This document discusses the need for coherence in monitoring water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services delivery across global, regional, and national levels. It notes there are currently issues with monitoring being not coordinated, inconsistent, and duplicative. Key challenges include a lack of standard indicators and definitions. The document calls for a shared global monitoring framework to improve coordination and incentivize sharing of monitoring information. It proposes that the Sanitation and Water for All partnership can provide a forum to develop consensus around such a framework. Strengthening national monitoring systems is also emphasized as critical for effective global monitoring.

1. IRC Symposium 2013
Monitoring WASH Services Delivery
Building
Coherence in
Global-Regional-
National
Monitoring
Piers Cross
Addis Ababa, April 2013

2. Where is monitoring needed?
Key Challenges
Subnational Not-coordinated with
national
National
Variable capacity, often
neglected, systems not
maintained
Regional Irregular, inconsistent, low
response
Not aligned with national
Global or regional processes,
agency territorial disputes

3. What do we need to monitor?
Key Challenges
Inputs – money, people; on-budget and Diversity of sources
“off-budget”; all contributing
agencies, households.
Few standard
Sector processes – indicators
policy, strategy, planning, coordination, mo
nitoring. Analysis needed to link processes
with outputs and outcomes. Non-standard
definitions and
Outputs – numbers of methods of data
schemes, facilities, hygiene promotion collection
programs
Key gaps (water
Outcomes – people using improved water quality), different
supplies and sanitation facilities and formulae for impact
practicing improved hygiene

4. The monitoring landscape is crowded, fragmented, duplicative!
Inputs Sector Outputs Outcomes
Water People using
Public /Donor Processes Schemes, Sanitation improved
Finance, Policy, Strategy, Pl facilities, Sanitation
Cost recovery (TTT), anning, Budgeting facilities and
/Hygiene Promotion
Human Resources , M&E , WASH in schools and practicing
health facilities hygiene
Sub- Project, program and agency sector Some
Information systems household
national surveys, water
(district, province,
state)
point mapping
Country Sector Information and Monitoring Systems Large Household
Surveys (DHS, MICS)
Joint Sector Reviews
Country Status Overview (CSOs) Monitoring of WASH
in schools Census
Bottleneck Analysis Tool (BAT)
GLAAS Country Profiles
Regional Country Status Overviews (CSOs)
Monitoring of E-Thekwini and other SANs
GLAAS regional snapshots
Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Water (GLAAS)
Joint Monitoring
Global Monitoring of HLM Commitments IBNet Utility Programme
(JMP)
Creditor reporting System

5. To make matters worse…
 Little coordination – gaps result in parallel
systems
 Large quantities of data captured – little used
 Little sense of what monitoring should cost –
famine or feast
 Lack of coordination in timing
 Poor feedback at every level
 Little incentives to share information built into
system – vertically or between agencies
 National monitoring officers –
overburdened, under-resourced, unfunded
global/regional requests
 Global monitoring completely unregulated

6. A shared global monitoring
framework
 A shared vision of the goals and principles of
monitoring
 A set of agreed, common standards and norms for
monitoring information - make data comparable
across countries and over time
 Framework to build in incentives for shared use of
monitoring information at all levels
 Clear one agency, accountable leadership by
level and type of monitoring.
 Prioritize funding to build a credible sector
information system
 Promotion of best practices in data collection
 Coordinate and align timing of global and regional
data collection

7. SWA to provide forum for global
monitoring framework
 Facilitate consensus on a shared global
monitoring framework across the entire sector
 Increase coordination of monitoring between
development stakeholders who are SWA partners
 Support efforts to find new and improved ways to
monitor
 Coordinated effort to strengthen national and
sub-national monitoring and analysis of sector
bottlenecks
 Facilitate development of a shared set of
standards and norms for monitoring
 Investigate a regulatory monitoring mechanism

8. National sector information systems
are the bedrock of an effective
global monitoring system
 Agree a global compact between
governments, regions global agencies on national
monitoring and measurement
 Analyze and share existing best national practice to
develop standard models/norms for country
adoption
 National systems to build alignment of sub-national
systems

9. Way forward?
 SWA partners establish Task Team to guide the
new deal
 Build consensus amongst all sector
constituencies:
governments, donors, multilaterals, civil
society
 Establish program and targets for joint action
for next 5, 10, 20 years.
 Agree menu of short term actions
 High level political agreement on new deal
for sector monitoring

10. Thank you!