ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM

ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM

Water, sanitation and hygiene

Water, sanitation and hygiene
Water, sanitation and hygiene
for populations at risk for populations at risk

Access to water and sanitation is one of the major challenges for the 21st century. According to WHO (2004),
1.1 billion people do not have access to safe water and 2.4 billion people do not have access to basic sani-
tation facilities. As a consequence around 4 million people, the majority of who are children, die every year
from water and sanitation related diseases.
Water is not only an important factor of public health, but also of general livelihoods and development: crop
production, livestock production, industry, commerce and daily life depend on access to water.
Water-supply and sanitation conditions therefore directly affect health and food security and are key com-
ponents in the fight against Hunger and Malnutrition.

ACTION CONTRE LA FAIM

For 25 years, in line with its vocation of fighting Hunger, the Action contre la Faim international network
has been implementing field programmes aimed at supporting populations in humanitarian situations, along
with research and technical development in order to optimise its interventions. This book is the result of this
experience and presents methods and techniques of intervention, not only to provide and ensure access to
water – groundwater prospecting, drilling, well digging, constructing spring catchments and gravity supply
systems, treatment and distribution of surface water and collection of rainwater – but also sanitary measures,
hygiene promotion, capacity building of communities and local partners, and much more.
This manual is the second edition of Alimentation en eau des populations menacées, by Éric Drouart and
Jean-Michel Vouillamoz, published in 1999; it has been deeply reviewed, revised, updated and extended,
under the coordination of Hubert Sémiond and Francesco González, with more than 60% of new information.
It focuses on efficient and concrete action, as well as on context and needs analysis. It is intended for those
concerned by programmes involving water supply, sanitation, hygiene promotion and local capacity building.

ISBN 2 7056 6499 8

50 €

HERMANN HERMANN
 I

Programme development
 CHAPTER 1

ACF intervention policy and strategy

1 Global water and sanitation problem 3 4.5 Definition of priorities 15

2 Crises and humanitarian contexts 4 5 Intervention principles 16
2.1 Typology of humanitarian contexts 4 5.1 A direct approach to populations 16
2.2 Humanitarian situations 5.2 A response that depends on analysis 17
and their evolution 6 5.3 Multidisciplinary analysis 17
2.3 Mechanisms of response 8 5.4 Involvement of affected communities 17
2.4 Technical intervention and advocacy 9 5.5 Understanding, respecting
3 Water and sanitation programmes 9 and integrating local factors 18
3.1 Programme objectives 9 5.6 Sustainable impact of activities 18
3.2 Intervention domains and activities 12 5.6.1 A response adapted to the capacities
4 Intervention criteria 13 and willingness of the communities 18
4.1 General considerations 13 5.6.2 Appropriate and tested techniques 19
4.1.1 The concept of vulnerability 13 5.6.3 Transfer of knowledge and handover 19
4.1.2 A broader analysis for humanitarian 5.7 Coordinating activities 19
interventions, concept of vitalism 14 5.8 Community strengthening 20
4.2 General criteria 14 5.9 Gender issues 20
4.3 Specific criteria 15 5.10 Capitalising on experience and analysis 20
4.4 Target population 15 5.11 Respect for the environment 20

1 Global water and sanitation problem

Access to water and sanitation is one of the major challenges for the 21st century. According
to WHO (2004), 1.1 billion people across the world do not have access to safe water and 2.4 billion
people do not have access to basic sanitation facilities (see Box 1.1). As a consequence every year
around 4 million people, the majority of who are children, die from water and sanitation related
diseases.
Water is not only important for public health, but also for general livelihoods: crop production
(70 to 80% of all water used is for crop production), livestock production, industry, commerce and
daily life depend on access to water. Water-supply conditions therefore affect health, hunger, poverty
and community development.
This disastrous access to water and sanitation is due partly to a lack of infrastructure but also
to poor management that creates waste, contamination and degradation of the environment. Water
shortages may lead to tensions between individuals, communities or countries, which can evolve into
conflicts. At the same time, the demand for water is increasing due to population growth, urbanisation
(rural exodus) and industrialisation. Urbanisation has also created extremely poor sanitary conditions.
Most of these problems can be solved through comprehensive management of water resources
and demand. Water is a finite resource that must be managed with a global vision that works at three
levels: international to define rules to protect water resources and to avoid international conflicts;
national to apply defined rules and to define national water-access policies; and local to develop local
initiatives to ensure communities’ water access. Box 1.2 introduces the main commitments of the
international community regarding this issue.

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 3

 Box 1.1

Limited access
Water & sanitation in the world (mainly from World Water Assessment, WHO & UNICEF, 2003).

– 1 100 million people do not have access to safe water (drinking water).
– 2 400 million people do not have access to basic sanitation facilities (half of the world’s population), the
majority of who are in rural areas (80%).
Consequences
– 80% of disease in developing countries is related to water.
– 4 million people, the majority of who are children, die each year (more than 10 000 each day) due to
diseases related to water, sanitation and hygiene.
Aggravating factors
– By the year 2025, water needs will be increased by 20% (mainly due to population growth, urbanisation
& industrialisation).
– The reduction of water resources due to waste, erosion, desertification (global warming), overexploita-
tion and contamination.
– The uneven distribution of water resources that leads to tensions between communities and countries for
its control.

Conflicts, natural disasters, discrimination and marginalisation, destructuration* of the state and
communities, and extreme poverty exacerbate sanitary problems and may lead to humanitarian crises.
The first objective of humanitarian assistance programmes is to protect and improve the lives
of the people in these critical situations. In principle, the first interventions of a water and sanitation
programme focus on coverage of the most basic and immediate needs, while at the same time seeking
to reinforce and stabilise the foundations for development in the community, in a way that will reduce
or eliminate the risks linked to these vulnerable situations. In addition, water programmes also try to
work to establish peace and equity: community mobilisation through water supply and sanitation pro-
jects can be a means of creating social cohesion and removing tension.

2 Crises and humanitarian contexts

2.1 Typology of humanitarian contexts
Millions of people in the world find themselves in situations of crisis (displaced populations,
marginalized populations, victims of conflict etc.), see Box 1.3. As a consequence, entire communi-
ties live in a state of extreme vulnerability and their survival is constantly threatened. Humanitarian
programmes are implemented in situations where human dignity is not respected and where basic
needs are not met.
Action Contre la Faim distinguishes five types of problem that may classically lead to huma-
nitarian situations and that warrant intervention:
Open conflicts
This refers to any conflict (civil war, armed conflict between countries etc.) which has a strong
impact on the way of life of populations and which jeopardizes their survival. The main consequences
of such conflicts are:
– physical insecurity and persecution;
– the disintegration of state structures and services (electricity, sanitary infrastructure, hospi-
tals etc.);
–––––––––––––––
* The word destructuration, applied to social organisations (States, communities, etc.), means the loss of struc-
ture and social cohesion and therefore results in changes infunction, relationships and capacities.

4 I. Programme development
 Box 1.2

Over the last thirty years the United Nations has been especially conscious of the significant role that water
International commitments regarding water and sanitation issues.

and sanitation play in human development and it has set out to define some general plans for development:
In the conference of Mar de Plata in 1977, the United Nations declared the eighties as the International Decade
of Water and Sanitation, with a clear objective: 100% world-wide coverage of safe water and sanitation.
In 1992, the Statute of Dublin defined 4 fundamental principles:
– Fresh water is a vulnerable and finite resource, which is essential for life, development and the environment.
– Development and management of water should have a participative focus, involving the users, and those
responsible at all levels, in the management plans and the politics of water.
– Women play a fundamental role in the provision, management and safekeeping of water.
– Water has an economic value in every aspect and has to be recognised as an economic good.
In the Forum of The Hague in 2000, an attempt was made to establish an international policy for water under
the name of World Vision of Water. This policy developed three sectors: water for people, water for food and
water for nature. The principal theme, which the document develops, is the integrated management of
resources. One of its most important premises is that communities decide their own level of access to safe
water and the hygienic conditions for healthy living, as well as the economic activities for which they use the
water, and that they organise themselves to accomplish them. The most controversial recommendation is that
a price must be placed on the total cost of water services (and it recommended doing so through the users).
In 2001, Koffi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, recognised that access to water is a funda-
mental human need, and as such, a basic human right. Water is necessary for human dignity.
The Kyoto Forum in 2003 focused on solutions and perspectives for the future, and the two main debates
were private versus public management, and the accomplishment of the Objectives of the Millennium,
which aim is to halve the number of people without access to safe water and sanitation by 2015.
Some NGOs have criticised the World Water Forums’ initiatives because of their technocracy, lack of trans-
parency, and scant acknowledgment of the understanding and experience of local people (though in Kyoto,
there was good participation from local organisations), and mainly because they support the World Bank
strategy on the privatisation of water, itself criticised for its very commercial vision, that gives little impor-
tance to development concerns and the situation of vulnerable communities.
The Sphere Project was launched in 1997, and reviewed in 2004, by a group of humanitarian NGOs and
the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, who framed a Humanitarian Charter and identified Minimum
Standards to be attained in disaster assistance. The Charter describes the core principles that govern huma-
nitarian action and reasserts the right of populations affected by disaster, whether natural or man-made
(including armed conflict), to protection and assistance. It also reasserts the right of disaster-affected popu-
lations to life with dignity.
The ‘Academie de l’eau” (a French NGO) also created the ‘Charte Sociale de l’eau’ (the ‘Social Charter
for Water’), in which they summarise tools and concrete actions arising from the diverse experience of com-
munity management of water.

– the sudden loss of means of subsistence/livelihoods (commercial exchanges, market access,

agricultural activities etc.);
– the weakening of internal mechanisms of regulation;
– the displacement of populations inside and/or outside of the country.
Natural disasters
This refers to the occurrence of any natural phenomenon which jeopardises the lives of popu-
lations. These phenomena can be sudden (e.g. earthquake or flood) or gradual (e.g. drought). Some
disasters are foreseeable (e.g. hurricanes), others are completely unpredictable (e.g. earthquakes).

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 5

 Box 1.3

– There are more than 12 million refugees in the world (ACNUR, 2002).
Global picture of affected people.

– There are more than 5 million internally displaced people in the world (ACNUR 2002).
– Approximately 608 million people were affected by disasters in the year 2002 (IFRC 2003).
– 842 million people (almost 800 million in developing countries), or 15% of the world’s population, are
undernourished, consuming less than 2 000 kilocalories per day (FAO 2003).

Consequences are:
– the sudden loss of means of subsistence/livelihoods (commercial exchanges, market access,
agricultural activities, sanitary infrastructure etc.);
– the weakening of internal mechanisms of regulation;
– the displacement of populations inside and/or outside of the country.
Post-crisis
This refers to the time period following a serious crisis, be it man-made or natural. The popu-
lations affected are no longer subject to the immediate threats of the crisis, but must now deal with
the resulting consequences and challenges: returning home after having been displaced, recovering
lost goods and means of production etc. The powers in place are often unable (or unwilling) to help
people recover their self-reliance, and must face their own problems of restructuring.
Destructuration
A country is in a state of destructuration when there is no officially recognized government, or
when the government does not meet its responsibilities towards the population. This can be due to a
lack of capacity (financial, structural, legitimacy issues etc.) within the state apparatus, or because of
specific political actors who are either too uninterested or too self-seeking to bring the state’s capa-
city to bear. At the same time, the international community doesn’t recognise the absence of a state
and act accordingly. As a consequence, people are left to themselves. When such is the case, violence
usually becomes widespread and social services (construction, maintenance, management of sanitary
infrastructure etc.) are at a minimum. In many cases state disintegration leads to community disinte-
gration that prevents people from coping with their traditional means.
Discrimination
This refers to a country where communities or sections of the population suffer from discri-
mination along social, cultural, ethnic, religious or racial lines. This discrimination can be the result
of policies (active or passive) implemented by a government (usually a strong state) but also by com-
munities or groups themselves. The consequences for people discriminated against can be many:
– physical and moral persecution (e.g. forced displacement);
– blockage of internal mechanisms of regulation;
– exclusion from all types of development policy.

2.2 Humanitarian situations and their evolution

Not all the situations described above lead to humanitarian crises, and the consequences of a
disaster or of a context favourable to crisis depend on the type and level of vulnerability of the affected
populations (see Figure 1.3). These conditions determine the severity and impact of each event. For
example, hurricanes of the same intensity will cause much greater loss and more damage in Central
America than in Florida, principally due to the weakness of preparedness policies and local capacities
in Central American countries. In another example, the year following the Iraqi war in 2003 did not lead

6 I. Programme development
Figure 1.1 Evolution of humanitarian situations.
A: continuum model. B: contiguum model.

to an acute humanitarian crisis as previously feared. The level of development and internal structure of
the country before the conflict allowed it to deal with the losses of the state and with local conflicts.
Analysis of the situation allows consideration of threats and vulnerabilities that may lead to a
crisis and therefore decision on, and design of, an intervention. Section 4 and Chapter 2 develop the
determination of criteria for intervention.
Crisis situations are usually complex and characterised by the interaction of various factors:
natural catastrophes and/or human conflicts are added to various socio-economic and structural pro-
blems. The resulting compounded effects are often of the greatest magnitude. A crisis can initially
arise from a sudden (quick-onset) occurrence (e.g. war, flooding) or via a slow and gradual (slow-
onset) process (e.g. economic disruption or drought). Following its original manifestation, a crisis can
then further evolve according to two possible models as explained below.
If a crisis consists of a single event, once that event is over and the more urgent needs are cove-
red, one can move on directly from an emergency phase to a recovery phase. In such a case, the aim
is to return to a state of normality similar to that prior to the crisis. This is called the continuum model
(Figure 1.1A), and it has traditionally been used in the humanitarian community to describe the linear
evolution of a crisis and response mechanisms corresponding to each phase: emergency, rehabilita-
tion and development once the situation has recovered. These phases are reflected in the strategies and
policies of many humanitarian organisations (donors and NGOs).
However, the reality is much more complex. Crises do not follow single evolutionary lines; the
causes and aggravating factors are diverse, and situations may follow a succession of emergency
phases and recovery phases, leading to cyclical crises. Populations must then face increasing levels of
insecurity and socio-economic hardship. On the other hand, the situation prior to the event is not
always a good model for recovery and it may be necessary to set other goals.

