Dear all,
we have also received a short summary from Julia Boulenouar (Aguaconsult) about the key messages of the sanitation track of the Symposium:

Key take away points from the sanitation track:

The main take away points from the sanitation track were presented during the closing session of day 1 in plenary and are summarised below:



- Adopting a whole of system’s approach for sanitation means moving away from the (direct or indirect) delivery of latrines to contain faeces, to the delivery of a full service, which considers the full sanitation value chain up to the reuse/disposal of faeces.

- The first step in achieving this shift lies in creating an accountable sector, which reports on services delivered, not just access/coverage rates.
- The second step consists in mapping the boundaries of the system to identify stakeholders and understand their roles and responsibilities within the system.
- Positive steps in the right direction have been recorded in the sector:
- People are aware of the poor level of service and are voicing their discontent;
- More data on sanitation services are being collected;
- Although water is still given priority, sanitation is on the rise on the political agendas.

Actions discussed to take this reflection forward include:
- Developing a detailed mapping of stakeholders, roles and responsibilities as well as key processes, within each context of operation;
- The inclusion of performance targets related to the delivery of sanitation services for Government staff;
- The development of service monitoring as an entry point into delivering better services and strengthening sector accountability.

More reflections from Julia are available on the Aguaconsult website: www.aguaconsult.co.uk/news/latest-news/r...pala-wash-symposium/

Best wishes,
Anne (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

Dear all,

Susan Davis from Improve International has written an excellent blog post about the Kampala WASH Symposium sharing her thoughts about the role of governments in sustainable WASH systems:

improveinternational.wordpress.com/2016/...pala-wash-symposium/

Enjoy reading,

Anne (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

Dear SuSanA community,

find here www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/albums/72157667620586174 some pictures of the sanitation field trip!

You can find pictures of the pit latrine, the emptying session with a manual gulper, the Lubigi Sewerage Treatment Plant as well as pictures of the fecal sludge composting production facility and the fecal sludge briquette production plant.

Thanks to all who contributed to this great experience!

Kind regards,
Raphaela (On behalf of the SuSanA secretariat)

Dear SuSanA community,

before the documentation of the Kampala WASH Symposium will be published, we want to hear from YOU:

What is your feedback on the symposium? What did you learn and take away from it? What is important to keep in mind and follow up from now on?

We're looking forward to your thoughts!

Kind regards,

Raphaela
(on behalf of the SuSanA secretariat)

Dear SuSanA community,

please take a look at the press release of the Kampala WASH Symposium!

The Kampala WASH Symposium: Looking beyond ordinary approaches

Kampala, Uganda – Today marked the first day of the Kampala Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) symposium which will run until 23rd June 2016, at the Speke Resort - Munyonyo. The theme of the event is: From Projects to Services - WASH Sustainability through Whole Systems Approaches. It is the sixth sustainability forum of its kind, and the first to be held on the African continent.

WASH Sustainability forums bring together hundreds of experts, government representatives, donors, and other WASH stakeholders to explore how each can better play their role in ensuring that water and sanitation services last for generations. They began in 2010 and have continued annually, with a goal of improving approaches to sustainability. The forums have grown into the world’s foremost discussion focused on ensuring that WASH services last.

This year’s event is hosted by Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, in partnership with UNICEF, GIZ, IRC, Global Water Challenge, Agua consult and Eclipse. For the first time ever the organisers of the WASH Sustainability Forum are joining forces with the Secretariat for the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) to combine the 2016 WASH Sustainability Forum and the 21st SuSanA Meeting.

The objective of the symposium is to provide a platform for stakeholders in WASH projects to discuss methods for evaluating interventions; explore political economy topics; and examine how systems can be engaged to ensure that services last over time. The Symposium further aims to look beyond the conventional notion of “projects” to discuss how WASH stakeholders can and should work together within the wider complex systems that deliver services.

