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