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 7

 In recognition of this complex reality, the contiguum model was later developed (Figure 1.1B).
This model incorporates the idea that in the same context, different levels in the response can coexist (the
population is not affected uniformly by the crisis), and it emphasises the idea that in the majority of cases,
the evolution of a situation is not linear (special attention needs to be paid to cyclical crises). This puts
the concept of an ‘emergency’ in a much wider framework that recognises importance of the lack of orga-
nisational capacity, and reinforces the approach of disaster preparedness and risk management.

2.3 Mechanisms of response

The mechanisms of response are various and the strategy of any intervention includes several
different kinds of response. Nevertheless, these responses can be classified as follows:
Emergency responses
The main objective is to guarantee the survival of people facing a crisis, meeting basic needs
(i.e. the most urgent). The response must be swift and effective, focusing on short-term vulnerability
reduction. Typically, following an emergency response, the general situation will still be fragile, and
a strong dependency on outside help will exist. Emergency responses are mainly appropriate in cases
of open conflicts and natural disasters.
Capacity-building and rehabilitation responses
The main objective is to help provide or restore people’s livelihood and reduce dependence on
external aid. Such interventions focus on the rehabilitation of social structures as well as the rehabi-
litation of infrastructure. In many cases, simply repairing material and social damage is not sufficient,
as conditions prior to the disaster were not adequate. The response mechanisms need to be adapted to
more self-reliant models and focus their objectives on the improvement of basic living conditions and
the reduction of the major vulnerabilities faced in the medium term. This is achieved by providing a
complete coverage of needs via self-reliant systems and so implies the participation and the empo-
werment of local structures and communities, as well as national institutions, in order to guarantee
sustainability. They are appropriate where the situation is still fragile but where there is not as great a
threat to life as in post-crisis, destructuration or discrimination situations.
Long-term interventions
These focus on structural problems, and the principal objective is the reinforcement of the
existing local capacity, with the goal of improving the living conditions of the communities in a sus-
tainable way, and respect for their rights. The participation of the communities concerned, in the defi-
nition and implementation of programmes, is central to this approach. These programmes focus on
the reduction of vulnerability in the long term. External support is kept to a minimum, and imple-
mentation is mainly done through local partners. These responses are appropriate in cases of post-cri-
sis, destructuration and discrimination.
Disaster-preparedness and risk-management programmes
These seek to reduce the impact of disasters through reducing communities’ vulnerabilities and
reinforcing their capacity for response. It includes:
– Prevention: measures and actions to avoid or remove risk (e.g. soil conservation, dam
construction and earthquake-proof constructions).
– Mitigation: measures and actions to reduce or decrease risk; increasing the capacities of
communities and decreasing their vulnerabilities (e.g.: institutional capacity-building, disaster
education and awareness raising, legislation and planning etc.).
– Preparedness: measures for planning, organising and facilitating warning systems, search
and rescue, emergency response and rehabilitation in case of disaster; strengthening the capa-
city of local actors to respond to disasters (e.g. community contingency plans).

8 I. Programme development
 Disaster preparedness is appropriate when vulnerability is high and a strong likelihood of
disaster exists. It can form part of emergency, rehabilitation and development interventions, but has a
long term approach.
Threat + vulnerability
Risk = –––––––––––––––––––––
Response capacity
Note. – In principal, the affected population should always be closely involved in the assistance acti-
vities. However, even in some long-term projects, direct implementation with little or no involvement
of the affected population may be required for technical or contextual reasons.

2.4 Technical intervention and advocacy

Hunger, and humanitarian crises, may have a variety of causes: political, economic and natu-
ral, as presented in Section 2.1. Most of the humanitarian crises of the late 20th and early 21st centu-
ries have had a political component resulting from a failure within the political system, just as they
may have stemmed from a lack of concern by key actors, or by a blatant disregard for human rights.
As a consequence, effective humanitarian response often implies intervening both through
technical interventions in the field (including infrastructure building, education and community
strengthening, and institutional support such as involvement in national water policy development, as
Action Contre la Faim did in East Timor etc.), to meet needs created by the crises (see Section 3.2),
but also through advocacy in order to fight against the political causes of the humanitarian situation.
Advocacy aims to act on the underlying causes (often political and economic) of a crisis by bea-
ring witness and highlighting a state of affairs that is unacceptable in humanitarian terms, with the objec-
tive of creating a level of public awareness and reaction that leads to pressure on policy makers to improve
the situation. Examples of activities carried out include the collection of information (identification under-
lying political and economical causes), awareness campaigns, victim-protection programmes, institutional
lobbying, and defence of human rights, including access to water (see Section 3.2).

3 Water and sanitation programmes

Action contre la Faim’s main objective is to fight hunger and assist populations faced with life-
threatening situations.
Water is essential for life and is very often a priority for threatened communities; in addition, water
and sanitation factors are part of the underlying causes of malnutrition as presented in the Figure 1.2.

3.1 Programme objectives

The global objective of water and sanitation programmes is to guarantee access to water and
sanitation that is essential to survival and socio-economic development. In many programmes the
main concerns are sanitary risks and in these cases the objective is specifically focused on the reduc-
tion of diseases related to water and poor sanitary conditions.
This global objective can involve three aspects:
1) Covering the minimum requirements necessary for life
When a serious threat to human life exists it is necessary to meet the minimum needs for sur-
vival, i.e. a minimum access to water and vital sanitation structures.
In each situation it is necessary to carry out a specific analysis to decide which minimum stan-
dards and reference indicators will be used. The Sphere project established a set of key indicators as
a guideline, serving as reference in emergency situation (see Box 1.4 and Chapter 2). Action Contre
la Faim was involved in writing the first two versions of the Sphere handbook.

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 9

 MORTALITY

MALNUTRITION

IMMEDIATE CAUSES

IMPAIRED GROWTH
& DEVELOPMENT
INADEQUATE
DISEASE
FOOD INTAKE

UNDERLYING CAUSES

SOCIAL AND CARE DEVELOPMENT

HOUSEHOLD FOOD
PUBLIC HEALTH
SECURITY

WATER, SANITATION WATER, SANITATION WATER, SANITATION

& HYGIENE FACTORS & HYGIENE FACTORS & HYGIENE FACTORS

Cost of water Time spend by women doing Hygiene practices

water-related chores, to the
Time spent doing water-related Sanitary conditions leading
detriment of child-care,
chores rather than productive to disease development
breast-feeding or engaging
activities and transmission
in various social activities
Work-force affected by water- Quantity of available water for
Time spent by children doing
related diseases drinking, cooking, hygiene
water-related chores, to the
and domestic uses
Water for agricultural production detriment of school attendance
Water quality
Water for livestock Insecurity linked to lack of
(risk of contracting disease)
production/upkeep access to sanitary infrastructure
N.B. – The time spent on water-
Financial cost of treatment
related chores decreases the
of water-related diseases
time allocated to hygiene
activities (domestic and
environmental)

BASIC CAUSES

LOCAL PRIORITIES
FORMAL & INFORMAL ORGANISATIONS & INSTITUTIONS
HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT

Figure 1.2: Integrated Framework showing the contribution of water and sanitation factors
to the underlying causes of mortality and malnutrition (adapted from UNICEF, 1990).

10 I. Programme development
 Box 1.4

The Sphere project is a global and interactive definition of standards designed for use in disaster response,
The Sphere project.

and may also be useful in disaster preparedness and humanitarian advocacy. It is applicable in a range of
situations where relief is required, including natural disasters as well as armed conflict.
It is designed to be used in both slow- and rapid-onset situations, in both rural and urban environments, in
developing and developed countries, anywhere in the world. The emphasis throughout is on meeting the
urgent survival needs of people affected by disaster, while asserting their basic human right to life with
dignity.
Sphere handbooks includes specific points to consider when applying the standards and indicators in diffe-
rent situations, guidance on tackling practical difficulties, and advice on priority issues. They may also
include critical issues relating to the standard or indicators, and describe dilemmas, controversies or gaps
in current knowledge. See Chapter 2, Section 1.2 for more details.

2) Reducing the risk of the spread of water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases
In developing countries, 80% of disease is related to water and approximately 2 billion people
die each year because of diarrhoeal water and sanitation-related diseases (WHO 2003). For Action
Contre la Faim, water has to be considered in a broad public health sense, to include general sanitary
conditions and hygiene practices, mainly responsible for water contamination (faecal contamination)
and pathogen development (e.g. malaria), see Figure 1.2.
The main water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases are presented in Chapter 2, Section 2.2.
Action Contre la Faim’s water programmes normally integrate water supply, sanitation, local
capacity building, and hygiene and environmental promotion.
3) Guaranteeing access to water as a necessary resource for food security
and socio-economic development
The means of survival and development for many communities are tightly linked to the avai-
lability of water resources (see Figure 1.2, impacts on household food security).
This dependence on water is particularly true for many rural communities who rely on agri-
culture and livestock production. For those communities these production activities depend mainly on
suitable access to water through irrigation systems or livestock water points. In arid and semi-arid
land (ASAL) regions, where livelihoods are chronically affected by droughts that cause disruption of
the economic system, the construction of appropriate water systems and the training of communities
in water-resource management can significantly decrease the vulnerability of rural populations to
water shortages.
Lack of access to water also has a strong impact on the household economy, as the cost of
water is an important part of many families’ budgets (particularly in urban and peri-urban areas). For
example, in Haiti, after the floods of December 2003 that destroyed the water-supply network of Port
de Paix, and the lack of capacity of the government, that had just fallen, to carry out its rehabilitation,
the price of water multiplied by five and became a large part of the daily family budget. The econo-
mic impact of lack of access to water can be also directly linked to the water-related chores that
consume time and energy (mainly for women and children), instead of productive or educational acti-
vities. The problem is particularly acute in the remote areas of ASAL regions where Action Contre la
Faim often observes several hours dedicated daily to water collection during the dry season, or in
urban areas where queuing can consume a lot of time.
Water-related diseases also affect food security as well as economic development; sick people
represent a loss of working capacity, and the cost in terms of drugs and treatment (even traditional)
has an impact on the family budget.

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 11

 Improving access to water means that families have easy access to infrastructure that supplies
water in sufficient quantities. The focus is on local capacity building in order to guarantee the sustai-
nability of this access.
Note. – Water and sanitation projects usually have a positive impact on the social and care
environment, see Figure 1.2.

3.2 Intervention domains and activities

Activities can be grouped into different intervention domains as presented in Tables 1.I and 1.II.

Table 1.I: Intervention domains and activities.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Domains Activities Domains Activities

Context analysis • Socio-economic studies Solid waste • Solid-waste awareness

and studies related to water management • Refuse pits
• KAP surveys • Refuse collection
• Evaluation of existing and • Recycling
potential water resources • Medical-waste management
• Search for new water
resources Vector control • Risk analysis
• Vector-related hygiene
Water supply • Construction / rehabilitation awareness
of water points: • Mosquito-net distribution
– open wells, boreholes • Insecticides, rodenticides
– springs and disinfection
– river / lake catchment • Fly traps
– rainwater catchment and ponds
• Conservation of water sources Hygiene promotion • Construction / rehabilitation
• Reforestation of hygiene structures:
• Systems for agriculture – showers
and livestock – laundry areas
• Installation – hand-washing facilities
of water-extraction systems: • Hygiene kits distribution
– manual (e.g. rope and bucket) • Hygiene education
– gravity • Transmission routes
– handpumps, motorised pumps for diseases and measures
– solar systems to avoid them
– wind powered systems • Basic hygiene habits:
• Water-quality analysis – use of water
and monitoring – proper use of latrines
• Water treatment – hygiene and food
• Distribution and storage
Knowledge transfer • Strengthening of local
Excreta disposal • Promotion of excreta disposal and training structures and training
• Construction / rehabilitation • Water and sanitation
of latrines committees set-up
• Composting • Data collection and transfer
• Sewerage systems of information
• Sewage treatment • Water policy development

Run-off and • Drainage systems Risk management • Prevention

wastewater disposal • Protection of banks • Mitigation
• Wastewater drainage • Preparedness
and treatment

12 I. Programme development
Table 1.II: Activities linked to advocacy.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Advocacy in water and sanitation programmes can be developed at three distinct levels:

At the individual level

Information on rights*
Promotion of community mobilisation in order to help people claim their rights*

At local and national levels

Informing relevant people of the problems
Informing relevant people of rights*
Sensitisation regarding the situation and the possible solutions

At the international level, and in developed countries

Diffusing information regarding crisis
Presenting viable solutions to crisis in order to show that solutions exist

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Actively involving the international community and political stakeholders; heightening their sense of responsibility

* Claiming the right of access to water and basic sanitation is directly linked to defending the right to life. Meeting
this right requires providing infrastructure and systems that allow the communities to live a dignified life, but also

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
requires denouncing situations that prevent communities or people from enjoying this right.

4 Intervention criteria
4.1 General considerations

Vulnerability concerns the fragility of a group / person in an adverse context. The key elements
4.1.1 THE CONCEPT OF VULNERABILITY

that define the degree of vulnerability are the exposure to risks and the capacity to cope with these
risks.
Globally, the level of vulnerability of a household/individual is determined by the risk of fai-
lure of the coping and reaction strategies when faced by a crisis. Vulnerability of a household can thus
be defined as an imbalance between the resources required and those available, and an insufficiency
of ‘capital’ assets to respond to a situation. It refers to the entire range of factors that place people
in danger, the degree of vulnerability for an individual, a household, or a group of people being
determined by their exposure to risk factors and by their ability to confront crisis situations and to
survive them.
For a given household, population or region, this means the combination of:
– the exposure to different hazards or events placing the population at risk;
– and the potential capacities / coping mechanisms which could be applied to face that risk,
anticipate it, resist it, and recover.
The crises/events to which populations are exposed are the circumstances and the conditions
over which they have no direct control and which present a risk to their normal functioning. They
could be climatic or environmental disasters (earthquakes, floods, droughts etc.), poverty (leading to
risky life conditions: precarious housing, poor diet, unsanitary conditions, limited access to education
etc.), or social or political conflict (war, moral prejudice, racism, ethnic tension, dictatorship etc.).
Like capacities, vulnerabilities can be distinguished according to their physical, social, mental, or spi-
ritual characteristics.
Vulnerability often also involves the degradation of the social and/or natural environment: fre-
quently, vulnerable homes can no longer manage a balance between basic needs over the short term
(survival) and their means of existence (livelihood) over the long term.

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 13

 During the 1990s, there was criticism of humanitarian agencies for providing assistance
4.1.2 A BROADER ANALYSIS FOR HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS, CONCEPT OF VITALISM

without taking into consideration the social or political character of conflict-affected populations, the-
reby reducing human beings only to the vital physiological functions they share with other animals.
Focusing on this principle of life as such, humanitarian actors were criticised for giving in to vitalism.
In concrete terms, the suggestion was that humanitarian assistance should have been designed diffe-
rently and should have been accompanied by a psycho-social approach to people affected by conflicts,
focusing on dignity and human rights (e.g. right to justice).
Applying the same critique may be made of programmes with a ‘technical’ focus. Humanita-
rian interventions should not be designed only according to physiological criteria, without taking into
consideration the social environment and balance of the group concerned. For example, most water-
supply and sanitation projects are justified by bad public health indicators, and promote access to sani-
tary facilities as well as changes in hygiene practices. In the case of pastoral populations, most of the
reasons for their bad sanitary environment are constraints inherent to the way of life of such a popu-
lation, a way of life that usually results itself from adaptation to an arid environment. Any change in
such a fragile equilibrium should be carefully introduced, analysing in depth the risks of social disin-
tegration that changes could create, and responses must be closely adapted to those factors. In extreme
cases, when negative impacts are too high in relation to the acuteness of needs, the benefit of inter-
vention itself should be questioned.

4.2 General criteria

The main objective of humanitarian aid is to guarantee minimum conditions for the survival of
populations faced with a crisis (mortality rate is therefore a key criterion for intervention, see Chapter 2).
Generally speaking, interventions are launched when:
– the survival of populations is threatened;
– local structures are unable to respond to needs and require emergency assistance;
– the crises are recurrent and are leading to a disintegration of the affected communities;
– the general state of under-development prevents populations from reaching minimum stan-
dards of living and human dignity;
– communities petition for assistance.
Figure 1.3 shows a theoretical example of how living conditions are affected by a crisis. The
evolution depends on the initial vulnerability level of the different groups in the affected population
(represented by the different lines), on the deployment of effective coping strategies and on the extent
of outside assistance.

Figure 1.3: Crisis and living conditions.

14 I. Programme development
4.3 Specific criteria
The main situations that justify the application of Action Contre la Faim ‘water and sanitation’
programmes are when:
– populations do not have (or no longer have) access to sufficient quantities of water to meet
their drinking, domestic, agricultural and livestock needs;
– the distance from water points is limiting the scocio-economic development of the community;
– the quality and quantity of water is such that it heightens the risks of epidemics and water-
related diseases;
– the environmental sanitation conditions represents a health hazard (contaminated or unheal-
thy places favourable to the transmission of diseases such as malaria or scrub typhus that are
linked to vectors, or diarrhoeal diseases, such as cholera).
Standards, benchmarks and guidelines (see Chapter 2 and Annex 2) permit a quick assessment
of a situation in comparison to an established frame of reference; they must however be interpreted
according to each specific context (see Box 1.4 and Chapter 2).
The end or the hand-over of a programme will depend on: achieving satisfactory coverage
meeting the needs, achieving (or returning to) a state of self-reliance (at the level of the community
or the local authorities), the presence of other actors, and the success or failure (blockage) of the
programme.

4.4 Target population

Humanitarian organisations focus their work in areas where the needs are greatest, and where
they find the most vulnerable populations. The decision of where to direct aid is made without consi-
deration of race, religion or belief (see Action Contre la Faim Charter in ACF presentation). Target
populations are:
– displaced or refugee communities*;
– communities having lost their livelihoods due to crisis (open conflict, natural disaster etc.);
– ethnic or religious minorities that are victims of the discriminatory behaviour of govern-
ments, other communities or groups;
– isolated communities, located in inaccessible rural areas, excluded from development efforts;
– communities unable to maintain minimum standards of living and dignity (e.g. in peri-urban
areas).
Within these target populations, specific attention will be paid to the most vulnerable groups,
normally: women, children, the elderly, people with handicaps, sick people (e.g. HIV/AIDS-affected
people), and marginalized and poor groups.

4.5 Definition of priorities

The needs assessment (health status, sanitary survey, vulnerability and food-security study,
infrastructure and resources inspection, hygiene knowledge and practices etc.) done prior to starting
action, should give a global picture of the situation.
The analysis of the fulfilment of vital needs is systematic and can, for example, be expressed
in number of litres of drinking water per person per day and, in the case of a pastoral affected popu-
lation, in number of litres per animal per day (see Chapter 2).

–––––––––––––––
* In the case of displaced populations, as they usually mix with the resident populations, the actions carried out
must be targeted not only at the displaced people: the residents’ needs must also be assessed and taken into
account in order to favour the integration of both communities and to avoid possible conflicts.

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 15

 Human, financial and technical resources being limited, certain priorities must be set out to
ensure minimum fulfilment of basic needs and a maximum impact of action taken:
– Vulnerable people and groups (see Section 4.4) must be attended to as a priority.
– It is better to cover the entire population to basic standards than to cover a limited popula-
tion to high standards (both for public health or food-security issues).
– Water quantity takes priority: it is preferable to have an average quantity of average quality water
than to have a small quantity of high quality water (without enough quantity of water, personal and
domestic hygiene are compromised, as well as parallel activities such as gardening etc.).
– Breaking the faecal-contamination chain is a priority (e.g. managing human excreta in a
camp) when sanitary risks exist.
– The coverage of needs must be guaranteed in key places: health centres and feeding centres,
schools and public places.
– All other things being equal, communities displaying motivation and willingness should take
precedence.
– All other things being equal, one should intervene where local water resources permit an
immediate response.

5 Intervention principles
The contexts and modalities of water and sanitation interventions are many. Nonetheless, a
certain number of principles must be respected during the project-management cycle.
These principles are designed to create a sense of responsibility in the aid worker (but also in
all the actors involved in crisis management), who must be accountable to the affected population for
their actions. The respect of these principles throughout the whole project cycle should guarantee the
relevance, quality, effectiveness and sustainability of the intervention.

5.1 A direct approach to populations

Ensuring that interventions reach the target population in an appropriate way is part of the
Action Contre la Faim Charter. This is essential, as it provides a measure of the success of the pro-
gramme and enables an understanding of any obstacles from local, national or international groups or
institutions.
In order to ensure a fair and effective intervention, a direct collaboration with the populations
concerned is essential and allows programme staff to do the following:
– analyse contexts and define interventions while listening to the affected populations;
– find the best way of fitting the programme within the existing social dynamics and building
partnerships;
– monitor the impact of the programme and avoid the obstacles that might divert the pro-
gramme from its course.
Although the role of Action Contre la Faim is to work with and for a population, it is impor-
tant to consider the local institutional capacity and its role in the medium and long term. Therefore,
the implementation of programmes may take place with local organisations and state services; the
involvement of these partners depends on their aims (political, religious etc.) and their working capa-
city. If these partners hinder reaching the objectives of the programme, it will then be advisable to
develop an independent way of working in order to fulfil identified needs.
Note. – During the last decade, new contexts of intervention obliged humanitarian agencies to
develop remote-management of interventions. This method of intervention is used in contexts where,
for security reasons, permanent access to the field is not possible. Consequently, strict monitoring pro-
cedures must be implemented in order to guarantee impacts.

16 I. Programme development
5.2 A response that depends on analysis
In order to understand and clearly define the nature of needs and their causes, and to define the
most appropriate response to a given situation, analysis must be done, to understand the different
determining factors.
This analysis, carried out both before and during the intervention, must take into account:
The context
– The factors relating to the crisis (political, natural etc.).
– The situation prior to the crisis (conditions, resources, vulnerabilities, assets etc.).
– The current situation and the available capacities and coping mechanisms within the affec-
ted population.
– The context’s possible evolutions.
The population
– Local specificities and socio-economic, cultural and religious constraints.
– The nature of the population’s needs and expectations.
The environment
– The type of water resources available.
– The climate.

5.3 Multidisciplinary analysis

In order to reduce mortality and to fight effectively against malnutrition, it is essential to take
into consideration all their potential determinants (see Figure 1.2). The analysis of the context and the
identification phase (in particular, meetings with the population concerned) must involve multidisci-
plinary teams (for example, water and health and/or food security).
Action Contre la Faim takes an integrated approach to its interventions when appropriate. This
integrated approach includes both curative and preventive interventions within the nutrition, food secu-
rity, water and sanitation and health (primary care, mental health etc.) sectors. Examples of integrated
approaches include water, sanitation and hygiene-promotion activities complementing primary-health
projects, or irrigation and water supply for livestock being integral parts of food-security programmes.
An integrated approach does not signify that one organisation must develop a package of seve-
ral kinds of activity, but that the actions identified as appropriate (from and around the needs of the
population concerned) must be co-ordinated throughout all phases of the project. These actions can
also be implemented by different actors.

5.4 Involvement of affected communities

The participation of the affected communities in the different phases of the programme is fun-
damental (identification of needs, implementation, monitoring and evaluation), since it guarantees the
relevance and sustainability of actions in relation to needs.
Programmes must aim to have the maximum involvement of the communities concerned.
Depending on the intervention context, the type of programme, the phase of the project and the com-
munity, the level of involvement varies from simple consultation to proactive participation in the pro-
ject. A displaced community is usually in a precarious situation, having more or less lost everything,
and sometimes it is difficult (or not relevant during the implementation phase) to convince people to
participate actively in a project. On the other hand, a stable population should be more easily mobili-
sed to involve itself in the project and its involvement could be a condition for external intervention.
Concerning the implementation phase, community participation can be done through direct
contributions (money or material) to infrastructure construction or, more commonly, through physical

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 17

work. This reinforces the appropriation of the infrastructure by the community and therefore improves
its management.

5.5 Understanding, respecting and integrating local factors

Many communities have a detailed knowledge of the potential of their physical environment
to provide resources for production activities or for preventive and curative medicine (and of its
potential to cause diseases). In general there is an understanding of the environment, not only in a phy-
sical sense but also in the sense of its relationship with social and spiritual factors. This holistic vision
of the environment is embedded in many cultural beliefs and habits that affect the use of water and
behaviour concerning sanitation (see example in Box 1.5).
The project has to determine how the community’s beliefs, knowledge and management of the
environment can be dealt with in a positive manner. The most important thing to keep in mind is res-
pect. Instead of showing that a taboo or a belief is absurd because it is so in their own culture, staff
should work on understandable and appropriate messages that show the causes of a problem and
should seek an effective solution with the community. In cases where it proves more convenient to
change a certain habit, respect should guide the way the necessary information and encouragement
are provided to the community to raise awareness about the benefits of this change.

5.6 Sustainable impact of activities

Achieving a sustainable system is an issue that must be considered from the outset of the pro-
gramme’s definition.
During the first steps of an emergency the initial response must be quick and effective, and
self-reliance is not necessarily an objective. However, once basic needs are met, the evolution of the
response must be planned with long-term sustainability in mind. In order to achieve this, the factors
that must be taken into account are:
– appropriateness of technology for the context and the population;
– quality of design and construction of installations;
– involvement of communities and local structures;
– capacity building and training (management, maintenance etc.).
To meet such conditions, care must be taken to understand and respect socio-cultural and eco-
nomic factors, to use appropriate technology and to achieve a good transfer of skills.

5.6.1 A RESPONSE ADAPTED TO THE CAPACITIES AND WILLINGNESS

Taking into account the socio-cultural and economic characteristics of the community is a
OF THE COMMUNITIES

necessary condition for achieving a successful and effective project.

Box 1.5
Perceptions of clean and dirty.
The concepts of clean and dirty, and of pure and contaminated, are well developed in many religions and
cultures. Besides the reference to a physical state, these concepts are spiritually important and have a cen-
tral place in religious ceremonies. Consequently there is a need to be attentive when trying to pass mes-
sages. “Clean” can have very different meanings for the project promoters and for the community. It is cru-
cial to examine the traditional understanding of cleanness and dirtiness, purity and contamination before
starting to mobilise the community to participate in a sanitation project.

18 I. Programme development
 Indeed, technical decisions must be made according to criteria that are not only technical, but
also social and cultural, and so the responses chosen must be appropriate to the way of life of the com-
munities concerned.
In order to define a project, it is therefore necessary to:
– evaluate both the willingness and the management capacity of local communities; – respect
local religions, beliefs and taboos (in relation to water, sanitation etc.) and adapt technical
interventions accordingly;
– evaluate the human, technical, logistical and economic resources required and available for
the maintenance of the installations;
– respect the social hierarchy and anticipate potential conflicts that could arise from the
construction of water points (what is the purpose of the water point and who is meant to use it?).

The use of technologies that are appropriate to the communities’ socio-cultural and economic
5.6.2 APPROPRIATE AND TESTED TECHNIQUES

constraints (see Section 5.6.1), as well as the natural environment, is a pre-condition for the success
of any project.
The use of techniques of proven effectiveness is the safest way to ensure that the response is
both appropriate and sustainable.
However, there are instances when a perfectly appropriate solution is not available. In such
cases, the project must be inventive and look actively into solutions designed for other contexts. This
requires:
– a precise analysis of the needs and resources;
– a study of the solutions already deployed at the local level, as well as an evaluation of the
necessary modifications;
– promotion, at the regional level, of techniques designed by both the local communities and
other local stakeholders (South-South exchange).

