Creator: Sam Mendelson & Marcela Perez.
In 2021, the WASH Motion Group – co-led by e-MFP and Aqua for All – got down to tackle a structural drawback within the sector: whereas WASH finance was increasing, affect measurement was not conserving tempo. Throughout the ecosystem, monetary establishments, buyers, and enterprises have been being requested to report comparable outcomes utilizing totally different indicators, definitions, and codecs. This fragmentation made comparability tough, elevated reporting burden, and restricted the flexibility of buyers to interpret outcomes throughout portfolios. On the similar time, this constrained studying and weakened the case for scaling funding.
For the previous 5 years, the Motion Group has been making an attempt to handle a significant problem: the absence of a shared, sensible strategy to measuring the affect of WASH finance: to help higher WASH outcomes by making WASH finance extra credible, extra comparable, and simpler to scale. A harmonised indicator framework will not be an finish in itself, however a obligatory situation for attaining this. With out it, it turns into considerably tougher to handle efficiency, determine traits, allocate capital successfully, or construct confidence amongst decision-makers.
A phased strategy
So, what has occurred to this point? In 2023-24, an preliminary set of indicators was developed to seize the monetary, social, local weather, and service-level dimensions of WASH investments, adopted by a feasibility evaluation that examined how these indicators aligned with present practices throughout asset managers, monetary establishments, and SMEs. This earlier analysis highlighted persistent challenges, together with inconsistent reporting necessities, restricted information availability, and the operational problem of capturing extra complicated outcomes.
Constructing on these findings, Part III – which has simply wrapped up – targeted on pilot testing the framework with monetary service suppliers (FSPs) in real-world settings, and refining them iteratively based mostly on feasibility and usefulness. Working with taking part FSPs, indicators have been built-in into operational workflows and examined by a mixture of MIS-based reporting and focused survey instruments. The method was iterative: indicators have been assessed towards standards akin to readability, feasibility, ease of adoption, information availability, and analytical relevance, after which retained, refined, merged, or dropped accordingly.
This iterative strategy was important. Earlier phases had already proven that some indicators – notably these associated to well being outcomes or local weather – are inherently harder to measure, usually requiring major information assortment and extra sources. Others, notably these built-in into routine MIS assortment and reporting methods, are considerably simpler to seize.
The output of this analysis has been not solely the refined WASH affect indicator framework, but in addition an operational guide, offering clear definitions, information sources, and reporting steerage on all 11 indicators and 44 sub-indicators, and standardised information assortment instruments and templates.
The indicator framework and related instruments have been launched at a webinar on February eleventh, and now the WASH AG should flip consideration to the following essential goal – adoption and use of those indicators, and growth of a harmonised information assortment framework for WASH finance.
So what comes subsequent? From framework to real-world adoption
Attaining significant scale would require buy-in from buyers, asset managers, and different ecosystem actors who form reporting expectations and capital flows. If broadly adopted, a shared strategy to WASH affect measurement has the potential to cut back reporting fatigue for investees whereas bettering transparency and comparability for buyers. Extra importantly, it might assist shift the framework from a instrument utilized by a small variety of establishments to a standard language for the sector.
The subsequent part of labor will give attention to operationalising information assortment and reporting at scale. The Motion Group will convene an on-line roundtable on Might twentieth of WASH buyers and investees to show information submission processes and discover the worth proposition of standardising WASH affect information – notably by integration with the ATLAS information platform. This might be an opportunity not simply to show this course of utilizing actual however anonymised information collected throughout Part III, however an opportunity to listen to from these individuals about their ache factors, capability and priorities. We’re at the moment having discussions with related stakeholders prematurely of this assembly, to collect suggestions, tackle sensible issues, and form how this subsequent part is applied.
e-MFP and Aqua for All are pleased with what this AG has achieved thus far, and are trying ahead to taking this from framework to apply. If you want to debate the symptoms, the round-table, WASH finance usually, or for those who want to help this work (together with by way of funding the AG usually or any particular challenge specifically), please get in contact with the co-heads Sam ([email protected]) and Marcela ([email protected]).
Photograph credit score: Masudar Rahman by way of pexels
Concerning the Authors:
Sam Mendelson & Marcela Perez are the co-heads of the WASH Motion Group.