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PCIA Outreach, Communication and Education Environment: Forestry, Energy & Environmental Services United States 2006 - 2008 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
Cleaning the Air for Better Health Worldwide
RATIONALESince its launch in 2002, the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) has come to play a critical role in facilitating global dialogue and action to increase the impact of household energy interventions, reducing death and disease among women and children due to indoor smoke exposure in developing countries. Winrock has worked with USEPA and other PCIA Partners bringing focus to the multi-dimensional nature of the problem; catalyzing the exchange of viewpoints and experiences; and engaging commitments from practitioners and the donor community to put promising, comprehensive approaches into practice.
OBJECTIVES
Under this agreement Winrock continued to play a leadership role in supporting this work, facilitating outreach and communication through the Partnership's website and quarterly Bulletin, supporting international Partner workshops and meetings, and working to strengthen and expand the exchange of technical and experiential information among and beyond PCIA Partners with the goal of increasing awareness, capacity and action of Partners to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP). These efforts are intended to result in increased ability and commitment of Partners and other actors in pertinent sectors to implement well-conceived household energy interventions that aim to reduce health and socio-economic impacts of inefficient and unhealthy traditional burning of solid fuels for cooking and heating.
ACTIVITIES
1. PCIA Bulletin: Each quarter Winrock developed, edited and published the PCIA Bulletin, which is distributed directly to over 500 individuals at over 200 Partner organizations (as of 10/08), including non-profit organizations, donors, educational institutions, and the private sector; as well as via the Asia Regional Cook Stove Program (ARECOP) listserv and posted on the Household Energy Network (HEDON) and ENERGIA websites.
2. PCIA website: http://www.pciaonline.org/: Winrock continued to operate and manage the PCIA website, providing visitors with background information on household energy and health; links to more extensive information through other websites, documents and networks; news and events updates; and highlights of Partner accomplishments through organizational profiles, videos and other Partner inputs.
3. PCIA capacity-building events: Winrock supported the planning and coordination of 5 PCIA-sponsored events, including the PCIA Africa Regional Commercialization Training (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; November 7 - 10, 2006); 3rd Biennial PCIA Forum (Bangalore, India, March 20-23, 2007); Measuring Change: Indoor Air Pollution and Household Energy Monitoring Asia Regional Workshop (Hanoi, Vietnam, August 7-11, 2007); Measuring Change: Indoor Air Pollution and Household Energy Monitoring Africa Regional Workshop (Pretoria, South Africa, October 29 – November 2, 2007); Stove Design & Performance Training Workshop (Yogyakarta, Indonesia, June 6-12, 2008). Winrock also provided planning and logistical support for 7 other events, including PCIA-organized side events at Carbon Forum and Expos.
4. Partnership strengthening: Winrock and EPA worked to successfully recruit key targeted Partner organizations, to strengthen relationships with current colleagues, and explore areas of further potential collaboration.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1. Bulletin: Winrock developed, edited and published 10 issues of the quarterly PCIA Bulletin, incorporating a total of 64 Partner article submissions for Partner Spotlight, Feature Article and Recent Partner Activity sections. Winrock received positive feedback from Partners on the value of the Bulletin, including through direct email communications, and at events including the 2007 Forum planning meeting in Bonn in October 2007, and the 2007 Forum itself in Bangalore in 2008. In general, participants agreed strongly that the Bulletin and website are critical for sharing stories among Partners, and help to sustain the identity of a partnership that can be felt in person only occasionally when international events such as the Forum take place.
2. Website: Over the course of the reporting period, Winrock developed and launched significant website features and enhancements, including a Partner login system for secure login; interactive map highlighting Partner projects around the world on household energy, indoor air pollution and health; Partner and project profile self-update features; categorized menu items; a PCIA Calendar; and the PCIA message board, which includes three discussion areas: Offers and Requests, Volunteer/Internship Opportunities, and Funding Opportunities. Winrock also continued to post new event, message board and media items, along with new PCIA resources as they became available, and launched online event registration, which tremendously streamlined the registration process. The number of daily visitors to the site ranged between 10 and 137 unique non-search-engine visitors per day, with peaks during key events, such as the 3rd Biennial PCIA Forum held in India in March 2007.
3. Events: Over the course of the agreement, Winrock supported planning and coordination for 5 PCIA-organized trainings and Forum, attended by 215 total participants (129 separate individuals, many of whom attended more than one event) from 120 organizations representing 28 countries, and 2 PCIA-organized side events. Winrock coordinated travel for 50 of these participants, who were all funded through the USEPA cooperative agreement, or by financial contributions from the Shell Foundation, ARECOP, Aprovecho Research Center or Climate Care. Winrock also provided planning and logistical support and/or represented PCIA at 5 other international events during the course of the agreement.