TRIPLE-S RESEARCH ON SYSTEMIC CHANGE

Background, Purpose, Scope

Fort Portal,Uganda

May 2013

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THE PROBLEM

Source: M. Wegelin, Kenya

Source: Stef Smits, Mozambique

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UNDERLYING CAUSES

Source: Stef Smits, Uganda

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WHAT WE SEEK TO UNDERSTAND

Triple-S seeks understand and take concerted action to change the rural water services delivery system across these levels comprised of multiple-actors, multi-faceted problems and issues

We seek to understand whether our approach to this systemic change is effective & warranted

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WHAT WE SEEK TO UNDERSTAND

The ‘Approach’ entails:• outcomes based approach,• multi-disciplinary teams, • focus on communications and advocacy/ invocacy,• working with and through (existing) MSPs / LA’s, • To engender a learning and adaptive mind-set• Through undertaking experiments to help stakeholders jointly

examine and understand• multi-faceted problems hampering achievement of services

that last (for everyone)• Based upon the belief that facilitating an accelerated cycle of

learning and adaption will lead to more sustainable services as actors align and harmonise their efforts to maximum effect.

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What we already know & do

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BACKGROUND

• Learning on Triple-S takes place in two areas which we call Narratives.– One narrative tells the story

about sector change towards sustainability.

– The second narrative tells the story of the process to enable this change.

• These narratives are interdependent but require learning in different ways.

2: The Triple-S Narrative

The Approach

1: The Reliable Water Narrative

The Triple-S Principles Framework

Who

is Learning

How

Cycle ofLearning

For generating impact

PERFORMANCE

For enabling impact

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THE NARRATIVES

Narrative 1: Reliable Water Narrative 2: Triple-S Approach

The learning will test whether there is movement towards the Principles by means of changes in discourse, new ideas emerging, changing practices and policies

The learning will test whether the Triple-S methods apply the values that have been chosen to address complexity

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THE PRINCIPLES FRAMEWORK: A TOOL TO GUIDE CHANGE

TRIPLE-S PRINCIPLES FRAMEWORK

Levels of intervention

Water service provision

Intermediate

National International

Service Delivery Approach

Learning and adaptive capacity

Harmonisation and Alignment

Uganda

GhanaUganda

Uganda

International

International

Ghana

Other research / literature

SUMMARY / SYNTHESIS

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WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE, CONTINUED

September 2013Learning Exchange & Research Gathering in Uganda

Start of the re-planning kicked off and the following agreements made:

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THE WHOLE MODEL

We are working to strengthen & clarify this process now

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THE WHOLE MODEL

SDA

SDI

Change!

FLOW

HPMA

M4W

Doc Reform

FLOW

SDIHPMA

Original picture: Rachel Cardone 2011

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THE ‘SYSTEMIC CHANGE’ STUDY

Naming & buttressing this approach through application of theory and rigorously developed tools & methods of systems thinking

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FOCUS OF COUNTRY WORK STREAM STUDIES

Discrete element:the ‘off-stage’ work of facilitation of & engagement with multi-stakeholder platforms / Learning Alliances for uptake & embedding

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SCOPE OF THE SYSTEMIC CHANGE STUDY

Work with Delft Technical University & Stanford U Change Labs as centres of excellent on systems thinking, complexity sciences and systematic methods for studying complex systems such as energy, water, industry.

Ground this IRC Triple-S approach in the academic literature of complexity sciences.

Apply the theory and demonstrated tools for understanding the system in two cases :Ghana and Uganda

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SCOPE OF THE SYSTEMIC CHANGE STUDY

June 2013 – December 2013: buttress our approach in academic literature of complexity sciences / complex adaptive systems/ systemic change, etc

Aug 2013 – Nov 2014: • adapt and apply tools to model ‘socio-technical’

environment – based upon the Uganda and Ghana rural water services systems

• Conduct the joint learning to model generation through interactive & iterative learning process of developing (agent-based) models of the country ‘system’ for water services delivery

Outputs: Approach is grounded (even validated?); systematic and inclusive generation of representative models and learning process to identify domains for change within the system – tools to support our learning about this, publications that capture

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COLLABORATING WITH UWS & GWS

work jointly in person & at distance – the website, the newsletter, relationship management

Act as reviewers – how do we consolidate our wins? Are we putting it all on Everyone, Forever? What about RWSN? Advisory Committee?

Facilitate and support interactions – the experiments? synthesis across countries? final products?

Timing:June 2013 – 2014: regular distance interactions in the formative stages of model development; support in obtaining relevant data; interactions per country / yearJune 2014 – November 2014: on interaction per country / year

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