RiPPLE experience and Lessons: Working as an Alliance
Zemede Abebe, RiPPLE
2nd National Platform on Land and Water managementILRI, Addis Ababa, 19 December 2011
RiPPLE Purpose
1. Core Thematic areas
• WASH/rainwater harvesting (RWH)• Integrated water resource
management (IWRM), • climate change • cross cutting activities
– Capacity building, M&E, and gender. – Networking and alliance building
among sector actors
2. RiPPLE Approach• Involve facilitating the evidence-based
learning process,• knowledge generation and knowledge
sharing within the sector stakeholders • Delivering knowledge products to
meet the information needs of the WASH sector
• capacity development, monitoring & evaluation and demonstration low cost technology
3. Input to policy processes
• Evidence based research recommendations
• working with established networks at various levels & has established new platform
• Active engagement with implementing partners, networks and forums at national and regional level (PANE, CCRDA, FfE, NCCN, FLoWS, LPA, ECS,
4. Uptake and outcomes
• Use of research outputs in training materials
• Support for new curriculum development in climate change adaptation
• Communication work has linked the university with practical field situation
• Follow up the engagement of trained MSC students in the sector at regional and woreda levels
• Input for various policy level debate (WSF, MUS, SS, EPA, Universities)
What LPAs and FLoWS are?
• Learning and Practice Alliances are groups of stakeholders working together to learn, innovate and scale-up
• create learning opportunity by bringing together implementers, policy and decision makers, researchers … others
• Organised into linked platforms at key institutional levels
Global
National
Intermediate
Community/end-user
Donors
Line ministries
National Government
UniversitiesBanks
Companies
INGOs
Offices of line ministries
Local government
Donor projectsLocal NGOs
Local private sector
Local Banks
Extension officers
Mechanics
Donors Multilateral orgs.
Advocacy orgs.Learning orgs
Men/Women
Rich/poorDomestic
Productive
KEY CONCEPTS IN LPAs
1 – Different Institutional Levels
2 – Multiple Stakeholders & disciplines
Global
National
Intermediate
Community
Donors
Line ministries
National platform
UniversitiesBanks
Companies
Local government
Offices of line ministries
Donor projectsLocal NGOs
INGOs
Local private sector
Local Banks
Extension officers
Mechanics
Donors Multilateral orgs.
Advocacy orgs. Learning orgs
Men/Women
Rich/poorDomestic
Productive
Global platform
National Government
Intermediate platform
Community platforms
3 – Platforms
Learning and Practice Alliances:Linked stakeholder platformsAt key institutional levelsSupported by external facilitationEngaging in learning – action research
5 – Communication
4 – Facilitation
Establish Regional / Zonal Platform
Regional / Zonal Platform
Woreda platform
Identify Pilot woredas
Establish Woreda platformIdentify pilot communitiesLearn togetherScale up in woreda
Scale up in regionShare lessons at region / zone
Consolidate lessons and. …
National platform
National
Region / zone
Woreda
Community
RiPPLE team
Action research
Woreda facilitator
Regional facilitator
National facilitator
Why Learning and Practice Alliances?
• Little integration among different sectors actors for lesson sharing
• Research and innovation takes place in isolation and used mostly for academic consumption
• Ownership of research and innovation is not created outside of the pilot research team
• Limited opportunity of scaling up of practices
Success of LPAs and FLoWS• Improved implementation on the ground by way of
using research outputs• Better information sharing as RiPPLE & other
organizations are sharing their studies & program experience
• Created opportunity for the research out puts to inform policy makers
• Shared learning among sector actors: national & regional (research outputs, program experience & discussion on policy document), practiciners, MSF
Challenges of LPAs and FLoWS
• Less attention given at the start of the program & progress observed in due course
• High turnover of staff in key government offices• Mach effort needed to increasing ownership of
LPAs by ensuring contribution in time and finance by LPA members
• Linking to MSF undertaking to the level expected was difficult
Examples of Policy level linkages
• WASH inventory, sanitation …• Input to the Development of
UAP/GTP/WIF-self supply options• Climate change adaptation plans
and training module• GLoWS module for TVETS and
graduates, WASHCO, capacity building
• 24 Research outputs including MUS
Few sustainability and Success factors
• Working closely with interested partners who directly benefit from the alliance
• Support institutionalization in MoWE/BoWE• Build on core challenges and initiatives using
experienced facilitator • Linkage to implementation (GLoWS, WASHCO..)• Project with 3 to 5 years, refresher training• Institutional and individual commitment