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USING ICT TO SUPPORT WATER
SECTOR MONITORING : HOW
UNDERLYING DRIVERS SHAPE
INCENTIVES AND OUTCOMES
D. Schaub-Jones [South Africa]
L. Szczuczak [South Africa]
E. Ramsay [Vietnam]
SUMMARY
1. The use of new ICT tools to support water services
provision is expanding rapidly
2. Paper looks at some of the drivers underpinning
this trend
3. Suggests how these drivers need to be understood
during the design of any ICT-based monitoring
system.
SUMMARY
4. Too often the focus appears to be on the tools &
not sufficiently on what the data gets used for
5. Not on how the provision of data can actually
change the dynamics on the ground
‘Reality check’ to the implementation and
adoption of ICT – making sure that the
positive contributions are not lost through
poor design or over-ambitious approaches.
CONTEXT
wave of urbanisation
not only the large mega-cities that are the poles of
this growth
also the small- and medium- towns that are
absorbing expansion
telecoms revolution
rapid technology advance and societal uptake
mid-2013 more Africans had mobile phone
subscriptions than had access to improved water
sources
QUESTION …
Can technologies such as
mobile phones and online
databases, allied with better
monitoring, significantly boost
the performance of water
providers?
DIFFERENT RATIONALES
Water services providers
 help streamline their operations
 bring management ‘closer to the
field’
 more quickly identify and
respond to service delivery
challenges.
Donor agencies
 ‘payment by results’ etc
 new ways of monitoring and
verifying impacts
National governments and regulators
 planning
 track water services providers
 reduce time btw service delivery
challenges & responses
 improve quantity & quality of the
data collected
Civil society
 Boost transparency
 Increase accountability of service
providers
HOW DO ICT & MONITORING RELATE?
Traditional
 Linear / closed flows of
information
 Rely on their data from field staff
 Specific reporting periods (daily,
weekly / monthly)
 Legacy IT systems (no ‘cloud’) or
manual processes
 Trickle up to senior management
( with delays)
 ‘Prepared briefs’ for regulator /
policymaker / donor
New
 Explosion in the data
that can be collected
 New avenues – smartphones,
basic phones, automatic gauges,
smart meters
 Near-real time data
 Higher quantity & quality
of data possible
 Collect info from range of actors
SEESAW
SURVEY, 2012
INNOVATIONS
IN ICT USAGE
IN THE WASH
SECTOR
Main drivers
(Wat & San stakeholders to adopt ICT)
1. ICT improves access to information
(which can improve decision-making);
2. ICT can bring immediate &
long-term financial benefits; and
ICT also allows confidence-building between stakeholders,
which contributes to greater responsiveness, mutual
accountability and trust.
Sattler, 2012
Table 1. Main drivers for wanting better monitoring of water
services
(SeeSaw survey, 2012)
Internal External
Financia
l
Improve financial position:
Attract investment
Control costs
Improve revenue
Demonstrate performance:
Payment-by-results
Output-based-aid
Part of loan package
Efficiency
Improve internal efficiencies:
Internally championed benchmarking
Have field staff provide new
or ‘real-time’ data
ICT as an ‘HR tool’
External ‘efficiency’ impetus:
Formal regulation requires ICT
Push from customers
to adopt innovations
Externally imposed benchmarking
NB WATER SERVICE
PROVIDERS (NOT NGOS,
REGULATORS, ETC)
CAUTION:
A. Main drivers for better monitoring
quite different
B. Important implications designing
‘monitoring systems’
C. Way ICT tools will be used / abused
/ ignored depends a lot on
motivations underlying
monitoring
CASE STUDY: CWS IN GHANA
CWS (Community Water Solutions)
Social enterprise
Ghanaian women
Small businesses
Treat and sell water to local
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Entrepreneurs use basic phones
To report to CWS field staff
Specific operational challenges
DRIVERS = INTERNAL
Quicker reporting system
More participatory reporting system
Better oversight
Improved efficiency
BENEFITS FOR CWS
Logistical & Financial
 Space out their in-person visits to remote
locations
 Field staff respond faster to specific issues
that would otherwise lead to downtime of
services
DANGERS:
Motivation wanes
Platform not be adopted
or
Platform does not contain useful,
timely and relevant information
Internal motivation
strengthened as
benefits quickly &
clearly visible
to both
management
&
field users
Users of ICT
more likely to
inform
design &
suggest
improvements
CASE STUDY: CRA IN MOZAMBIQUE
CRA (Conselho de Regulação do
Abastecimento de Água)
National regulatory body for the water
sector
Design and pilot a monitoring system for
small water schemes
DRIVER = EXTERNAL
Enforcement (stick and carrot)
Important thus to
Have ‘sympathetic’ design
Remove barriers to sending information
Cross-reference
KEY RISKS
Water Service Providers do not appreciate
initiative
or
Do not find useful for own purposes
= > token efforts to provide
reliable and complete data
“rubbish in, rubbish out”
Decisions risk being made on basis of :
unreliable
out-of-date & / or
incomplete data
‘sub-optimal’ or
nonsensical results
KEY
LESSONS
USER-CENTRIC DESIGN
Understand motivations of key stakeholders to adopt
monitoring tools
Design tools so they deliver value for them
If no internal motivation for adoption, then other measures
needed
Listen to what users want and need and will find useful
Avoid broad assumptions about what ‘you think’ will be useful
Provide tangible benefits to those being asked to spend time
using the system
RECOGNISE CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Buy-in at different levels of info flow
Leadership commitment
Quick and visible benefits (“quick wins”)
To sensible extent :
Build on what is there
Use existing assets
Leverage good practice
Fit system to users and not vice versa
UNDERSTAND INCENTIVES
Why will those who need to submit data
do so?
