SOM faculty appointed BPD Director
Prof. Lalit Johri (right), SOM faculty member was recently elected Director, International Board of the Building Partnerships for Development (BPD). The election was held in conjunction with BPD's Annual General Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
BPD is a global network that brings together the public, private, donor and civil society sectors to support multi-sector partnerships to provide water and sanitation services in poor communities.
BPD receives funding from the British Department for International Development, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Agence Française de
Développement, the Norwegian Bank Trust Fund and private companies.
BPD members include major international NGOs working on water issues, donors; major multinational companies whose core business is the provision of water and sanitation services; and public sector officials from different projects. BPD supports a greater understanding of how partnerships actually work by:
- conducting research on the interface between partnership and water themes,
- facilitating relationships between different stakeholder groups at the project level,
- building capacity of specific target groups to engage in and/or support partnership approaches, and
- sharing information and hence facilitating dialogue at the international level between a variety of interested stakeholders.
Prof. Johri's election as Director on the International Board of BPD is a recognition of AITs mission of sustainable development including my professional expertise in the fields of international joint ventures and alliances and the international strategies of companies involved in water management and solid waste management in Japan, China and India. In accepting the position, 'I will aim to build a strong and sustainable network between AIT and institutional members of BPD and involve AIT students in projects supported by BPD,' says Prof. Johri