Study Session 4 Stakeholders in Urban WASH

Introduction

This study session explains how to identify and characterise people and groups who are stakeholders in urban WASH. You will learn about the advantages of working across discipline and sector boundaries, and of teamwork. This will help you, as a WASH worker, to understand the importance of involving stakeholders in planning and implementing WASH projects in your local context.

Learning Outcomes for Study Session 4

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:

4.1  Define and use correctly each of the key words printed in bold. (SAQs 4.1 and 4.2)

4.2  Identify the range of stakeholders in urban WASH. (SAQs 4.1 and 4.3)

4.3  Explain how stakeholder mapping can be used to analyse the roles and influence of stakeholders. (SAQ 4.2)

4.4  Explain the purpose and advantages of stakeholder engagement. (SAQ 4.3)

4.5  Describe some of the challenges of stakeholder engagement. (SAQ 4.4)

4.1 What are stakeholders?

Part of the job of an urban WASH worker involves mobilising local resources to improve the water supply and sanitation situation in your community. This means helping to develop partnerships and collaborations among the stakeholders, for example, by gathering them together at a meeting, as shown in Figure 4.1. But who are the stakeholders and how do you identify them?

Figure 4.1 A community meeting to discuss improved WASH services.

A stakeholder is any person, organisation or group with an interest (stake) in something, such as a particular situation, intervention, project or programme. The stakeholders depend on the type and scale of the project, the local context, the local institutional set-up and the cultural conditions.

If you are considering a specific project and wish to identify the stakeholders involved (Mathur et al., 2007), you should consider those who:

• are responsible for the project and its different components (including funders, WASH officials from different sector offices, managers, employees, etc.)
• are intended users or beneficiaries
• are negatively affected by the project but may not be in a position to say so
• might threaten the success of the project through their opposition or lack of cooperation
• could represent the interests of people unable to participate
• have unique knowledge related to an aspect of the project.

Some of those among the wide group of possible stakeholders can be identified as key stakeholders. A key stakeholder is a person or a group of people with significant influence over a programme or who will be significantly impacted by it. For the programme to be successful, their interests and influences must be recognised. Key stakeholders may include individuals, organisations and businesses in the public, private and non-profit sectors. These could be local community representatives, municipal sector offices (for example, water resources, health and education) and development partners including donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and private sector groups.

Sometimes, new stakeholders may emerge during the lifetime of a project. For instance, community water supply points may be used by people from adjacent villages who had not been considered during initial planning. This can lead to conflicts between intended and unintended users. If such a stakeholder was not involved during the planning stage, then conflicts are likely to be more serious and require resolution. It is much better to try to identify any unintended users at an early stage as this will enable them to feel some sense of ownership and reduce the likelihood of future conflict.

4.2 Why do we engage stakeholders?

Stakeholder engagement is the process by which the organisers of a project involve the stakeholders so they can influence its decisions and implementation. Some stakeholders may support the decisions, while others may oppose them. Some may be influential in the organisation or community in which they operate and hold official positions. Others may be affected in the short or long term by the outcomes of the project. The underlying principle of stakeholder engagement is that stakeholders have the opportunity to influence the decision-making process. This differentiates stakeholder engagement from communications processes, which just share and explain decisions that have already been made (SMARTe.org, 2010).

The aim of stakeholder engagement is to:

• hear what stakeholders have to say to establish what issues matter most to them
• develop understanding and agree how best to deal with issues of concern to the stakeholders
• ensure project sustainability by involving stakeholders in planning, implementation and monitoring
• improve decision making and accountability.

Through working together, key stakeholders can identify common concerns, develop common goals and reap the benefits of the impact of a WASH project. Some stakeholders may also become involved in technical aspects, contributing to implementation, designing solutions and providing technical advice. Involving stakeholders in this way ensures more effective outcomes.

As a WASH practitioner you may be involved in arranging and facilitating discussions with stakeholders. This means encouraging people to participate. For this you will need to develop your communication skills so you can:

• ensure involvement of all stakeholders, including vulnerable and marginalised individuals and households
• understand their demand for service options and their willingness to contribute
• create a sense of ownership among users and beneficiaries
• help to achieve common understanding between the implementing organisation, user community and relevant stakeholders.

