The long-term sustainability of investments in rural water has long been a problem. There can be no single blueprint for institutional frameworks, policies, service delivery models and technologies. What works in one place, doesn’t necessarily work in another. However, we do know from long experience that a number of important elements need to be in place to lead to more sustainable service delivery. These can be considered as guiding principles that can lead to a principles framework for services.
Published on: 25/05/2011
The principles framework has been developed as part of the Sustainable Services at Scale (Triple-S) initiative to encourage a more holistic perspective of problems and potential solutions. It is based on many years of collective experience from a range of initiatives, including the Scaling-Up Community Management of Rural Water Supply and Multiple Use Water Services thematic groups. It allows for analysing strengths and weaknesses in the sector as a whole, addressing all the issues that are perceived to be important to the goal. It helps to show that addressing one issue or identifying one ‘silver bullet’ solution it is not likely to achieve full results. Indeed, that work is needed on several fronts at different levels to achieve meaningful change. There are three sequential uses for a principles framework:
1) To inspire and guide by defining a number of principles that should be in place to provide sustainable water services at scale. In each principle, users should be able to recognise their own reality, so that they can use it as a guide to seek solutions to problems. The principles are formulated very broadly and do not prescribe the details of who should put them into practice or how.
2) To use as an analytical tool. The framework can act as a window or template to analyse water service delivery in a country or district in relation to each principle. Guiding questions can be formulated to support the analysis. Scoring tools, such as spider diagrams or Qualitative Information Appraisals can be used to assess the state of a sector with regard to a particular principle. These questions and scoring tools allow the analysis of strengths and gaps in the sector in relation to the principle. In addition, for each principle case studies and benchmarks may be developed.
3) To use as a planning tool. Based on the analysis, for each principle a certain outcome can be formulated, and strategies developed to achieve the outcome. At this stage users start to explore the 'how’ and ‘who’ questions of putting change into practice. Strategies can be checked against the original principle and guiding questions. Examples and case studies that accompany the framework can help identifying outcomes, strategies and plans.
The Triple-S principles framework is used by stakeholders who are part of the research and learning processes in Ghana and Uganda (and from 2011 also in Burkina Faso) to strengthen water service delivery. They include sector staff in government ministries and decentralised agencies, as well as officials from local government, NGOs, development partners and researchers.
The framework is intended to be flexible and adaptable; experience and lessons learned will reflect on the principles. The principles framework is a living framework. It is a guidance tool to promote analysis and reflection about the most critical aspects of sustainable water services at scale.
