Supporting simple and effective rural water supply monitoring by local government in Malawi
Owen Scott · Loughborough University Institutional Repository (Loughborough University) · 2011
Regular monitoring of rural water supply infrastructure in developing countries is an essential part of providing efficient and equitable rural water service delivery, and accountable sector governance.In Malawi, WaterAid has been supporting GPS mapping of rural water supply since 2002however, to date, technical complexity and high implementation costs have prevented these monitoring processes from becoming institutionalized at the local government level (Welle,.In 2009 WaterAid Malawi and EWB Canada began a project to support local government with a new kind of monitoringone using simple software tools, a reduced set of indicators, and an increased reliance on existing government systems.The project began with a pilot in 3 districts, and has since expanded support to 11 of Malawi's 28 district councils.This paper describes in detail how the system works, shares initial implementation experience, and provides lessons for other practitioners. Design criteria and processThe monitoring system described in this paper was designed using a participatory and user-centered process.Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) staff members have been embedded directly in district offices throughout the on-going project, working with local government staff to iteratively develop and improve the monitoring approach.Two main criteria have provided a foundation for the entire design process: