Cisco Foundation And Dutch Government Support Innovation And Sustainability With New Grants

Safe Water Network recently received funding supporting the second phase of Safe Water Network’s global data collection technology platform as well as a landmark grant for a Public-Private Partnership in Ghana. 

Earlier this year, the Cisco Foundation renewed their support for Safe Water Network’s digital tools platform with a $125,000 grant. Safe Water Network is focused on increasing efficiencies to launch, monitor, and maintain Safe Water Stations to reduce costs and increase the number of communities receiving safe water. These tools are key to improving the efficiency of Station assessment, operations, and quality assurance functions. The Cisco Foundation funded the first phase of the development of our tablet-based project management system, which completed a customized but adaptable tablet with a robust architecture, series of apps, and integrated management dashboards. The second phase of the project includes an expanded feature set and coordinated funding from USAID, the Pentair Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, and Newman’s Own Foundation. This Phase will significantly strengthen the functionality of the tablet and standardize its capabilities for eventual adoption by others in the global water sector. 

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been a long-time leading funder of the WASH sector. In July 2015, under the Ghana WASH Window program, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency awarded a partnership of Safe Water Network, Mannen van Staal, and Kingdom Water a €3 million subsidy to expand the Volta Lake Cluster of water Stations to credible scale under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. This grant will fund the installation of 22 Stations in the cluster as well as the refinement of the technical service support proposition necessary to ensure the operational sustainability of these water Stations. The PPP among Safe Water Network, Mannen van Staal. Kingdom Water, and local District Assemblies will leverage extensive experience in water supply, innovative water treatment design, and support from local government and communities, ensuring long-term financial and operational sustainability of Stations at the cluster level.