It’s important to involve stakeholders throughout the planning and implementation process. This brings benefits through:

• opening the planning process to the public, making it more transparent and equitable
• allowing stakeholders to participate in budget setting
• ensuring the needs of the whole community are considered, so making projects more effective
• helping to overcome resistance and mistrust by building support.

It may also increase efficiency if stakeholders contribute their labour and resources. Community involvement is shown in the construction of a school latrine facility in Figure 4.2 and a water point in Figure 4.3.

Figure 4.2 Construction of latrine and sanitation facilities at a school in Hawassa.

Figure 4.3 Community meeting at the site of a newly constructed water point in Hawassa.

Now read Case Study 4.1 and then answer the questions below.

Stakeholder engagement improves communication and leads to better understanding. The benefits will depend on the context, but include increased community confidence, which comes from cooperating over project development. It can also encourage a culture of innovation and learning, which enables participants to make better-informed decisions. It builds trust, through open discussion of issues that are difficult to resolve, bridges cultural gaps and helps to reduce conflict. It can also enhance partnerships, for example, between the community and industry, increasing efficiency and so reducing future costs.

Read Case Study 4.2 and answer the questions that follow.

(Note there is work underway in Ethiopia to find alternative ways to remove fluoride from water, including activated alumina and artificial bone chars (Tesfay and Feleke, 2011). As yet, an alternative technology is not widely available.)

4.3 Identifying and mapping local stakeholders

Key stakeholders can be identified based on their relative influence in decision making, their responsibility, their involvement in day-to-day operations, their direct or indirect dependency on the project and their representation in the community.

4.3.1 Identifying key stakeholders

Representation from all the stakeholders is a priority in a multi-stakeholder WASH engagement project. Some less obvious stakeholders may be excluded from the usual decision-making processes; this should be avoided.

Local institutions such as schools, health centres, mosques and churches are considered important stakeholders. These are important strategic institutionsfor promoting community-based WASH interventions. While at school, children gain knowledge that influences them and informs their attitude and practice. In addition school children, via their teachers and WASH clubs, can educate their families and relatives when they return home. By this route, they can serve as agents of change to their communities. For example, Figure 4.4 shows a school WASH club performing a drama about handwashing for their relatives. (You will learn more about the role of schools in mobilising urban communities in Study Session 11.)

Figure 4.4 School WASH club performing a handwashing drama.

It is important to identify all stakeholders from the community including women, children and marginalised people. Marginalised people are those on the edges (margins) of society who are treated as insignificant or not important. There may be people in your community who find it difficult to come to meetings, for example because of their work pattern or because they have a disability. It is particularly important to ensure that such groups have a voice and are listened to. Excluding less obvious stakeholders from the usual decision-making processes is an easy mistake to make and may have serious social or economic costs. It can lead to unsustainable projects and no overall improvement in conditions.

A systematic approach to defining and identifying all relevant stakeholders during early planning stages is therefore essential for ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of urban WASH initiatives.

4.3.2 Stakeholder mapping

Stakeholder mapping is the process of systematically identifying and analysing the relevant stakeholders, their relationship to each other, their level of interest, and their roles and responsibilities in relation to the power they hold.

Mapping the levels of interest of different stakeholders in relation to their interest or power can be done using the diagram shown in Figure 4.5. Their relative power and interest is categorised into four groups: those with high interest but little power (A), high interest and high power (B), low interest but high power (C) and low interest and little power (D).

Figure 4.5 Mapping stakeholders on a power/interest grid. (Adapted from DfID, 2003)

Stakeholder mapping can help you fully understand a situation and see the relationships between the stakeholders and their role in the project or programme. This can be useful when developing a plan for stakeholder engagement. Such a plan should outline:

• objectives (what are you trying to achieve?)
• scope (who and what is included?)
• methods (how will you put the plan into action?).