For decades, WASH strategies have followed a “business as usual” approach of implementing projects that have largely remained focused on the project and under-emphasized the broader context. For example, in the rural sub-sector, external funding often finances WASH projects that are unrealistically expected to be maintained entirely by local beneficiaries. Furthermore, in urban areas, sustainability of services is often threatened when resources are mainly directed towards infrastructure, not providing for developing and strengthening capacity of critical institutions.

The Symposium will therefore specifically aim to enable participants to reach a common understanding on why old approaches to addressing challenges of delivering universal and permanent WASH services do not work. It will also showcase benefits of engaging with whole system approaches as a pre-requisite to successfully scaling up sustainable services. Additionally, the Symposium will focus on changes that are necessary for how WASH interventions are conceived, implemented and sustained over time. This event will present emerging perspectives on how to drive whole-system change and support the building of robust national systems at a scale capable of providing universal access.
The symposium will host over 170 participants from 26 countries, including 15 different African countries. Representatives of different governments, donors, researchers, and practitioners from Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, the Netherlands, the US, and the UK among others, will also be present.


Information on Host/Organizers

The Ministry of Water and Environment is the host of the Kampala WASH Symposium. The Ministry is committed to universal access to sustainable and equitable WASH resources and services and is committed to building national systems to make this possible. The Ministry is also committed to responding to complexity with flexibility, innovation and rigour.

UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally and in Uganda for the rights of every child. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict, and traverse the life cycle: pre-natal care for healthy births, clean water and sanitation, health care and education. UNICEF has spent nearly 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families.

GIZ – In 2007, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) declared Uganda a priority country for development cooperation. Water and sanitation are one of their main priority areas. In the WASH sector they cooperate with national and international partners such as the Ministry of Water and Environment and co-funders USAID and the Swiss Development Cooperation. As commissioning partner, GIZ provides expertise and capacity development, supports transparency and accountability, and project management support.

IRC is a think-and-do-tank that works with people in the poorest communities in the world, with local and national governments, and with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to help them develop water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services that last not for years, but forever. IRC helps people to make the change from short-term interventions to long-term services that will transform their lives and their futures. Through its country presence in Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, India, Honduras, and its work in Africa, Asia and Latin America, IRC co-leads an Agenda for Change to make universal, equitable and sustainable WASH services by 2013 a reality.

Global Water Challenge (GWC) is non-profit coalition of leading organizations committed to universal access to clean water and sanitation. GWC has played a leading role in convening leaders from around the world over the past five WASH Sustainability Forums to ensure lasting WASH systems through collaboration between governments, communities, civil society and the private sector. GWC’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond these meetings, leading innovative programs such as the Water Point Data Exchange and other efforts that help to improve service delivery around the world.

The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is an open international alliance of members who are dedicated to advancing sustainable sanitation systems that take into consideration all aspects of sustainability. Founded 9 years ago, the alliance has grown to more than 6,500 individual members and 270 partner organisations. Over the past years SuSanA has been an important platform to discuss sustainability in sanitation and the SuSanA Secretariat has hosted a series of SuSanA meetings in Africa to date (in Durban, Addis Ababa, Kigali and Dakar).

Aguaconsult is a UK-based consulting company providing a range of technical assistance and consulting inputs principally in the field of water supply, sanitation and hygiene and related aspects including decentralised service delivery, public administration reform and community organisation. Our extensive track record in the field of sustainable service delivery provides cutting edge knowledge with practical experience of ways to improve impact and the long-term legacy of investments.

Eclipse is a local consultancy contracted as event manager, responsible for the logistics of the Symposium.

For more information, visit: www.KampalaWASHSymposium.org





Kind regards,

Raphaela (On behalf of the SuSanA secretariat)

Dear all,


if you'd like to join the Twitter conversations around the Kampala WASH Symposium, please make sure to use the following Hashtag #KampalaWASH


Best regards,
Anne (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

As the Kampala WASH Symposium is coming closer, we want to draw attention again on the background note of the event:



Introduction to the forum
By 2030 the world has committed to providing universal access to sustainable water and sanitation services. How can we do this? How can we ensure that new water and sanitation services last not just for a few years, but for generations? What is our role in achieving this goal? And more importantly, how must we change what we are currently doing to reach it?
Over the past five years a series of Sustainability Fora and SuSanA meetings have brought hundreds of experts, government representatives, practitioners, donors, and other WASH stakeholders together to explore how each can better play a role in making water and sanitation services truly sustainable. As we kick off the fifteen-year countdown to the new global goals it becomes even more critical that leadership for achieving full coverage and indefinite sustainability of services is taken up by governments, civil society, the private sector and academia from and within the countries who committed to the Goals. And that the development partners – the NGOs, philanthropic organisations, donors and multi-laterals – who seek to support countries in the South also support this leadership.
To this end the Kampala WASH Symposium, to be held in Uganda in June 2016, will look beyond the conventional notion of ‘projects’ to explore how we, as WASH actors, can and should work together within the wider complex systems that deliver services. With participants and presentations from governments, donors, researchers, and practitioners, this event will bring emerging thinking on how to drive whole-system change and support the building of robust national systems at scale capable of providing universal access. It will focus on the changes that are necessary for how externally supported WASH interventions are conceived, implemented and sustained over time.
In this short background paper we set out the critical issues to be discussed at the forum and why we believe that only by understanding our place in such complex systems will we be able to overcome the long-standing challenges in the sector.

Why we need to think and act differently
The period spanning the Millennium Development Goals (that ended in 2015) brought important momentum and focus to the sector and, at least superficially, impressive progress in access to water supply; for example, since 1990, the number of countries with less than 50% coverage has decreased from 23 to 3 (JMP 2015). However, when we look more carefully at our successes the picture gets more complex with many countries still facing a major struggle to deliver continuous levels of basic services to everyone all the time; this is illustrated well by the snapshot of the situation (figure 1) facing rural water service delivery in rural districts in Ghana.
In addition to the one in ten people globally who still lack first time access to improved drinking water sources (around 663 million people) there are a huge (largely unknown) number for whom access to a service is patchy at best. The sanitation challenge is far worse, with one in three (2.4 billion) people still lacking improved sanitation facilities and one in eight people (around 946 million) practicing open defecation. It is shocking that in 2015, at the end of the MDGs, 47 countries have less than 50% coverage of improved sanitation. And given these stark statistics it is hardly surprising that the expected improvement to health that access to water and sanitation should bring remains so elusive.
The data from Ghana, and experience from many other countries, demonstrates that apparent success can be illusionary and fragile. As we are on the cusp of a new, and rightly ambitious global framework and set of goals for the SDGs, we cannot continue with the same approaches that fail to address sustainable service delivery. In the period spanning the MDGs, the world has become a far more integrated and inter-connected place. The knowledge, skills and technology that make water and sanitation services work in many countries are transferrable commodities in a way that would have been unthinkable previously. Money can be a limiting factor in some contexts, but often this is not at the root cause of our failure to progress. The challenges of the last few decades’ point to the need for a radical re-assessment of how we can achieve such ambitious goals, and in turn how we understand the complex environments in which we all work, in order to secure truly sustainable service provision.



