Addressing the Resolution Gap

ADDRESSING THE

RESOLUTION GAP WASH Sustainability 3-Part Webinar Series

August 27, 2014

Program

Life

Cycle

Monitoring The process of using indicators to

measure program changes over

time. Post-implementation

monitoring is undertaken after

installation of the WASH service or

program.

Evaluation The long-term systematic and

objective assessment of an ongoing

or completed project, program, or

policy, and its design,

implementation and results.

Evaluations should be performed by

an external third party.

Learning The process of incorporating

lessons learned into ongoing

practices to increase effectiveness

and sustainability over time.

Resolution The process of addressing

problems identified through

monitoring and evaluation results.

Design Phase Implementation Post-Project Management and Operation

Resolution Learning

Monitoring Evaluation

Monitoring

Learning

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All four elements of MERL should be incorporated into the design phase,

including roles, activities, and

expectations for each

Monitoring and learning activities should be continuous

throughout implementation. Evaluations should be

conducted at critical milestones or upon an annual basis, followed by resolution

activities to strengthen the project/program.

Responsibility of continued MERL activities will change during post-project management and

operation. Monitoring should remain steady, while evaluation, resolution, and learning activities will be scaled down over time, as project outputs become institutionalized and live out their life cycle design.

Resources for Integrating Resolution

• Categories of Resources

• Contract Language

• Tools (including surveys, checklists, and frameworks)

• Manuals

• Case Studies

Contract Language

Water.org Cooperative Partnership Understanding

Agreement

Water.org will share information with the partners about

the results and recommendations of the audits. Partners

should adopt all reasonable measures to incorporate

the findings of the audits in future work within the

specific program and across the organization’s policies

and practices. In addition, Water.org will conduct

additional due diligence for programs at its sole

discretion if circumstances warrant further attention.

Tools: Surveys, Checklists, Frameworks

• Governance into

Functionality Tool

(GiFT) – CARE

• WASH Accountability

Handbook – CARE

• Functionality of Rural

Water Supply Services – SNV

Manuals

How to Make WASH Projects

Sustainable and Successfully

Disengage in Vulnerable

Contexts – Action Against Hunger

Highlighted Recommendation

• Allocate funding to pay for regular

monitoring of previous projects to

feed into programmes

Case Studies

Presenters:

• Stephanie Ogden – CARE

• Ruud Glotzbach – SNV

• Noah McColl & Michelle Jackson – charity: water

The Governance into Functionality

Tool (GiFT): Relating community governance and

water point functionality

27 August 2014

WASH Sustainability Webinar Series

Stephanie Ogden

Senior Water Policy Advisor

CARE

A word on resolution

“Resolution is the process of addressing problems

identified through Monitoring and/or Evaluation.”

• At the community level

• At the program level

• Within the WASH sector

• Building capacity to systematically address problems as they arise

Why the GiFT?

Poor performance in the WASH sector:

RWSN, 2010

Improve International, 2014

Anatomy of the GiFT

Comprised of 40

questions, in 7 key areas:

• Functionality

• Sanitation sustainability

• Scheme financing

• Management approach

• User group

• Accountability and

responsiveness

• Follow-up actions

Cycle of Application

GiFT contribution to resolution

As a diagnostic tool: Helps to identify particular elements of governance that have contributed to water system services failure

As a predictive tool: Anticipates particular governance failures so we can proactively focus on those areas

As a capacity building tool: Basis for dialogue with local government and communities

As a diagnostic tool

At the macro level

• Higher overall and individual governance scores correlate to higher functionality. Those communities with good governance scores are 68% more likely to have a functioning water point.

• In Mozambique, having women on WASH committees that have strong decision making roles has been repeatedly correlated with higher rates of functionality.

At the micro level

• 75% functionality in Montepuez, Mozambique vs. 48% functionality in neighboring Namuno district

• Governance gaps in each community help to reorient re-training of WASH committees.

As a predictive tool

What is the expected sustainability of a community water

point (or set of district water points) based on GiFT results?

• How can governance gaps be identified and addressed before water

points fail?

As a capacity building tool

The GiFT application engages the community in the

diagnosis process and subsequent discussion:

• Establishes community consensus on problems and defines clear

direction and responsibilities for the community

• Increases accountability and pressure to address negative findings .

• Culminates in a set of goals to address governance gaps, towards

which progress can be measured over time.

What’s next?

• Further work to refine the GiFT as a predictive tool

• Repeat GiFTs over time and after re-training of WASH

committees, to gauge how interventions have impacted

governance capacity among communities.

• Use of the GiFT in concert with other tools, such as the

Impact of WASH on Women Tool (IWWT)

• Widen the lens beyond community governance

Bringing it back to Resolution

Assumptions

• Functionality over time used as a proxy indicator for

sustainability

• Governance domains can be influenced individually, or in

parallel, rather than in series

• Governance characteristics equally associated with all

instances of water point failure within a community

August 27, 2014

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Where CARE has applied the GiFT

Key Findings: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania,

Uganda “Governance” was rated by community members and community leaders as the most important of four factors affecting long-term functionality (environment, technology, finance, governance)

Positive feedback on functionality: 86% functioning well, 9% functioning with difficulty, 5% not functioning

Positive feedback on governance and participation:

95% reported that all community members use the services equally and equitably

80% reported the committee and office bearers were elected by the community

83% of water schemes plan for operation and maintenance expenses

However, only 22% reported that they were able to cover the full costs of maintaining the infrastructure (revenues collected from users > expenditures

Thank you!

