Sustainability Planning and Monitoring

Application of MPA to large-scale programs, with atailoring of applications to project settings andneeds, and building in safeguards for MPA’sinteractive learning and empowering characteristics.The very first applications fielded were for projectevaluations. Now applications have also developedand are being used for project preparation, planningand monitoring. Additionally, applications havebeen developed for the facilitation of policyformulation/improvement and institutional changeprocesses.Expanding the application of the MPA analyticalframework to other sectors that work withcommunity-managed services, by developing sectorspecificindicators for sustainability and effectiveuse. Potential areas that have been identified orpartially explored to date include rural energy,watershed development and management, multisectorCDD type projects.Establishing quality assurance mechanisms for aglobal community of practice that is evolving. MPApractitioners need periodic opportunities to meet,take stock of their learning, subject newdevelopments to independent audits for validity,reliability and quality, and agree on some “coreuncompromisable quality and ethical principles”to guide their work. This is a vital requirement foran open-ended methodology that has highpotential for growth and institutionalization suchas the MPA. Unfortunately, funding for suchactivities is more difficult to access than for projectapplications.This resource guide consolidates the current knowledgeabout MPA in the form that it has now evolved,incorporating learning from all the above areas, sinceyear 1999.Section 1(Methodology for Participatory Assessments)consists of 6 chapters. The first chapter (The Challengeof Sustained Water Supply and Sanitation for All)establishes the rationale for new ways of measuringdevelopment effectiveness, since the global goals arenow defined with respect to sustainability, povertyalleviation, gender equity and empowerment.Chapter 2 (A New Tool for Planners and Managers ofLarge Community-Driven Development Programs)identifies who can use the MPA to accomplish what, andexplains what new advantages it adds for projectplanners and managers.Chapter 3 (The MPA Framework and Process) explainsthe analytical framework of the MPA, the variables andindicators to measure at each stakeholder’s level, andthe relationships among them.Chapter 4 (The MPA in Action) is a process guide forimplementing assessments with stakeholders at variouslevels.Chapter 5 (Organizing and Interpreting the Data)describes, with practical examples, a range of ways inwhich results of MPA assessments can be organized,presented and analyzed by participating communities,implementing agencies and policymakers.Chapter 6 (Participatory Tools Used in the MPA) containsbrief, illustrated descriptions of the participatory toolsused in MPA assessments at each level. This chapterhowever, is intended as explanatory and referencematerial, rather than a step-by-step guide. The lattercan be found in the MPA fieldbook, provided duringtraining.Section 2 (MPA Application Case Studies) is acompilation of seven case studies of MPA applicationsfor the purposes of: project planning, evaluation,monitoring and design; action research exploring linksbetween policies, project rules and community levelproject outcomes; and an illustration of the MPA’spotential as a catalyser of social change withincommunities.The Appendices include a sample of a policy assessmentexercise using MPA tools and contact information aboutinstitutions where MPA-trained facilitators and trainerscan be found in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.v