Based on an agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the Cameroon Government - represented by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development MINEPAT - a 5.25 million € fund (“Fonds de Contrevaleur Suisses FCV) is available to subsidise three projects in the fields of renewable energies and private sector promotion with about 1.52 million € each:1) “electrification through a hydro-PV hybrid system”,2) “water through solar energy”, 3) ”Fresh Irish Potato production, storage, conditioning and marketing”. Skat is mandated a) to monitor and assist the 3 projects during implementation to ensure sustainability and b) to evaluate private sector initiatives to be supported with the remaining 466,000 €.

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO,Economic Cooperation and Development

Skat assisted Caritas in the elaboration and implementation of village-level water supply, sanitation and hygiene projects in the district of Lezhë (Northern Albania). During this partnership, Skat provided support to the local Caritas office in Lezhë and the Albania desk at the agency’s head office through advisory services from the desk and regular backstopping mission to the country.

Caritas Switzerland

Skat Consulting assisted between 2007 and 2011 Caritas Switzerland in Kosovo in the appraisal, planning, implementation, follow-up and quality assurance of village-level water supply, sanitation and hygiene projects through support missions to the field and advisory services from the desk.

Caritas Switzerland

Since 2005, the Rural Water and Sanitation Support Programme (RWSSP) has provided better access to safe drinking water and sanitation to about 600’000 people living in rural areas of Kosovo. Whilst investing into infrastructure improvement, it supported performance improvements of the country’s seven Regional Water Companies (RWC). By the end of Phase V late 2017, the country had met the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) with over 80% of its population supplied with water by a licensed and regulated water utility. By further strengthening the capacities of the RWCs and their oversight bodies, and with targeted infrastructure investments, the Phase VI – Exit Phase (2018-2020) consolidated the past achievements and contributed to an increasingly sustainable and socially inclusive provision of high-quality water and sanitation services in Kosovo. Over the 15 years of existence, the different Programme components were implemented by various local and international organisations. Since Phase IV, Skat Consulting Ltd. has been providing specific backstopping services to those implementing agencies and to the Swiss Cooperation Office (SCO).

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Holinger Ltd.

SECO has committed to the 3rd phase of GEDAP a USD 21 million grant covering the period 2015-2019 (extended to 2025). The Project aims at improving the operations and financial situation of the utilities (ECG, NEDCo) through a) institutional strengthening measures, b) increasing access to electricity via capital investments in distribution infrastructure, and c) supporting the RE sector and promoting EE measures.

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO,Economic Cooperation and Development

Intec GOPA-International Energy Consultants GmbH

At the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), water topics are explicitly addressed through the ‘Section Water’ (SW) and its thematic network ‘RésEAU’. The RésEAU encompasses knowledge management, capacity strengthening, in-house counselling, linking thematic knowledge with strategic and operational planning and implementation. The current backstopping of the RésEAU integrates the facilitation of AGUASAN, a Swiss Community of Practice on Water and Sanitation, and is closely interlinked with the separate institutional Backstopping Mandate to the Section Water.

The Backstopping Mandate ‘RésEAU cum AGUASAN’ is led by Skat Consulting and provides support in a wide range of specialized conceptual, methodological, thematic, and technical services based on robust state-of-the-art expertise from its team members and the subcontractors Helvetas and Zoï Environmental Network. RésEAU is managed on a global level, as well as on a regional level (Sub-RésEAUs) for Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, to tailor knowledge management to the regions’ needs.

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Division Thematic Cooperation, Section Water,Daniel Maselli, Senior Policy Advisor & Focal Point SDC Water Network

Helvetas & Zoï Environment Network

Since 2009, Skat has been acting as backstopping consultant assisting the Swiss Coordination Office in Kosovo and SECO headquarters in the steering and monitoring of the “Support to the WTF” project, whilst providing technical support (advice and coaching) to the permanent advisors in relevant global and regional water sector issues as well as deploying the short-term experts on specific thematic issues. Skat has also conducted the project’s mid-term review and designed its 2^nd Phase now known as “Support to the IMWC”.

In the current backstopping mandate, the Skat expert team with large experience on international water sector reforms and policies, primarily supports the permanent local advisors to the IMWC, whilst deploying the intermittent advisors and the (inter)national short-term experts. The backstopper also provides support to the Swiss Coordination Office and SECO in project steering and monitoring. Finally, the backstopper ensures the quality of the operational plans and reports of the IMWC Secretariat and the intermittent advisors/short-term experts, and was tasked to conduct the project internal review end 2015. The backstopping mandate includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks:

• Provide thematic and methodological advise to the two permanent advisors upon demand and felt needs, whilst bringing in relevant regional and global best practices;
• Support the IMWC Secretariat in developing their Yearly Plans of Operations and in getting them approved by the client;
• Assist the client in monitoring and steering of the project by providing in a timely manner the information, analysis and learning required for effective project performance assessment and decision-talking;
• Monitor on a periodic basis (i.e. during field missions) project progress, performance and synergies with other sector endeavours of the Swiss Coordination Office in Kosovo;
• Comment on the inception report and the semi-annual progress reports of the IMWC secretariat, whilst assisting the finalisation of the documents up to approval by the client;
• Deploy the intermittent advisors to the IMWC based on terms of references and profiles proposed by the secretariat and approved by the client;
• Deploy the national and international short-term experts to the IMWC based on the justifications, terms of reference and profiles proposed by the secretariat/backstopper and approved by the client;
• Participate in / contribute to, upon demand of the client, conferences, workshops, IMWC meetings and other events organized within the framework of the project;
• Conduct, in consultation with the relevant project stakeholders, an internal review of the project in 2015 providing the basis for SECO’s decision taking on project extension beyond the initial two years.

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has led to severe humanitarian consequences, including large-scale displacement and extensive damage to infrastructure and shortage of construction materials. In response, SKAT partnered with HEKS/EPER to provide technical assistance focused on the emergency reuse and repurposing of locally available materials. The project aimed to improve the safety, resilience, and functionality of makeshift shelters within the constraints of the local context. The project developed a practical manual that complements existing practices with actionable guidance for integrating reclaimed materials into emergency shelter construction.

HEKS/EPER (Program funding by Swiss Solidarity and Swiss Development Cooperation)

MA’AM

In order to develop the water sector in Kosovo, the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP) supported by various donor organisations initiated the Water Task Force (WTF) project approach. The WTF is an inter-ministerial body situated at the highest decision-making level of Kosovo supporting the water sector through the improvement of relevant policies, framework conditions and action plans. The WTF is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. Its permanent members consist of four relevant line Ministers and two non-voting representatives of the donor community including Switzerland. Since July 2009, Skat as backstopping consultant supports the Swiss Coordination Office (SCO) in Kosovo in the steering and monitoring of the project and provides technical support to the local permanent advisors.

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

hydrophil GmbH

The project “lnnovative Sanitation Solutions & Reuse for Arid Regions (ISSRAR) – Sanitation Solutions for Underserved Communities in Jordan” focuses on increasing the efficiency of wastewater treatment systems in Azraq city and on turning wastewater streams into physical and financial resources by supporting integrated, biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and faecal sludge management (FSM) system using treatment wetland technology. This will not only provide additional water but also reduce health risks and protect freshwater aquifers from pollution from raw wastewater (sewage).

Swiss Cooperation Office Amman