Understanding and addressing the whole system
The world is an increasingly complicated place. Change is inevitable and happening all around us. Climate change, demographic and economic growth and population movement, rising standards of living (and demand), rapid advances in technology, but also growing political uncertainty - we work in a world where complexity, inter-connectedness and uncertainty are growing exponentially. Change also occurs in ‘unseen’ ways, with cultural preferences and expectations being shaped and re-shaped by the rapid flow of information and the blurring of old divides. Change is inevitable, but it is also unpredictable and today’s solutions probably cannot be counted on tomorrow.
Modern societies are, by definition, made up of complex and interlinked systems of people, laws, political and financial institutions, private companies, technologies, markets and regulations all constantly interacting, both formally and informally and responding to different sets of incentives, sanctions and influences. This is how they work, and this is how they provide services to their citizens. This is as true for the water and sanitation ‘sector’ and the services they deliver as any other part of a modern economy.
The overarching theme of the 2016 symposium is that tackling the failures and challenges of the past - moving away from dependence on aid and charity, building robust national capacity to deliver (and to keep delivering) services - means accepting and embracing this complexity, and with it the need for strong national systems. It means understanding that simply “capacitating communities” be they rural or urban, has not and cannot lead to universal and sustainable access alone. It means that robust national systems for service delivery require all of the elements at all different institutional levels – from households and communities to local government and national ministries to private companies and aid agencies to politicians – to work together effectively to achieve scale. That getting to universal access means engaging with and strengthening those systems in their entirety and not focussing only on one small entry point in a piecemeal manner without regard for the wider system.
Understanding the world through such a systems-based perspective is not new and much work has been done to understand how the elements of a system interact, including analysis of social networks, pandemics, biodiversity, global food systems and local traffic patterns. Taking this perspective allows the possibility to shape the whole system toward a specific reform outcome, such as national health care systems in the United Kingdom and Canada, the Police in the Netherlands, educational reform in the United States and in integrated water resources management initiatives in many countries (Casella et al; 2015). A key outcome of reform for the WASH sector that we could expect through taking such a perspective is not that services never fail, but that that there are the systems in place to enable such services to recover.

What are the lessons behind engaging with the whole-system?
The piecemeal and siloed approaches used in the past have not succeeded in delivering sustained improvements in public goods and services and there is a growing tide of voices calling for an approach that acknowledges and embraces the need to build robust systems. There is also a growing body of work and discourse around understanding complexity in the context of development aid. From this work we are already able to identify aspects of the systems approach that may be helpful for our own sector:

• No silver bullets: Solutions can never be unilateral and are rarely linear. Because a system, with all its constituent actors and elements is constantly interacting and changing (a process termed co-evolution) it is impossible to precisely predict what the next evolution of the system will be, simply because there are too many variables all at work influencing the outcome. The key lesson given this complex picture is that we should not assume, or expect, one action, or even one set of actions, to directly result in ‘the solution’ even though we may know the general direction of travel.
• Work with the whole system: by corollary, only by considering – and trying to engage with – the ‘whole system’ do we stand any chance of success. We know for example that lasting solutions are more likely when there is as wide as possible consultation and engagement in a shared process of learning and collective action.
• Complexity requires flexibility: Given the inherent complexity of the system, it makes little sense to predict that Intervention A today will solve ‘Problem B’ in five years. Rather, a flexible and iterative approach is required based on a clear vision of what is to be achieved and a programme of action embedded in a strong culture of monitoring, experimentation, adaption and learning. For development partners this means a shift from logical frameworks to theories of change. In this way, collective action becomes a continuous process of experimentation and learning, in which ‘failures’ are embraced as a positive step to understanding what does not work, on the way to finding out what does.
• Local ownership: donors and NGOs as well-meaning outsiders seeking to influence change and improve services, but must recognise that approaches should be locally owned and led. Likewise, national stakeholders need to put themselves forward and lead processes. Whilst externally-driven interventions (i.e. development aid programmes of donors and NGOs) can bring in new ideas and help to catalyse change, they cannot and should not displace local stakeholders such as national and local government or civil society.
• Support the process of whole-system change: Understanding and engaging with the system in all its complexity is difficult, requires collective effort and takes time. It requires money and patience to support not just individual interventions (which remain essential) but the process of change itself; something that has historically not been seen as a ‘justifiable’ investment. It also means changing the profile of people working in the sector: leading whole-system change requires people - and particularly leaders - who can understand the world with all its complex reality and work effectively within it.

