ASSESSING SUSTAINABILITY IN WASH USAID SUSTAINABILITY INDEX TOOL UNC Water and Health Conference 27/10/2015 Ryan Schweitzer
EMERGENCE OF SUSTAINABILITY TOOLS USAID/Rotary Alliance pilot starts Development /Pilot application of SIT SIT (GLOWS) USAID Water Strategy SIT (CRS) Guiding document SIT (Water II) Comparative analysis 2005 2015 2010 2012 DGIS sustainability clause (ESARO) UNICEF Sustainability Check developed DGIS sustainability compact (WCARO) SIT (UNICEF) Beginning of global financial crisis RWSN meta review 60-80% functionality IOB evaluation European Court of Auditors review
TOOLS MAPPING AND DEMAND ASSESSMENT Two mapping exercises, over 220 tools reviewed: 1. Sustainability assessment tools; 2013 2. Broader mapping of WASH sustainability tools; 2014 On-line survey to assess use of and demand for tools; 2014
AGUACONSULT/TRIPLE-S TOOLS MAPPING (2013) Organisation Tool Intended frequency Country experience AGUASAN (network) Sustainability Assessment Tool Initial detailed assessment then 3-4 years Kosovo, Haiti, Nepal, Mali Dutch Water Alliance Sustainability Monitoring Framework Unspecified Ghana, Uganda, South Sudan UNICEF Sustainability Check Annual during programme implementation USAID Rotary Int l Sustainability Index Tool 3,5,and 10 years following implementation Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Madagascar (plus 6 other) Philippines, Ghana, DR, Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia, Ethiopia, Indonesia (plus replicated by CRS) WSA ToPPES Annual Ghana
USAID ROTARY SUSTAINABILITY INDEX TOOL EVOLUTION Demand driven USAID and Rotary International - take account of factors and drivers beyond the project (district, national) - Combine qualitative and quantitative evidence - Include significant rigorous evidence base Pilot test Rotary Intn l and USAID partnership (Dominican Republic, Philippines, Ghana) Developed tool/guiding document GLOWS
WASH SUSTAINABILITY INDEX TOOL Purpose: To assess the sustainability of the water, sanitation, or hygiene services and to identify critical constraints or drivers. Scope: the WASH services provided by or resulting from the interventions implemented under a project or programme. Process: outcomes of the SIT assessment to feed into partner/mission/sector dialogue or planning processes
Technical Environmental SIT METHODOLOGY Data collection and analysis is siloed by intervention type Indicators are derived from literature and best practice Indicators are grouped into 5 factors Indicators target sustainability issues at a particular level (national, regional, district, village) Institutional Management Financial
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT SIT LINKS OPERATIONAL WITH POLICY District Service Level National/ Regional Policy/ enabling environment Decentralised government/private sector at local level Operational systems and interventions supported by the programme
ADMINISTRATIVE LEVELS EXAMPLE ETHIOPIA WASH SIT Level Level in Ethiopia Stakeholders Centralized Service Authority or Ministry (SA) Federal Steering Committee Technical Team Coordination Office Decentralized Authority (SA) Service Regional (Killioch) Zone Woreda States Steering Committee; Technical Team; Coordination Office Steering Committee; Technical Team; Coordination Office Woreda Cabinet WASH Team Health Extension Workers Service Provider (SP) Kebele/Kushet Health Post-Health Extension Workers WASH Committee Members Handpump caretaker(s) School Administrator(s) Health Development Army Service Users (SU) Kushet Household
SIT INTERVENTION FRAMEWORKS 1. CRS- community reticulated water systems 2. RWH- household rainwater harvesting 3. WPS- water pan system 4. WSP- water source protection 5. WWT- waste water treatment 6. HHS- household sanitation 7. HWT- household water treatment 8. HWP- hand washing promotion 9. SWM- solid waste management 10. WASH- WASH entrepreneur
CONCLUSIONS AND STRATEGIC REFLECTIONS SIT AND OTHER SIMILAR TOOLS Pros Can drive modification in programme design and remedial actions Flexible design allows for contextualisation and is open source Provides credible evidence base for sector dialogue Shifts focus of attention onto sustainability of services and not just delivery of outputs Leads to promising take up of principles and elements of checks in Rwanda, (potentially) Mozambique and Ethiopia (UNICEF) Cons Relatively complex/heavy process Still confusion over purpose: functionality versus sustainability? Perception as project instrument; limited relevance for (local) government Relies on DP engagement with sector processes No clear trends needs repeated applications and analysis to validate
LOCATING THE SIT IN BROADER SECTOR SECTOR MONITORING SYSTEMS AND NATIONAL PROCESSES NARROW FUNCTIONALITY CHECK WSP Service Delivery Assessments (old CSO) Sector M&E systems Global WPDX data set UNICEF Bottleneck assessment Tool (BAT) USAID Rotary SIT Donor and INGO M&E systems STAND-ALONE PROJECT MONITORING INSTRUMENTS INTEGRATED SUSTAINABILITY CHECK