From the onset its implementation, the project must allow for a gradual withdrawal of aid, with
5.6.3 TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE AND HANDOVER

total withdrawal as the final objective. From the beginning it is important to clarify the different roles
of the communities, the traditional authorities and political actors. Specific attention should be given
to ownership, accessibility and management. Eventually the project will have to include an official
handover of activities and infrastructure to a recognised and legitimate group.
Technical training and maintenance groups are an essential aspect which must go together with
the implementation of the project. There is a distinction between training aimed at making operation
and maintenance teams self-reliant from a technical point of view, and training of users. Training is
carried out on-site, day-by-day, but training sessions are also planned, bringing together technicians
and user-committee members (treasurers, plumbers etc.) in order to accumulate experience, publicise
local successes, and allow all partners to benefit.

5.7 Coordinating activities

Coordinating the different stakeholders is crucial in order to maximise the value of the avai-
lable resources, and must be maintained throughout the various phases of the project cycle, from defi-
nition to evaluation.
This coordination must include all concerned stakeholders: the communities concerned, local,
traditional and administrative authorities, other organisations present (NGOs, United Nations, private
sector etc.).

1. ACF intervention policy and strategy 19

5.8 Community strengthening
Crises often lead to a breakdown of communities. Humanitarian aid must therefore seek to
reinforce social organisation and cohesion through a communal approach to water management.
Community mobilisation and participation during the project, as well as water-point commit-
tees, is a way of achieving this objective. It must be handled in a way that is both participative and
democratic, thus allowing for the promotion of these values.

5.9 Gender issues

During the project-definition phase, it is important to understand the role and status (specific
vulnerability) of women within the community, as well as the part they will come to play within the
project itself.
Where possible, women should be employed for the hygiene-promotion, sanitation, and water-
management components of a project. As women are almost always responsible for children’s edu-
cation and housekeeping, their inclusion is a necessary element of the project.
Beyond this ‘technical’ aspect, favouring the active participation of women in project activities
and in the building of committees has the added value of strengthening their role in the community.

5.10 Capitalising on experience and analysis

Implementing a project allows the gathering of a considerable amount of information, be it on
the general context or on the methodologies and technologies employed. All this information is of
great value to the communities, the local stakeholders and the various actors who may wish to ope-
rate in the area.
Consequently, the collection, analysis and sharing of information is invariably an objective of
any programme. This involves:
– the systematic collection of trustworthy data;
– the use of databases to facilitate information management and analysis;
– the use of geographic information systems (GIS) for a clear and attractive analysis;
– capitalising on the working methodologies through notes and manuals;
– the sharing and promotion of the body of information gathered.

5.11 Respect for the environment

Projects always have a potential impact on the natural environment. Therefore, during each
intervention, the environmental risks must be assessed and the impact should be minimised.
In every case, it is important to sensitise the affected community and other local stakeholders
about the proper management of their water resources and the environmental risk factors.
It is particularly important to avoid the over-exploitation of aquifers: during the implementa-
tion of drilling or well-digging programmes, the available resources must be systematically assessed
(through geophysical studies, pumping tests etc.). This helps determine the number of water points
and appropriately size the pumping systems chosen. Gathering meteorological information is also
essential. If there is a risk of exhausting underground water resources, alternative resources must be
considered.
The creation of refugee or displaced people’s camps generates a risk of deforestation, of ove-
rexploitation and of contamination of resources (e.g. by refuse and faeces), and constant vigilance is
required regarding these risks. Also, during the implementation of water-treatment projects, the dis-
posal of sedimentation residues must be carried out far from water courses and surface-water bodies.

20 I. Programme development
 CHAPTER 2

Project management

1 Management of water 3.1.3 Strategy analysis 43

and sanitation programmes 21 3.2 Planning phase 45
1.1 Project-cycle management 22 3.2.1 Logical framework matrix 45
1.2 Guidelines and standards 24 3.2.1.1 Parts of the matrix 46
2 Needs assessment and project 3.2.1.2 Construction of the logical
identification 25 framework matrix 49
2.1 Objectives of needs assessment 25 3.2.1.3 Checking the logic
2.2 Water and sanitation-related diseases 27 of intervention 49
2.3 Assessment components 29 3.2.2 Activity (work-plan) and resource
2.4 Resources and means to do scheduling 49
an assessment 31 3.3 Proposal writing 52
2.5 Information gathering 31 3.4 Project approval and financing 53
2.5.1 Information-collecting techniques 31 4 Project implementation
2.5.1.1 Participatory techniques 32 and monitoring 53
2.5.1.2 KAP surveys 34 4.1 Planning 54
2.5.2 Types of information 34 4.2 Staff management 55
2.5.2.1 General information 34 4.2.1 Creating the team 55
2.5.2.2 Specific information 4.2.2 The role of the project manager 55
on water and sanitation 35 4.2.3 Labour relations and contracts 56
2.6 Assessment in emergencies 38 4.2.4 Special management tasks 56
2.6.1 Rapid appraisal 38 4.3 Internal procedures 57
2.6.2 Rapid assessment 38 4.4 Security and safety awareness 58
2.7 Sanitary surveys 39 4.5 Community involvement 60
3 Project design 39 4.6 Management of information, lessons
3.1 Analysis phase 39 learned and reporting 60
3.1.1 Problem analysis 40 4.7 Monitoring 61
3.1.2 Analysis of objectives 42 5 Evaluation 62

1 Management of water and sanitation programmes

This chapter will focus on planning and implementing water and sanitation projects. In general,
projects may be stand-alone or may be integrated into a more comprehensive programme where seve-
ral projects contribute to one overall goal (water and sanitation projects can fit within health, food secu-
rity, education or capacity-building programmes). Despite the difference in scale and nature of projects,
there are aspects of sound project management that are universal. The components discussed here are
adapted to the humanitarian context and, more specifically, to water and sanitation interventions.
This chapter is based on Project-cycle management and the Logical Framework approach.
Project-cycle management involves an approach and a set of tools for designing and managing pro-
jects, which are used by most humanitarian agencies and donors. However, there are also agencies
which are strongly critical of the use of these tools, as the stages of the cycle are not so neat in rea-
lity, and they merge and involve an iterative process. Also, project-cycle tools put too much empha-
sis on planning and appraisal, and too little on implementation or evaluation.

2. Project management 21
 The Logical Framework approach is a set of useful tools for planning and managing a project.
Its purpose is to provide a clear, rational framework for planning the envisioned activities and deter-
mining how to measure a project’s success, while taking external factors into account (Introduction to
the LFA, Adam Walsch, 2000).
Guidelines and standards are also necessary and complementary tools for preparing and imple-
menting projects, and these are addressed in Section 1.2.

1.1 Project-cycle management

The project cycle describes the phases of a project from concept to completion (see Figure
2.1). The cycle is a progressive sequence which outlines information requirements, responsibilities
and key decisions for each stage of a project.
Project-cycle management is an iterative process in which the stages are not always discrete,
and experience acquired during the development of the project serves to develop further stages and to
define future projects.
There are six main phases in the project cycle.
1) Strategy and policy
Strategy and policy are the bases on which projects can be identified and prepared.
Implementing organisations and donors develop their own strategies which define principles,
intervention criteria and methodologies. These strategies can be separate among organisations and
developed by country or region, where national, regional and sector policies developed by govern-
ments and other agencies must also be taken into account. In this sense, it is important for imple-
menting organisations and donors to work in partnership with governments and other stakeholders,
contributing also to the definition of these governmental strategies and policies.

Figure 2.1: The Project Cycle.

22 I. Programme development
 Strategies should be periodically reviewed, updated and improved by taking project expe-
riences and the changing operating environment into consideration.
2) Project identification
Identification of problems and analysis of the main options to address these problems are
undertaken at this stage. Analysing the existing and potential capacities of various stakeholders and
understanding the main characteristics of the context are required to create a well-developed project.
This involves consultation with the intended beneficiaries, governments, NGOs and other stakehol-
ders to ensure that needs are met and coordination is undertaken.
3) Project design and formulation
During this phase project ideas are developed, addressing technical and operational aspects.
Once the main features are defined, the project is assessed for feasibility (whether it is likely to suc-
ceed) and sustainability (whether it is likely to generate long-term benefits for the beneficiaries). Pro-
jects should be assessed from technical, financial, economic, gender, social, institutional and envi-
ronmental perspectives. The final steps of this phase are often the writing of a project proposal and
its submission to potential funding agencies.
Note. – The separation of the project identification and project design and formulation phases
is particularly important. Project preparation takes place in a social and political context, where
expectations are raised and often-conflicting demands and aspirations must be reconciled. By adhe-
ring to the identification phase, the relevance of project ideas can be systematically established before
the preparation process is too far advanced for the idea to be dropped. During the formulation phase,
project ideas can then be fully developed with the knowledge that they are based on real beneficiary
needs and are sufficiently ‘owned’ by the main stakeholders.
4) Donors appraisal and financing
Project proposals are examined by the funding agency, and a decision is taken on whether or
not to fund the project.
5) Implementation and monitoring
Implementation of project activities is undertaken, with on-going monitoring of progress and
feedback from beneficiaries and stakeholders. Adaptive management, or a continuous review and
updating of operations in the context of the ever-changing situation, should be used. Even fundamen-
tal objectives may need to be modified in the light of any significant changes that may have occurred
since earlier planning.
6) Evaluation and evolution
Achievements and lessons learned should be reviewed upon project completion. Evaluation
findings are used to improve the design of future projects or programmes.
This chapter provides a general overview of the management of a project, but it should be
complemented by the other chapters of the book.
Applying guiding principles and analytical tools and techniques within the structured decision-
making process of the project cycle ensure that:
– Projects are aligned with agreed strategies and the needs of beneficiaries:
• projects are linked to sectoral, national and implementing agency objectives;
• beneficiaries are involved in the identification and the planning process from the earliest stage;
• problem analysis is thorough;
• objectives are clearly stated in terms of benefits to target groups.
– Projects are feasible in that objectives can be realistically achieved within the constraints of
the operating environment and the capabilities of the implementing agency:
• objectives are logical and measurable;

2. Project management 23
 • risks, assumptions and implementing agency capabilities are taken into account;
• monitoring concentrates on relevant targets.
– Projects are sustainable:
• factors affecting sustainability are addressed as part of project design;
• previous evaluations building upon lessons learned are integrated into the design of projects;
• beneficiaries are involved significantly through all the project-cycle phases;
• methodologies and technologies are adapted to the specific situation;
• local capacities and resources are utilised to the fullest.

1.2 Guidelines and standards

Standards and procedures for different aspects of the projects can be developed in specific gui-
delines as a support for designing and implementing projects. Guidelines can be set by a host of stake-
holders (governments, donors, organisations, communities) at various levels (international, national,
local, organisational). Implementing organisations should be aware of all relevant guidelines and uti-
lise them to the extent that they are appropriate. Special attention must be paid during emergency res-
ponses, as normal standards may not be appropriate.
Different types of guideline can be used for different aspects of the project:
– standardised models and designs (e.g. type of latrine or water point);
– minimum requirements to attain (e.g. water quality or number of people per handpump);
– programme procedures (e.g. standard evaluation procedures).
Using guidelines can ensure that efforts are streamlined and simplified, and that it is easier to evaluate
whether or not basic needs are met.
There are two main types of standard used for project management. One concerns reference
values, designs etc. that are used as criteria for guidance and comparison (e.g. standard use of a spe-
cific handpump model in a particular region).
But standard also has the meaning of a level of service or resources necessary to cover the
needs of a population (e.g. all the children in the schools should have access to enough clean water).
Minimum standards in humanitarian projects are framed in this last sense and focus on coverage of
the most basic needs.
Minimum standards should be complemented by quantitative and qualitative indicators. During
the project identification phase, standards and indicators can be used to assess the needs of communi-
ties and to plan the intervention. For example, water demand can be estimated by comparing the quan-
tity of water available per person per day with an expected indicator (i.e. X% of the population has
Y litres per day less than the minimum requirement of 20 litres per person per day (l/p/d). Additional
water supply should guarantee an extra of Z m3 of clean water per day to meet the standard).
Some reference indicators for water and sanitation programmes in emergency and stable situations
are included in Annex 1. Box 2.1 describes some key aspects for the use of guidelines and standards.
Two guidelines are commonly used in humanitarian water and sanitation interventions:
– The WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality (www.who.int) contains common refe-
rence values, and outlines the relationship between water quality and the risks to human health (see
Chapter 12 and Annex 7).
– The Sphere Project Handbook (www.sphereproject.org) includes the Sphere Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, which set out what people affected by disasters
have a right to expect from humanitarian assistance. The aim of the Sphere Project is to improve the qua-
lity of assistance provided to people affected by disasters, and to enhance the accountability of the huma-
nitarian system in disaster response. Sphere covers various fields including: water and sanitation, nutri-
tion, food aid, shelters and site planning, and health services. Donors, policy makers and institutions often
systematically refer to Sphere in relief programmes. Each guideline is developed as follows:

24 I. Programme development
 Box 2.1
Use of guidelines and standards.
Guidelines and standards must be considered as references to help in programme definition and implemen-
tation, and not as hard and fast rules. Guidelines are defined for common situations and may not be appro-
priate for all contexts. Each situation will require specific analysis to determine their relevance and use. It
is always important to justify why set guidelines are used or not.
Not all the guidelines and standards have the same value. For water and sanitation humanitarian projects,
priorities should be made to guarantee that minimum needs are met for survival, including:
– a minimum quantity of water per person;
– an appropriately determined number of people per latrine (along with other sanitation facilities).
The first priority is to supply of a minimum quantity of water. Quality of water also becomes a major
concern when major health risks exist.

