Publications

Démarche méthodologique pour la formulation de projets.

This study reports the progress of the Biogas Programme (BP) in developing a market-oriented biogas sector in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos PDR, and Vietnam.

The general findings of the study showed that original targets have not been met, whereas reasons for the delay differed in each country (e.g. in Cambodia and Laos PDR programme’s start was cumbersome as the programme was completely new and unknown to farmers; in Bangladesh natural disasters played a role; in Vietnam financial uncertainty hindered the progress).

The report also presents interesting comparisons between the countries involved on an institutional and subsidy level (government versus private ownership as reasons for the success/delay of the programme; level of subsidy received in the four countries). As for construction costs, it appeared the Vietnam had the lowest costs and Cambodia the highest, where detailed assessment and explanation for these differences can be found in the report. Interestingly, although all countries appeared to be learning from each other experiences with the BP on some level, it was also evident that precious resources have been wasted developing the already available information (e.g. Cambodia has developed a useful database for monitoring the achievements of the BP and although it could be adapted and used by different countries, this has not been the case).

The study presents the achievements of all four countries in a detailed manner and on different levels (training, awareness and promotion, subsidy and loans, etc.), and provides meticulous recommendations to each country in order to advance the BP.

This article describes the biogas activities in Asia by highlighting the success stories of China, India, and Nepal. Further, the article describes the scaling up of the Asia Biogas Programme. Vietnam is highlighted and the National Biogas and Manure Programme in Nepal is described, as well as the Biodigester Support Programme in Cambodia. Further, the article continues with CDM as a financing instrument.

The report concludes that it is most unfortunate that the reference to projects that replace nonrenewable biomass has been removed from the small-scale CDM methodologies. It is of hope that alternative methods for calculating emission reductions for small-scale project activities that propose the switch from non-renewable to renewable biomass will become available soon.

This document presents basic information about biogas technology in the form of Biogas Digest Volume 1. The document contains 14 sections. They are respectively:
• Biogas Basics
• History of Biogas Technology
• Microbiology
• Parameters and process optimisation
• They Physical Appearance of Different Types of Biogas Plants
• Biogas Appliances
• Organic Fertilizer from Biogas Plants
• The Contribution of Biogas Technology to Conservation and Development
• Limitations of Biogas Technology
• Biogas – Framework Conditions
• Socio-Cultural Aspects of Biogas Projects
• Social Problems Affecting the Propagation of Biogas Technology
• Political and Administrative Frame Conditions for Biogas Programmes
• Environmental Frame Conditions of Biogas Technology

This document presents basic information about biogas technology in the form of Biogas Digest Volume 4. The document contains 19 sections on different countries and regions. They are respectively:
• Biogas technology in Bangladesh
• Biogas technology in Belize
• Biogas technology in Bolivia (region Chochabamba)
• Biogas technology in Burundi
• Biogas technology in China (Sichuan)
• Biogas technology in Columbia
• Biogas technology in India
• Biogas technology in Orissa (India)
• Biogas technology in Sangli (India)
• Biogas technology in the Ivory Coast (region of Korhogo)
• Biogas technology in Jamaica
• Biogas technology on Java (province of Central Java)
• Biogas technology in Kenya
• Biogas technology in Morocco (region of Souss-Massa)
• Biogas technology in Nepal
• Biogas technology in Tanzania
• Biogas technology in Thailand
• Biogas technology in Tunisia (Sejenane, El Kef)
• Biogas technology in Vietnam

Kossmann, W., Ponits, U., Habermehl, S., et al., Biogas digest: biogas application and product development (volume II), ISAT & GTZ, 1997, 81p.

This document presents basic information about biogas technology in the form of Biogas Digest Volume 2. The document contains 26 sections. They are respectively:
• Biogas – Application and Product Development
• Biogas – Digester Types
• Biogas Plant Types and Design
• Parts of Biogas Plants
• Optional Parts of Biogas Plants
• Balancing Biogas Production and Energy Demand
• Biogas Planning Guide
• Step-by-Step Planning Checklist for Biogas Plants
• Sizing a biogas plan
• Siting of the Biogas Unit
• Substrate types and management
• Construction Details of Biogas Plants
• Checklist for building a biogas plant
• Piping Systems
• Pumps for Biogas Plants
• Heating
• Agitation
• Slurry-Use Equipment
• Plasters and Coats for Digester and Gas-Holders
• Underground Water
• Operation and Use
• Biogas- Sludge Management
• Annual Manure Yield and Nutrient Content of Animal Excrements
• Maintenance, Monitoring and Repair
• Biogas Utilization
• Gas Yields and Methane Contents for Various Substrates

