An icebreaker is a facilitation exercise intended to help a group to begin the process of forming themselves into a team. Icebreakers are commonly presented as a game to "warm up" the group by helping the members to get to know each other. They often focus on sharing personal information such as name, hobbies, etc. Icebreakers can be very useful in trainings and can contribute to a better training outcome. On the one hand, icebreakers can be implemented to helping people to integrate and connect with one another in a group environment and arouse the participants’ attention. On the other hand, they can create an inspiring learning atmosphere, improve the group dynamic and enhance the cooperation and participation among the learners.

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The Imhoff tank is a primary treatment technology for raw wastewater, designed for solid-liquid separation and digestion of the settled sludge. It consists of a V-shaped settling compartment above a tapering sludge anaerobic digestion chamber with gas vents.

The immediate or acute emergency phase describes the first period following an event. Estimation of the duration of the immediate emergency phase varies from one to four weeks (DAVIS & LAMBERT 2002) to several weeks up to three months (HARVEY 2007) after the event. The exact duration depends on the event and the context of the emergency. They are not time-bound but rather depend on the achievement of set targets (indicators).

The impact investors are referred to making investments that advance social and environmental solutions but also produce financial returns.

These are tools that support the implementation of projects: starting from conceptualising, to funding, to project management tools.

As defined by the Joint WHO & UNICEF Monitoring Programme (JMP), an improved drinking-water source is one that by the nature of its construction adequately protects the source from outside contamination, in particular with faecal matter. These include: Piped water connection into dwelling, yard or plot; Public tap or standpipe; tube well or borehole; protected dug well; protected spring; rainwater collection.

According to the WHO & UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), improved sanitation facilities are those that ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact. As defined by JMP, IMPROVED sanitation facilities include: Flush or pour-flush toilets to piped sewer systems; septic tanks, pit latrines, VIP latrines, pit latrine with slab, or composting toilets. UNIMPROVED Sanitation facilities include: Shared facilities of any type, no facilities (bush or field); flush or pour-flush to elsewhere (that is, not to piped sewer system, septic tank or pit latrine); pit latrines without slab / open pits, bucket systems; hanging toilet or hanging latrine. This definition is received not without criticism, for instance because there is no reference to treatment of the toilet contents.

In situ rainwater harvesting techniques are water catchment methods located within cropland. This is achieved by allowing rainwater to infiltrate into the soil and preventing water runoff. Ex situ systems on the other hand are located outside the field.

In-situ emergency response is addressed to people staying in or close to their homes after an emergency situation. Earthquakes or an urban flooding event could for instance induce an emergency response for an in-situ target population where people stay in or around their homes.

It is the process of combusting solid waste under controlled, approximately stoichiometric conditions to reduce its weight and volume, and often to produce energy.

An indicator is the representation of a trend tracking the measurable change in a system over time.

Indicator organisms are microorganisms or plants that serve as a measure of the environmental conditions that exist in a given location. Typical indicator organisms are faecal contamination indicators such as E. coli or coliforms.

Industrial ecology is principally concerned with the flow of materials and energy through systems at different scales, from products to factories and up to national and global levels. Industrial symbiosis is a part of Industrial Ecology.

Industrial symbiosis (as parallel to biological symbiosis) describes the formation of long-term partnerships and work in solidarity of different industries in order to enhance both environmental performance and competitive capacity by exchanging and optimising mutual flows of material, energy and water through systems at different scales, from products to factories and up to national and global levels. Typical examples of industrial symbiosis are exchange of a variety of by-products that become feedstocks in other processes or cooling water, whose heat can be recovered in aquaculture (e.g. fishponds).

Industrial wastewater refers to water that has been used from industries and is refused. Industrial wastewater is either biodegradable and can be treated or reused similar to blackwater or greywater; or it contains pollutant that are not biodegradable and require an advanced oxidation process for treatment. Often, industrial wastewater also just contains heat, which can be reused for energy generation or other processes (e.g. aquaculture).

Huge basins or ponds are used for collecting water for direct surface groundwater recharge via percolation. For effective artificial recharge highly permeable soils are suitable, but a water layer should always be maintenaned to ensure good infiltration. High turbidity of the water used for recharge can lead to clogging of the soil layer.

The general name for the liquid that enters into a system or process (e.g., wastewater). The effluent of one process is the influent of the next.