The methods used will vary for different stakeholders and will depend on several factors including how actively they are involved. For example, for users and beneficiaries, mediated discussions with service providers could be appropriate. For other, less engaged stakeholders, printed leaflets or other methods for providing information could be considered. (The methods for stakeholder engagement are considered in more detail in Study Sessions 5 and 6.)

4.4 Challenges for stakeholder engagement

Involving stakeholders in planning and implementing projects is essential for their success and sustainability. However it can present challenges that need to be understood and overcome.

4.4.1 Lack of coordination

In the past there has tended to be a lack of coordination among the organisations and agencies responsible for WASH projects, for example between governmental and non-governmental organisations, and this has resulted in duplication of effort, contradiction or inconsistency (WUP, 2003). There has also tended to be separation between projects to improve water supply and those related to sanitation and hygiene. As a result of this fragmented approach, there have been gaps in communications with stakeholders and some have been left out of the planning and knowledge sharing in a project.

New approaches to WASH are more integrated and aim to bring different stakeholders together. There is a new emphasis on the importance of communication and collaboration. For example, the One WASH National Programme, launched in 2013 is a shared programme across four federal ministries. The National WASH Coordination Office has mandates to support stakeholder communications, knowledge sharing and dissemination, and to facilitate concerted urban WASH efforts at both national and sub-national levels.

4.4.2 Reaching low-income households

The delivery of water supply and sanitation to low-income urban and peri-urban communities is complex. Poor consumers may not be adequately represented in community organisations and are often perceived as being ignorant and apathetic. However, in many instances this is clearly not the case because they have proved themselves able and willing to help bring about change that will improve their living conditions (WUP, 2003). Effective communication strategies that reach out to low-income communities will be needed to ensure they are also included within the stakeholder group of users and beneficiaries.

4.4.3 Working across boundaries

One of the particular challenges of WASH is that it means working across sector and disciplinary boundaries. Although commonly referred to as the ‘WASH sector’, WASH is a combination, as you know, of water, sanitation and hygiene sectors and is therefore cross-sectoral, meaning it involves people from different sectors working together. In particular it involves representatives from offices and bureaus of water, health, urban development and finance. It is also cross-sectoral in the sense that it involves both public and private sectors including government departments and agencies, and contractors, consultants and other private companies.

Cross-disciplinary communication is also essential because many complex WASH problems require more than one source of information to solve them. Cross-disciplinary refers to the academic disciplines and training of the people involved. These could include engineers, sociologists, hydrologists, doctors, nurses, accountants and managers to name but a few. People trained in different disciplines often have different ways of thinking and approaching an issue that can make communication between them difficult. Care is needed to ensure that everyone understands each other and that the information provided by and to stakeholders is accurate, relevant and can be easily understood.

Although it can be a challenge, it is important to realise that cross-boundary working has many advantages as well. The combination of different perspectives and experiences brings a diversity of thinking and approach that can ultimately make a project more successful. The key issue is to recognise the differences and work with them to ensure all voices are heard.

Cross-disciplinary engagement is about teamwork, where individuals bring different skills to the table and see issues from different perspectives. However, in order for a new cross-disciplinary team to become effective that team must develop shared values and culture. As a WASH practitioner you may be involved in the development and maintenance of effective forms of cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary communication to manage complex WASH problems in your locality.

Summary of Study Session 4

In Study Session 4, you have learned that:

1. It is important to identify and characterise the stakeholders involved when planning urban WASH projects so that all interests can be considered.
2. The planning and implementation stages of community WASH projects needs effective communication with stakeholders so that their knowledge and resources can be included.
3. Engaging stakeholders helps to improve decision making and accountability and ensure sustainability of WASH projects.
4. Stakeholder mapping is a useful tool for defining the level of interest and power of each stakeholder.
5. In the past, the approach has been fragmented with a lack of coordination between organisations responsible for WASH projects.
6. It is important to understand the advantages of working across disciplinary and sector boundaries. Teamwork involving a variety of people with different skills and knowledge will bring more effective and sustainable results.

Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 4

Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions.