LWSC inviting Applications for Innovation Grant Program

Deadline: 30-Jun-20

Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company (LWSC) is currently accepting applications for the Innovation Grant Program to improve the sanitation for the poor in peri- urban areas of Lusaka.

LWSC is implementing the Lusaka Sanitation Program (LSP) which aims at improving sanitation services in Lusaka and strengthen LWSC’s capacity to manage sanitation services.

This project aims at “increasing access to sustainable sanitation services to Lusaka’s 2.5 million residents, especially the urban poor”. Under the LSP onsite sanitation (OSS) investment component, LWSC plans to construct 5500 household on-site sanitation facilities, two (02) FeacalSludge Treatment Plants (FSTP), and 100 public toilet facilities and to develop a sustainable Onsite Sanitation (OSS)and Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) citywide business to cover both urban and peri-urban non-sewered communities of Lusaka.

In addition to the funding under the LSP, a US$ 3 million grant to support LWSC take up an expanded mandate to deliver safe sanitation services was received from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in December 2018 under the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) Flagship.

The grant supports the utility to shift from its current model reaching ~10% of city residents with sewers, to a one that prioritizes reaching the nearly80% of urban residents living in informal communities with decentralized services or OSS systems. This new CWIS service is designed to benefit residents of low income communities to ensure they receive safe, equitably priced sanitation services.

Part of the CWIS grant will be applied to support research and development (R&D), problem solving and innovations in Non-Sewered Sanitation (NSS). This grant item will be used to support organizations, private service providers and individuals working in the sanitation sector to trouble shoot and improve the functionality of NSS services and hardware. Participants will be encouraged to proactively identify challenges or improvement opportunities, and propose fixes (including the estimated budget and process required for a proposed fix).

Focus Areas

In this regard, the CWIS Project under the LSP is inviting LWSC Staff, Private Service Providers, Individuals, Research and Academic institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations NGO), Community Based Enterprises (CBEs) and Students from institutions of higher learning and others to submit Concept Notes on research and innovative solution with a focus on the following:

NSS service delivery improvement targeting both hardware and software components of the sanitation service chain;
Innovation in technologies for emptying, transport, treatment, resources recovery and ICT for improving sanitation service delivery;
Innovative sanitation marketing and demand creation approaches;
Innovative sanitation business models;
Gender and Social inclusion in sanitation;
Hygiene promotion and behavior change; and
Any other topics related CWIS and NSS as a utility service.

Funding Information

The grant value shall range from $100 to $1000 (small grants window) and $1,001 to $5,000 (large grants window).

Eligibility Criteria

Grants will be for innovations in NSS that result in improved service or access for the poor in peri-urban areas of Lusaka. Activities may also include FSM business models and hygiene-related mechanisms for service improvement.
The grants are open to all (organizations and individuals) with innovative ideas and solutions that will bring about change and improvements in the NSS as a utility service for LWSC.
- Individuals:
  - Individual applicants should be Zambia residents.
- Organizations:
  - Be legally registered as a non-governmental organization or for-profit private entity and operates in Zambia.
  - Have a physical office in Zambia.
  - Preferred to have been active / operating for at least one (1) year.
  - Have three (3) or more full time or part time staff.