ISWA CONGRESS 2005 PRESENTATION

Improvement of a national association

“ Communications Strategy For An
ISWA
National Member Association”

Chris Murphy
Deputy Chief Executive – CIWM
Andrew Kouskouris
Member of B.D of HSWMA
 Introduction

The purpose of this presentation is to provide guidelines

to our NM’A to be more active and effective
This issue is huge and we chose to base it on a
Communications Strategy with some practical
considerations
The proposal we present is extremely comprehensive
but we set challenging targets for the 21 Century.
 Agenda
List of topics to be covered

– Additional Minimum Requirements Of

National Members By ISWA
– Education , Training, Research
– New Generation Groups
– Establishing Regional Chapters
– Improving Knowledge, Management and
Access to Data
– Improving Communication Strategy
– Marketing , Promotion and Membership
Campaigns
– Development
– National Member Performance
Measurements
 Additional Minimum Requirements Of National
Members By ISWA

Pay membership fees

Submit an annual report to ISWA on country activities
Organize at least one ISWA event in our country each
year, such as workshops, working groups meeting,
National Assembly, press conference etc.
Publication / article every other year
Actively promote and create new membership for ISWA
Participate in the Regional Development Networks
where appropriate
Send at least one member to at least one Working
Group each year
Participate in the General Assembly
Participate in Beacon Conferences when within the
region
Recommend technical papers for ISWA Publication
Award
 Education , Training, Research 1

Education: There should be a listing of available training

and education in each of the national member
countries(1)
Coordinating work with other organizations providing
waste management education and training (2)
Research: Supporting collaboration between research
bodies, government departments and others (3)
NM’A could co-operate with a number of universities on
research and further could accredit masters
programmes.
 Education , Training, Research 2

Supporting the activities of the municipalities in undertaking

this work, providing the information , raising awareness and
education for the public best practice.
Innovate:
- Applied Research projects in solid waste management
Subscribers could pay a “ penny per ton” of waste managed
to directly participate in the research activities”(1)
Subscribers could be directly involved through:
- identifying and defining research topics
- participating in project review meetings held in conjunction
with related
bodies/ organisations
- having direct access to interim results and final work
products
Waste Awareness Certificate(2)
- Raising awareness of waste and environmental issues
within small and medium enterprises.
 Scholarships /Awards

In order to prepare the next generation for the

environmental solid waste, NM”s: must develop several
scholarships and interim programs for students studying
in fields related to solid waste management(1).
 New Generation Groups /

These groups will be open to those new to the industry.

Not exclusively as students or graduates and others.
The aims of the New Generation Group are to:
- Organize events, visits and meetings for Students,
Graduates
- Encourage new members to participate in the work of
the NM’A
- Raise the profile of the NM’A across all ranges in the
waste industry
- Develop a dialogue between new and established
members
- Network with educational establishments and all
sectors of the waste
industry
 Working Groups / Task Forces

Set up Working Groups and Task Forces appropriate to

the needs of the NMA and mirroring the ISWA Working
Groups
 Establishing Regional Chapters

This helps to provide practical seminars, meetings and

networking at a local level rather than members having
to travel long distances.
This will depend exclusively on the geographical scale of
the national member.
For larger countries with small number of ISWA
members there may not be the critical mass to establish
regional chapters (1)
 Improving Knowledge, Management and Access
to Data

Strong support is needed to develop networking and

Knowledge exchange among members.
Some tools and activities are suggested:
 Sharing key issues in technical and social aspects in
SWM
 Highlighting communication between members
 Exchange of ‘success’ stories and experiences
 Public and Private Partnerships
 Staff exchanges
 Meeting with major organisations and individuals
 Graduate/student network as a permanent institution
among NM’A
 Network focus in a particular region
 Improving Communication Strategy 1

An appropriate communication strategy is essential for all

NM’A
For national members with a large geographic spread the only
realistic means of communication is through electronic means,
email, website information etc
Members should initially seek to establish electronic
communications and then if possible and feasible to widen
that into published bulletins , newsletters, journals etc.
For those wishing to establish the ultimate communication
service the following are suggested:
- Press releases and newsletters, manage the website to
include a chatroom
- Notes and minutes from board, working groups, task forces
and web based
conferences
- Design collaterals (brochure presentations) assist in events
organization as
 Improving Communication Strategy 2

Executive Update (monthly), which looks at business

issues , such a competition covenants(1) , employment
policies , safety programs, etc.
Members E-news (weekly) , which summarizes news
stories about solid waste management issues or this
service to which interested persons could subscribe
free.
Develop and distribute a directory of members with
their profiles as well as have that upload on the website
in English Language to access for lobbying.
Information Service- Answers to your waste
management enquiries. A limited amount of time can be
spent on each enquiry but additional contacts for
further information can be provided.
Participation in the World day for Environment
Press briefs
 Improving Communication Strategy 3

Creation of an observatory(1) with most important

issues from companies, associations, newsletter,
mailing lists
Publicizing all or some of decisions of board of
directors
Announcement of our events – conferences –
workshops to ISWA and upload them on the website in
English Language if it is possible
Focus on EU ETC/WMR , USEPA etc, info for our
members (Newsletter, reports,studies, legislation,
standards etc)
Meeting with chief executives of public sector for
consultation
Media relations (2)
Crisis communication and disaster response
programs and strategies
 Marketing , Promotion and Membership
Campaigns 1

Influence policies by providing advice

Keep members of NM’A informed on legislation and
environmental policies on National and Regional Level
Organize visits to the neighboring countries to exchange
experiences in the field of waste management
promoting if possible establishment of ISWA NM’A if
there isn’t there
Develop co-operation framework between NM’A
,Government Organizations, Waste Contractors
Associations etc.
Taking part in environment trades , conferences,
workshops
 Marketing , Promotion and Membership
Campaigns 2

Compile a list of other national organizations

(associations, institutes, federation or similar), working
wholly or partially in the same field
To provide to our members which are not ISWA
members with the possibility to read some of the papers
of the ISWA Wastes and Research ((1)
Become active in the preparation and presentation of
position papers, involving members in the debate on
waste and resource management issues
Develop and distribute a directory of members
including a profile and place it on your website in
English Language
Organize technical visits
Management Publish codes of good practices
 National Member Performance Measurements

We suggest that national members should achieve a

minimum contribution to ISWA through their own
activities following as far as possible the
recommendations in this presentation. Notwithstanding
that each NMA should look to raise the profile, increase
membership numbers and address the other
responsibilities..
 Abbreviations

CIWM ‘ Chartered Institution of Wastes Management’

HSWMA ‘ Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association’
NMA ‘ National Member Association’