We’ve spent time this summer improving how we describe Akvo to customers. Jo Pratt in London has done a great job helping me refine the definition of key Akvo users, and you’ll see further changes to the “About us” and “Get involved” content across Akvo.org this autumn.

For context, let’s first define Akvo’s core customers and what we help them do:

I’m a company. I want to improve our corporate philanthropy.
Do more. Do it more easily. Show the impact.

I’m a charity. I want to improve reporting and increase funding.
Get more field projects online. Connect funds to projects. Keep funders happy. Write fewer proposals.

I work in the field. We want to connect and get support.
Exchange field experience and share project updates. Find funding when you need it. Create better reports.

I fund development aid. I want it to be more effective and transparent.
Tell the story on the ground. Connect many partners. Show your impact.

I’m a tech and/or water geek. I want to use the Akvo platform.
Share knowledge. Build systems using Akvo tools. Help us build the platform.

I’m just one person. I want to do some good.
Create a campaign. Support a campaign. Spread the word.

The key step this summer has been to create a set of “one-pagers” that explain the main pieces that we offer. These are in PDF form and can printed in colour, emailed to people or laminated and used in meetings (Peter’s idea, which works well – people instinctively want to steal the laminated version). I’m really grateful to Anke van Lenteren for doing the page layouts and coping with our edits.

Here are four of the one-pagers. In each case, you can click on the image to download the PDF file. Or click here to download all four as a zip file (1.6MB).

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Preview of the redesign of the Akvo RSR user interface. We are actively working on this, so don’t be surprised if it comes out somewhat different than what you see here.

In November 2009 I wrote about the state of development for Akvo Really Simple Reporting (Akvo RSR), and now it seems like a good time to do this again. We will be releasing a major new version of Akvo RSR during the autumn and we wanted to give a sneak preview of this rather exciting release, which contains a new look for the website, Akvo SMS, Akvo Maps and more.

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Photo: Like much of the best Swedish design and engineering, the WaterCube itself was built to last. Here its designer Mikael Frid supervises the breakdown. It will be reassembled next week. Stockholm, 21 August 2009.

Snag: n. – a concealed or unexpected difficulty or obstacle.

The Stockholm World Water Cube 2009, brilliant as it was, could do with some improvements. We did a snag list video, which I’ve used to create the list below. The time marker [0.26] is to show how far into the video this particular snag is described.

For all of us involved in building WaterCube 2 next month, it is worth watching the video once again. It is only 7 1/2 minutes about the WaterCube itself.

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The Stockholm World Water Cube video studio lands for its second year at World Water Week in early September. Once again we’re running it, along with SIWI and IRC. The action starts on Sunday 5th September and we’ll be using Flip cameras and other low cost video devices to do interviews and publish them online for the duration of Stockholm World Water Week.

Photo: Stockholm World Water Cube, August 2009. This year’s World Water Week is being held from 5th to 11th September 2010 at the Stockholmsmässan conference centre in Stockholm, Sweden.

World Water Week is the leading annual gathering for people committed to tackling the world’s water (and sanitation) problems. This is Akvo’s fourth year at the event.

The WaterCube is really cool – it works like this:

We’re the white cube in the middle of the exhibition area. If you’re at World Water Week, drop by and talk to us.

We want to film you, to learn about your work. Share your insights on the water issues we face, and what’s needed to tackle them.

All our video interviews are edited (simply) and then shared online at www.watercube.tv. We have a dedicated high speed internet pipe that means we can get video online fairly quickly. Watch us edit and upload as we go.

Anyone can drop by and join in the conversation. Share ideas and interactions with a dynamic, independent, constantly-changing team of video reporters, drawn from some of the water sector’s most innovative organisations.

We also have video streams running live on the big screen at the WaterCube, so you can see who else has been interviewed.

We license all our material as Creative Commons and its powered by the Blip.tv platform. This means it gets syndicated to other online channels and it’s easy for anyone to embed any interviews on their own websites.

We’re keen to help people learn how to use online video to begin documenting their own work to global audiences, sharing knowledge and creating unexpected partnerships and opportunities. Hang out and we’ll show you how.

You can follow our interviews online throughout the week at www.watercube.tv and I’ll be featuring video highlights here on the Akvo.org blog too.

WaterCube 2 features a stack of new partners in the reporting team. Two people will join us from Arghyam, which runs the India Water Portal. Its CEO Sunita Nadhamuni (also on Akvo’s board) was featured a few days ago on the prestigious TED Blog. We also have reporters from five national resource centre networks on water and sanitation: Burkina Faso (CREPA), Honduras (RAS-HON), Ghana (RCN Ghana), Nepal (ENPHO), Uganda (NETWAS).

You’ll find details on attending World Water Week here.

I’m really grateful for the unwavering support of Lovisa Selander at SIWI and Nick Dickinson at IRC. I’ll be in and around the studio all week, along with Akvo’s Thomas Bjelkeman and Luuk Diphoorn. We’re looking forward to an amazing week.