• The minimum standards: these are qualitative in nature and specify the minimum levels to
be attained in the provision of water and sanitation responses (e.g. Minimum Standard 1 for water
supply: All people have safe and equitable access to a sufficient quantity of water for drinking,
cooking and personal and domestic hygiene. Public water points are sufficiently close to households
to enable use of the minimum water requirement.).
• Key indicators: these are ‘signals’ that show whether the standard has been attained. They
provide a way of measuring and communicating the impact, or result, of programmes as well as the
process, or methods, used. The indicators may be qualitative or quantitative (e.g. Average water use
for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene in any household is at least 15 litres per person per day
(see guidance notes 1-8)).
• Guidance notes: these include specific points to consider when applying the standards and
indicators in different situations, guidance on tackling practical difficulties, and advice on priority
issues. They may also include critical issues relating to the standards or indicators, and describe
dilemmas, controversies or gaps in current knowledge.
A common mistake in the use of Sphere is to consider the key indicators as the only reference
without the consideration of the minimum standard and the guidance notes (for example, people often
say that Sphere minimum standard for water supply is 15 litres per person per day but this is wrong: the
minimum standard for water quantity and access is as written above; the key indicators can be more
variable depending on the context, whereas minimum standards are intended to be universal). Programme
objectives must be based on the minimum standards that express basic needs in a qualitative manner.

2 Needs assessment and project identification

2.1 Objectives of needs assessment
Any intervention or programme must be based on clear and well-defined needs. An assessment
is the starting point of any project. It must be well planned and adequately resourced, with a clear des-
cription of how the assessment will be carried out (terms of reference).
The objectives of the assessment are:
– to understand the situation of the communities by identifying their needs and their problems;
– to understand the requirements and demands of these communities and how they understand
their situation;
– to look at the resources and capacities available;
– to collect and analyse enough information to enable development of an effective plan.

2. Project management 25
 Assessments must be conducted with a multidisciplinary approach and an understanding that
the causes of problems are complex and cross-cutting (health, food security, water etc.), so a global
picture is necessary. The assessment team should comprise several specialists and the analyses should
be conducted collaboratively.
Assessments also should follow a systematic approach, combining different levels of analysis:
country, region, community and household levels. Special attention must be paid to vulnerable com-
munities and groups.
When identifying water and sanitation needs, projects must focus on the relation between
water, sanitation and hygiene, and the basic conditions for life, including:
– health: water and sanitation-related diseases, routes of transmission and causes of development;
– food availability and production: relation with house income;
– quality of life: how water and sanitation affects the life of the communities, including access
in terms of time and effort spent.
These three factors were already developed in the Chapter 1, but special attention must be paid
to the transmission routes for water and sanitation-related diseases. Assessments should identify the
linkages between water, sanitation and illnesses, identifying common paths for disease transmission.
Figure 2.2 shows the faecal-oral routes of disease transmission and the estimated impact of different
activities in the reduction of diarrhoeal diseases.

Figure 2.2: Faecal-oral routes of disease transmission (A) and estimated impact of different activities
in the reduction of diarrhoeal diseases (B) (Esrey et al. 1991).

26 I. Programme development
2.2 Water and sanitation-related diseases
It is necessary to distinguish between the infectious water-related diseases (caused by living
organisms and transmitted from one person to another, or from an animal) and those related to the che-
mical properties of water.
Health and water chemistry
There are three main causes for diseases related to the chemical properties of water: the absence
of necessary chemicals, the excess of harmful organics and the excess of harmful inorganics. The
absence of essential substances in water is not generally a problem because there are alternatives sources
of these substances in food, and problems usually only occur when there is also a deficiency in the diet
(e.g. iodine deficiency causing goitre, deficiencies of fluoride causing poor growth of bones and teeth
in children). Diseases caused by harmful elements in water are discussed in Chapter 4.
Transmission of water and sanitation-related infections is mainly through the faecal-oral trans-
mission routes, but also there are other routes also described below.
Water-related routes
There are four types of water-related routes by which a disease may be transmitted from one
person to another (adapted from Cairncross and Feachem (1983) Environmental health engineering
in the tropics):
Water-borne route: transmission occurs when the pathogen is in water which is drunk by a per-
son or animal which may then become infected. All the water-borne diseases can be also transmitted
by any route which permits faecal material to pass into the mouth. For example, cholera may be
spread by various faecal-oral routes (for instance via contaminated food).
Water-washed route (or water-scarce): this concerns diseases for which transmission will be
reduced following an increase in the volume of water used for hygienic purposes, irrespective of the
quality of that water. There are three types:
– Infection of the intestinal tract, which includes faecal-oral route diseases (mostly diarrhoeal
diseases, including cholera, dysentery) which can also be water-borne.
– Infection of the skin or eyes (bacterial skin sepsis, scabies, fungal infections of the skin, tra-
choma). These are not faecal-oral and not water-borne.
– Infections carried by lice, which may be reduced by improving personal hygiene and there-
fore reducing the probability of infestation of the body and clothes with these arthropods.
There also other cases where availability of water is not a problem (floods, communities living
in rivers or swampy areas), and risks of water-related diseases are high: again, hygiene is the key issue.
Water-based route: disease transmission is through pathogens which spend a part of their life
cycle in a water snail or other aquatic animal. All these diseases are due to infection by parasitic
worms (helminths), which depend on aquatic intermediate hosts to complete their life cycles. Guinea
worm is the only one in this group which is normally transmitted in drinking water (it is not common,
but schistosomiasis can be transmitted also in drinking treated water)
Insect-vector route: disease transmission is by insects which either breed in water or bite near
water.
Table 2.I describes the main preventive strategies for the different types of water-related trans-
mission routes. Further details of environmental classification for water-related infections are inclu-
ded in Annex 5A.
Excreta-related infections
Some excreta-related infections are related to water but several are not, so the following envi-
ronmental classification of the excreta-related diseases is used:
1) Faecal-oral diseases (non-bacterial): caused by viruses, protozoa and helminths present in
human faeces; can be transmitted from person to person and through domestic contamination.

2. Project management 27
Table 2.I: Types of water-related transmission routes for infections (adapted from Cairncross
& Feachem 1983).
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Transmission route Preventive strategies

Water-borne Improve quality of drinking water

Prevent casual use of unprotected sources

Water-washed (or water-scarce) Increase water quantity used

Improve accessibility and reliability of domestic water supply
Improve hygiene

Water-based Reduce need for contact with infected water*

Reduce contamination of surface waters**

Water-related insect vector Improve surface-water management

Destroy breeding sites of insects
Reduce need to visit breeding sites

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Use mosquito netting

* Applies to schistosomiasis only.

** The preventive strategies appropriate to the water-based worms depends on the precise life-cycle of each and

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
this is the only general prescription that can be given.

2) Faecal-oral diseases (bacterial): caused by bacteria; can be transmitted from person to per-
son, or via food, crops or water sources contaminated with faecal material. Some of them can be trans-
mitted in animal excreta.
3) Soil-transmitted helminths: this category contains several species of parasite worm whose
eggs are passed in faeces. They require a period of development in moist soil, then they can reach
humans by being ingested, for instance on vegetables, or by penetrating the soles of the feet.
4) Beef and pork tapeworms: these tapeworms of the genus Taenia require a period in the body
of an animal before reinfecting man when the animal’s meat is eaten without sufficient cooking. Any
system which prevents untreated excreta being eaten by pigs and cattle will control the transmission
of these parasites (it is also important to take care with treated sewage or sludge that is applied to gra-
zing lands).
5) Water-based helminths: helminths present in human or animal excreta pass a stage of their
life cycle in the body of an aquatic host (usually a snail). Then they can be transmitted to man through
the skin or when aquatic food is not well cooked. It is important to avoid untreated excreta from rea-
ching water.
6) Excreta-related insect vectors: there are two types: first, the Culex pipiens group of mos-
quitoes breed in polluted water (septic tanks and flooded pit latrines) and transmit filariasis; second,
flies and cockroaches breed where faeces are exposed, and carry pathogens on their bodies and in their
intestinal tracts.
Annex 5B includes the environmental classification of excreta-related infections.
An assessment should identify the presence of these water and sanitation-related diseases
(mortality and morbidity rates, age distribution) and analyse the causes. Solutions will focus on
decreasing disease transmission, hygiene promotion, sanitation and water supply.
It is also important to analyse all the factors that affect the spread of diseases and cause out-
breaks, such as poor environmental conditions, high population density etc.
For a more complete presentation of water and excreta-related diseases, see Annex 5C.

28 I. Programme development
2.3 Assessment components
Assessment should be an iterative process with differentiated stages (see Table 2.II and Figure
2.3). It starts with the preparation phase, where the different activities and resources necessary to run
it are planned. Once the plan is made and the resources are available, it is important for the assess-
ment team to introduce itself to the involved communities and stakeholders, explaining the aim of the
assessment. Following this, a first overview serves to set the priorities and the various information-
gathering activities are carried out. Analysis of the information starts at the same time as the collec-
tion process and continues until all the information is treated. Once the analysis is done and the results
of the assessment are concluded, it is necessary to communicate and transmit them.
Box 2.2 presents some general advice to take into account during assessments.

Table 2.II: Components of an assessment.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
1) Preparation Collect and review existing information
Terms of reference:
– where is the assessment being carried out?
– how long will the assessment be?
– what resources (human and financial) are required?
– what tools and materials are required? (checklists, computer, GPS)
– what are the security constraints?
Coordination with other stakeholders

2) Introduction to communities, Introduction of the organisation and the assessment team

authorities and other actors Explanation of the assessment, objectives and coordination
requirements
Collection and sharing of information

3) First overview Global picture of the situation: main needs, actors involved,
local capacities
Identification of key informants
Definition of priority communities and vulnerable groups
More detailed planning of the assessment activities
Basic mapping and general checklists to get information

4) Surveys, questionnaires and sampling to Vulnerability surveys

gather qualitative and quantitative information Field surveys
Tools used vary depending on time Sanitary surveys
and resources available Discussion groups
Personal interviews
Maps
Sampling (water analysis, etc.)

5) Analysis of information Organisation of information

Prioritisation of information
Conclusions and recommendations
Reporting

6) Communication of the results Communication and discussion with involved

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
communities and other stakeholders

2. Project management 29
 PROGRAMME
ASSESSMENT

Assessment plan
and desk study (collect
and review information)
Communication
of results

Presentation to authorities,
Information communities and other actors
analysis

Surveys, questionnaires First overview

and sampling

Figure 2.3: Stages of an assessment.

Box 2.2
General advice on assessments.

Several elements are fundamental to developing a useful assessment and they should be considered from the
earliest preparation stage:
Timing should be allotted to each stage (strategy, assessment, etc.) as appropriate.
Respect for social and traditional protocols should be foremost in interactions with communities, the autho-
rities and local leaders in terms of the following:
– following the traditional manners;
– dressing respectfully;
– choosing an appropriate place to make introductions such that others feel comfortable;
– structuring the interview and following an order, but leaving the interviewee to express his or her ideas
and comments freely;
– building trust: not starting with sensitive issues, but building the trust of those interviewed first;
– limiting transcription: writing down everything someone is saying can be intimidating.
Discussions should be held with the team each day in order to brainstorm, plan activities, improve metho-
dologies, etc.
Analysis of information must be done throughout all the steps – not only the final step. This continuous ana-
lysis allows the assessment process to be modified and adapted.
Communication of results to communities and other actors is important both to provide information and also
to verify and complete information. Before leaving the community it is advisable to report the main conclu-
sions of the assessment.

30 I. Programme development
 The size and expertise of the assessment team will depend on the objectives and magnitude of
2.4 Resources and means to do an assessment

the assessment. However, different specialists should be involved, in order to have an integrated
approach. Team members should include technical experts as well as those who are close to the tar-
get groups (translators are also necessary if there are members who do not speak the language
fluently). Involvement of both men and women is particularly important, as a single-sex team may not
be able to gain a complete picture of the community.
Transportation, food and financial allocations must be planned in advance. The equipment
required depends on the type of assessment. However, some suggestions include:
– pens and paper for surveys and questionnaires (notebooks are useful);
– pre-prepared tools for working with groups: board, panels, diagrams etc.;
– brochures and papers presenting the organisation;
– GPS, altimeter and maps;
– technical water equipment: water-analysis kits, depth meter, flow meter, altimeter, pumping-
test kits, geophysical equipment;
– computers and software: GIS (Geographical Information System) software (e.g. MapInfo, Arc-
View, ArcInfo ), SPSS ( Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), software useful for social analysis
(including KAP surveys etc.), EpiInfo (Statistical software for epidemiological and health analysis) etc.

It is recommended to follow an iterative process between the collection and analysis of data.
2.5 Information gathering

Quantitative information should be complemented with qualitative information. Statistics and figures
must be analysed and explained so that they are understandable to the community.
Information should be collected from communities in a participatory manner. The approach
can vary both among groups and within groups. Children, the elderly, marginalized people, and men
and women may each require different approaches. Gender must be considered as a primary issue in
assessments.

The choice of techniques and tools to collect information depends on the time and resources
2.5.1 INFORMATION-COLLECTING TECHNIQUES

available. There are five main techniques:

– Review of existing documentation. This can be done during all the assessment process, and
the information collected must be analysed and well referenced.
– Conducting field and sanitary surveys. Both technical measurements (water analysis, GPS loca-
tion, water-table depth) and direct qualitative observations (e.g. queuing at water points) are important.
– Personal interviews (if it is difficult to cover all the target population then a representative
sample of people can be selected from the community).
– Interviews with key informants. Select key people who can provide information about gene-
ral or specific issues: teachers, local authorities, health personnel, water point managers, women’s
organisation leaders etc.
– Focus-group discussions. Between 5 and 10 is a good number of people for a group. Larger
groups will require more developed interviewing and assessment skills. Participatory Rural Appraisal
techniques ((PRA), see Chapter 15) solicit group participation and are useful for obtaining informa-
tion. Homogeneous groups (by age, gender or social status) can be appropriate as people may be more
open to express ideas without the pressures of other groups present.
Interviews require good skills and practice in order to obtain useful information. It is impor-
tant to be well-understood and it is best to speak in the local language or have a good translator who
is familiar with the community and its members (See Box 2.3).

