Water_Sanitation_and_Hygiene_WASH_Govern.pptx

WASH Governance

1. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Governance: Notes on Theory and Practice Edward Bourque, PhD 18 October, 2016 @ UNESCO-IHE

2. My Academic and Policy Background - A Thumbnail Sketch Domestic urban /environmental planner to international water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) PhD and researcher. Extensive field research/contextual understanding of Tanzania’s WASH landscape (PhD, World Bank research, etc.). USAID and foundation WASH proposal development experience- Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Vietnam. USAID and World Bank water sector best practices, knowledge management, and WASH sustainability research support. MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Reviewer/Mentor

3. What is WASH Governance The political, institutional, economic, and social framework that effectively defines and determines access to WASH services.

4. WASH Governance- Scales and Linkages Enabling Environment- Political, Social, and Economic Sector Wide Coordination and Cooperation Horizontal Vertical Local-level Multiple Scales International Regional National Basin-scale Local – Rural and Urban settings

5. WASH Service Delivery – Major Conceptual Perspectives Public/Private Perspectives Public Services as Human Rights Private Sector Participation Structural theories Wittfogel- ‘Oriental Despotism’ and the Hydraulic State Swyngedouw- ‘Government to Governance’/Weakened state Informal networks and actors Social Capital- ‘bonding and bridging’/ social relation factors Bricolage- adapted, local context shaped networks

6. Access, Agency, and Discourse Ask yourself, “how do I access water?” For most of us, we access it as a service in our houses and buy it as a product in discrete units (gallons)… and even, tangentially, embedded in the food that we buy. For residents of countries with non-existent, barely or non-functional infrastructure, access to water is a high stakes game. Agency - Affordability and Accountability Either you can purchase whatever you need and/or you can nudge governments to provide it as a service. Discourse Control- The Power of Problem Defining Academic Perspectives Media /Public Perceptions Voices from Civil Society Organizations/NGOs

7. WASH Service Delivery – Major Policy Perspectives Coordination, Cooperation, Capacity, and Political Will Global-level Coordination, Cooperation, and Political Will (SWA process, etc.) National-level (budget allocations, SWAp) Decentralization Service Delivery and Management Models 2004 World Bank World Development Report ‘Making Services Work for the Poor’ Aid Effectiveness /Value for Money

8. Function and Dysfunction- Identifying WASH Governance Issues Major Gaps in Access Market imperfections and lax regulation Corruption Conflict- political , social, economic Project failure Low levels of accountability and voice in other sectors/generally

9. Improving WASH Governance Affordability Service Efficiency and Effectiveness Accountability mechanisms Utility report cards, participatory budgeting, monitoring & evaluation, “smart government”, etc. Decentralization ? Economic Development Democracy

10. …and implement it? • Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Performance Index- Performance and equity • Water and Sanitation Index of Development Effectiveness (WIDE)- Resource inputs & results • WASH Sustainability Frameworks FIETS sustainability approach (financial, institutional, environmental, technical and social) Triple-S (Sustainable Services at Scale) WaterAid sustainability framework • Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) – Finances, planning and coordination, M&E, human resources • USAID Sustainable Index Tool - Project-Specific WASH assessment • Various Political Economy of WASH reports Measuring WASH Governance Can we build a better measure ?

11. Connecting Theory and Practice “10,000 meter”- level thinking on the basics of determinants of access. Going beyond ‘banging fist on table’ about what should and should not be. Aiming to avoid a priori biases on roles of public and private sector. Focusing on service delivery models. Explore role of decentralization Spending more time on understanding country enabling environment/WASH Governance context before spending money on new projects. Learning from failure – in terms of sector reform, specific projects, etc.