Whole-system change in the WASH sector?
As with the broader trend in development thinking, there are signs that organisations and individuals in the WASH sector are embracing the ideas and practice of taking a whole systems approach to solving some of our most pernicious challenges. Indeed, countries such as Ethiopia and Uganda are already moving in this positive direction with strong national leadership, in spite of continuing challenges. On the development partner side, some would argue that elements of such an approach have been known for some time; for example, IRC of the Netherlands has long-championed the learning alliance approach to action research for example (Moriarty et al, 2005,).
Other NGOs have supported locally-led solutions that embrace systems thinking these include Water For People, WaterAid, Engineers Without Borders, Canada, the Millennium Water Alliance and WASH Alliance International. The larger donor agencies are increasingly placing an emphasis on building national capacity and supporting national systems, for example WSP/World Bank, DFID and USAID, while the BMZ2 has supported national systems strengthening for over a decade in a number of countries. We are steadily building insights into what it actually means to take a whole systems change approach and the nuts and bolts of how it can be done, both in the rural and urban sectors.
Indeed, the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership - our apex political platform – is increasingly embracing a system building agenda, calling for support to nationally-led processes and for more collaborative behaviours from external actors.
A comprehensive assessment of taking a whole-systems approach comes from the work of IRC in Ghana, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where an analysis of five years and more of work was carried out to learn lessons about what it takes to facilitate a change process (Lockwood, H. and Duti, V.; 2015). The key lessons from this study include, the importance of a common understanding of the problem (in this case low levels of functionality and poor service delivery); the role of continuous learning and reflection; the need to identify and involve champions (at senior technical and political levels) and the importance of a facilitator or ‘broker’, also referred to as a ‘backbone organisation’. The study highlights the serious investments needed to take such an approach, suggesting a minimum ten-year time horizon to see positive change emerge and a cost of some $1 million per year to support and facilitate the change process. This change will never fully materialise without domestic resource mobilisation and the firm commitment to building local systems and capacity over the long-term.
This may appear a high price tag, but when compared to the tens of millions of dollars spent each year on new services and the poor results in terms of access to services (as illustrated in the figure shown earlier) we would argue that it is in fact a good value proposition if it can lead to lasting systemic improvements. The continuing outcome of this change process in Ghana is now directly influencing additional funding from other organisations, including government, of around US$190 million for mutually reinforcing activities towards achievement of a common goal of sustainable rural water service delivery.

Finding our place in the system
The idea of the world – or even just the WASH sector – as a complex, constantly adapting place can be overwhelming “How can I understand such a system, let alone influence it?!”
Yet it doesn’t have to be, and indeed the first step to engaging with whole system change is simply to recognise the WASH sector as complex and ‘messy’ reality in which we are but one actor among many and where the ultimate success of our intervention relies on our ability to work collaboratively with others.
Practical ways in which governments, individuals and organisations can start to shift their thinking and actions include:

• Mapping the system and locating your place within it; understanding what others are doing and engaging actively and constructively with them;
• Realising that your presence and actions – either as a permanent actor, or a ‘temporary’ development partner – implies you are already part of that system;
• Recognising and working to support – and never displace or duplicate – national and local leadership and systems (especially national monitoring systems);
• Being open to, and collaborating with, collective action that starts by developing a shared understanding of both vision and challenges with as wide a group as possible – and then moving to a shared programme of learning and adaptation;
• Arguably most importantly and requiring the biggest shift - being open and willing to support (financially) the costs and processes required to support collective action;

Answering the question: “what can I do differently to support whole-system change and the creation of robust national systems?” lies at the heart of this year’s Kampala WASH Symposium.
Perspectives on this question will vary depending on whether you represent government, civil society or an international development partner, and there will be different implications in terms of time horizons and incentives to act. And of course what any one of us can do, and how far we can change our own thinking and behaviours, depends on who we represent and what our influence is within our own organisation. Often, those with the greatest power to influence, for example in government or international financial institutions, may be those who are most bound by rules and bureaucracy. Yet achieving universal access by 2030, and ensuring that once achieved services can be sustained through strong and effective national systems requires that we do indeed change.

