Supported by the 10YFP SBC Trust Fund and developed by UN-Habitat, CRAterre-ENSAG, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Cambridge, SHERPA is a free sustainable housing design tool. In the future, it is envisioned to also be a forum for discussing what sustainable housing means in the 21st century. The tool has been tested and applied by the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme, Yaam Solidaritè (Burkina Faso), Architecture sans Frontièrs Nepal and SofoNic (Nicaragua). The software itself has been developed by Aptivate, UK.
You can find the tool at www.sherpa4housing.org or app.sherpa4housing.org, if accessing it via your phone's browser.
Implemented in
- Africa
- Asia / Pacific
- Latin America / Caribbean
- Burkina Faso
- Kenya
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
Sectors of activity
Agricultural and Fishery, Environmental Services, Consumer Goods, Buildings and construction, Energy, Transport
Type of initiative
Capacity Building & Implementation, Education & Awareness Raising, Research, Analysis, Assessment
Type of lead actors
United Nations / intergovernmental organizations, Scientific and Technical, Business Sector
Budget
185000 US$
Start date
16/01/2017
Submitted on:
17/05/2017Objectives
The three main expected accomplishments of the project are the following:
EA 1: Existing SHERPA methodology markedly improved, made adaptable to various local contexts, and made accessible and freely available;
EA 2: Sustainability of selected housing projects objectively improved;
EA 3: Broad acceptance of SHERPA within the wider housing community of practice
The Sustainable Housing Design Tool ‘SHERPA’ is an effort to provide accessible and free guidance to project managers and housing practitioners of all professions. While sustainability of housing in developed countries has primarily focused on energy-efficiency measures and the improvement of the existing building stock, SHERPA will also cover socio-cultural, economic and resilience indicators. It aims at encouraging low-tech and low-carbon approaches along the life cycle of buildings and settlements and covering different scales impacting on social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects: from the territory and neighbourhood level down to the individual household.
Lastly, by providing an accessible space for sharing and evaluating housing projects online, it will be a forum for discussing and understanding the myriad impacts housing has on consumption and production patterns as well as the sustainability of lifestyles.
Activities
As collected through the One Planet Reporting
Output level
Outreach and communication for SCP
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SBC Programme provides training for sustainable housing in developing countries via SHERPA-tool article in World Green Building Week
SBC Programme provides training for sustainable housing in developing countries via SHERPA-tool article in World Green Building Week
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
Ministry of the Environment, Finland
Objective
SHERPA, a guide to Sustainable Housing for the Global South, is a self-evaluation tool that allows the user to identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of new, current, and past housing projects to achieve a more sustainable outcome. It is meant for project managers, communities, and other stakeholders involved in the planning, design, construction and assessment of housing projects.
Achievements
SHERPA dissemination
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Presentation of SHERPA tool at SMARTCOM (Smart community and urban planning in Namibia) Project workshop in Tampere, Finland, in August 2017
Presentation of SHERPA tool at SMARTCOM (Smart community and urban planning in Namibia) Project workshop in Tampere, Finland, in August 2017
Regions
Africa
Lead organization
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Objective
1) To present SHERPA tool to potential users in Finland involved in projects in developing countries for whom SHERPA can be a valuable support. 2) To receive their feedback in order to further improve the tool. 3) To discuss future directions for further development of SHERPA.
Achievements
The feedback I got was really good! The participants in the workshop congratulated SHERPA team for what they thought was a fascinating work. They particularly praised SHERPA's noble goal and also the process by which we have distilled all our concerns and knowledge about sustainable housing in a quite simple app accessible to everyone.
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Exploring the possibility of SHERPA tool being used by donors like e.g. UNIDO, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, etc.
Exploring the possibility of SHERPA tool being used by donors like e.g. UNIDO, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, etc.
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Objective
To make SHERPA tool known to other potential users like e.g. donors in the context of whose work it can be useful, which in turn might lead to its further development.
Achievements
UNIDO was positively surprised by SHERPA and, at least preliminarily, they seem to be interested in exploring how it could be used in the activities, or even to recommend it to their "clients".
