Sustainability Planning and Monitoring

THE MPA FRAMEWORK AND PROCESSThe MPA uses a basic definition of “demand” asthe “willingness to pay, based on informedchoice.”Inherent in this definition are equity concernsrelated to the questions “whose demand?” and“whose willingness to pay?” In the MPA, demandis understood as the aggregate demand of allsections of communities, i.e., both women andmen, both the poor and the wealthier, bothminority and majority groups. “Payment” includesall forms in which the users may contribute, i.e.,in cash, in kind, and with time and energy forobtaining, operating, maintaining, and managingservices.Also inherent in this definition is the understandingthat “choice” means a lot more than technologyor cost options. The MPA uses the term to meanwho participates in which choices, i.e., whichgroups within the communities and householdsmake which of the several key decisions, such as:●●●●●initiation of the projects;the type of technologies and service levels;the location of the facilities;the local management, maintenance, andfinancing systems; andthe candidates for training.The “capacity to pay“ gets verified through theprocess of facilitating informed choice - anessential requirement of the demand-responsiveapproach. It is not possible to assess “willingnessto pay” with any accuracy in the absence ofchoices and full information about choices beingoffered and discussed with potential consumers.Both willingness and capacity to pay can besurprisingly elastic, depending on what optionsare being offered, at what immediate and longertermcosts, and how clearly this information iscommunicated to and discussed with women andmen from wealthier, intermediate, and poorgroups, who are all potential consumers ofservices. Gender-sensitive methods play animportant role in assessing the overall demandfor services (see example in Java case study,Section 2 of this report).While assessing demand, it is also important toinvestigate and control for incentives in thepotential users’ environment which may distort theirwillingness or capacity to pay. For example, ifpeople believe that services might be provided freeof charge, they may have an incentive to say thatthey are too poor to pay. In such cases it may notbe possible to get an accurate assessment ofdemand until the initial stages of projectimplementation are under way. At this timepotential consumers can begin to see the real termsunder which the services are finally being provided.Demands and meeting demands are not staticissues. Continued maintenance and use ofservices and user payments depend on how wellthe improved facilities continue to match theexpectations and resources of the different groups.Users also continually compare how benefits relateto the costs of obtaining them.To understand “demand” in relation to sustainedservices, the MPA measures the satisfaction ofwomen and men (in wealthier and poorerhouseholds) with the improved facilities, theoperation and management of the facilities, andthe effects of the same on their lives (extent ofdemand met). It relates these levels of satisfactionto what each group has contributed toconstruction and now contributes in the postconstructionphase, not only in cash but also intime, labor, and any other form (perceived valuefor cost). The analysis of these processes is doneacross time and at community as well as agencylevels. This reveals how processes at different levelsand phases in the project cycle determine the finalresults of water supply and sanitation projects.25