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Published on: 24/03/2014

2005 was a year of different perspectives for IRC. We underwent an external evaluation, started preparing for our new Business Plan for 2007-2011, gave the concept of learning alliances a further boost and contributed to the sector through different platforms.

The external evaluation team talked to IRC staff, partners and stakeholders on progress and the opportunities and challenges in the sector. The outcomes of these discussions have been useful input into the new Business Plan.

In June, together with UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education we organised a symposium on 'Learning alliances for scaling up innovative approaches in the water and sanitation sector'. Learning alliances are a good example of the integration of the various areas of IRC expertise into one practical approach. In the MUS project, IRC and Cinara (Colombia) are part of a learning alliance to learn from communities how they manage water and wastewater in an integrated way. The EMPOWERS project in the Middle East is another good example of a learning alliance in action.

We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dutch NGOs Simavi and Aqua4All to undertake innovative projects under the name of WaterLinks. Together with CREPA we organised a workshop on micro finance in Dakar, Senegal. Transparency, honesty and corruption have become (again) a focus of attention in the water sector. To help tackle these issues, we have, together with partners, set up a programme to promote greater transparency.

In financial terms 2005 was a challenging year for IRC; amongst others we had to accommodate significant project losses. Yet, we are looking confidently to the future: we have improved our operations and we are seeing a continued growth in demand for our services.

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