2. Project management 31
 Box 2.3
Interviewing techniques.
The delivery of questions is important in collecting useful information. Essential rules include:
Build trust
The interviewee must be comfortable with the interviewer. It is often a good idea if it is a member of the com-
munity who conducts interviews, after receiving training. It is also recommended that women are included on
the assessment team, as in many cultures, women interviewees will be more forthright with other women.
Follow a sequence
Go from the general issues to the specific ones. Guiding words for questions are: Who? What? Why?
When? Where? How? The interview is best conducted informally, more as a discussion.
Follow up
If a general question elicits an answer that implies more than one concept, follow up with more specific
questions on each concept.
Avoid leading questions
Beware of assumptions. If the interviewer provides the answer in the question, other possibilities may be
missed. Examples of leading/non-leading questions:
– Leading: “Do you fetch water from the well?” Non-leading: “Where do you fetch water from?”
– The leading question “Do you clean clothes in the well or the river?” should be formulated in several sen-
tences: first asking “For which purposes do you need water?” and once a list of water uses is prepared,
asking for each use “Where do you take the water from for this?”
Avoid ambiguous questions and unknown terms and concepts
– The question “Is it difficult to find water?” can be understood as difficulty in fetching the water (steep
slopes or time consuming) or difficulty in actually locating water at all.
– Quantities and measures (distance, volume, weight, time, etc.) that are familiar to the interviewer may not
be familiar to the interviewee. “How many litres do you consume per day?” may be inappropriate if the
interviewee is not clear on the quantity associated with a litre. Interviewees may attempt to give answers in
measurements they are not familiar with in an effort to answer. It is best to keep questions simple and try
to solicit responses in measures common in the community. For example, if you see jerry cans at a person’s
house, ask how many jerry cans they use. For distance, use familiar points of interest, for example “The
water point is twice the distance to the school”. Rather than asking how many hours it takes to collect water,
find a way to ask in terms of local schedules, maybe using meal times, as in “I leave after breakfast and
come back before lunch”.
Cross-check information among a variety of sources to compare and validate it.

Most information is subjective and often represents personal points of view or personal inter-
est. One person’s information may not fit the reality of the entire community. The interviewer must
observe the attitude of the interviewees and gather information from many sources.

Participatory techniques are an approach (and family of methodologies) for shared learning
2.5.1.1 Participatory techniques

with local communities in order to plan appropriate interventions together.

Bases of the participatory techniques:
– Triangulation. Analyse the problem from different perspectives:
• using a variety of techniques and sources (observation, bibliography, survey);
• meeting with various target groups (men, women, youth, elders, marginalized people etc.);
• using more than one assessment team.

32 I. Programme development
 – Understand possible information gaps. Selecting only specific groups may not represent the
reality of the entire community. Common errors in information collection are due to:
• easy access: places with easy access may not the most representative;
• seasonal variations: problems and life may be different in different seasons. Be sure to
account for this in information collection;
• personal points of view: this will vary among interviewees. Be sure to interview several
people representing different views, not only community leaders;
• access to women: it can be difficult to speak with women. However, speaking directly with
women is essential. It may be necessary to do this when a man is not present to gain more
accurate information;
• expectations of the population: for example, if a community knows that the organisation is
working on water, water may appear to be the major priority as they are trying to access all the
assistance they can. However, a water-supply intervention may not be the most appropriate;
• courtesy: people may try to make you comfortable with their answers, at the expense of the
true picture.
– Knowing when to stop collecting information. It is not possible to know everything. Given
time and resources, at some point the programme manager will need to decide that enough informa-
tion has been collected.
Good examples are the PRA techniques (Participatory Rural Appraisal).
PRA originated in RRA (Rural Rapid Appraisal, using on questionnaire-based surveys, popu-
lar until the 1970s). PRA was developed to provide a less extractive and more participatory approach
that gave communities more ownership of the process and results.
PRA principles are described in Box 2.4 and main participatory techniques used by PRA are
described in table 2.III.
PRA techniques are explained further in Chapter 15.

Box 2.4
PRA: key principles.
Participation: local people serve as partners in data collection and analysis.
Flexibility: there is no standard methodology. It depends on purpose, resources, skills and time.
Teamwork: outsiders and insiders, men and women, mix of disciplines are included.
Cost and time efficient, but ample opportunity for analysis and planning.
Comprehensiveness: for validity and reliability, partly-stratified sampling techniques and cross-checking
should be used.

Table 2.III: PRA: key techniques.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Interviews/discussions: individual, household, focus groups, community meetings
History line
Mapping: community maps, personal maps, institutional maps
Ranking: problem ranking, preference ranking, wealth ranking
Problem trees
Trend analysis: historical diagramming, seasonal calendar, daily activity charts

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Gender profiles

2. Project management 33
 Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys are focused on hygiene habits and beha-
2.5.1.2 KAP surveys

viour and, together with participatory techniques, serve to identify and understand the approaches of
the communities to these issues. The surveys are conducted to better understand why people are not
practicing good hygiene. It may be because they do not have the knowledge necessary, there is some-
thing in the local culture or attitude that gets in the way or there is a breakdown in practice even
though people hold the appropriate knowledge and attitudes. KAP surveys are also useful for measu-
ring the impact of hygiene promotion projects and identifying where changes took place. KAP sur-
veys are explained in more detail in Chapter 15.

2.5.2 Types of information

An assessment of water and sanitation first requires a general overview of the situation (what
are the main general needs and what are the main problems that affect the community) as well as a
good understanding of the relations between the different domains (health, food security, education
etc.). After this is obtained, deeper analysis of water and sanitation issues should be conducted.
Information should be gathered at macro and micro levels, from reports, maps, databases etc.
Special attention must be paid to the definition of indicators that describe the more basic needs.

The main general information to be collected in the project identification phase is listed bellow:
2.5.2.1 General information

– Geographic characteristics: principal locations, borders, climate, vegetation (accompanied

by maps if possible). Natural disaster impact.
– Population: numbers and demographics (ages, sex, ethnic group, religion, nomadic popula-
tions, urban/rural migration, vulnerable groups).
– Politics: structure of the communities, local and traditional authorities, conflict between
groups.
– Culture and religion.
– Resources: production, commercialisation, wealth indicators.
– Food availability:
• markets: type of products, prices, access;
• local production:
. agriculture: seasonal calendars;
. livestock;
. other resources;
• food aid received:
. quantity per person per day;
. type of distribution, time and agency responsible;
• access to food:
. family reserves;
. income-generation activities;
. coping mechanisms (changes in consumption patterns, capital losses, mutual support
mechanisms etc.).
– Education: levels of schooling and literacy, general conditions in the schools.
– Health:
• common diseases, prevalence and incidence of water and sanitation-related diseases;
• risks of epidemics: critical places and periods;
• mortality and morbidity rates: main causes of death;

34 I. Programme development
 • general conditions of sanitary structures;
• access to health services and drugs.
– Nutritional status (anthropometric surveys, weight-for-height).
– Local capacity: market availability of supplies, private contractor capacity, leadership capa-
city of the local authorities etc.
– Security situation.
– Communications: access, routes, transport, phone, radio, e-mail.
– General coverage of water and sanitation.
– Risk management.
– Preparedness capacities.
– Actors involved and areas of work: donors, international organisations and agencies, local
organisations, local structures, businesses, private individuals, schools, universities or research
entities.
Key indicators serve to better measure the situation and its evolution. Use and calculation of
general key indicators are included in Annex 2A.

Specific information related to water is developed as follows.

2.5.2.2 Specific information on water and sanitation

1) Information related to the most basic needs

– Water-related diseases.
– Quantity of water related to different uses and requirements (human consumption, agricul-
ture, livestock, environmental needs, other uses).
– Access to water: distance from household to water point, and collection time. Queuing time,
and who collects water. Number of people using the water point and pressure on the water point.
– Water-quality analysis at various stages (water point, transport, storage, distribution,
consumption). Identification of source of contamination.
– Are there any minimum standards as references?
2) Information relating to existing policies
– National, regional and local laws/traditions concerning water and sanitation.
– Existing guidelines and standardised solutions.
3) Water resources (Table 2.IVA)
– Exploited and potential resources.
– Characteristics of the resources: water quality, capacity of supply, definition of the aquifers.
– Prospecting information: geological studies, maps, aerial / satellite photos, water-resource studies.
– Seasonal variations of quantity.
– Water quality.
4) Water Systems
– Number and characteristics of exiting water points (Table 2.IVB).
• Type.
• Condition and cleanliness.
• Yield.
• Quality of water.
• Date of construction, constructor.
• Ownership.
– Water source.
– Flow system: type (gravity, pump etc.) and characteristics (Table 2.IVC).

2. Project management 35
Table 2.IV: Types of water resources, water points and extraction systems.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
A. WATER RESOURCES
Rainwater Annual rainfall distribution
Calculation of water collected in the possible catchment area
Surface water Exploitable water volume
Access to the resource: distance from the settlement, topography
Sustainability of the resource: rate of rise and fall
Water quality
Groundwater Location of the aquifer
Exploitation capacity
Geophysical characteristics
Recharge rate
Water quality (arsenic, etc.)
B. WATER POINTS
Rainwater Volume of water available per day: depends on rainfall regime, catchment area, storage and consumption systems
Percentage of the year with water availability
Water quality
Boreholes Depth, equipment, recharge rate, seasonal variation, yield, diameter, casing type, location of screen
Water quality
Pumping system
Date of commissioning
Ownership
Constructor
Wells Type: traditional, protected, type of casing
Characteristics: depth, seasonal variation, recharge rate, yield, diameter, location of the catchment.
Lift system: pumps, pulleys, etc.
Date of commissioning
Ownership
Water quality
Springs Flow, seasonal variations
Protection of the spring (catchment)
Distance from village
Distribution system
Water quality
C. WATER-ABSTRACTION SYSTEMS
Manual Abstraction capacity
Cleanliness of equipment (rope and container)
Water quality (especially bacteriological) and identification of source of contamination
Handpumps Type
Characteristics
Yield
Length of pipes and depth of the cylinder
Water quality (bacteriological, iron, etc.)
Motorised Power and electrical characteristics
pumps Pump curve, yield and total generated head (TGH)
Depth of pump, diameter, length of the pipes
Water quality (bacteriological and iron)
Working hours per day
Solar systems Power and electrical characteristics
Pump curve, yield and TGH
Operating hours and capacity of supply per working day depending on the season
Maintenance schedule
Water quality
Wind pumps Pumping characteristics
Wind characteristics
Operating hours and capacity of supply per working day depending on the season
Water quality
Management

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Ownership

36 I. Programme development
 – Treatment system.
• Need for treatment.
• Type of treatment.
• Treatment monitoring (water analysis).
• Household treatment (boiling, filtration with clothes etc.).
• Availability and type of disinfectant and or filtration.
– Water-supply system.
• Distribution at the water point.
• Water trucking: volume of storage, quality of water, final supply modality, supply mana-
gement, access problems.
• Water-distribution networks.
. Type of network (gravity or pumped).
. Quantity and quality of water produced.
. Reservoirs: type and volume.
. Pipeline characteristics (length, diameters, materials, fittings, control devices, pressures).
– Water distribution: (number and type of taps, public places). Who is going to take the water?

5) Containers and household handling of water, type, volume, cleanliness, storage

6) Water management
– Hours of use.
– Management.
– Ownership.
– Are user fees being paid?
– Does price limit access?
– Capacities for maintenance and new construction (availability of skilled people, equipment,
materials and spare parts).
– Restricted access for animals.

Sanitation and hygiene promotion information require a good knowledge of beliefs and social
habits (see Chapters 13 and 15). A summary of the main information required is listed below:
– Sanitation facilities.
• Excreta disposal, characteristics and conditions.
. Latrines
Type and condition.
Coverage of latrines (people per latrine, % of people using a latrine).
Public latrines / family latrines.
Emptiness and life expectancy.
. Sewerage system characteristics.
. Existence of grey water and black water treatment.
• Hygiene facilities (rivers, showers, laundry areas etc.).
. Coverage.
. Type and condition.
. Drainage.
• Refuse management.
• Existence of flooding problems due to poor drainage.
– Hygiene habits.
• Knowledge, use and habits.
• Availability of soap and hygiene products.

2. Project management 37
 – Main vectors of diseases. Identification of the most exposed areas.
– Environmental conditions.
• Characteristics related to water resources: sources of contamination, overexploitation.
• Deforestation, erosion problems.
• Stagnant water, drainages systems.
Calculation of key indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene are included in Annex 2B.

2.6 Assessment in emergencies

Assessment tools and methodologies must be adapted for emergency responses. Time is an
important constraint and will affect the way assessments are carried out.

Rapid appraisal is the first activity to be undertaken at the onset of a disaster. It should take place
2.6.1 RAPID APPRAISAL

immediately after the disaster occurs and be completed as soon as possible – usually within a few days.
The purpose is to gather sufficient information to decide whether the agency should respond
to the emergency or not. It is not intended to be an in-depth assessment of the situation and often will
not even involve personnel leaving the office.
The information can be gathered from:
– Local/national media such as TV, radio, newspapers, specialised relief agencies (IRIN etc.).
– Networking with other agencies, NGOs, government departments, UN agencies etc.
– Individual contacts.
The kind of information required includes:
– Whether or not the disaster represents a widespread threat to life, and if so, in what way.
– How and when the disaster occurred.
– The extent of the destruction resulting from the disaster.
– The area affected and the impact.
– The people affected and how they are affected.
– Capacity of local structures/resources to deal with the disaster.
– The extent to which other agencies (local, national or international) are able and ready to
intervene and whether or not any possible response is adequate.
– The security situation.
If the initial decision is:
– No action needed – the disaster should be monitored and re-visited if and when circum-
stances change.
– Action is needed – a concept paper should be written detailing the assessment that needs to
be undertaken, including terms of reference. In severe disasters, this will occur very quickly.