References and resources
IDS, UK: www.ids.ac.uk/go/idsproject/complexity-t...hange-and-aid-impact
Casella, D.,Van Tongeren, S.A.E., Nikolic, I. 2015. ‘Change in complex adaptive systems: A review of concepts, theory and approaches for tackling ‘wicked’ problems in achieving sustainable rural water services’. IRC, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Galli, G., Nothomb, C. & Baetings, E., 2014. ‘Towards systemic change in urban sanitation’, IRC (www.ircwash.org/resources/towards-system...nge-urban-sanitation)

Lockwood, H and Duti, V. (2015) ‘Whole system change: capturing the change process in the Ghana rural water sub-sector’, IRC/Aguaconsult

Moriarty, P.; Fonseca, C.; Smits, S. And Schouten, T. ‘Learning Alliances for scaling up innovative approaches in the Water and Sanitation sector’ 2005, IRC Netherlands (www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/Moriarty-2005-Learning.pdf)

USAID; ‘Local Systems: A framework for supporting sustained development’ April 2014; Washington D.C., USAID

Wulczyn, F.; Daro, D.; Fluke, J.; Feldman, S.; Glodek, C.; Lifanda, K. ‘Adapting a Systems Approach to Child Protection: Key Concepts and Considerations’ United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New York 2010

Valters, C. ‘Theories of Change: Time for a radical approach to learning in development’
September 2015, ODI, UK (www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-a...inion-files/9835.pdf)


Kind regards,

Raphaela (On behalf of the SuSanA secretariat)

Dear Yegenaga,

Thank you for your remark, I am sure this is of general interest!
There will be a documentation on the Kamapala WASH Symposium which will be published on the forum. It will be online a few days after the symposium.

Kind regards,

Raphaela
(On behalf of the SuSanA secretariat)

Dear Mam / Sir ,

I would greatly appriciate to hear if non participants could get some information of the topics discussed discussions and or
CD or else,
I am prepared to cover expenses of freight

Adress Tugrul Yegenaga
Ismail Hakkı Cesmesi # 7 ,
Aşagı Gokcebel
Yalıkavak
01110 Bodrum
Mugla

Dear Mwaniki, Amans and Wamba André,

thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and expectations on the Kamapala WASH Symposium.
You are addressing interesting and important points which we will endeavor to address throughout the agenda.

On Wednesday morning we will have three interesting case studies of whole system change, what they have achieved and what they have done. That will be a good chance to look how they have dealt with important context factors like climate change, population growth, change in land use, urbanization and changing lifestyles in the context of sustainable system change.

As it was correctly said, the proposed topic of the Kampala WASH Symposium goes in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 6 pointing out the objective to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. We are much looking forward to engage with you in these important discussions on how to engage with the whole system to ensure the sustainability of services.

Please also note the side event related to the implementation of the SDG 6 (taking place on Thursday 23 June):

SDGs: Turning the Vision into Reality
Led by UWASNET
It is nearly a year since the adoption of the SDGs. In Uganda, stakeholders
were identified, roles and responsibilities allocated. What has been
achieved? What are the challenges? Where are the solutions? The side event
seeks to answer these questions, inspire more so that no one is left behind.
(more information on side events can be found here: uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/870950f3...16/Side%20Events.pdf )


We are happy to hear further thoughts!

Kind regards,

Raphaela (on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat)

A shout out for my former collegues from UWASNET:

On June 23rd, 2016, UWASNET will hold a side event at the Kampala WASH Symposium from 8:30am to 12:00pm under the theme, ‘SDGs; turning the vision into reality.’

See more here:

www.uwasnet.org/Elgg/news/view/9458/invi...mpala-wash-symposium

Dear SusanA members,
The SFD Promotion Initiative, along with SusanA Working Group 6 - Cities, is hosting a side event ‘Go with the flow: A workshop on Shit Flow Diagrams’ at the Kampala WASH Symposium 2016, held on 23 June 2016 at the The Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala. See attached Symposium programme for details.

The workshop will focus on providing the participants with an understanding of how SFDs can be developed and used in a city-wide context. The information gained can be used to adopt SFDs to their own context and use the diagram to identify challenges and opportunities with regards to sanitation improvements in their respective cities.
In case you need more information on the workshop, please send me a message.

Best regards,
Susanne