Category Archives: sustainability

Theatre 1

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There is considerable evidence 1 that improved WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygene) services correlate to improved health. Clean water is one component, the others are sanitation systems and hygiene practice. Whilst donors are attracted to providing assistance because of the direct linkages between outputs and desirable outcomes (+ve change in the broader system), a significant issue is sustainability. For unfortunately, providing nice new latrines and clean water is no guarantee that they are used or maintained. As is increasingly becoming understood, sustainability is a function of ‘ownership’ in decisions made. On a recent visit to a village about 2.5hrs from the nearest sealed road I witnessed the ‘triggering’ component of the Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) program.

The one I witnessed was not a normal village event, but second of two organised specifically for the Group Village Head men of about 30 target villages. This was to  generate support for the process to be carried out in their communities. I had read about the CLTS process a few years back, and was excited to have the opportunity to experience it in real life. What really struck me was both the highly professional manner in which the team (Tigwirizane, Fiona and Michael) conducted the session, and also just how theatrical an event it was. I particularly noticed how the team had changed the order of the sessions (hygiene first, followed by latrine building) to respond to the timing of the event, and also how Tigwirizane first warned up the crowd by asking how they had become Village Headmen and what they thought their duties were with regard to village development. After the warm up, Michael from the Ministry of Health took over.

Michael started with a short, interactive talk (all in Chichewa, so I’m not sure of the content, maybe hygiene or nutrition), and then produced the egg:

Michael produces a hard boiled egg. I'm not exactly sure what he says about it, but possibly something about it's nutritional value.

Michael produces a hard boiled egg. I’m not exactly sure what he says about it, but possibly something about it’s nutritional value.

He asks the Group Village Headman at the end of the semi circle to peel the egg. The lady watching is the Traditional Authority (TA).

He asks the Group Village Headman at the end of the semi circle to peel the egg. The lady watching is the Traditional Authority (TA).

 

The egg is passed around the group.

Experiencing the peeled egg as it is passed around the group.

The invitation. 'Now who would like to eat this highly nutritious boiled egg? What, none of you, why not? What's your problem?'

The invitation. ‘Now who would like to eat this highly nutritious boiled egg? What, none of you, why not? What’s your problem?’

Perhaps not in the same league, but as a theatrical/experiential event I was reminded of our bush fire simulation back in Australia where the aim was to engage the community to think about complex issues with a view to promoting individual action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB2DF10pxwM

1) Esrey 1985,1991; Fewtrell 2005; Clasen et al. 2009,2010, Waddington 2009; Norman et al. 2010

Impact Reporting

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My big project for the next 6 months is to develop the Concern Universal 2014 Impact Report. The purpose of most aid programs is to ‘make an impact’, and CU Malawi is one of the few NGO’s aiming to publish an Impact Report on a regular basis. The impact referred to being a change in the broader system, not a large hole in the ground as from a meteorite.

A new (to me) concept being used in the aid industry is the idea of having a ‘Theory of Change’. My impression is that this has superseded LogFrames to describe the link between what can be physically done (outputs) and the intended outcomes (or impact) in many programs. Thus my personal ‘Theory of Change’ is that positive effects in the broader system occur when individuals work together to solve tangible problems (1). This is augmented by the many others who have researched and written on the technicalities of how to help people work better together when finding solutions to common problems (2).

Putting in a bore & pump is the easy bit. What is harder is ensuring that people can access it, that there is a management committee of those that use it, that they can raise money for spare parts, that spare parts are available etc. etc.

Putting in a bore & pump is the easy bit. What is harder is ensuring that people can access it, that there is a management committee of those that use it, that they can raise money for spare parts, that spare parts are available etc. etc.

 

A  ‘Theory of Change’ that seems prevalent with many aid donors in Malawi is that WASH (Water Sanitation & Hygiene) programs have a positive impact on the broader system. This is based on considerable evidence that improved water, sanitation & hygiene practice (not surprisingly) contributes to improved community health (3). Unfortunately ‘impact’ is dependent on the many variables of a complex system.

Some donors require a large range of ‘indicators’ of impact, which might be as many as 70 questions that have to be reported on monthly throughout the length of the project. An example being “Reduction  in  reported  cases  on waterborne  diseases (cholera, diarrhoea  and dysentery)’ measured by “#  of  waterborne  diseases  reported cases”. Another being  “students with access to an adequate number of school hand washing facilities with soap” measured monthly by “#  of  additional students with access to an adequate number of school hand washing facilities with soap”. Others take a different approach, maintaining that the linkage is a given and that due to the high number of confounding factors within each individual case of improved health, monitoring this aspect is not cost effective. Some donors require nothing more than a record of the number of water points created, whilst others focus on measuring sustainability indicators, such as water point management structures, financial management capabilities, maintenance, access to repair services, and spare parts.

To report on the ‘impact’ of the work by Concern Universal (who currently implement seven different donors WASH projects, all with different indicators) is in itself complex. Thus my intended approach is to engage the CU WASH teams in a workshop process that draws on their collective data, the processes they use in implementing the projects, their understanding of ‘what works’ and document stories of success and failure. We will then use this data to compile a broad picture of CU’s impact in WASH. Stay tuned!

1: Rittell, H & Webber, M 1973, ‘Dilemmas in a general theory of planning’, Policy Sciences, vol. 4.

2: Butcher, M 2001, ‘LogFrames Made Easy’, PLA Notes, no. 41.

Department of Sustainability and Environment 2005, Effective Engagement: Building Relationships with Community and Other Stakeholders, 3 vols., The Community Engagement Project, Resources and Regional Services Division, Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne.

Dick, B 1991, Helping Groups to be Effective, 2 edn, Interchange, Chapel Hill.