A rapid assessment needs to provide timely, relevant and adequate information to enable effec-
2.6.2 RAPID ASSESSMENT

tive decision making. The short time available and the need to provide a quick response are important
factors that determine the assessment process and techniques. The assessment process is normally
more directive than participative: the various information sources should be consulted but this is not
the time to develop group dynamics well with the affected communities.
Box 2.5 presents the three main components of a rapid assessment.
Checklists are a very useful tool for emergencies, guiding the assessor in compiling the most
important information to assess the situation. One example is the water supply and sanitation assess-
ment checklist provided by Sphere (Annex 3).

38 I. Programme development
 Box 2.5

Desk study (other people’s information and views).

The 3Ds of rapid assessments.

Direct (personal observations and measurements).

Discussion (semi-structured interviews or small meetings with key groups and individuals).

A sanitary survey is a quick assessment focused on the evaluation of the environmental factors
2.7 Sanitary surveys

and human practices which could signify a danger to health. Most systems use checklists where para-
meters are scored 0 or 1, to produce a “total risk score” from the sum of specific risk points, which
can be used to compare different situations.
Sanitary inspections are useful to identify possible sources of contamination of existing water
sources in order to establish the remedial actions required and to assign priorities. They also provide
an important baseline to monitor the situation and the impact of projects.
Sanitary surveys and inspections focused on water quality are further explained in Chapter 4.
Examples of sanitary inspection forms and an example of risk analysis are included in Annex 7B.

3 Project design
The identification phase must provide a clear picture about needs, existing capacities and spe-
cific characteristics to understand and prioritise a situation. With this picture, a decision about whe-
ther or not to proceed in the preparation of a project can be made.
The project design phase goes further in the definition of the project, studying different pos-
sible solutions and how they can be developed. Any proposed actions should be analysed in terms of
relevance, feasibility and sustainability.
During both phases, the participation of beneficiaries and other stakeholders is fundamental to
guarantee the success of the project.
Project design can be undertaken in a variety of ways. However, the most commonly used
method is the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), which it is a planning tool for development pro-
jects and useful for management. It can be split into two phases:
– Analysis Phase: where the existing situation is analysed with the aim of developing a ‘future
desired situation’.
– Planning Phase: where the project’s operational details are developed.

A properly planned project addressing the real needs of the beneficiaries cannot be achieved
3.1 Analysis phase

without an analysis of the existing situation. A situation can be perceived in different ways by diffe-
rent groups or stakeholders, and all of them must be involved in the analysis phase.
The analysis phase can be included in the project cycle within the identification phase.
Although the participatory tools used can be the same, the analysis phase is oriented towards the deve-
lopment of a project, whereas identification is a wider concept and not necessarily related to the
design of a project.
The analysis phase has three stages:
– Problem analysis.
– Analysis of objectives.
– Strategy analysis.

2. Project management 39
 To design a project well, it is necessary to identify and analyse the negative impacts of a given
3.1.1 PROBLEM ANALYSIS

situation, establishing cause-effect relations. Involving all the project stakeholders, in a participatory
process, is essential.
Problem analysis can be done in three steps. Often this overlaps with the identification phase;
however, the problems should be reviewed in the context of designing a project rather than just
understanding the context. The three steps are:
– Identification of the stakeholders.
– Identification and prioritisation of the major problems faced by the communities and other
stakeholders.
– Development of a problem tree to establish causes and effects.
The analyses done with the various stakeholders should be combined with others such as tech-
nical, economic and social studies.
Development of a problem tree
Preliminary discussions with stakeholders give the assessor an understanding of the problems
faced by people. After collecting this information, a workshop can be conducted to explore the root
causes of problems and a ‘problem tree’ can be created to enhance understanding of the problems at
hand. Workshops should be led by facilitators trained in participatory techniques and project design.
Steps in leading a discussion include:
– Listing of problems: identification of problems can be done with the communities and other main
stakeholders through brainstorming. Each problem can be written on paper and stuck on a board.
– Grouping: problems can be grouped by theme. Those repeated or not relevant can be elimi-
nated in consensus with the group.
– Prioritise: the next step is to list the problems in order of importance, choosing the most rele-
vant or representative from each group.
– Exploring roots: begin to explore the cause-effect relations in order to prepare the tree.
Causes should be logical, direct and hierarchical; creating different levels and branches. One
problem should be at the top of each tree, as in the examples in this chapter, or at its centre.
During the construction of the tree, problems can be modified and other problems can be iden-
tified and added. Once complete, the problem tree represents a comprehensive picture of the
existing situation and enables project designers to understand where interventions can and
should be targeted. Figure 2.4 shows a simple example of a problem tree.

High incidence EFFECT

of diseases

CAUSE
High risk of transmission
of diseases
EFFECT

Unsafe Risky behaviour

environment regarding hygiene habits CAUSE

Figure 2.4: Simple example of a problem tree.

40 I. Programme development
 – Problems must be well specified and statements must be in enough detail to understand the
causes of the problem.
Note. – Problems should be stated not as the absence of a solution (e.g. water is not treated)
but as an existing negative state (e.g. water is contaminated).
Figure 2.5 illustrates the elaboration of a problem tree.

A
1. Identification of problems 2. Selection by groups: after listing the problems,
they should be grouped and structured
People consume contaminated water
Children often have diarrhoea Child mortality rates are high
There are food shortages Children often have diarrhoea
People defecate in the surroundings Many people are sick
Drugs are very expensive There are problems of malnutrition
There are problems of malnutrition There are food shortages
Some water points dry up during the dry season People consume contaminated water
There is garbage everywhere Some water points dry up during the dry season
Rains destroy infrastructure Many people must walk a long way to the river to fetch water
Many people are sick Drugs are very expensive
There are armed groups and combat in the area Health staff are often absent from the health posts
Child mortality rates are high Health posts are far and often closed
Teachers are unmotivated People defecate in the surroundings
Many people must walk a long way to the river to fetch water There is garbage everywhere
Children do not wash their hands before eating Children do not wash their hands before eating
Health staff are often absent from the health posts Water is stored in dirty and open containers
Health posts are far and often closed Teachers are unmotivated
Water is stored in dirty and open containers Rains destroy infrastructure
There are armed groups and combat in the area

B
High rate of water
and sanitation-related diseases

Ineffective health High risk of spread of

care system watsan-related diseases

Low attendance Low coverage Inappropriate Drinking water Environment is

Bad hygiene habits
at health structures of skilled staff access to drugs is unsafe dirty and unsafe

Poor People Unskilled Very low Drug Water People fetch People People Improper People
coverage distrust and salaries supply is water from defecate in throw the behaviour go to bathe
of health health unmotivated for health ineffective contaminated unprotected surroundings refuse in the regarding in the river
structures structures staff staff & expensive places surroundings hygiene

Figure 2.5: Example of elaboration of a problem tree.

A: listing of problems and selection by groups. B: problem tree.

2. Project management 41
 During the development of the problem tree, problems can be reformulated, some can be com-
bined in order to express one concept and others can be rejected after consensus among the group and
explaining why. Figure 2.5B presents the development of the problem tree from the problems identi-
fied above.

The objective tree presents a picture of the desired future situation and often transforms pro-
3.1.2 ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVES

blems into objectives, as shown in Figure 2.6.

PROBLEM OBJECTIVE

High risk of Low risk of

spread of watsan- spread of watsan-
related diseases related diseases

People consume People have access

unsafe water to clean water

People fetch
People fetch water from
water from protected water points
unprotected sources close to communities

Figure 2.6: Transforming problems into objectives.

Objectives should be positive statements of the desired situation, rather than the specific
actions required to solve the problem. An example with correct and incorrect transformations of pro-
blems into objectives is shown in Table 2.V.
The objective tree can be conceptualised as the positive mirror image of the problem tree, and
the ‘cause-and-effect’ relations become ‘means-to-ends’ relations. The objective tree can be modified
and relations between objectives should be reviewed and reorganised as necessary (keeping the logic
and the hierarchy). Some objectives may be unrealistic, so alternatives to tackle the problem need to
be found or the attempt has to be abandoned.
Figure 2.7 shows the development of the objective tree from the problem tree developed in
Figure 2.5.

Table 2.V: Transformation of problems into objectives.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Problem Water-supply system in bad condition

Objective Incorrect: Repair of the water-supply system

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Correct: Water-supply system in good condition

42 I. Programme development
 Rate of watsan-related
diseases reduced

Health care system Risk of spread of watsan-

improved related diseases reduced

Attendance Coverage Access

Access to drugs Clean and safe Hygiene habits
at health structures of skilled staff to clean water
improved environment improved
increased increased improved

Proper People Staff Appropriate Drug supply Water Protected People Refuse People Access
coverage trust and go skilled salaries functioning quality water points defecate in collected cover food to
of health to the health and for health and improved close to the protected in protected and water hygiene
structures structures motivated staff accessible communities areas places in the home facilities

Figure 2.7: Development of an objective tree.

The last stage of the analysis phase involves the identification of the different possible strate-
3.1.3 STRATEGY ANALYSIS

gies. This is done by making groups of objectives closely related and with a similar purpose (as
‘branches’ of the tree)
A strategy can be developed after one or more focal objectives have been chosen. This analy-
sis includes the feasibility of achieving the objectives (amount of work entailed, capacities to do it,
period of time to be covered, budget available, interest and participation of the community concerned
etc.) and the relevance and sustainability of the strategy. Based on criteria set for each situation, some

Figure 2.8: Strategy analysis.

Rate of watsan-related
diseases reduced

Health care system Risk of spread of watsan-

improved related diseases reduced

Attendance Coverage Access

Access to drugs Clean and safe Hygiene habits
at health structures of skilled staff to clean water
improved environment improved
increased increased improved

Proper People Staff Appropriate Drug supply Water Protected People Refuse People Access
coverage trust and go skilled salaries functioning quality water points defecate in collected cover food to
of health to the health and for health and improved close to the protected in protected and water hygiene
structures structures motivated staff accessible communities areas places in the home facilities

MEDICAL STRATEGY WATER AND SANITATION STRATEGY

objectives will be selected and others excluded. Figure 2.8 presents the strategy analysis based on the
objectives developed in Figure 2.7.
Strategies are further developed to create a basis for project preparation. A deeper develop-
ment of the intervention should be conducted and further technical analyses must complement the
basic strategy in designing the project. It is important also establish priorities and different phases of
the intervention.
Coverage maps are a useful tool to plan the intervention and the following planning phase (see
Figures 2.9A and 2.9B).
Example of strategy based on several phases
Phase 1: first response to achieve 15 litres of water per person per day and 20 people per
latrine.
Phase 2: permanent water points and household latrines.

Figure 2.9: Water and sanitation coverage map. A: phase 1, response to a population displacement.

44 I. Programme development
 The planning phase is when the necessary operational project details are developed.
3.2 Planning phase

Where the logical framework approach (LFA) is used, the Logical Framework Matrix is the
main output of this phase. The matrix is a format for presenting the results of the LFA as a process,
and is developed on the basis of the LFA tools applied earlier during the analysis phase.
The matrix can also be used as a basis for more a detailed workplan and to determine what
resources are needed.

The logical framework matrix (LFM) lays out key aspects of an operation.
3.2.1 LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX

It provides a summary of the key information on the project and an easy overview that allows
a quick assessment of the consistency and coherence of the project logic, and facilitates the monito-
ring and the evaluation. The method consist of an analytical process and a way of presenting the

Figure 2.9: Water and sanitation coverage map. B: phase 2, response to a population displacement.

2. Project management 45
 InterventionObjectively Sources Risks and
logic verifiable of verification assumptions
indicators
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
General objective/
Goal
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Specific objective/
Project purpose
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Results/
Outputs
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Activities Means Costs
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Inputs Preconditions

Figure 2.10: Logical framework matrix.

results of this process, which make it possible to set out systematically and logically the project / pro-
gramme objectives and the causal relations between them, to indicate how to check whether these
objectives have been achieved and to establish what assumptions outside the scope of the project may
influence its success.
The LFM (Figure 2.10) should not be seen as simply a set of mechanistic procedures, but as
an aid to thinking and framing the project designer’s ideas into a coherent plan of action. Using the
tool can help to create an organised, comprehensive and well thought-out project.
Developing the LFM is not easy, and requires time and training. Beneficiaries and other sta-
keholders must also be involved in this process.
Logical framework analysis is a dynamic, iterative process, which should be reassessed and
revised as the project itself develops and circumstances change.
The LFM is comprised of 16 ‘boxes’: four columns and four rows. Within the vertical logic of
the matrix, following the first column which represent the project strategy, it can be identified what
the project intends to achieve and how (clarifying the causal relation between the different levels of
objectives), specifying important underlying assumptions and risks (fourth column of the matrix).
Within the horizontal logic of the matrix indicators to measure progress and impact are specified and
the sources of information or means by which indicators will be verified (Introduction to the LFA,
Adam Walsch, 2000).

