Testing CLTS Approaches for Scalability:Project Briefing

Jonny Crocker &Vidya Venkataramanan

The Water Institute at UNC

37th International WEDC ConferenceHanoi, Vietnam

September 15‐19, 2014

Generously funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates 

Foundation

Outline

1. Project introduction

2. Project activities

3. Our philosophy: relevancy and rigor

4. Preliminary findings

Objective: Evaluate the potential for scale up of CLTS by engaging local actors

Partners: Plan International, The Water Institute at UNC

Funder: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Duration: October 2011 – September 2015

Setting: 10 countries

Testing CLTS Approaches for Scalability

Year 4Analysis Dissemination

Years 2 and 3Implementation Data collection

Year 1Project startup

Timeline

Facilitators

NaturalLeader

Households

NGOs

Government

Community

OpenDefecation

Free

Latrines

TriggeringDemand

ConstructionManagement

CLTS implementation – actors involved

Project activities

• Global literature review

• 7 case‐studies

• 3 situational assessments

• 3 project evaluations

Broad Context

High Detail

• Understand existing evidence

• Broaden scope to additional settings

• Understand context in focus countries

• Detailed evaluation of CLTS actors

ContributionProject Activities

Three project evaluations

Evaluate the impact of building Natural Leaders’ capacity on CLTS costs and outcomes

Evaluate the impact of Teachers as facilitators on CLTS costs and outcomes

Ghana

Ethiopia

Assess the influence of training district government in CLTS program management

Kenya

Seven CLTS case studies

HAITI

NEPAL

CAMBODIALAOPDR

INDONESIA

NIGER

UGANDA

• In‐depth interviews w/ government, NGOs, and communities at national and local levels

• Three research questions:– What are the roles of local actors in 

CLTS implementation?– What enabling factors have led to 

successful scaling of CLTS?– What constraining factors have 

prevented successful scaling of CLTS?

Relevancy and rigor

1. Designing our project

2. Building mutual understanding

3. Revisiting our assumptions and research 

questions

Designing our project

• What is the main barrier to CLTS reaching scale?

• How can we address this barrier?

• What is the most rigorous research design that fits?

• 1000+ records identified as relevant, 133 met criteria for full review

• Grey literature review released December 2013; full literature review now being refreshed for 2015

Sample findings: Literature review

Grey Literature

More extensive than peer‐reviewed literature, with less rigorous methods

Generally, CLTS case studies of successful projects

Focus on processes and implementation

Peer‐reviewed literature

Disconnect between study design and conclusions

Generally, CLTS case studies of successful projects

Focus on impact of interventions through mixed methods

Natural leaders, teachers, local government staff identified as change agentsbut no rigorous evidence of their impact on CLTS 

TrainingfacilitatorsInternationalNGOs,bi‐ andmultilaterals

Follow‐up

LocalNGOs,environmentalhealthofficersandassistants,naturalleaders

MonitoringInternationalandlocalNGOs,environmentalhealthofficersand

assistants,naturalleaders

FinancingMinistryofFinance,InternationalNGOs,bi‐ andmultilaterals

Triggering

InternationalandlocalNGOs

Verification

LocalNGOs,environmental

healthassistants,

naturalleaders

Certification

Districtverificationteam

GHANA

Sample findings: Situational assessmentsInstitutional arrangements for CLTS in Ghana

• Who is involved: triggering

Sample findings: Learning Series

Endofcontractpush

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Total person‐ho

urs

Program Month

Time spent on facilitation in communities in Ghana(by  region)

Central

UpperWest

Volta

Triggering

NaturalLeader

engagement

Rainyseason

Sample findings: Project evaluations

Testing CLTS Approaches for ScalabilityPlan International and the Water Institute at UNCGenerously funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Case Studies:• Haiti• Niger• Uganda

• Nepal• Lao PDR• Cambodia• Indonesia

Project Evaluations:• Ghana• Kenya• Ethiopia

Literature Review:• Global

Visit our project website!

News – Research – Tools

email: clts@unc.eduweb: waterinstitute.unc.edu/clts

Acknowledgements

• The Water Institute at UNC

• Plan International in USA• Plan International in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya• Plan International in Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Niger, Uganda

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 

• Photos by Jonny Crocker except where otherwise noted.Unless otherwise specified, the information or findings shared in this document are a result of a sub-agreement to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from Plan International USA, which was a recipient of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.