March, 2015 Facilitating change in a complex environment: delivering rural water services in

Vida Duti, David Korboe and Veronica Ayi-Bonte

Overview Summary box behind has helped to restore national For rural populations to experience reliableA proac accesstive to partnership leadership approach and o wnership.that emphasises As a ' critical experiencesafe water services, reliable accesssector toactors safe – policymakshareders, learning friend'and ref, lecTriple-tion hasS backstopped been a critical CWSA factor with watechnicalter services, support sector agencies, actors regula – tors, servicein advancing secstrator-tegwideic changeinputs inand policy impro facilitaving tion and propolicymakviders, ers,facility technical owners, support developmen t coherpartnersence and in apprengagemenoaches. Triple-t, actionS engaged resear conch tinuouslyand NGagencies,Os – need regula to tors,work service in harmon y, guidedwith by ansec tor stakeholdersstrategic in communica an iterativetion way .designed to approachproviders, tha facilityt emphasises owners, service delivery rather promote the scaling of solutions. thandevelopmen simply textending partners andthe nominalNGOs 'coverageSupporting' of the pivotal state institution from behind has wa– needter infrastruc to work inture. harmony, helped to restoreActors national invol leadershipved at the and se octor'swnership. multiple As a guided by an approach that 'critical friend', Tlevriple-els Sare backstopped beginning CWSA to cooper with ate more Betemphasisesween 2009 service and 2014 deliver IRC,y through thestra Triple-tegicS inputs efinfe policyctively facilita, withtion CWSA, and engagement, districts and projeratherct, than supported simply extendingGhana's rural the water agencactiony, research partnersand strateg jointlyic communica identifyingtion aredesignedas CWSA,nominal to 'cov builderage consensus' of water ar ound a newto vision promote of the scalingneeding of impro solutions.vement. Replication of adequainfrastructe wature.ter services that are sustained over time successful solutions is occurring quite and develop an approach to make that visionActors a involved naturat the allysector's because multiple of the levels colle arectiv e 1 realiBetwtyeen. This 2009 brief and shares 2014 IRC, some lessons frbegom inninghow to cooperinvestmenate morte in ef deffectiviningely, andwith refCWSA,lecting on 3 CWSA,throug hpilot the districtsTriple-S proje and partnersct, weredistricts supported and partnersthe experimen jointly identifyingts to test areas them. ne eding tosupported navigate Ghana's the sector's rural comple water x realities.improvement. Replication of successful solutions is agency, CWSA, to build occurring quite Servicenaturally monitoring because of theres colleults ctivshoew Summaryconsensus arboxound a new vision of investment in defmargininginal and impro reflecvementing onts, the but experimen the diretsct Aadequa proactetive water partnership services that approachare to tha testt them. impact on rural communities (good emphasisessustained over share time andd learning develop and reflection quality water flowing consistently, with hasan approach been a tocritic makale that factor vision in advancingService monitoringshorter results queu shoesw) marg will neeinal dimpro morevemen timets, to seca realitor-ty.1wide This brief change shares and some impro vingbut the direct impactmanifest. on rur Furtheral communities, to enhance (good the quali ty coherlessonsence from hoin wappr CWSA,oaches. pilot Triple-wS aterengaged flowing consistenproject'stly impac, with tshorter on human queues health,) will it will condistrictstinuously3 and partners with secwertore stakeholdersneed more in an time be to importantmanifest. Further to integra, to enhancete sanita thetion into itersupportedative wtoa navigay. te the project's impactthe on humaninitiative, health, in line it will wi thbe currenimportantt W toASH sector's complex realities. integrate sanitationprac intice.to the initiative, in line with Supporting the pivotal state institutioncurren tfr WomASH practice.

