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IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre

31 May 2013

Monitoring for Learning and

developing Capacities in WASH

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Session outline

• Welcome and introductions• Monitoring for learning for improved Water Sanitation and

Hygiene (WASH): Key note• How does sector monitoring contribute to learning and

capacity development: Experience in Uganda and Honduras• Buzz and Plenary discussion • Closing

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Key NoteCarmen da Silva Wells

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre

Monitoring for Learning and

developing Capacities in WASH

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Capacity in the WASH sector

Learning Monitoring

Key topics for this session

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Why focus on these topics?

• Huge challenges of WASH service provision• Need to learn, in order to do better• Scale up good practices, avoid reinventing the wheel• Capacity Development, learning and monitoring often

addressed as parallel processes• Need to strengthen these processes, seek synergies to improve

sector capacities

Sector capacities, continuous monitoring, joint reflection, analysis and adaptive action are key elements for improved performance,

better coordination and harmonisation of approaches.

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5 steps in performance measurement

What to measure

How to measure it?

How to collect data?

How to analyse and

present data?

What to do with the

data?

Source: MWLE 2004 in RWSN 2012

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Monitoring

“an ongoing process by which stakeholders obtain regular feedback on the progress being

made towards achieving their goals and objectives ”

Donaldson 2011

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Diverse actors- diverse information needs and incentives for monitoring

• Actors: • National government• Decentralized

governments• Service providers• Users, water

committees, support agencies, etc.

Multiple systems

Degree of inter-institutional cooperation

Com

plex

ity

Organisational project-level monitoring

Infrequently updated asset

inventories

Institution-based monitoring

Sector-level monitoring

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Some Lessons from IRC’s 2013 symposium

• Monitoring is: • a means to an end• a process: build on existing capacity and consider

resources needed. • There is no one-size-fits-all solution: Flexibility and

realism needed. • Monitoring requires multi-stakeholder cooperation

and trust building to support critical reflection.• Transparency and commitment to change are

needed.

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Learning…for change

The process of gaining knowledge or skills, or of

developing a desired behaviour through study,

instruction, or experience….

in order to adapt and improve service delivery.

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A sector with capacity to learn

• Requires that:• stakeholders are supported to systematically

capture and share experiences • capacity is built to reflect on lessons learned• formal structures/mechanisms are in place to

enable evidence-based learning and action • knowledge sharing, continuous learning and

improvement are encouraged through high level leadership commitment and supportive culture.

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Linking monitoring to learning: What do all these data mean?

• what is the evidence?• why has there been

success or failure?• so what are the

implications for our work?

• now who will do what about the situation?

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Sector capacity and learning

• Kinds of capacities• Human Resources • Capacity to plan,

provide O&M services/ construction support/ technical assistance

• Capacity to monitor and use evidence and lessons learned

• Levels

Organizations

Individuals

Sector/ enabling environment

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Sector capacity and capacity development

• Does the sector have the capacity to implement the monitoring system over time?

• Does the sector have the capacity to continuously use the data to improve decision making?

• Do monitoring processes assess and develop sector capacities?

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Purpose of 5th Symposium

1. What sector capacities do these monitoring processes measure?

2. How do these monitoring processes feed into sector planning and implementation?

3. Is monitoring linked to learning and corrective action encouraged?

4. What capacities have been built?

Reflections on cases presented

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Purpose of 5th Symposium

IRC’s symposium on Monitoring Sustainable WASH service delivery: http://www.irc.nl/page/72969

Discussion group on country-led monitoring : http://dgroups.org/rwsn/country_led_monitor

IRC brochure on learning and adaptive sectorhttp://www.irc.nl/page/75135

Papers for this symposium: Van Lieshout, Uytewaal & da Silva Wells and Danaert & Ssozi.

Further resources

Thank you

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Case presentation 1

Developing Capacity for Country-led Monitoring of Rural Water Supplies in Uganda

Kerstin Danert (Skat Foundation) &

Disan Ssozi (Ministry of Water and Environment)

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Case presentation 2

Developing a sector-wide comprehensive system for monitoring WASH service delivery in

Honduras

Erma Uytewaal (IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre)

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Purpose of 5th Symposium

1. What sector capacities do these monitoring processes measure?

2. How do these monitoring processes feed into sector planning and implementation?

3. Is monitoring linked to learning and corrective action encouraged?

4. What capacities have been built?

Reflections on cases presented

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Purpose of 5th Symposium

1. What is your experience on the link between learning, monitoring and capacity development?

2. What are your reflections on the presentations?

Turn to your immediate neighbour(s):

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Purpose of 5th Symposium

Thank you for your participation

dasilvawells@irc.nlCarmen da Silva Wells

Coordinator ‘learning for change’IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre

www.irc.nl / http://learningforchange.wordpress.com/