IRC WASH Ethiopia has been supporting three districts of Amhara region (Dera, Farta and North Mecha) to strengthen their monitoring system using a management information system (MIS) and the region is showing interest in cascading the monitoring system to other districts across the region.
Published on: 06/06/2024
Since 2019, a transformative journey has been unfolding in three districts of the Amhara region - Dera, Farta, and North Mecha. IRC WASH, as a member of the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) consortium and with generous funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, embarked on a mission to revolutionise the three districts' water systems through the Sustainable WASH Programme (SWP). At the heart of this endeavour is a crucial goal, supporting the monitoring of drinking water through a management information system (MIS), a critical area identified as particularly fragile during the initial assessments.
To ensure the institutionalisation of the MIS, the development process was inclusive/participatory. A series of consultative workshops were conducted with the participation of WASH stakeholders from the three districts, North Gojjam and South Gonder Zones, and the region.
The first consultative workshop was conducted in October 2019. The main objectives of this workshop were to understand what the stakeholders want to achieve from strengthening the monitoring building block, information/data required at district, zone and region levels, and the process needed to keep the data up to date, of good quality and accessible. In this workshop, participants identified data and information needs at different administrative levels. Following this workshop, IRC WASH developed a guideline for strengthening the monitoring building block to serve as a road map. Additionally, a survey tool and mock visualisation dashboard were developed.
The second workshop was conducted in November 2020 and evaluated the extent of the data available and required to establish a monitoring system, provided an overview of the monitoring tool, and demonstrated the draft survey tool and visualisation dashboard. In the third workshop conducted in February 2020, the different data sets made available to the project team from district, zone and region were evaluated.
In May 2022, the team conducted the fourth workshop. There was a delay to conduct the fourth workshop because the COVID-19 outbreak restricted travel and meetings. The design of the survey tool and visualisation dashboard were completed during this period. In this workshop, training was provided to different groups of users, e.g. to data collectors on the use of survey tools, and to monitoring focal persons.
In addition to formal training, on-the-job support was provided twice. The first on-the-job support occurred in February 2023. This was focused on supporting focal persons and key management members on institutionalisation and handover. The second on-the-job training was conducted in May 2023 for a quick follow-up on data analysis and use for decision making and to get feedback on user experience for refining the design of the survey tool and visualisation dashboard.
In addition to the series of trainings, different documents were produced to strengthen the use of the MIS for the intended purpose. Accordingly, a monitoring and evaluation advocacy strategy was developed focusing on engaging stakeholders, articulating the benefits of robust monitoring, and fostering a commitment to invest in necessary resources and capacities. It also provides a roadmap for advocacy, identifying key messages, communication channels, and stakeholder engagement. To provide guidance and instruction on how to sustain the system, a sustainability strategy was also developed. The strategy includes the transfer of hardware, software, data, and experience from the project to the three SWP focus districts. Data use guideline and manual are other supportive documents developed. The objective of the data use guideline is to guide the use of monitoring data for decision making while the operation manual is a step-by-step guide for the operation of the MIS system.
Since the start of the monitoring initiative in 2019, the Amhara Region Water and Energy Bureau has been closely following the process. The Bureau, called IRC WASH to learn about the progress of three SWP woredas and to see if the experience could be scaled up to more than 100 woredas in the region. Recognising the piloted MIS system potential, woredas started advocating for its implementation across the region.
Since 2022, IRC WASH provided technical support and capacity building to the region, funded by the Hilton Renewal Grant. One of the major areas of support for the region’s Water and Energy Bureau was the establishment of a comprehensive water asset monitoring system/MIS. Therefore, the Bureau established a focus team, the team conducted assessments of the regional monitoring system and prepared a report to develop the MIS system based on the findings of the assessment. Additionally, the team developed costed water monitoring and evaluation plans, conducted data need assessments and validations with regional stakeholders, designed data collection systems, and developed survey questions on an open source mWater platform. They also reviewed and validated the designed survey and improved it based on feedback from the Bureau’s staff and management.
The first training round had been for 23 staff members of the Bureau focusing on mWater surveyor app basics and data collection followed by an asset inventory plan for Bahir Dar city water facility components.
Map of the water schemes functionality status, developed by the focus team
To enhance the MIS's effectiveness and long-term impact, recommended actions include implementing regular data quality checks, developing standardised data integration protocols, and streamlining user management. Providing ongoing capacity development for users and raising awareness among staff about the MIS's importance are vital. Moreover, seeking external resources and partnerships for maintenance and expansion, establishing resource mobilisation partnerships, and advocating for budget allocation are important as lack of resources is one of the main challenges. Collaborating with local authorities to address security concerns, engaging regional authorities in planning, and implementing data security measures are also crucial steps needed. These measures collectively ensure accurate data maintenance, user efficiency, stakeholder engagement, and system integrity, thereby maximising the MIS utility in decision-making processes and governance enhancement.
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