This document presents basic information about biogas technology in the form of Biogas Digest Volume 3. The document contains 17 sections. They are respectively:
• Biogas – Cost and Benefits
• The Benefits for Biogas Users
• Costs of a Biogas Plant
• Macro-economic evaluation
• Economic Viability (Financial Analysis)
• Cost benefit relation (investment calculation, sensitivity analysis)
• The Annuities Method
• Benefit and Impacts of Biogas Technology
• World Environmental Benefits of Biogas Technology
• Financing and public support
• Biogas- Program Implementation
• Biogas Programme Structure
• Criteria for the Dissemination of Biogas Technology
• Information and Public Relation Campaigns
• Educational and Training Programs
• Financial Promotion and Public Support
• Biogas – Organizations and Networks

A better life for two million households in Africa through the implementation of domestic biogas plants was the ambitious target set at a May 2007 conference in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by the Biogas Africa Initiative.

This article goes into the past of biogas in Africa, its technical potential and current biogas needs. Further, it reports the launching of the Africa Biogas Initiative in May 2007 in Nairobi and the endorsement of the business plan, which aims to install 20 million biogas plants in Africa by 2020. The vision of the Initiative is to succeed in the implementation of biogas technology in African countries as a market-oriented partnership between governments, private sector players, civil society agents and international development partners. The specific targets of the initiative to be achieved by 2020 are presented in the article. The article also presents a short explanation of the guiding principles for national programmes and it concludes with activities in Africa at country level and the way forward.

This paper provides a brief report on the activities of the Working Group on Domestic Biogas under the Energy for All Partnership (E4ALL) in 2010 and a brief plan of its proposed activities in 2011. In 2009, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation was invited by the Steering Committee of the Energy for All Partnership initiated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to lead a Working Group on Domestic Biogas. The objective of this Working Group is the innovative dissemination of 1 (one) million domestic biogas plants in about 15 ADB member countries by 2016, providing access to sustainable energy to about 5 million people. In addition, the Working Group aims to make an important contribution to the development of sustainable, market-based biogas sectors in these countries. SNV will actively pursue the achievements of these objectives as a follow-up of the ongoing biogas practice in the region through networking and partnering involving all relevant existing and new parties.

A list of organisations associated with the Working Group on Domestic Biogas under the Energy for All Partnership is included.

In this publication, the secret of SNV's success in domestic biogas programmes is revealed: the multi-stakeholder sector development approach in optimising organisational and institutional capacities within national contexts. From 1992 onwards, SNV has supported the preparation and implementation of national domestic biogas programmes in countries in Asia and in Africa. In particular, the programmes in Nepal and Vietnam have met with a fair amount of international acclaim. This paper, however, attempts to explore whether SNV's approach regarding national biogas programmes has been of any significance. Key question this paper attempts to answer is:
"What is the secret of the successful domestic biogas programmes, and what is SNV doing to achieve this success?"

Before suggesting answers to this question, this paper briefly explains the technology of domestic biogas, the services it potentially provides to its customers, and how these services link to the needs of rural farming households in developing countries. It discusses what we think are the main features and associated challenges of SNV's approach:
• Facilitating thorough, participatory and context-specific preparation;
• Establishing a sustainable sector as the ultimate long-term objective;
• Interlinking impact and capacity development targets;
• Promoting a market-oriented approach;
• Attributing sector functions to multiple stakeholders.

The paper concludes with an epilogue in which the presented features are put in the framework of programmatic, technical and financial sustainability. To provide the reader with some background information on large-scale domestic biogas programmes, a brief description of the biogas programme in Nepal is added.

Capacity development is increasingly seen as the sine qua non sine qua non of successful development. Yet despite the growing commitment to show results, documented examples of its impact are hard to find. This paper went in search of available evidence and reviewed 29 case studies of capacity development from three development organisations. Its conclusion is that development organisations and donors need to move away from their narrow focus on accountability to a broader focus on mutual learning. They should also stop looking for the perfect measurement policy and start measuring instead.

