Clinton Global Initiative – Universities

Section II: Commitment Information

1. Please describe your Commitment to Action and its objective(s).
Oregon Direct Action (ODA) is a student-led, open-source organization at the University of Oregon dedicated to helping facilitate access to the basic needs of water, food, health care, and education for the world’s “bottom billion.” Through experiential education, ODA empowers students with culturally and environmentally appropriate tools and skills to create a more just and sustainable world.  Among the unique qualities of ODA is the drive to "open source" the organization ~ using transparency in design, discussions, and decision-making to leverage the strengths of the student community in achieving the goals of partner organizations and communities.  Currently, ODA is developing a clean water distribution project in rural northern Peru through Green Empowerment ~ a Portland, OR based 501(c)(3).
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2. What progress has your Commitment to Action achieved since inception?
ODA began in spring 2008 after months of discussions concerning our intentions to work on projects in the developing world.  Once we agreed to be effective by focusing first on a water project, we connected with international NGOs and organizations in Peru and India to see what would be pragmatic.  Eventually, a partnership with Green Empowerment has developed to deliver clean water to remote villages facing periodic shortages, water borne disease, and intensive labor transporting water from open springs, polluted streams, and irrigation canals. After completing a series of Needs Assessments through September/October, our project with Green Empowerment will be designed to provide appropriate solutions such as: solar powered water pumping, water filtration, gravity distribution systems, sanitation education, integrated watershed management, and/or watershed restoration activities.
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3. What need does your Commitment to Action address and why is it significant?
According to the 2006 UNDP Human Development Report, more than 1 billion people around the world lack access to clean water.  In San Pablo (Cajamarca, Peru), nearly 40% of its roughly 24,000 people get their water from non-potable sources.  Furthermore, San Pablo has the lowest electrification rate in Peru, a lack of appropriate infrastructure, and low rates of education beyond fifth grade. Our project strives to: 1) Reduce incidences of gastro-intestinal illness through delivery of clean water to households or central distribution points in each village; 2) Displace the need for women and children to fetch water so they can instead focus on education, health & nutrition, and/or pursue micro-enterprise activities; and 3) Restore local watersheds.

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4. What specific experience have you had, in or out of the classroom, to prepare you to effectively implement your Commitment to Action? What relationships have you developed to provide necessary skills or expertise?
Oregon Direct Action (ODA) is comprised of four highly-motivated and self-initiating third year students from the University of Oregon.  Together, we bring knowledge from complimentary courses of study in Environmental Science, Journalism, and Economics; active leadership within the groups “Coalition Against Environmental Racism” and “Students for Global Health”; and field experience through completion of an in-India study of the socio-political constraints to clean water access.  ODA is committed to building on our collective experiences through coursework, developing the San Pablo water project, considering the cultural, political, and economic requirements of the local people, and cultivating relationships with additional students, faculty, villagers in San Pablo, Green Empowerment, and their Peruvian NGO partners.
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5. What relationships have you developed, on- and off-campus, to advance your Commitment to Action? Have you received statements of support from your university community and/or your target communities?
Oregon Direct Action has had extensive discussions with like-minded campus groups, such as MAPLE Microfinance, to discuss ways in which we can collaborate. Professors in International Studies, Environmental Studies, and Business have committed to advising ODA throughout our project’s development. Off-campus, we have developed relationships with organizations in Oregon (Green Empowerment), Peru (Soluciones Practicas), and India (Hubli Water and Health Project; Argyham).  We have begun coordinating extensively with student led university groups at other universities. Through Green Empowerment (GE) ~ which partners with rural communities in the developing world to implement renewable energy and water systems in order to alleviate poverty and improve the environment ~ we have secured partnership with Soluciones Practicas, the local government in San Pablo, and village leaders.
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6. Who are the key stakeholders in your Commitment to Action? How have you involved them and how are you ensuring that your commitment responds to their needs?
The key stakeholders in our Commitment to Action are the residents of San Pablo, Peru.  The Mayor of the province has asked for assistance, and we are currently working with our partner, Green Empowerment, and their in-country partner, Soluciones Practicas, to develop the necessary social, technical, economic, and environmental surveys to do a series of Needs Assessments.  Once the Needs Assessments are completed and reviewed, we will have a better understanding of which clean water delivery interventions will be most effective to empower each community. At the end of the day, the communities will construct, operate, maintain, and own their water systems.
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7. What is the budget for your Commitment to Action? Please list the anticipated expenditures and sources/quantities of income and support.