1The Sustainable Services at Scale (Triple-S) project was a multi-country initiative implemented by IRC and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In Ghana, Triple-S was hosted by the state institution, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA). 2East Gonja - ; Sunyani West - Brong ; and Akatsi South - Background to the project rural water expenditure. The convergence In its quest to meet the Millennium Development between such a high level of dependence and Goals, Ghana's rural water sector had been pre- ineffective sector governance arrangements left occupied with extending 'coverage' by accelerating the government in a weak position to provide the installation of water infrastructure. As a result, leadership to the sector. The multiplicity of water supply has now been extended to 64% of rural actors active in the rural water sector (bilateral households (CWSA, 2013). However, even this modest and multilateral development partners, local and statistic masks a disturbing reality – that only one- international NGOs, central and local quarter of hand-pumps are fully functional, governments, community-based service according to a 2012 baseline study (Figure 1). providers and the private sector) – each using their own approach – further compounded the problems of a fragmentation. Triple-S undertook a structured, collective change process to refocus sector actors around providing sustainable water services. This process involved action research, joint reflection and ongoing learning, and through it, the goal of service delivery and the associated concepts of functionality, service levels and planning for life- cycle costs are being clarified, socialised and Monitoring findings from 3 districts (Triple-S Ghana) embedded in the culture of the sector. The This problem is mirrored across sub-Saharan Africa, process and outcomes are outlined in more where some 36% of hand-pumps are non-functional detail below. at any given time (RWSN, 2009), representing between US$1.2 and US$1.5 billion in lost investments The Triple-S change process over the last 20 years. Thus, for millions of rural Triple-S's first phase sought to build trust with Ghanaians, the provision of new water infrastructure key actors, foster consensus around the sector's has tended to provide only transient access to problems and promising concepts, and support improved supplies. CWSA to lead more effectively. The second phase focused on a collaborative endeavour to Over the decades, donors have dominated the rural test a range of promising solutions in three pilot water landscape, driving the sector through districts. In consultation with sector autonomous projects and financing some 95% of all stakeholders, the project diagnosed the root causes of failed water systems, generated alternative solutions, and interrogated and refined them through experimentation. Through regular feedback and reflection workshops, the models were continually improved and internalised. By providing empirical evidence for informed policymaking, the results of the pilots also served to boost the confidence and leadership capacity of CWSA. The third phase, which outlives the initial five-year project, is working to institutionalise the gains and actively promote scaling of the new pathways to delivering sustained water services.

From counting systems to reliable data on functionality and Whereas previous projects had typically been water service level - District officials undertaking water service managed autonomously, the Triple-S initiative monitoring using a mobile phone (Photo: Triple-S Ghana) was deliberately hosted by CWSA with the view to fostering institutionalisation of the outcomes. Bank) agreeing to resource CWSA to scale up the Through regular joint learning and reflection service monitoring model from an initial three meetings, Triple-S supported CWSA to rethink its (just over 1%) to 131 (nearly 61%) of Ghana's 216 organisational systems and develop evidence- administrative districts. In 2014, Conrad Hilton informed policy documents and tools needed for Foundation also committed to effectively extend leading the drive towards service delivery. The the initiative with a three-year grant of US$3 project also facilitated regular external reflections million. with the pilot districts and other sector stakeholders. How much did Triple-S cost in Ghana? Facilitating change in a complex sector involves considerable iteration, investment in formal and informal networking and learning, and nurturing and allowing the pivotal national institution to steer the process. The cost of the Triple-S initiative in Ghana has been nearly US$1 million per year, equivalent to some US$10 million over the ten-year period that IRC estimates is required to achieve durable change in the sector. Inclusive dialogue collaboration and information sharing on water service sustainability – Community dialogue in This excludes earlier investments made by IRC, action (Photo: Triple-S Ghana) which Triple-S has built upon.