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Presentation of SHERPA – A tool for sustainable housing design in the Global South at InnoFrugal Conference 2017, April 24-25, Helsinki (Finland)
Presentation of SHERPA – A tool for sustainable housing design in the Global South at InnoFrugal Conference 2017, April 24-25, Helsinki (Finland)
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Objective
To make SHERPA tool known to potential users from all around the world and to collect their feedback to its further improvement.
Achievements
SHERPA tool turned out to fit very well in the scope of the conference. It was very inspiring to see how these young entrepreneurs, start-ups, NGOs, impact investors, etc. are improving the living conditions of many people around the world with their frugal innovations. There was also a lot of talk about getting rid of the unnecessary, focusing on the essential and nurturing a culture of sharing even among companies. Some questions/comments received in relation to SHERPA: 1) Did you consider at some point to make it open-source? 2) What kind of feedback are you getting from those testing the tool? Can you provide examples? 3) How (if at all) is the preservation of agricultural soil treated in the tool? 4) Can the tool be used for housing projects in Kazakhstan?
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SHERPA Marketing & Development Plan
SHERPA Marketing & Development Plan
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Objective
To assess the best way to market SHERPA tool internally (to the whole VTT organization) and externally. Examples: press release, blog, etc. To evaluate how to further develop SHERPA tool based on potential new users, additional functionalities, etc.
Achievements
This is a multi-phase plan that started with a meeting at VTT with the Sales Manager and Business Development Manager to explore how to promote SHERPA and how to develop it. A follow-up meeting will take place soon to agree on the concrete next steps involving also our Marketing experts.
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SHERPA KENSUP Video
SHERPA KENSUP Video
Regions
Africa
Lead organization
UN-Habitat
Objective
Use of SHERPA tool in Kenya
Achievements
Demonstration about SHERPA applicability in a local context
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SHERPA video in Nepal
SHERPA video in Nepal
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
ASF Nepal
Objective
Implementation of SHERPA tool in Nepal
Achievements
Sharing information about the use of SHERPA tool in the local context
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SHERPA video in Burkina Faso
SHERPA video in Burkina Faso
Regions
Africa
Lead organization
YAAM Solidarité
Objective
Demostrating the use of SHERPA tool in Burkina Faso
Achievements
Sharing how to use SHERPA in the local context
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SHERPA Methodology for sustainable housing project: from beta version to (public) dissemination Side Event in Habitat III Quito 19 October
SHERPA Methodology for sustainable housing project: from beta version to (public) dissemination Side Event in Habitat III Quito 19 October
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
CRAterre-ENSAG, International Centre for Earth Construction (National School of Architecture of Grenoble, AE&CC Research Unit)
Objective
The event brings together leading experts and institutions working in the field of sustainable housing from Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Ecuador, France, Finland and the UK. The first part of the event will consist of an open panel outlining the challenges around the production of more sustainable housing. The discussion will focus both on what was learned through research into alternative materials and technologies, but also from implementing housing projects with communities in different parts of the world. The panel will also offer insights into the impact implementable housing policies can have in this regard. The second part of the event will present a project funded by the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production's Sub-Programme on Sustainable Buildings and Construction, led by the Ministry of Environment of Finland, to develop a free, universally accessible and locally adaptable Sustainable Housing Design Tool entitled SHERPA. The methodology underlying SHERPA builds on an initiative by partners of the Global Network for Sustainable Housing (GNSH), intended to guide field staff, project managers and project designers make decision considering the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of housing projects at various phases of a project's life-cycle.
Achievements
The open discussion forum that the event intended to be actually provided useful feedback that was directly incorporated into the development of SHERPA in the months that followed after the conference.
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SHERPA final event in Villefontaine 24-25 May
SHERPA final event in Villefontaine 24-25 May
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
CRAterre
Objective
Disseminate the information about the SHERPA Trust Fund project and demonstrating the use of the tool, and collecting feedback from the attendees for further development of the tool
Achievements
These two days provided opportunities to discuss with many participants from different countries and collect their views on how SHERPA could be developed further, e.g. new functionalities, new applications and even new target users
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Networking event "SHERPA: Your Personal Guide for Sustainable Housing Project" at the World Urban Forum 9 for the official launch of the SHERPA app.
