies: how can increasing the uptake of research findings help? The aim of the e-conference was to explore the linkages between research findings and the development of water sector policy through consulting widely with those who have relevant experience and views. The key findings of this e-conference inform the focus of a series of consultations currently being carried out in East and West Africa and the Mekong. The results of these consultation activities to date are presented. It is intended to carry out more key informant interviews during the GLOWA International Conference

Efffect of poor performance of water utilities in Port Harcourt city, Nigeria

This paper presents the impacts that the poor performance of the Rivers State Water Board (RSWB) had on the residents of Port Harcourt city, Rivers State, –Nigeria. Using questionnaires administered to residents of the city, a study found that only 4.5% depended solely on the RSWB to meet their water needs. This very poor performance by the utility, residents resorted to self-service by drilling individual boreholes and using informal vending services. As a result of this, 78% of respondents depended solely on boreholes, 13% on informal vendors. 4.5% relied on the RSWB and still had boreholes. This paper discusses these access and quality of service issues, and highlights recent reforms in Rivers State

Spreading the word further: guidelines for disseminating development research - synthesis note

Getting research findings out to those who stand to benefit from them is now widely recognised as a crucial aspect of any research project. This book is a product of the second phase of a DFID-funded KaR project that is aimed at increasing the impact of research through improved dissemination of the research process and findings. It develops the ideas from phase one of the project 'Spreading the Word: Practical guidelines for research dissemination strategies' (Saywell and Cotton, 1999). Based on in-depth consultation with Southern agencies about appropriate methods and formats by which to share information and knowledge relating to development research projects, this book provides dissemination checklists and guidelines. It also provides a useful overview of the issues and more specific advise for anyone engaged in development-related research, whether as contractors, practitioners or donors, at all stages of the project cycle

Investigating a Relationship between the Mutagenicity of Arylboronic Acids and ¹¹B NMR Chemical Shifts

The mutagenicity of arylboronic acids has recently become an important area of research because of their potential to be genotoxic impurities in active pharmaceutical ingredients. There is no known mechanism, so currently all structure–activity relationships have been derived using Ames test data. We present preliminary data supporting a hypothesis that the mutagenicity of arylboronic acids is related to the ¹¹B NMR chemical shift. This could indicate that the mutagenic activity of the arylboronic acids is related to the reactivity of the boron center

Supervised optimisation.

<p><b>a)</b> PF versus AR and DGF with binning interval of 0.32 ppm: the results are similar to the unsupervised analysis <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003685#pcbi-1003685-g001" target="_blank">Fig. 1C</a>. <b>b)</b> AR versus PF and DGF with binning interval of 0.32 ppm: no clear separation between the classes. <b>c)</b> AR versus PF and DGF with binning interval of 0.1 ppm: AR is separated from PF and DGF. <b>d)</b> leave one out cross validation of panel <b>c</b>: small binning interval of 0.1 ppm leads to overfitting.</p

Unsupervised optimization.

<p>a) NMR spectra for blood extracts of a single patient, collected over nine time points. b) Patients trajectories projected on the first principal component do not show any feature enabling us to separate the trajectories according to the clinical assessment of the patients. The color indicates the final clinical classification of the patient: primary function patients are shown in black, delayed graft function in red, and acute rejection in blue. c) Patients trajectories projected on the optimal reaction coordinate. d) Leave-one-out cross-validation: every trajectory is projected on the optimal reaction coordinate constructed without that specific trajectory.</p