Information, education and communication (IEC) is a term often used to denominate strategies, approaches and methods that enable individuals as well as groups to play active roles in developing projects. IEC is a strategy that aims at enabling stakeholders to understand and reflect approaches and select those ones that best suit their needs.

Ability to respond to external or internal opportunities, and use of creativity to introduce new ideas, processes or products.

Innovative thinking converts a creative idea into a practical application. 

Inoculums are samples of living and active communities of microorganism used to seed reactors and responsible for the metabolic degradation or elimination of pollutants in biological wastewater treatments

An inspection chamber is smaller than a manhole and is necessary to maintain the sewer system (e.g. cleaning, flushing the system). It is normally installed at a junction where several pipes are connected or where small diameter pipes are connected to pipes with a bigger diameter. The settled sludge in inspection chambers must be emptied periodically to prevent overflowing. Inspection chambers also function to attenuate peak discharges into the system.

Payment of a fixed price in different parts over a certain period of time that include interest.

Intakes extract water from lakes, reservoirs or rivers, mostly with help of a pump.

The Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) refers to the practice of managing freshwater, wastewater, and storm water as links within the resource management structure, using an urban area as the unit of management.

Integrated Water Resources Management is a concept to deliver a required quantity of water with an admissible quality to the required place in the specified time using organisational and technological frameworks and other resources in a sustainable manner. A system that bases on accounting all potential water sources, on hydrographic methods, and rational water resource use, coordinating inter-sectoral interests and all levels of water use hierarchy, widely involving all water users. It ensures ecological security and sustainable water supply to society and nature.

The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

Encompasses ethical behaviour that adheres to the rule of law and includes aspects such as Transparency, Accountability and Participation

A change process describes the transition of individuals, teams or organisations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organisational process that aims to help organisations to accept and embrace changes within their company or in their environment. In the context of the Integrity Management Toolbox, the change process comprises steps 1 to 7: the Integrity Change Process.

Integrity Management is a concept that can help introduce and systematically operationalise integrity values like transparency, accountability and participation into businesses by creating or adapting management structures and instruments.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the primary mechanism for inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. It is a unique forum involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners.

The interceptor tank is designed to perform sedimentation (remove solids from the wastewater), storage (the tank is designed to store scum and sludge for 3 years), digestion (anaerobic biological digestion of the sludge) and flow attenuation (reduces peak flow).

The valve that is positioned between between gravity and vacuum (i.e. the “barrier” between vacuum and regular air pressure).

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and gases under pressure, which are produced by the combustion, directly applies force to a movable component of the engine, such as the pistons or turbine blades and by moving it over a distance, generate useful mechanical energy which can be transformed into electricity in a turbine.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Center

Internally displaced people (also known as DPRE in many civil and military organizations) are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised state border (they thus do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee).

Internally displaced people (also known as DPRE in many civil and military organizations) are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised state border (they thus do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee).

International Committee of the Red Cross is a humanitarian organisation that ensures humanitarian assistance for victims of war and other situations of violence.

International Development Enterprise

International Financing Institutions

International Rescue Committee

Intestinal worms infect about 10 per cent of the population in the developing world and, depending upon the severity of the infection, lead to malnutrition, anaemia or retarded growth. Children are particularly susceptible and typically have the largest number of worms. About 400 million school-age children are infected by roundworm, whipworm and/or hookworm. In fact, roundworm and whipworm alone are estimated to affect one-quarter of the world’s population. People become infected with intestinal parasitic worms (also known as helminths) through contact with soil that has been contaminated with human faeces from an infected person, or by eating contaminated food.

Intimate partner violence is a common form of sexual violence where women are physically, secularly, or emotionally abused or controlled by their intimate partner.

The bottom of the inside of a pipe. The depth of the invert is especially important when designing sewers.

The exchange of ions of the same charge between an insoluble solid and a solution in contact with it, used in water-softening and other purification and separation processes.

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to land or soil especially to assist in growing agricultural crops in dry areas or during periods of inadequate rainfall. To reduce dependence on freshwater and maintain a constant source of water for irrigation throughout the year, wastewater that has had secondary treatment (i.e., physical and biological treatment) can be used for irrigation.

Islamic State in Iraq and Levant and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are interchangeable names for the militant group.

The term “informal” in the water and sanitation sector refers to all types of water and sanitation related activities, which are not operating in the legal framework of water and sanitation management in a given area.