Networking event "SHERPA: Your Personal Guide for Sustainable Housing Project" at the World Urban Forum 9 for the official launch of the SHERPA app.
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
CRAterre/ENSAG / LabEx AE&CC
Objective
The Networking Event "SHERPA, your personal guide for sustainable housing projects", launched the online version of the methodology and explained the philosophy and the aims that led its development. The event represented the official launch of the SHERPA app and disseminated the tool to the wide public of the World Urban Fourm 9. The outcomes of this event were: - To launch and disseminate SHERPA among practitioners worldwide as a tool to achieve sustainability goals in housing projects, and consequently create a community of users that will help the future improvement of it; - To present SHERPA as one of the means of implementation of the NUA for the housing sector, and to show a bottom‐up approach for the Implementation of the international agendas; - To contribute to increasing awareness of sustainable buildings and habitats through the application of SHERPA's indicators, and to identify more projects where the tool could be further tested and developed.
Achievements
The active participation of the participants of the event was a positive sign of their interest in SHERPA. The number of questions, the interest for receiving more info and trainings on it was expressed by a relevant number of local authorities and NGO's.
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SHERPA "how to" Video
SHERPA "how to" Video
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
UN-Habitat, CRA-Terre, Cambridge U, VTT Finland, Aptivate
Objective
Promotion of SHERPA
Achievements
The video has helped disseminate the purpose of the One Planet Network besides the app developed and the methodology implied. Outreach and communications can further our efforts in reaching out to new partners and donors, and these sort of videos are very useful for that.
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SHERPA presentation to World Bank, Build Academy and Air BNB contest on Resilient Homes
SHERPA presentation to World Bank, Build Academy and Air BNB contest on Resilient Homes
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
UN-Habitat and Build Academy
Objective
SHERPA might be used by participants for the contest in order to render their designs more sustainable and resilient
Achievements
Contest participants: academia and business sector have been more interested in SHERPA but recognize the limitations that the app currently faces: it does not show a full scope of reuslts and technical data it could go much further into the recommendations provided it cannot be downloaded and used without internet connection it could be translated into further languages ie: chinese, bahasa, tagalog, indian, etc. which have proven to be widely used in contexts of bottom up resilient housing construction.
Training for SCP
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Student Training Session on the Implementation of SHERPA tool in developing countries in Villefontaine 25.5.2017
Student Training Session on the Implementation of SHERPA tool in developing countries in Villefontaine 25.5.2017
Regions
Africa
Asia / Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
Latin America / Caribbean
Lead organization
Ministry of the Environment Finland
Objective
Transferring knowledge and skills relating to specific competencies that enabling participants to successfully implement SHERPA methodology and tool in real implementation projects
Achievements
Active interactive discussions around students' concrete case studies in developing countries and following action in further use of the approach in those projects as well as in new initiatives. Feedback based on their practical experience helped us also in finalisation of the tool and preparing the tutorials.
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SHERPA Training of Practitioners 9-11 October in Riobamba, Ecuador
SHERPA Training of Practitioners 9-11 October in Riobamba, Ecuador
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
UN-Habitat
Objective
The objective was multi-fold: 1. To introduce and discuss about sustainable housing development 2. To present the tools and methodologies available at present to assist sustainable housing design in the Global South 3. To present SHERPA tool and illustrate the differences in its approach in comparison to the tools and methodologies discussed previously. 4. To collect feedback from the trainees on how to improve SHERPA based on their direct experience.
Achievements
The participants became very enthusiastic about sustainable housing development and provided very useful feedback for the SHERPA team to reflect upon in incorporate to the tool in the months that followed.
