SECTOR:  Affordable Housing
LOCATION:  India
PROJECT NAME: Feasibility Study on Affordable Housing in India
CLIENT: Community Housing Limited (CHL)
VALUE: AU$72,000
OBJECTIVE: 
- to conduct a detailed social, economic and political analysis of the housing sector in India, especially in relation to ‘lower income groups’.
- to develop a range of options suitable for CHL to establish operations in India. 

IDSS was contracted by the client because of its extensive contacts and networks in India’s housing, construction and civil society sectors.

An IDSS-led team spent 6 weeks in India (Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai) meeting with a range of stakeholders including architects, developers, NGOs, think tanks, academics and government officials to develop a business case and provide an acute analysis for the client.  IDSS completed a detailed report and presented the findings to the CHL Board in August 2009.

SECTOR: Integrated Water Resource Management, Training

LOCATION: Vientiane, Lao PDR

PROJECT NAME: Develop a training manual and deliver a training of trainers (TOT) course for participants from four Mekong River Commission (MRC) Member countries - Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam
FUNDED BY: Mekong River Commission - MRC (with financial support from AusAID)
VALUE: US$160,000
PARTENRS: DHI Group
OBJECTIVE: The MRC adopted an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) based approach in its Strategic Plan 2006-2010. Building capacity of riparian member countries to implement IWRM in river basin development and management is important to pursue this approach. Given this context the objectives of the project are to:
- Develop a training manual on IWRM that can be used in both general trainings on the subject and in support of the MRC’s Basin Development Program’s sub-area activities and in line with the Guidelines for BDP sub-area activities; 
- To develop and deliver a Training of Trainers (ToT) course to participants from the four Lower Mekong Countries on IWRM so they have the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver the training program in each of their respective countries; and
- To develop quality monitoring mechanisms for the MRC to ensure the quality of (i) the adaptation and translation of the training program into Loa, Thai, Khmer and Vietnamese and (ii) the quality delivery of the training courses at the national level.
 
A ‘trial’ training program will be run in Lao in late August 2009 to work with a selected group of participants in ensuring the developed material is accurate, usable and effective in enhancing the capacity for IWRM in the Lower Mekong Countries. The full Training of Trainers program is expected to be run in October in which 5 participants from each of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam will be trained in learner centered and participatory approaches to training and the technical issues of IWRM. The IDSS team will then further work with the participants in the adaptation of the training manual to suit the context of each of the four Lower Mekong Countries.

 

LOCATION: Indonesia and Lower Mekong countries

PROJECT NAME: Training and Capacity Building for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)

FUNDED BY: GTZ and Nature Conservancy

VALUE: AUD$23,000

OBJECTIVE: To design and deliver REDD training programs for  organizations committed to reducing deforestation and enhancing the livelihoods of forest dependent communities through REDD mechanisms.

LOCATION: Mongolia

PROJECT NAME: Third Education Development Project – Project Design

FUNDED BY: ADB

VALUE: USD$469,500

PROJECT PARTNERS: Madecor and Mon-Educ Consulting

OBJECTIVE: The design will develop and cost a strategy to improve access to and the quality of education services for children; and increase skills training opportunities for youth.

LOCATION: Viet Nam

PROJECT NAME: Viet Nam HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Youth Project – Project Design

FUNDED BY: Asian Development Bank

VALUE: USD$500,000

PROJECT PARTNERS: Australian International Health Institute (Lead)

OBJECTIVE: The design will develop a program for HIV/AIDS prevention among youth.