Thoughts on Strengthening INPIM National Chapters

Just as watercourse irrigation groups are the basic building blocks of a higher-level water user association, so too can INPIM national chapters serve as the basic building blocks of INPIM. In order to build a solid foundation for INPIM, the national chapters must be strengthened.

Currently INPIM has up to one thousand members from nearly 50 countries, but among those countries only five have national chapters: Albania, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Nepal. Of these, only Albania and India have been established as legal entities. Six other countries (Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Mexico, Vietnam, and China) have representation on the INPIM Board of Directors by reaching the threshold of 10 lifetime members which according to the INPIM by-laws qualifies the country to nominate a Board representative. Several other countries have the requisite number of lifetime members but have not yet requested Board representation.

The list of incentives for establishing a national chapter include all the individual incentives of INPIM membership with the additional value of operating at a national level at the same time that one is a member of the international organization. These incentives include:

sharing professional comradeship while working for a common cause (i.e., promotion of participatory irrigation and drainage management);

access to new information through the Newsletter, the INPIM Internet site, and articles, reports, and other documents announced therein;

opportunities to influence policies or to attend events at various levels (from watercourse to international); and

exchanging technical and advisory assistance among members to solve problems and to pursue possible business opportunities.

For many prospective members the PIM concept appears to be either too narrow a topic, or so vague that the benefits are not immediately obvious. Sometimes, the obstacle is language, e.g., in a primarily Spanish speaking country, the INPIM-provided information (so far printed in English) has limited utility. Consequently, I feel that the first order of business for any potential national chapter is to prepare information packets in the appropriate national or local language(s) which state clearly and concisely what is PIM, what is INPIM, and what are the advantages to becoming a member.

Once a national chapter has a sufficient number of members, it should concentrate its efforts on registering the chapter as a legal entity. This is essential for raising funds, which in turn is absolutely necessary to expand and sustain the chapter's activities.

What should National Chapters do?

National chapters should facilitate the dissemination of training materials (case studies, handbooks, videos, and CD-ROMs) developed by the other INPIM members or affliated organizations. National chapters should also sponsor events, such as luncheons with lectures, seminar/workshops, study tours, or simply some social events. Opportunities to go abroad would be most exciting. Holding such events, however, requires human and financial resources. Where do we get them? At least for the foreseeable future, human resources would have to be provided mainly by the existing members. But what about money? Local luncheons and seminars could perhaps be financed by collecting registration fees from participants. But what about the expenses for the speakers, for example? What about international travels? These expenses are not small. This brings me to my next point.

Raising Funds

INPIM national chapters should engage in their own fundraising. Potential donors may be local foundations and corporations as well as local offices of international foundations and corporations and bilateral aid programs. Members may also eventually go into some business for earning funds for the chapter. If a national chapter is registered legally as an NGO, it should be able to obtain consulting contracts. In my opinion, national chapters would be best suited to provide training and advisory services in participatory management for new and existing irrigation and drainage projects. There are, however, a number of issues to consider for national chapters that are thinking of going into business. 

Is there a conflict of interest? Government projects may be some of the most likely business propositions, yet if core members of national chapters are themselves government officials, from the same Department offering the contract, there would be a conflict.

Can INPIM chapters compete with consulting firms? Although members of the national chapters may be among the foremost authorities on PIM in their countries, effective marketing and good proposals are also necessary to be successful.

It is also important that national chapters work closely with pre-existing and similar organizations. For example, many INPIM members are also members of ICID national chapters. The fact that the next international seminar on PIM is going to be held in Bali, Indonesia, with co-sponsorship of ICID, should give INPIM and ICID national chapters an immediate incentive to contact each other and coordinate their activities.

In summary, existing INPIM national chapters or potential national chapters should: 1) prepare and disseminate information on INPIM in the language most understood by potential members in the country; 2) register themselves locally as legal entities; 3) offer attractive programs to their members; 4) conduct local fundraising, and provide consulting services if there are no potential conflicts of interest; and 5) strengthen ties with similar organizations, such as ICID national chapters.

- Hatsuya Azumi

From the Editor:

For the next issue of the Newsletter we invite comments on the following themes which will also be featured in the upcoming International Seminar on PIM in Bali, Indonesia in July 1998:

(1) What are the impacts of PIM on water use and agricultural production?

(2) What are the impacts of PIM on small and landless farmers?

(3) What is the balance between grassroots mobilization and legal reform? and

(4) How can irrigation rehabilitation be integrated with PIM?

Please send your comments -- whether a few sentences, paragraphs, or pages -- to the INPIM Coordinator and we will include your thoughts in the next issue of this letter.