Technical Services Implementing Partners: Dickson RothschildHabitat's Technical Services provides internal technical support, consultation and advice across all projects with the primary aim to increase local individual and community capacity and facilitate adoption of high construction standards and innovative new technologies.  The team consists of highly skilled and qualified domestic and expatriate staff with combined expertise in engineering; architecture; construction; water and sanitation and environmental management. Ongoing technical training and other capacity building activities for both our implementing partners and home partners serve to increase skill level and knowledge of suitable construction methods that are supported by the development of locally applicable resources.  This approach also enables such skills to be transferred and maintained to local communities and individuals ensuring the sustainability of skills and knowledge,  Through technical services, ongoing research and development into appropriate low cost technologies that can be utilized across programs allows Habitat to remain at the forefront of providing low cost housing and WatSan solutions in the region.* Successes to date: - Researched, designed and constructed a pilot-project dwelling using Interlocking Compressed Earth Bricks (ICEB), a material that, when using local labor and materials, can be cheaper and less labor intensive than traditional kiln-fired bricks.- Conducted a professional 2-day training on Water, Sanitation and Environmental Management for local Construction Supervisors and Habitat staff in Rach Gia City, Kien Giang Province.- Developed a draft set of Home Improvement Handbooks to teach basic procedures for brick home construction.- Developed a draft Housing Standards guidebook to establish a minimum expected standard of quality for projects across all country programs.- Developed user-friendly construction cost-estimating spreadsheets suitable for use by community-based Construction Supervisors and applicable to a wide range of single-family home designs.