What is the Technical Assistance Program (TAP)?
TAP was created to provide infrastructure owners from small and/or economically-distressed communities with better access to resources for guiding more sustainable projects. This includes access to ISI’s own education and training resources, as well as to its network of academic subject matter experts (SMEs) who can provide additional guidance and support. Through this program, participants will collaboratively engage in evaluating practical solutions to complex issues related to sustainability, resilience, and equity using ISI’s Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework.
ISI was inspired to formally design and pilot the TAP program after working with a project team in Ethiopia, who registered the first project in Africa to begin applying the Envision framework. The unique experience of working with this project team led ISI to recognize the need to reduce barriers to access and provide greater support for using Envision in economically distressed areas.
The goals of this program include developing new pathways for equitable access to verification resources, applying principles of sustainability to projects facing real-world challenges, and providing practical experience through which lessons can be learned for future projects.
TAP participants will benefit from:
TAP operates on one-year cycles aligned with the traditional academic calendar. Participants are recruited during the summer and work together from fall through to spring. However, participants may choose to continue working together beyond the formal conclusion of the program cycle as they have established connections and built collaborative momentum.
What is Envision?
The Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework is a comprehensive tool developed by ISI to help infrastructure professionals plan, design, and deliver more sustainable infrastructure projects of all types and sizes. The Envision framework is a decision-making tool that allows infrastructure owners, engineers, designers, architects, planners, contractors, and other stakeholders to evaluate projects across a broad range of sustainability indicators, or “credits,” that address environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability to encourage systemic change. At its core, Envision is about supporting higher performance through better choices in infrastructure development. Read more about Envision.
Academic Support
Participating academic professionals provide subject matter expertise and mentorship to TAP project teams, while simultaneously incorporating the goals and objectives of TAP into the learning outcomes for their students. This relationship provides project teams with an additional resource for guidance, and students with an opportunity to gain experience applying sustainability principles to actual projects in small and/or economically-distressed communities.
TAP Project Participants
Gaffat Community Preschool Project (Debre Tabor, Ethiopia, Africa)
This early childhood education project, sponsored and led by Early Childhood Education Ethiopia (ECEE), is the first in a series of planned preschool projects in the region. Driven by a clear mission to meet the educational needs of rural communities throughout Ethiopia, ECEE is committed to prioritizing, advancing, and expanding early learning programs on a significant scale while embracing sustainability as a core principle, from the initial design and planning to the use of locally-sourced materials and sustainable construction methods. This project consists of six community classrooms following a Gojo Bet design – a traditional circular housing structure commonly used in Ethiopia and throughout Africa. These structures will accommodate regular classrooms, as well as a library, an art room, and a science lab, and they will open to an outdoor eating area, equipped with a fully functional kitchen. The project design also includes an open play area that progressively expands to offer increasingly complex play opportunities, aligned with the students’ varying developmental needs.
Chala Sustainability Agribusiness Pilot Project (Kenya, East Africa)
This water infrastructure project aims to improve irrigation and food production challenges in arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya. It is owned and led by Miundo Misingi Hub, a public-private partnership infrastructure finance and advisory firm based in Kenya whose vision is to develop and implement innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions that can be replicated across Africa.
Konza Technopolis Project (Konza, Kenya, East Africa)
This project consists of several infrastructure projects aimed at improving quality of life and economic prosperity in Kenya. It is a flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 Economic Development Portfolio aimed to create a world-class smart city. This project is owned and led by Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA).
TAP Testimonials
“We believe this is great opportunity to further the relationship between ISI and the sustainability community in Kenya by adopting a common language and understanding of sustainability for infrastructure projects through Envision. There’s also an opportunity here to provide leadership for future infrastructure projects not only in Kenya but also across the region on how they can integrate equity, sustainability, and resilience in the planning, design, construction, and operation of infrastructure projects.”
– John Kabuye Kalungi, ENV SP, ESG and Sustainability Partner, Miundo Misingi Hub
“My students and I are excited about the opportunity to work with the international partners in the program, contributing our technical expertise to improve sustainable engineering practices in their communities. We look forward to the mutual learning that will arise from this partnership.”
– Svetoslava Todorova, PHD, MPA, BCEEM, ENV SP, Professor of Practice, Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York
Get Involved
If you’re interested in getting involved – either as an academic supporter or as a project team – let us know by filling out the form below, and we will follow up with you during the next recruitment period.
More Information
Click here to contact us with any questions or to request more information about ISI’s Technical Assistance Program.
Explore recent articles about the TAP program:
