WASH Technical Top-up Project Microlearning Tools for Humanitarian Practitioners

The project aims to develop microlearning tools for humanitarian practitioners in the areas of drinking water quality testing, behavior change, water treatment, and sanitation. The project began on July 1st, 2020, and is scheduled to end on December 31st, 2021. The total budget for the project is US$292,170. The project is being implemented by the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), with Peter Thomson serving as the Senior Director, Global Services. The project's main activities during the reporting period of October 1st, 2020, to March 31st, 2021, included the design, creation, and testing of microlearning tools for drinking water quality testing and behavior change. The specific sub-topics for the tools were identified through a needs assessment, which involved analyzing survey and interview data, as well as conducting additional interviews with humanitarian practitioners. For drinking water quality testing, 10 microlearning tools were developed and released on February 3, 2021. The tools include job aids and learning modules, and have been translated into French, Spanish, and Arabic. Feedback from the testing phase has been incorporated, and updated versions of the tools are scheduled to be released in May 2021. For behavior change, seven microlearning tools were released on February 3, 2021, and two more tools were released in March and April 2021. The tools include job aids and learning modules, and are currently being updated based on user feedback. Translations of the tools into French, Spanish, and Arabic will begin in May 2021. The project also began development of microlearning tools for water treatment in March 2021. The tools will include job aids and learning modules, and are expected to be released in May and June 2021. The specific sub-topics for the tools were identified through a needs assessment, which involved analyzing survey and interview data. For sanitation, the project identified 11 sanitation-specific pitfalls through a needs assessment, which involved analyzing survey and interview data. The pitfalls focus on how to better site, select, and install latrines to avoid future complications related to fecal sludge management. The project will begin development of the products in May 2021 and expects to release initial products in late June and early July. The project also conducted testing and gathering feedback on the drinking water quality testing and behavior change microlearning tools. Initial product feedback was collected through a short form, online survey connected to each tool, as well as through online, supervised testing sessions. The online survey remains active and continues to gather information on the tools. Overall feedback from the online survey was positive, with a collective average score of 4.0 ± 1.0 (out of 5.0) across all tools. The project also developed the hosting platform, which has been released. The platform will host the microlearning tools and provide a user-friendly interface for humanitarian practitioners to access the tools.