On the 6th October 2023, QSAND Programme Lead George Foden hosted a QSAND workshop in Senga Bay, Salima, Malawi, as part of the Shelter Cluster Meeting, with 40 participants from NGOs and local governments operating across the country.

The presentation consisted of an introduction to the QSAND sustainability framework, a post-disaster reconstruction support tool that can be used by shelter practitioners to inform their programmes, and a brief overview of George’s research on the influence of housing projects on social cohesion in affected communities.

He also introduced the work of the Centre for Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment, and Resilience at Loughborough University, where QSAND is now based. The interaction between shelter, housing, and energy considerations was discussed, and a guest presentation from Vincent Mwale, doctoral researcher and lecturer at Mzuzu University, explored the work that Loughborough and Mzuzu have been collaborating on exploring renewable energy mini-grid systems and their impact on community resilience.

In addition to the presentations, a QSAND training workshop was run, where participants were able to engage with the tool directly and learn how it works, with the aim of encouraging them to incorporate QSAND into their project monitoring and evaluation, with the support of George and the QSAND team.