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Training event at the World Urban Forum 9 on the use of the SHERPA app
Training event at the World Urban Forum 9 on the use of the SHERPA app
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
CRAterre / ENSAG - LabEx AE&CC
Objective
SHERPA has been presented at the World Urban Forum 9 in Kuala Lumpur in February 2018. In this venue a 3-hour training session has been organised and about 60 people from more than 24 different countries actively participated in it. The objective od the training were: - to disseminate SHERPA among practitioners worldwide as a tool to achieve sustainability goals in housing projects, and consequently create a community of users that will help the future improvement of it; - To present SHERPA as one of the means of implementation of the New Urban Agenda for the housing sector, and to show a bottom-up approach for the implementation of the international agendas; - to contribute to increasing awareness of sustainable buildings and habitats through the application of SHERPA' s indicators, and to identify more projects where the tool could be further tested and developed.
Achievements
We are really proud of the engagement of the participants in the training. Their active response in trying SHERPA right after the training and to apply it to their current projects was inspiring.
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Webinar: SHERPA for sustainable housing projets
Webinar: SHERPA for sustainable housing projets
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
UN-Habitat
Objective
Increase knowledge of SHERPA as a tool as well as to raise awareness of the need for further funding to be able to turn SHERPA into a fully fledged app
Achievements
SHERPA's second phase idea was presented to the SBC programme coordinator by proposing the following ideas: 1. SHERPA as a data base on sustinable housing best-practices and solutions, accesible by the SHERPA users community. 2. A diversified SHERPA assesment: allowing for a quick assesment and a thorough analysis and proposals given to SHERPA users by experts situated in an international develiopment agency / academica / etc. 3. Have SHERPA's database create some interesting statistics on housing issues and solutions wherever it is used, and allow for the wider SHERPA community to access such data for project development, for further studies, etc.
Knowledge resource and technical tool
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Development of Sustainable Housing Design Tool SHERPA
Development of Sustainable Housing Design Tool SHERPA
Regions
Global / All regions
Lead organization
UN-Habitat
Objective
To develop SHERPA a self-evaluation tool for project managers, communities, and other stakeholders involved in the planning, design, construction and assessment of housing projects. Its goal is for housing in the 21st century to respond to the transformative aspirations of the New Urban Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.
Achievements
SHERPA can be used to identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of new, current, and past housing projects, allowing you to achieve a more sustainable outcome. It is available for users for free. In addition, you can access SHERPA directly from your phone's browser at app.sherpa4housing.org or by tapping the "View in new window" link.
Outcome level
Policy instrument for SCP
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Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme - KENSUP Sustainable Housing Policy
Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme - KENSUP Sustainable Housing Policy
Regions
Africa
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme - KENSUP
Objective
Upgrade housing in slum areas through integration of sustainability criteria in housing construction
Achievements
SHERPA can be used to identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of new, current, and past housing projects, allowing you to achieve a more sustainable outcome. It is available for users for free. In addition, you can access SHERPA directly from your phone's browser at app.sherpa4housing.org or by tapping the "View in new window" link.
Impact and Results
The following objectives have been achieved:
EA 1: Existing SHERPA methodology markedly improved, made adaptable to various local contexts, and made accessible and freely available;
EA 2: Sustainability of selected housing projects objectively improved;
EA 3: Broad acceptance of SHERPA within the wider housing community of practice
The project directly responds to SDG 11.1, 11.c and a number of provisions in the New Urban Agenda (and previous declarations) related to the environmental impact of housing production both in terms of operational energy as well as resource extraction, with the objective of influencing design decisions to the point where these impacts are markedly reduced. The slow uptake and currently minimal market share of building sustainability assessment and benchmarking schemes in the Global South has, however, shown that necessary conditions for quantifying these improvements are currently not given (cost barrier, lack of data and incentives for integration at policy or project level). The tool intends to strike a balance between ease of accessibility and allowing the user to infer reasonably the extent to which environmental objectives were archieved.
In addition, SHERPA provides housing practitioners from the public, private, community and non-governmental sectors, with or without extensive technical expertise, an accessible tool for evaluating their housing project's responsiveness to social, cultural and economic sustainability dimensions.+
Next steps and how to get involved
SHERPA 2.0 is now live at www.sherpa4housing.org and app.sherpa4housing.org (if you are accessing it via a mobile browser). Feel free to let us know what you think and how we can improve the tool at info@sherpa4housing.org.