Browse last year’s interviews by clicking on the image below.

And here’s Nick talking at WaterCube 1 about the background on the concept.

Or check out this video interview with myself and Lovisa on the philosophy behind the WaterCube, too.

Mark Charmer is a co-founder of Akvo.

Through the invaluable support of Neesha Jambagi, our Sanitation Platform is now also available in French. This is our first step on the road to making Akvopedia a true multi-language platform, and we hope it will be useful to french-speaking people around the world.

The new French portal contains 54 detailed articles on a wide range of sanitation technologies. The material was adapted from the extremely useful Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (2008, French version here), written by Elisabeth Tilley and colleagues of Sandec, the Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries at eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland. At a later date, the publication will also be made available in Spanish.

The French version of the Sandec Compendium of Sanitation Systems

Akvo doesn’t fundraise to consumers directly – we create web and mobile tools, and build networks of partners that can harness these tools to reduce poverty. To date, we’ve focused on promoting our big vision to more progressive NGOs and funders through our poster visuals.

Yet for some time, we’ve wanted to create a short trailer or animation – something we can show to kids or grandma – indeed something I can show to my mum – and they’ll get what we do right away. It should be something that teachers can share with kids in campaigns like Walking for Water. So after several faltering starts, we’ve finally got our first video trailer.

Bring it on…

Inspired by their work to promote Live Earth in the Netherlands, we commissioned Amsterdam-based Upstream Advertising to create this short animation. Upstream develops video material for leading global consumer brands.

Where it goes / develops from here depends on everyone’s feedback. Tell us what you think. Do please share the trailer with anyone you think will be interested.

Mark Charmer is a co-founder of Akvo and directs its communications.

Circle of Blue has just published a great interview with Akvo chief technology officer and founder Thomas Bjelkeman-Pettersson. It was recorded recently at the Tällberg “Rework the World” conference in Sweden, which brought together global thought leaders, working to solve society’s big problems.

Check out the full article here.

You can listen to the audio interview on Circle of Blue Radio, too.

A few snippets:

On spending development aid on appropriate technology: “You can go to a village and there will be a Swedish pump that is broken that was installed in the 70s and a French pump that was installed in the 80s and a British pump that was installed in the 90s, and they’re all broken because they’re all technology that’s flown in, installed, and there’s nobody there to maintain them. There’s no market to sell and maintain these things either because it’s all shipped in from far and abroad by foreign money. It’s not suitable for the local environment. We keep making these mistakes.”

On the trouble with development reporting: “We call it people being stuck in thick Word report syndrome —everybody’s afraid of corruption. Are we doing the right thing? Has the money gone missing? They make these organizations that do the work in the field write long reports —30 to 40 page reports— and regarding six to 12 months. I call them ‘cover your backside reports’ because they don’t really help anyone. One or two people read them, and then they go in and are archived somewhere to make sure that you can prove that you spent the money responsibly.”

Circle of Blue’s dedicated WATERNEWS channel is well worth a look.

We recently had the chance to submit Akvo’s “movie poster” imagery as one of the candidates for an upcoming session on “Striking WASH communication” at September’s Stockholm World Water Week. It’s organised by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, PR Audit, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and WSSCC. Here’s our entry on Akvo’s use of visual imagery, in case you’re curious…

Summary: “Injecting glamour into water and sanitation”

To support its launch, Akvo.org introduced bold visual imagery, in the form of movie-style “posters”. These challenge assumptions about development merely helping the helpless and establish the concept of the local hero working to deliver water and sanitation solutions. The campaign has helped Akvo long-term to differentiate its product offer, communicate its goals and define its customers to stakeholders, while setting out its stall as a maverick in the sector.

Akvo Background

Akvo exists to challenge convention in water and sanitation, injecting Silicon Valley entrepreneurism and Dutch openness into a sector that often struggles to project its message widely.

The 12-person team develops and operates internet and mobile phone services for NGOs, governments and philanthropic institutions that fund water and sanitation projects.

Launched in 2008, with backing from the Dutch government, Akvo is incorporated as a Foundation in the Netherlands, and is based in The Hague, with staff in London, Stockholm and San Francisco.

Issues faced

“WASH” (Water and sanitation / hygeine) communication is formulaic – blue and white, pictures of people in poverty, alongside pumps and latrines, liberally splashed with organisational logos, also blue. Large quantities of costly print booklets are typically distributed from expensive congress stands, with little evidence that they achieve impact.

Target audiences:

• rising stars amongst global NGOs
• progressive funders
• groups committed to sharing knowledge.
• ultimately, those working to lift their communities out of poverty

Objectives

• challenge assumptions about development being about helping the helpless
• create a brand framework for Akvo’s product offer
• define Akvo’s ultimate customer to stakeholders
• connect appropriate watsan technologies with the application of information technology
• project low cost appropriate technologies aspirationally, to a wider audience
• establish the concept of the local hero, working to deliver watsan solutions
• present effective information technology in a light-hearted, optimistic manner

Communication activities and team

Akvo commissioned Dutch artist Vincent Wijers to create four movie-style posters, each featuring characters and plotlines. Click the links below to see large-size images.