What are incentives to provide reliable
and timely data?
No ICT tool automatically solves all existing challenges
ICT helps identify and structure challenges BUT action
needed to resolve them What incentives will turn
information into action?
START WITH TRULY IMPORTANT & THEN GROW
Always temptation to ask for as much as possible = usually
unrealistic
Posing great burden on those providing information will
undermine motivation
(people faced with unreasonable or unmanageable
requests may fail to provide even simple information)
Easier to start with a simple set of data and add on later
Scaling up easier than scaling back
An iterative approach to design and development
Short and frank feedback loops from real users
BUILD A SYSTEM YOU CAN SUSTAIN OVER LONG-TERM
All systems have running costs
ICT systems must evolve with the times (requires inputs
of time and money)
People pay for what they perceive has value :
 Is the ICT tool/service valuable or seen as valuable?
 Not an ‘essential need’, only a ‘nice-to-have’ => sustainability
of the tool/service will be in question
Direct monetary cost not the only consideration
Effort in inputting data & processing data & acting upon
information => If costs are non-negligible, can the system
be sustained?
CONCLUSIONS
1. Use of ICT tools alone
cannot solve issues
2. Accompanying activities
are required
3. Raise awareness about and
to prioritise monitoring
4. Forge good
communications between
diverse role players
5.Put in place well-
designed feedback
loops
6.Commitment and
capacity to turn data
collection and
interpretation into
actions
WHEN SUPPORTED ICT TOOLS:
Highlight bottlenecks in delivery
Offer great scope for efficiency improvements
Can deliver better co-ordination
Can improve finance
Enable significant improvements in water services
Provide means to cross-check information and
engage customers, citizens and other groups
Enable early or strategic intervention in areas facing
challenges
Using ICT to support water sector monitoring

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Using ICT to support water sector monitoring

  • 1. USING ICT TO SUPPORT WATER SECTOR MONITORING : HOW UNDERLYING DRIVERS SHAPE INCENTIVES AND OUTCOMES D. Schaub-Jones [South Africa] L. Szczuczak [South Africa] E. Ramsay [Vietnam]
  • 2. SUMMARY 1. The use of new ICT tools to support water services provision is expanding rapidly 2. Paper looks at some of the drivers underpinning this trend 3. Suggests how these drivers need to be understood during the design of any ICT-based monitoring system.
  • 3. SUMMARY 4. Too often the focus appears to be on the tools & not sufficiently on what the data gets used for 5. Not on how the provision of data can actually change the dynamics on the ground ‘Reality check’ to the implementation and adoption of ICT – making sure that the positive contributions are not lost through poor design or over-ambitious approaches.
  • 4. CONTEXT wave of urbanisation not only the large mega-cities that are the poles of this growth also the small- and medium- towns that are absorbing expansion telecoms revolution rapid technology advance and societal uptake mid-2013 more Africans had mobile phone subscriptions than had access to improved water sources
  • 5. QUESTION … Can technologies such as mobile phones and online databases, allied with better monitoring, significantly boost the performance of water providers?