Working with capacity and its development requires recognition of the many dimensions involved. This text brings together two prominent perspectives on capacity from, respectively, a South African NGO and a European-based policy centre. Both show a non-mechanical view of capacity and its development that is applied throughout this volume. These frameworks derive from extensive practical experience and propose different, but complementary, features of what capacity is all about. They bring similar observations on the nature of capacity and the implications that this has for practice. Familiarity with both will assist practitioners’ awareness of their own understanding of capacity and what this means for their way of working. It will also enhance ‘deeper’ reading of other chapters.
Click here for more information on 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'

Be it water out of a new tap or the practice of good governance, development is the product of relationships between stakeholders. Capacity exists not only within but also between them. Capacity and its development are therefore ‘relational’. This text by Jim Woodhill introduces multi-actor dimensions of capacity. He discusses features of the actors that are commonly found in aided development and then explores dimensions of working with relations between them. The chapter introduces an interesting model of three types of ‘relating’, then provides the reader with principles and approaches that can be applied to make engagement between multiple stakeholders more effective.

Click here for more information on 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'

For capacity to develop effectively one often has to work across different levels of human organizing. One may, for example, have to deal with capabilities of the individual, the organization, a network of actors and sector or national institutions. Another way of distinguishing levels is geographic or administrative units: communities (micro), districts and/or provinces (meso) and nation state (macro). This chapter by Hendrik Visser discusses the real-life example of a capacity development initiative in road construction that consciously worked across both types of level. The story illustrates how additional capabilities were needed and developed at each level to achieve effective and sustainable results. The practitioner will find lessons on deliberately working with the ‘multi-level’ nature of capacity and implications for the place and role of change teams or advisers.

Click here for more information on 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'

Both external advisers and internal change agents can choose very different roles in capacity-development processes. Over the duration of an assignment or project, a competent adviser takes on a variety of positions in relation to different people or parts of the client system. This demands a critical awareness of types of roles and judgements about what is needed when. In their article originally published in Training and Development journal February 1990, Champion, Kiel and McLendon identify nine possible roles and suggest key factors to consider in making judgements about which consulting role to take on. Their model helps advisers, change agents or consultants to improve the clarity of expectations between themselves and their clients. The article also explores factors that consultants may consider when adjusting their role towards a particular situation or phase of a project. Though it was written 20 years ago and not specifically targeted at the development community, this text is still highly relevant and addresses questions that will be very familiar to practitioners.

Find out more: 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'

To be effective in capacity development one often has to combine specific knowledge of the client business with change expertise. This combination of capabilities seldom arises naturally from formal education. Gaining and holding the required balance therefore calls for conscious and continuous effort on the part of practitioners as well as the organizations they work for. This chapter by Naa-Aku Acquaye-Baddoo analyses how these two different capabilities interact in practice, based on the experience of one development organization. In an engaging style, she explores how practitioners could improve their ability to combine the two in a balanced way and what organizational conditions help enable them to do so.

Find out more: 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'

Capacity-development practitioners commonly find themselves in work settings where different forces, interests and power asymmetries need to be dealt with. These factors can create potential sources of conflict over ownership, authority and the allocation of roles and responsibilities. This problem is poorly acknowledged and seldom explored in ways that are useful for practitioners. This chapter by Joe McMahon draws upon work from the fields of consulting, facilitation and conflict resolution to expose the power dimensions that are inherent to capacity development. He delineates a number of practical, common-sense ‘behavioural guides’ for the practitioner that will help to adequately define one’s own role, position oneself towards multiple actors and constructively deal with (potential) conflict.

Find out more: 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'

The diverse actors engaged in a capacity-development process often have very different values and views. The fact that it is the dominant values and voices that determine the direction and outcomes of the process is a particularly pertinent issue in addressing exclusion and inequity. Drawing on two local settings in India, this text by Rajesh Tandon demonstrates how some of these issues are played out in capacity-development processes. He highlights the need for a practitioner to be fully aware of how imbalances in interests and voice may reinforce or even worsen existing situations of disempowerment. He also discusses how a lack of awareness of a gap between the practitioner’s own values and those of the client, or key stakeholders, can impact on the practitioner’s relationship with his or her client.

Click here for more information on 'Capacity Development in Practice - Complete Publication'