“The Woman Who Built Herself a Toilet”
“Mission Rope Pump”
“Wind and Water”
“Water! The Smash-Hit Musical from Africa”

See the poster images themselves in all their glory, and some pictures of the Akvo brand in situ, in this Flickr photoset.

They are designed to evoke a sense of simplicity, improvisation and optimism. Each features an appropriate water or sanitation technology (rope pump, sodis biosand water filter, wind pump, ecosan toilet), and a light-hearted item of “retro” information technology.

Akvo has used these visuals in a variety of ways to assert its brand and goals, including event posters, postcard flyers, signage and as illustrations for magazine and policy articles.

Budget

€20,000 over three years, including design and print.

Impact

The campaign has been widely praised by people from both North and South. It resonates especially strongly with partners in Asia and Africa, who have praised their fresh, fun, tongue-in-cheek portrayal – a striking contrast to the norm.

Photo: Akvo captured the imagination of NGO and government backers at the Unicef World Water Day matchmaking event in Rotterdam in March 2008, securing commitments of close to half a million Euro to build its tools. Funders signed our posters, which still hang in our office today. Akvo has gone on to secure more than €2 million in backing to build its open source software platform and network, including around €1.5 million from the Dutch government.

Akvo has since assembled over 200 high quality field and support partners, now using Akvo tools to deploy watsan solutions more visibly in 47 countries, reducing paper trails and sharing experience and progress openly online, via web and mobile phone-feeds. Since the campaign launched, enquiries on Akvopedia have risen to over 1000 per day.

If you think anyone else would be interested in this, please do point them to us. I’m always on the lookout for good places to profile our approach, so if you come across any good competitions focused on design and communications, especially related to international development, I’d love to hear from you via email or my Twitter account.

Mark Charmer is a co-founder of Akvo.

On Friday I wrote about the toilet blocks being installed at De Parade festival this summer, to raise money for water and sanitation projects. For a look at the GIVASHIT creative work in its final form, take a look at this video by Luuk Diphoorn, who gets the low-down from Akvo’s Mark Tiele-Westra.

Filmed in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Friday 16 July 2010.

For the third consecutive year, Akvo’s involved with the toilet blocks at the De Parade theatre festival in the Netherlands. The Parade’s a major summertime event that stages through four Dutch cities – Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam – attracting at least 350,000 visitors. Last year’s events raised some €30,000 for water and toilet projects in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Photo: In a break from editing the Akvopedia, Akvo’s Mark Westra helps put together the GIVASHIT toilet block. Utrecht, Netherlands. 16 July 2010 (by Luuk Diphoorn).

Having already visited The Hague and Rotterdam, the third stage of the 2010 Parade opens today in the city of Utrecht. We’re expecting more than 100,000 people to pass through the toilets over the next two weeks.

This year’s toilets look especially cool, and we’re more involved than ever – the concept’s been completely refreshed by the creative team at our partner Get it Done, founded by Dutch actress Hanna Verboom. Visitors to the toilet are challenged to “GIVASHIT” and make a donation when they go to the toilet. The money goes to water and sanitation projects in the developing world, and donors can follow project progress online.

One €6,000 sanitation project in Ethiopia has already already been funded through The Hague and Rotterdam events and the toilets are now geared to raise money for another. Six projects are being funded under the concept of Givashit including these projects in Akvo:

Water for Mugeyo. Muhanga, Rwanda

TRIANGLE project, Nuba Mountains, Sudan

Drinking water supply for Sorido, Papua province, Indonesia

The other projects are hosted on the Get it Done site here

Bold creative concept

This year’s De Parade has a really bold new GIVASHIT theme. “We wanted to express the idea that people can give a shit, while they do so,” explains Marten van Gils, from Get it Done who worked closely with Akvo to create a tight theme and narrative. “We started the concept by imagining that people could flush their money down the toilet and it would go to real toilet projects. Technically that wasn’t feasible, so instead you throw money into a toilet outside.”

Photo: The GIVASHIT donation box (under construction). De Parade, Utrecht, Netherlands. 16 July 2010.

“We knew that the most attention we can generate was when people are actually giving a shit – that half a minute,” explains van Gils. As people enter the toilets they can see a visual timeline dating from 1700 BC, that highlights fun water and sanitation facts through the ages. It’s the latest campaign to benefit from our “QR” (Quick Response) tags. Each toilet cubicle features one project on a huge poster, including a QR tag that allows you to snap it on a mobile phone and see the project online today, and in the future. “The poster tells how you can help this problem, if only you give a shit.” The timeline ends in 2011, with the conclusion of the project you’ve helped to fund.

Martin reports that donations are 20-25% higher than they have been in previous years.

Update: See our video run through of the concept here.

Photo: The completed toilet block. 16 July 2010. (by Kathelyne van den Berg)

You can read our blogs about the 2009 and 2008 events here.

Mark Charmer is co-founder of Akvo.