As the initiative aimed to influence sector dynamics Challenges and recommendations and dialogue, continuous investments were made in While Triple-S has clearly steered the sector mainstreaming the research conclusions into routine closer towards a collective vision of sustained sector practice. Triple-S committed significant service delivery, the direct impact on rural resources to communicating its results and to communities needs time to manifest. Recent facilitating dialogue around them. service monitoring results are already indicating small improvements. Nevertheless, the The result is that high-level policy statements now functionality of facilities continues to fluctuate, routinely acknowledge a service delivery approach. even deteriorating in a minority of cases. Greater CWSA has revised its mission statement and attention will need to be paid to identifying and published revised service planning frameworks with addressing the reasons for slower-than- relevant budgetary provisions reflecting the ethos of expected improvement in the pilot districts. the new vision. For the first time too, implementation guidelines include explicit Despite generally respectable support for the requirements to budget for an extended life cycle SDA, it will require more time, hand-holding, beyond construction. A revised reflection and 'proving the concept' to sustain monitoring tool with agreed the momentum, persuade remaining sceptics benchmarks on reliability, and fully institutionalise the shift. This effort will distance, coverage, quality be particularly important beyond CWSA's and quantity has been headquarters and the three regions and districts adopted by the sector. where the pilots ran. Commitment to SDA is strong and growing, Although there is a desire to redefine CWSA's indicated by key sector role from one of implementer to facilitator cum donors (the Dutch sector regulator, precisely how that role will Government, SNV, evolve requires further reflection. Moreover, UNICEF and the World there are fears that the shift will entail a loss of

Ghana map showing districts where service monitoring has been scaled-up (Photo: Triple-S Ghana) fees associated with the implementer role. CWSA management models of the 900-plus small town will continue to need sensitive support both to and limited reticulated systems in particular will rediscover itself in its new role as well as to develop be necessary to inform adaptation to a revolving new revenue streams. fund for capital cost, maintenance and expansion.

Finally, sector financing remains a major challenge, with deficits of the order of 54% and 28% in 2011 and 2012 respectively (GOG, 2010)3– engendered in part by a decline in grants following Ghana's attainment of lower middle-income status and the declining interest of government to source commercial loans to finance a social sector such as water. Such constraints in financing without a clear

alternative public finance to bridge the gap in Ghana Sustainability forum where IRC signed MoU with CWSA and donor funding, threaten the sector's ability to fund partners to strengthen local government capacity to scale up the successful results of Triple-S (Photo: IRC Ghana) relevant post-construction activities that assure the expected improvements in service delivery. The current Community Ownership and Management Fortunately, the sector's new partnerships provide (COM) financial management model does not some opportunity to proactively respond to the encourage using operating revenues to finance above challenges and explore how to apply the capital and replacement costs. A comprehensive insights gained towards promoting change in the performance audit of the technical, operational, allied sanitation sector. and financial and accountability dimensions of the

3These statistics are relative to the amount pledged in the Ghana Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) 2012 Statement of Commitment presented at Washington DC during the High Level Meeting. The annual financial commitment of US$400 million stipulated in the Ghana SWA Compact (2010) has been revised downward to $120 million.

References:

1 Adank, M., Kumasi, T.C., Abbey, E., Dickinson, N., Water for All (SWA) Statement of Dzansi, P., Atengdem, J.A., Laari Chimbar, T., and Commitments presented at Washington DC Appiah-Effah, E., 2013. The status of rural water during the High Level Meeting. Available at: services in Ghana: a synthesis of findings from 3 http://sanitationandwaterforall.org/report_card/ districts (Akatsi, Sunyani West and East Gonja ghana. Districts. : IRC. 4 Lockwood, H., and Duti, V. (forthcoming). Whole 2 Government of Ghana, 2010. The Ghana system change: capturing the change process in the Compact - Sanitation and Water For All: A Ghana rural water sub-sector. The Hague: IRC. Framework of Action. [pdf] Available at: http://sanitationandwaterforall.org/?wpdmact= 5 RWSN, 2009. Handpump Data 2009: Selected process&did=NzA4LmhvdGxpbms=. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. St Gallen, Switzerland: Rural Water Supply Network. 3 Government of Ghana, 2012 & 2014. Sanitation and

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