UEW Researchers Win Consultancy Contract Award Worth ₵749,300.00

A team of academics from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), has been awarded a consulting contract to design and develop communication and community engagement strategies for a community-based municipal solid waste source separation and compost project. 

The contract, awarded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), is worth ₵749,300.00. The project is titled “Communication & Community Engagement Strategy and Equity & Inclusion Studies for a Community-Based Municipal Solid Waste”.

The team is expected to develop a comprehensive communication mechanism for behavioural change towards waste management as well as provide communication strategies to support Municipal Waste Source Separation (MWS) in implementing its waste sorting and composting strategy to help address the unending waste management problems in Accra.

In its proposal to GIZ, the team demonstrated a conceptual understanding of the assignment and outlined its methodology to enhance the credibility of the project demands. As a result, the team structured its technical proposal along five sections: "The Consultancy and the Project; Proposed Methodology for the Consultancy; Proposed Work Plan; Organisational Experience of Consultants; and Sustainability".

The researchers would develop an equity and inclusion assessment and action plan that would address the needs of relevant stakeholders, especially the concerns and interests of informal waste actors, women, youth, and other marginalised groups.

The team also indicated in their proposal to develop a behavioural change communication and community sensitisation strategy to guide project implementation; an action plan based on the engagement and communication strategies; influence the behaviour and change common practices in the handling of waste materials by the community; develop tailor-made and appealing awareness and education material; and conduct selected awareness and education activities to target key community sectors.

The consultants have expertise and experience in the urban geography or morphology of Accra including Gender, Equity, and Social Inclusion (GESI) issues and content development for waste management including waste sorting and compost. The team also includes a monitoring and evaluation expert and communication strategy design experts to deliver its mandate as requested by the service.  

The team comprises Prof. (Mrs.) Esther Yeboah Danso-Wiredu (team lead), Prof. Samuel K. Hayford (equity and inclusion expert), Prof. Christiana Hammond (awareness and communication expert), Dr. Peter Akayuure (content developer), Mr. Stephen Akyiaw (design expert), and Dr. Bernard B. B. Bingab (monitoring and evaluation expert).