Kaner, S 1996, Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, 11 edn, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island.

NSW Premiers Department 2006, Strengthening Rural Communities Resource Kit, pdf version edn, NSW Government, Sydney.

Pretty, J, Guijt, I, Thompson, J & Scoones, I 1995, Participatory Learning and Action : A Trainers Guide, IIED Participatory Methodology Series, International Institute for Environment and Development, London.

Rosenberg, M 2003, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 2 edn, Puddledancer Press

Schwartz, R 2002, The skilled facilitator, 2 edn, Jossey-Bass.

Southern Cross University 2003, Action Research Resources, Southern Cross University, viewed 04 03 2006 2006, <http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/arphome.html>.

Stanfield, B 1997, The Art of Focused Conversation, The Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA Canada).

—- 2002, The Workshop Book: from Individual Creativity to Group Action, New Society Publishers and The Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs, Gabriola Island.

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) 2001, Tools to Support Participatory Urban Decision Making.

Williams, RB 1996, More Than 50 Ways to Build Team Consensus, Hawker Brownlow.

World Bank 1996, The World Bank Participation Source Book, Adobe Acrobat PDF Version edn, World Bank, Washington, D.C.

3: Esrey,S 1985,1991; Fewtrell 2005; Clasen et al. 2009,2010, Waddington 2009; Norman et al. 2010

 

Workshops

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I have now facilitated three workshops with CU, with another scheduled for next week. I constantly see many similarities between the role of an architect and that of the facilitator. Each workshop is a different design exercise, and both are about creating a space for people to relate to each other. This can be both at the physical, literal level that provides shelter (out of the wind and rain in the former, the everyday bedlam in the latter) and also at the ‘meta level’, where the conversation can be about the design structure itself.

CU staff, Govt officers and leading community members considering how to sustain the impact of the Local Development Sustainability Project after it ends in a years time.

CU staff, Govt officers and leading community members consider how to sustain the impact of the Local Development Sustainability Project after it ends in a years time.

Thus at the meta level another analogy with the world of architecture is that no architect is either truly original or every project completely unique. But at the same time, every designer has their own style, their own approach, their own preferred details.

Using the poster process, CU staff consider aspects of M&E raised by individuals during the initial round of Semi Structured Interviews.

Using the poster process, CU staff consider aspects of M&E raised by individuals during the initial round of Semi Structured Interviews.

I continue to find the ‘poster’ concept that I used in the ’19 Points of Connection’ show works well in a variety of different settings. In the first workshop I wanted to introduce to the group as a whole some of the concepts around Monitoring and Evaluation that had been raised by individuals in my Semi Structured Interviews. In the second I used a variation to enable different work units (each comprising a variety of CU staff, Govt. staff and community leaders) both present their proposals for their project exit strategy, and also act as ‘critical friends’ with each other.

After each Key Result Area group had developed their exit plan, the leader presented to members of other groups as 'critical friends'. This way gaining new insights and refinement opportunities.

After each Key Result Area group had developed their exit plan, the leader presented to members of other groups as ‘critical friends’. This way gaining new insights and refinement opportunities.

As a workshop detail, I suspect it will be a bit of a signature activity of mine for a few more workshops yet.

 

Everyday complexity

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A wonderful characteristic of European cities is the layers of history piled on top of each other. Modern technological on top of Renaissance art on top of medieval piety on top of Roman paganism. Here in Malawi it seems to all exist at the same time, right now, in real time.

Everyday medieval market

Everyday medieval market

On a regular basis I see what I’m sure most medieval towns in Europe really looked like, complete with the wealthy picking their way carefully through the mess, or more usually ploughing through it in their (4WD) carriages. Religion is evident in all forms, from pious pilgrims to a non-stop evangelical form of renaissance.  At every step there is something that causes wonder and perplexity.

Pilgrims on their way to celebrate Allah's birthday.

Pilgrims on their way to celebrate Mohammed’s birthday.

I have just watched a guy making deliveries to the office. From his truck he fully loads a wheelbarrow, but there is a step which, on every trip, causes something from the load to fall off. Each time he stops, picks up the (often damaged) carton or packages, and lifts and pulls the wheel barrow from the front over the step. On the fourth trip the wheel barrow is full of cans

Not Florence Cathedral. Yet.

Not Florence Cathedral, Church at Chilomoni.

of paint. It hits the step and a can falls off, breaks open and splashes paint around. He first puts the broken pot back on the wheelbarrow before deciding that might not be such a good idea and makes vague attempts to wash the paint splashes off his trousers. Leaving the large splodge of paint on the concrete, he then pushes the wheelbarrow into the office with the wheel making white dashes on the carpet down the corridor. Nobody blinks.

paintMy colleague says that there is no culture of learning within Malawian society. Perhaps he’s right, or perhaps it is a charge that can be levelled at every culture and it is more about what is important to who. Either way, it all certainly adds to the colour of life (and office!).

So who is learning what? Who isn't?

So who is learning what? Who isn’t learning?

19 Points of Connection – Finding the ideal environment for happy humans

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“We know a lot about the ideal environment for a happy whale or a happy mountain gorilla. We’re far less clear about what constitutes an ideal environment for a happy human being.”– Enrique Peñalosa

This intriguing, hands-on Melbourne Fringe Festival event considers how we piece together the ideal environment for happy humans.

Be prepared to think, listen, contribute and decide.

18th, 20th & 26th September, 6pm

City of Melbourne Bowls Club
Flagstaff Gardens, Dudley St, West Melbourne

Tickets on sale now!
Adult $23 / Conc $20
To book; 03 9660 9666 or melbournefringe.com.au
Book early – only 30 tickets per show

For more info, check here or, facebook.com/19pointsofconnection