Project Monitoring and Follow-up

We are diligent in selecting, evaluating, and monitoring the ongoing work of our partner organizations. Applying a comprehensive program evaluation system is one of our central operating principles. During project construction, Water 1st in-country partners follow a set of project implementation principles that insures communities are able to successfully maintain their projects over the long run. Once projects are completed, Water 1st also thoroughly monitors projects, to make sure your investments continue to be lasting and sustainable.

Because of our intensive monitoring efforts, Water 1st can say with confidence that 100% of our projects are still in operation today.

Focus and Commitment

International donors tend to think that success is demonstrated by working in many countries. We feel just the opposite – success is demonstrated by focus and commitment and creating an environment of constant program improvement. This approach also allows our partner organizations to retain qualified and experienced staff and develop long-term master plans to saturate a region.

Rather than bounce from country to country and grant to grant, Water 1st provides consistent, annual funding to each of our in-country partner organizations in order to build the local capacity to address the water and sanitation crisis. Our long-term commitments to our partners and regions also make it possible for us to cost-effectively check up on past projects at the same time we are visiting the new ones.

Why project monitoring is important to our supporters

One tragic irony of the water crisis is the prevalence of project failures. Constructing basic water systems in developing countries may sound simple, but it is not. Project failures are generally caused by sociological factors, not technical ones, and due to inadequate follow-up, most organizations are not aware of the status of their own projects.

Every water and sanitation project is working on its first day of use, when the ribbon is cut and the photo of happy villagers is taken. The real test of a water and sanitation program is what happens next. If the hand pump starts to break down or the pipes start to leak, are community members adequately trained to make repairs? Are funds being collected from water users on a regular basis in order to buy spare parts? Our challenge is not just spending your donations efficiently, but also effectively.

Why project monitoring is important to our beneficiaries and in-country partners

While donors should be concerned that their funds are spent effectively, it our beneficiaries that suffer the greatest consequence if a project is not well-implemented: a return to the drudgery of carrying water from distant, contaminated sources.

Our partner organizations and our beneficiary communities appreciate our thorough assessment of their work. They are also committed to ending the water and sanitation crisis for the people living in their countries, so they are appreciative of constructive feedback intended to help them improve. And our feedback isn’t an unfunded mandate. Because we provide continuous support to our partners, they are encouraged to try new approaches or make small changes in their programs.

There’s also the human side. When the staff of our in-country partners have done exemplary work, they are proud of their accomplishments. Getting positive feedback from the donor is a great reward for them and a motivator to maintain high standards.

Creating an environment of constant program improvement

We call our in-country partners, our “partners” because we consider them our colleagues. These are professional organizations that we have selected for their abilities to work effectively with poor people to permanently solve the water and sanitation problems in their communities. Although we provide the funding for their work, we believe it’s important to conduct our evaluations with some amount of humility. We certainly do not believe the poverty is an engineering problem with technical solutions that only we can concoct. We have years of field experience, and we approach our partners and projects with open minds and the ability to discern what works and what doesn’t.

As part of our monitoring process, Water 1st staff makes periodic visits to our partners and the projects they have helped implement with Water 1st funding. We visit projects under construction, and also projects that have been operating for 1 or more years.

During these visits, we make physical inspections of water systems and toilets, and most importantly, we talk to the community members using these facilities. We talk with both individual households and also the water committees responsible for ongoing operation and maintenance of systems about various aspects of the project. For example, we ask how quickly is the system repaired when it’s not functioning properly; how much do users pay for water; and what happens when someone doesn’t pay? It means we are asking the same questions over and over with different people, but this repetition allows us to gain a full perspective of the project. It’s also important that the water committee is building up a savings, for future system upgrades, so we discuss water system revenue and expenses with the water committee and inspect their financial records.

Our field visits are the best time to engage with our in-country partners and share our reactions, and have open and honest conversations about how their work is going, the challenges they face, and what Water 1st can do to support their growth and development. If we both feel there’s an area that needs improvement, we discuss how to implement the change. Over the years, we develop a close and trusting relationship with our partners because they know our feedback is given in the spirit of wanting to provide the best projects for people in need of safe water and toilets.

A dynamic process

As we have grown as an organization, each of our processes have been worked and reworked to ensure they are the best they can be to achieve our goals. Each time we make a field visit, we evaluate our processes to guarantee that we are assessing the right indicators, asking the right questions, and utilizing the right criteria and expectations. This important process of self-critique greatly enhances the work that we do, allowing us to serve communities cost-effectively and efficiently with successful water and sanitation projects.