Expenditures	Costs	ODA	GE	Peru
Needs Assessments	$4,000	In-kind		Grants, Community, local gov’t.
Design and Installation of Water Systems	$25,000 to $60,000 per village		Grants	Grants
International Travel	$6,000	Fundraising Events	Fees-for-service
Project Development	$5,000		Grants and Fundraising Events	Grants
Education and Training	$5,000	Grants	Grants	Grants
Communications	$2,000		Grants	Grants

Section III: Outstanding Commitment Awards Criteria

Describe how your Commitment to Action addresses each of the award criteria: sustainability, impact, innovation, potential for replication, and leverage.

1. Will your Commitment to Action advance environmental efforts on your campus or in the community, and if so, how? Will the commitment be able to sustain itself over time without requiring continuous external support, and if so how? Does this commitment promote environmentally sound economic development, and if so, how?
Our approach to economic, environmental, and cultural sustainability is two-fold, both international and local.  In considering how and why to address basic needs, the ODA team looks at sustainability through a multitude of lenses, including environmental.  With our projects, once a system is installed (solar water pump, BioSand Filters, or similar), a village level committee will be created to collect fees to cover the costs of, and perform, the operations and maintenance. We have begun researching how reforestation affects aquifer recharge, with the hope to better understand how to strengthen our watershed management planning. By increasing access to basic needs in an environmentally-sensitive way, we are improving health, and increasing opportunities for economic development.
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2. What are the desired, realistic, long-term outcomes that your Commitment to Action will produce, and how will you measure your progress? Please be specific.
In San Pablo, providing increased access to clean and reliable water, paired with health and sanitation education, will lessen the rate of gastro-intestinal disease and reduce the need for women and children to collect water. More time will then be available for education, growing nutritious vegetables in patio gardens, and/or micro-enterprise activities (ex. women’s weaving cooperatives). In each village, a watershed management plan will be adopted by the community and restoration activities will occur. These targets can be measured through assessments of public health, community well-being, water quality, and forest cover.

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3. In what ways is your Commitment to Action innovative? How does your approach differ from or build upon the approach of others, and why is it more effective?
Innovation is what drives ODA.  The use of appropriate technology is effective at empowering solutions. While we refer to the wealth of knowledge and experiences of past projects, we apply holistic thinking, known best management practices, and forging of mutually beneficial objectives to deliver positive benefits.  We are an "open source" organization, based on a model started by Whitman Direct Action, which holds three distinct advantages: transparent, interactive, and replicable.  We strive to post papers, discussions, and comments on our blog/news feeds to make our efforts highly visible to our community of students, faculty, and project partners. We strive to foster a community of learners that can hold one another accountable.  We actively solicit and welcome new perspectives. We are committed and self-motivated. We strongly believe we can accomplish far more than the traditional student group.

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4. Please describe the potential for scaling-up your Commitment to Action on other campuses or in other regions. Is there potential for involving additional campuses, communities, or organizations to expand the impact of your commitment over time (at reasonable cost)?
Every aspect of what we do has the potential to scale up, provided there are individuals who are motivated to do so.  This is one core component of the "open source" concept: easy and accessible replicability.  Our organization has already been "ported," or re-established from elsewhere, and we are continuing to refine the model with Whitman Direct Action and Engineers Without Borders at USC. The San Pablo project with Green Empowerment will build upon lessons learned from previous projects in Latin America and Southeast Asia.  If others are interested in learning from our experience, and educating us through theirs, we would appreciate the connection.

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5. What institutional resources will you use to complete your Commitment to Action? How is the implementation of this commitment uniquely suited for a university setting? How are you effectively involving your university community?
Oregon Direct Action's collection of talent, innovation, and dedication will drive its success.  Being on a university campus gives the team access to passionate individuals with a broad range of knowledge and experience.  The University of Oregon is an especially beneficial setting as it is known nationwide for progressive sustainability and environmental initiatives.  To organize the community around our endeavor, we plan on implementing a broad-reaching awareness campaign, including publishing in school newspapers and magazines, holding lecture series, discussing our efforts with friends and in our classes, and coordinating with other student groups.  Our on-line presence, will work to keep the community updated on our progress.  We are creating an opportunity to allow students and the community to be as involved in the project as they would like to be.

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