An impression of SNV work around functionality of RWSS

27th of August 2014 Ruud Glotzbach

SNV WASH

Functionality of Rural Water Supply Services

Presentation lay-out

• SNV Global and FRWSS interventions

• The Level of Service concept

• SNV’s Functionality Rainbow

• Targeting all levels for systematic change and FRWSS

practices

• Challenges

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SNV Global and its FRWSS interventions

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West and Central Africa

•Benin

•Burkina Faso

•Cameroon

•DR Congo

•Ghana

•Mali

East and Southern Africa

•Ethiopia

•Kenya

•Mozambique

•S.Sudan

•Tanzania

•Uganda

•Zambia

•Zimbabwe

Asia

•Bhutan

•Cambodia

•Lao PDR

•Nepal

Level of Service Concept

• Measuring Household Level of Services

No service

Sub-standard

Intermediate

High

• Household Level of Service indicator

Quality: ideally based on microbial and chemical testing

Quantity: liters of drinking water/person/day

Accessibility: combining distance, waiting, collecting, security

Reliability: reliably available throughout the seasons

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Basic within the national standards

Quality Quantity Accessibility Reliability

Improved RWSS (JMP standards)

20 – 50 l/p/d 30 min (100 -1000 m)

8/9 months/yr

SNV’s functionality Rainbow

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There is limited benefit in rehabilitating a few non-functional schemes or helping out a couple of individual water users’ committees. Addressing the functionality of rural water supply requires a system approach. The five components of the functionality rainbow address all ‘phases’ of a FRWSS

Targeting all levels for systematic change

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1. National learning and harmonization

SNV Nepal shared local lessons and practices at regional and national levels. SNV is co-leading the Thematic Working Group on functionality that formulates recommendations for the Annual National Joint Sector Review. SNV works with the regional Monitoring and Support Office to align WASH mapping and RWSS ranking approaches across 15 Districts in the Mid West region.

Supporting national multi-stakeholder learning, sector development and harmonization of approaches, technologies, etc., for improved functionality

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2. WASH Governance

Improving provincial or district multi-stakeholder sector planning, monitoring and targeting of investments in rural water supply

SNV Laos has piloted Akvo FLOW in two District in Savannaketh province for water supply monitoring and mapping. Collected data was used to make functionality maps, which are available to Provincial and District decision makers. The data sets and maps are currently used by decision makers to develop local functionality strategies and action plans.

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SNV Benin supported local councils and constructors to improve the quality of water facilities. Constructors were provided with a package of technical skills and workmanship training while District technical staff were trained in developing and enforcing construction standards. Guidelines and quality standards for materials and workmanship were introduced. These were used for supervising the implementation of contracts that resulted in better construction quality.

3. Performance of implementors

Strengthen performance and benchmarking of constructors to improve quality and transparency of construction services.

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SNV Rwanda was engaged to support AquaVirunga, a private Dutch/Rwanda water operator. SNV trained staff in leakage detection and repair, provided staff with communication skills to improve customer relationships and introduced good water governance issues, notably accountability. This led to increased timely settling of bills, which allowed the operator to improve services and even to expand to neighboring communities.

4. Performance of operators

Improving performance and benchmarking of service delivery by operators for improved water services to users.

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5. Post construction support

Setting‐up, validating and strengthening institutional

support mechanisms at district level to increase access of operators to post‐construction support

mechanic (HPM) and District Water Office (DWO). The HPM need to attend within 48 hours and send their assessment report to the DWO, who then coordinates the final response. Development of institutional support mechanisms with specific roles and responsibilities is essential for sustained water supply functionality.

SNV Uganda capitalized on mobile phone coverage surge. It launched a SMS based hand pump breakdown system. Users report Supply faults by SMS to pump

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SNV in East Africa is assisting with the establishment of spare part supply chains. This goes beyond having a hardware shop, selling spare parts. It is a dynamic process that starts with a simple market analysis, aiming at tuning supply and demand. Based on the analysis SNV assist suppliers with setting up a business model and we introduce the approach to actively market products and services. It means no longer sitting in the shop and wait for a customer, no instead follow an outreach approach whereby the supplier looks for customers.

5. Post construction support Supply chain development and active product and service marketing

Challenges

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Consensus on definitions and parameters < A “happy” user with a 8/9 months a year functioning water point >

Technology and pro-poor approaches < Will technology change the ability of poor users to pay for services, a real one size fit >

Training of implementers < Impact of project ad hoc learning/training provisions >

Getting the private sector on board < The assumption that there is no money to be made in RWSS > Proper designing of post construction support < Post-construction support undermines private sector initiatives >

Thank you!

QUESTIONS? Next webinar: A Framework for Action

September 17, 10:00-11:30am EDT