  • 6. DIFFERENT RATIONALES Water services providers  help streamline their operations  bring management ‘closer to the field’  more quickly identify and respond to service delivery challenges. Donor agencies  ‘payment by results’ etc  new ways of monitoring and verifying impacts National governments and regulators  planning  track water services providers  reduce time btw service delivery challenges & responses  improve quantity & quality of the data collected Civil society  Boost transparency  Increase accountability of service providers
  • 7. HOW DO ICT & MONITORING RELATE? Traditional  Linear / closed flows of information  Rely on their data from field staff  Specific reporting periods (daily, weekly / monthly)  Legacy IT systems (no ‘cloud’) or manual processes  Trickle up to senior management ( with delays)  ‘Prepared briefs’ for regulator / policymaker / donor New  Explosion in the data that can be collected  New avenues – smartphones, basic phones, automatic gauges, smart meters  Near-real time data  Higher quantity & quality of data possible  Collect info from range of actors
  • 8. SEESAW SURVEY, 2012 INNOVATIONS IN ICT USAGE IN THE WASH SECTOR Main drivers (Wat & San stakeholders to adopt ICT) 1. ICT improves access to information (which can improve decision-making); 2. ICT can bring immediate & long-term financial benefits; and ICT also allows confidence-building between stakeholders, which contributes to greater responsiveness, mutual accountability and trust. Sattler, 2012
  • 9. Table 1. Main drivers for wanting better monitoring of water services (SeeSaw survey, 2012) Internal External Financia l Improve financial position: Attract investment Control costs Improve revenue Demonstrate performance: Payment-by-results Output-based-aid Part of loan package Efficiency Improve internal efficiencies: Internally championed benchmarking Have field staff provide new or ‘real-time’ data ICT as an ‘HR tool’ External ‘efficiency’ impetus: Formal regulation requires ICT Push from customers to adopt innovations Externally imposed benchmarking NB WATER SERVICE PROVIDERS (NOT NGOS, REGULATORS, ETC)
  • 10. CAUTION: A. Main drivers for better monitoring quite different B. Important implications designing ‘monitoring systems’ C. Way ICT tools will be used / abused / ignored depends a lot on motivations underlying monitoring
  • 11. CASE STUDY: CWS IN GHANA CWS (Community Water Solutions) Social enterprise Ghanaian women Small businesses Treat and sell water to local
  • 12. HOW DOES IT WORK? Entrepreneurs use basic phones To report to CWS field staff Specific operational challenges
  • 13. DRIVERS = INTERNAL Quicker reporting system More participatory reporting system Better oversight Improved efficiency
  • 14. BENEFITS FOR CWS Logistical & Financial  Space out their in-person visits to remote locations  Field staff respond faster to specific issues that would otherwise lead to downtime of services
  • 15. DANGERS: Motivation wanes Platform not be adopted or Platform does not contain useful, timely and relevant information
  • 16. Internal motivation strengthened as benefits quickly & clearly visible to both management & field users Users of ICT more likely to inform design & suggest improvements
  • 17. CASE STUDY: CRA IN MOZAMBIQUE CRA (Conselho de Regulação do Abastecimento de Água) National regulatory body for the water sector Design and pilot a monitoring system for small water schemes
  • 18. DRIVER = EXTERNAL Enforcement (stick and carrot) Important thus to Have ‘sympathetic’ design Remove barriers to sending information Cross-reference
  • 19. KEY RISKS Water Service Providers do not appreciate initiative or Do not find useful for own purposes = > token efforts to provide reliable and complete data
  • 20. “rubbish in, rubbish out” Decisions risk being made on basis of : unreliable out-of-date & / or incomplete data ‘sub-optimal’ or nonsensical results
  • 22. USER-CENTRIC DESIGN Understand motivations of key stakeholders to adopt monitoring tools Design tools so they deliver value for them If no internal motivation for adoption, then other measures needed Listen to what users want and need and will find useful Avoid broad assumptions about what ‘you think’ will be useful Provide tangible benefits to those being asked to spend time using the system
  • 23. RECOGNISE CHANGE MANAGEMENT Buy-in at different levels of info flow Leadership commitment Quick and visible benefits (“quick wins”) To sensible extent : Build on what is there Use existing assets Leverage good practice Fit system to users and not vice versa
  • 24. UNDERSTAND INCENTIVES Why will those who need to submit data do so? What are incentives to provide reliable and timely data? No ICT tool automatically solves all existing challenges ICT helps identify and structure challenges BUT action needed to resolve them What incentives will turn information into action?
  • 25. START WITH TRULY IMPORTANT & THEN GROW Always temptation to ask for as much as possible = usually unrealistic Posing great burden on those providing information will undermine motivation (people faced with unreasonable or unmanageable requests may fail to provide even simple information) Easier to start with a simple set of data and add on later Scaling up easier than scaling back An iterative approach to design and development Short and frank feedback loops from real users
  • 26. BUILD A SYSTEM YOU CAN SUSTAIN OVER LONG-TERM All systems have running costs ICT systems must evolve with the times (requires inputs of time and money) People pay for what they perceive has value :  Is the ICT tool/service valuable or seen as valuable?  Not an ‘essential need’, only a ‘nice-to-have’ => sustainability of the tool/service will be in question Direct monetary cost not the only consideration Effort in inputting data & processing data & acting upon information => If costs are non-negligible, can the system be sustained?
  • 27. CONCLUSIONS 1. Use of ICT tools alone cannot solve issues 2. Accompanying activities are required 3. Raise awareness about and to prioritise monitoring 4. Forge good communications between diverse role players 5.Put in place well- designed feedback loops 6.Commitment and capacity to turn data collection and interpretation into actions
  • 28. WHEN SUPPORTED ICT TOOLS: Highlight bottlenecks in delivery Offer great scope for efficiency improvements Can deliver better co-ordination Can improve finance Enable significant improvements in water services Provide means to cross-check information and engage customers, citizens and other groups Enable early or strategic intervention in areas facing challenges