The document summarizes the Sustainable Water Service Delivery project in Ghana. It developed a decision support model to assess and predict the sustainability of water services at the community level. Extensive data was collected both quantitatively and qualitatively from communities. The model was constructed, tested, and refined. It was able to correctly "predict" outcomes and identify strengths and weaknesses. The model provides a useful tool but challenges remain in utilizing it across many communities and linking it to national monitoring systems.

1. Moving sustainability concepts
to on the ground improvements:
the Sustainable Water Service Delivery project in Ghana.
Presentation of paper written by Peter Ryan and Raphael Sufyan
Sulemani. Monitoring Sustainable WASH Service Delivery
Symposium, Addis Ababa, 10th April 2013

2. Raphael Sufyan Sulemani

3. Contents
• Context
• Methodology
• Model development
• Testing and refinement
• Reflections

4. Context
• Service not hardware
provision : the great
leap forward for RWS
• Emergent concepts > on
the ground
implementation
• Decision support
system aka “model” of
sustainability elements

5. Methodology
Complicated model? • No, a decision support tool
• To assess/predict service sustainability
at community level
• Basis: extensive data collection
– Quantitative: 4670 hh, 441 Watsan
committee and 1509 waterpoint – FLOW-
Excel-SPSS
– Qualitative: interviews/groups, specialised
research , analysis of technical aspects of
waterpoints
• Model construction, testing, refinement
• Handover, embedding, utilisation

6. Model development
• Welding disparate inputs into a
working tool
– criteria, indicators, weightings
• Form into questionnaire
• Automatic generation of
likelihood of sustainability for
each criteria, and in general
– Output is indication of strengths
and weaknesses that can be
addressed as needed

7. Testing and refinement
• Tool tested in the field
in two regions
• Found to “predict”
outcomes correctly
• Counter intuitive
situations reflected well
• Need for simplification,
avoidance of
duplication

8. Reflections
Strengths
• Tool provides the right
answers
• It can be used in predictive
or evaluation modes
• It pinpoints areas for
corrective action
• It is usable at:
– community level with District
support (certainly)
– District level with community
inputs (potentially)
Challenges
• How to utilise across vast
numbers of communities
• How to link into national
monitoring systems
• In some locations the field is
becoming cluttered – turf
issues
• Need for coalescing tools
where this brings user
benefits

9. Thank you!
The work described here was led by Destina Samani of WSA
Ghana, with Mathew Ocholi, Raphael Sufyan Sulemani, Aime
Metchebon and other agencies: it was supported by the Conrad
N Hilton Foundation.