Intervention logic
3.2.1.1 Parts of the matrix

This corresponds to the first column of the matrix and it displays what the project intends to
achieve, and how, by clarifying the causal relations between the different levels of objectives or pro-
ject strategy.
General objective/Goal
The General objective/Goal describes the large-scale goal to which the project will contribute
together with other projects or actions, but which cannot be achieved by the project alone.
Specific objective or Project purpose
The Specific objective/Project purpose (SO/PP) is normally the first piece in the LFM and is
the key reference point of the project. The SO/PP is defined in terms of the benefits or the immediate

46 I. Programme development
impact upon project beneficiaries as result of the project services. The SO/PP must clearly state the
desired change, where the change will take place, and the magnitude of the change to be achieved.
The achievement of the SO/PP should depend on the team responsible for the project and also
on the beneficiaries involved in order to ensure sustainability of the services.
The following advice is given regarding the project purpose:
– It is recommended to develop only one specific objective per logical framework matrix.
More than one matrix may be needed for a more complex project.
– Objectives should be set such that they are achievable within the time and resource
constraints of the project. The matrix inputs should describe the desired outcome and not the process
or activity for achieving the result. Terms such as “guaranteed” or “assured” can be difficult to achieve
in some programmes and should be used carefully.
Results/Outputs
The Results/Outputs describe the services to be delivered to project beneficiaries. Outputs are
the specific actions that achieve the SO/PP, and they are the product of the activities undertaken.
Note. – It is important to distinguish between results, activities and indicators. Results state-
ments should describe the change in the service provided and they will be the effect produced by the
proposed activities: For example, ‘100 latrines constructed’ it is not a result, it is an activity, and the
result of this activity will be ‘Better access to sanitation services’. Indicators of the results should be
chosen for measurement of the result. In this example, the result will be ‘1 500 people have access to
latrines, and use them’.
Activities
Activities are how the services of the project will be delivered, the things that must be done to
achieve the results.
Some recommendations on presenting the activities are:
– Activities should be presented with the corresponding result.
– Activities should be expressed in a tangible way, and should be achievable within the pro-
ject timeframe.
– While activities are tangible, flexibility is also important. For example ‘Construct 10 water
points’ allows the type of water point to be chosen during project implementation whereas ‘Construct
10 wells’ precisely defines the type of water point and may not be appropriate. It is easier to justify
changes in the activities in the implementation phase than changes of results or specific objectives;
however, it is necessary to understand how changes can affect the project in terms of timing, budget,
human resources etc.
Vertical logic
Within the vertical logic of the LFM the indicators to measure progress are specified and the
sources of information and means by which indicators are to be measured are identified. In the last
column, the risks and assumptions concerning the project are presented.
Objectively verifiable indicators
Objectively verifiable indicators (indicators) are parameters used to measure, state and check
how the specific objectives, results and activities have been achieved. They are important for moni-
toring the project. Indicators can be qualitative or quantitative.
Note. – It is important to distinguish between the indicators discussed earlier that serve to cha-
racterise a situation and the indicators that measure actions undertaken. Indicators of the situation are
parameters used to define a specific quality or state and they are used mainly in the identification
phase (i.e. water-quality parameters). However, objective and results indicators precisely express
changes brought about by interventions (e.g. ‘water supplied will have between 0.4 and 0.6 mg/l of
residual free chlorine’).

2. Project management 47
 Before defining an indicator, it is necessary to verify the feasibility of measuring it. For
example, diarrhoea morbidity can be difficult to measure by a water and sanitation project if the health
care system does not include proper monitoring.
Some activities, results and specific objectives may require more than one indicator, as one
may not provide enough information to assess progress.
Indicators must be “SMART” (Roche 1999):
– Specific: with regard to quality, quantity, target group, time / period, and place.
– Measurable (direct or indirect) and unambiguous: they must be precisely defined through
objective data and their measurement and interpretation should be unambiguous.
– Attainable and sensitive: they should be achievable by the project and sensitive to changes
the project aims to make.
– Relevant and easy to collect: the indicators chosen should be relevant to the project in ques-
tion, and it must be feasible to collect information on them at reasonable cost.
– Timebound: indicators should describe by when a certain change is expected.
Indicators may be direct or indirect. Direct indicators are related to a directly observable
change and indirect indicators are indirect consequences of this change. For the result ‘Water access
improved’, a direct indicator could be ‘100 families have access to improved water points’, and an
indirect indicator could be ‘More children attend school’ (because they spend less than 15 minutes
collecting water and this leaves them time to go to school).
Specific objectives/results can focus on capacity building or behaviour change. In these cases,
indicators are mainly qualitative. However, they must still be rigorous. For the result ‘Water depart-
ment capacities’, ‘Number of people attended training’ is not enough as the only indicator because it
does not demonstrate change. ‘10 technical staff have improved their knowledge on water-point main-
tenance’ should complement the first indicator. Although ‘improved knowledge’ is qualitative it is a
measure of progress.

Sources of verification
Sources of verification (also called means of verification) indicate how, where and in what
forms the required information on the achievement of SO/PP and results can be found.
Sources of verification must be trustworthy and accessible, and they must provide the infor-
mation required to verify the chosen indicators. They include official or private reports and evalua-
tions, internal surveys and reports, technical surveys and reports. Cross-checking information from
different sources is recommended for certain indicators.
Means of verification must indicate the source (project records, official statistics etc.), which
provides the information and how regularly it should be provided. The work and cost of collecting
and analysing information must be assessed and covered by the project.
Examples: KAP surveys can be the source of verification for indicators of hygiene-behaviour
changes, water-quality analysis can be used to verify improvement in the quality of the water etc.

Means and costs

Means are the human, material and service resources (inputs) needed to carry out the activi-
ties. Costs are the financial resources needed to carry out these activities.
Activities must be detailed with the required means and costs (instead of indicators and
sources of verification). Some logical frameworks have the means and the costs separated from the
activities, in another line called ‘inputs’.

Risks and assumptions

Risks are key events, actions or decisions upon which project success depends, which may be
subject to delay or which may not materialise. They are not supposed to occur, but there is a proba-
bility that they might.

48 I. Programme development
 Assumptions are external factors outside the immediate control of the project, but crucial for
the achievement of activities, results and objectives. The aim of specifying assumptions (and pre-
conditions) is to identify and assess potential risks to, and dependencies of, the project right from ini-
tial stages of the project design, to support the monitoring of risks during the implementation of the
project and to provide a basis for necessary adjustments. It is important to identify the assumptions at
each level of the logical framework analysis.
Some assumptions can be identified during the analysis phase as objectives included in the
objective tree. Those objectives are not achieved by the project but they can be important for achie-
ving the purpose of the project. For example, a nutrition project may have ‘improved nutritional sta-
tus of the population’ as its purpose, in a context where this may only be achieved on the condition
that a complementary water project achieves its specific objectives. One of the assumptions behind
the nutritional project therefore may be that this condition is met.
Other examples are: ‘access to water will be guaranteed, assuming that there is no sabotage of
the transmission line of the water system’, or ‘capacity in the region will be improved, assuming that
the authorities continue to participate in training’, or ‘a system can be built in a specific area, assu-
ming that access to the area is guaranteed’.
There are different levels of assumption depending on their relevance to the project. If an
assumption for success is unlikely then the project should be redesigned. If it is sure, or almost sure,
that it will occur, then it is not necessary to include it in the logical framework.
Preconditions
A precondition is a condition that must be satisfied before the project starts.
Examples: ‘an end to the conflict allows access to the area’, ‘communities agree to participate
in activity implementation’ or ‘local authorities respect signed agreements and agree to collaborate’.

The strategy chosen for inclusion in the project is transposed to the first column of the matrix
3.2.1.2 Construction of the logical framework matrix

(logic of intervention): going back to the objective tree is a helpful at this stage (see Figure 2.11). The
first step is to define the specific objective of the project, then transpose the rest of the levels. The pro-
ject strategy incorporated in the logic of intervention has to be reviewed to see whether the means-to-ends
relations between the different levels are consistent and what is remaining to complete this logic.
The next steps consist of developing key indicators, means of verification (except for the acti-
vities, where resources and budget must be included instead) and assumptions for each level, as well
as the preconditions to start the project. A complete example of a logical framework matrix is shown
in Figure 2.12.

Once the matrix is developed, it is important to check the logic of the LFM from the bottom
3.2.1.3 Checking the logic of intervention

to the top (to see if it is coherent) as show figure 2.13.

The activity schedule (work-plan) determines the sequence of activities, estimates their dura-
3.2.2 ACTIVITY (WORK-PLAN) AND RESOURCE SCHEDULING

tion, sets milestones and assigns responsibilities.

Making work-plans mainly consists of:
– Listing the envisaged project activities.
– Breaking down the activities into manageable tasks.
– Establishing the sequence of implementation.
– Estimating the duration and start and completion dates of each activity.

2. Project management 49
General To improve the health status Rate of diseases
objective of the target communities decreased

Specific To improve the sanitary conditions Risk of propagation

objective of the target communities of diseases decreased

Access to Clean Hygiene

clean water & safe habits
R1: Communities have access to clean water improved environment improved
R2: Environment is safer and more clean
Results
R3: Hygiene behaviour of communities
is improved

Protected water Water People Garbage Proper Acess

points close quality defecate in is collected behaviour to
To achieve R1
to communities improved protected in protected regarding hygiene
Construction of 15 protected water points
areas places hygiene facilities
Water treatment & water quality monitoring
To achieve R2
Construction of 300 latrines
Activities
Refuse collection and management
To achieve R3
Hygiene promotion with the communities
Construction of 100 showers & 300 hand
washing facilities

Figure 2.11: Construction of the logical framework matrix from the problem tree.
>
Figure 2.12: Example of a completed logical framework matrix.

Logic Indicators Source Assumptions

of intervention of verification

4
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
General ...................
objective
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

3
Specific Specific objective
objective to general objective
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

2
Results Result to
specific objective
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Activities Cost Activity to result

1
Resources
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Preconditions

1) If preconditions hold true, and resources and budget are available, then activites can be undertaken.
2) If activities are successfully completed and assumptions hold true, then results should be reached.
3) If results are used as intended and assumptions hold true, then the specific objective can be attained.
4) If the specific objective is achieved and assumptions hold true, then it should contribute to the accomplishment
of the general objective of the project.

Figure 2.13: Checking the logic of intervention.

50 I. Programme development
 LOGIC OBJECTIVELY MEANS ASSUMPTIONS
OF INTERVENTION VERIFIABLE INDICATORS OF VERIFICATIONS
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
GENERAL Incidence of water Mortality and morbidity rates Health assessment
OBJECTIVES and sanitation- are reduced to be those Health centre records
related diseases reduced for a normal situation
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
SPECIFIC Sanitary conditions 100% water and sanitation Internal report Medical programme developed
OBJECTIVES improved coverage for the target communities Extemal evaluation by X is effective
Disease transmission routes Sanitary evaluation No existence of an epidemic outbreak
(via water, excreta and refuse) Vulnerability of communities
reduced in the 3 communities will not increase due to food
shortages or other crises
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
RESULTS R1: Communities have 15 litres of clean water Project report Arrival of new people
access to clean water available per person per day Water quality report will not be the cause
0 faecal coliform/100 ml. Sanitary assessment of an epidemic outbreak
and 0.4 mg/l of free residual
chlorine in supplied water
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
R2: Environment 1 latrine available per family Sanitary assessment Upland farmers abide by
is more safe and clean Each family has and uses Evaluation report agreements and do not use
a refuse pit pesticides or contaminate
One community refuse bin the water
per 10 families
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
R3: Hygiene behaviour All the teachers are trained KAP surveys No new extemal vectors
of communities is and they include hygiene promotion Programme reports cause new diseases
improved in their programmes
Communities improve their
awareness regarding hygiene
People use handwashing facilities
and showers
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
MEANS COSTS ASSUMPTIONS
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
ACTIVITIES To reach the R1:
1) Construction of Construction equipment 30 000 € No sabotage of the water
15 water points Construction materials 45 000 € facilities
Transport 5 000 € Natural disaster will not destroy
2) Water treatment & Treatment systems 10 000 € the facilities
water quality monitoring Treatment consumables 2 000 € Communities have access to facilities
Water analysis kit & consumables 5 000 € Communities maintain motivation
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– & awareness of the promotion done
To reach the R2: Administration follows agreements
3) Construction Construction materials 30 000 € regarding the maintenance of
of 300 latrines the existing water points
4) Refuse collection 30 cans 2 000 € and construction of new water
and management Tools 3 000 € points and latrines
5 donkey carts for refuse collection 3 000 € Water communities maintain water
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– and sanitation facilities correctly
To reach R3: Water points will not dry up
5) Hygiene promotion Teaching materials 10 000 €
to target communities
6) Construction of Construction materials 15 000 €
100 showers and 200 litres water tanks and taps 6 000 €
300 hand-washing facilities
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
COMMENTS Means and costs include: staff, transport, housing, communication, assessment Preconditions
and evaluation (this list is not comprehensive), but exclude indirect cost, such as Voluntary participation of
administrative costs, which should be not in the logical framework matrix. A detailed beneficiaries in the project
breakdown of costs should be in the budget, not in the matrix. The total cost of Access to equipment and materials
activities must be within the budget. Security in the area to allow
the implementation of the project

– Defining the monitoring tools and procedures.

– Allocating tasks among the teams.
The work-plan is fundamental to the monitoring of the project. It is important to include the
monitoring tasks, as these will also be essential for the evaluation at the end of the project.
An example work-plan is presented in Figure 2.14.

2. Project management 51
 Step 1: Step 3: Step 5:
List main activities Duration Define expertise required
from logical framework and completion and allocate the staff
among the teams
A. Water coordinator
B. Construction team
C. Promoters

ACTIVITIES Month Month Month Month ............ A B C

1 2 3 4
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Result 1: Communities have access
to clean water

1
Activity 1.1: Construction of 15 water points

2
1.1.1 Promotion of community participation X

2
1.1.2 Water point construction X
1.1.3 Installation of supply system X

Activity 1.2: Water treatment

3
and water quality monitoring

2
1.2.1 Evaluation of water quality X

2
1.2.2 Installation of water treatment system X

3
1.2.3 Promotion & training of water treatment X X

4
1.2.4 Water quality monitoring X
1.2.5 Follow up of water treatment operation X X

Step 2: Step 4:
Break activities down Activity monitoring
into manageable tasks 1) Degree of participation in construction
clarifying sequence 2) Progress and completion
of construction
3) Water quality reports
4) Evaluation of effectiveness

Figure 2.14: Example of an activity schedule (work-plan).

Resource scheduling is developed from the work-plan, and details the financial, human and
physical resources required to carry out the project. It is also important to include indirect costs (such
as administrative costs required by the agency to maintain its structure and capacity).
The evaluation of the project costs by donors will have significant influence over the project
appraisal and approval.
Figure 2.15 shows an example of a resource schedule.

3.3 Proposal writing

Once the project is defined and it is determined that donor funding is needed, it is necessary
to write a proposal. Each donor organisation has its own proposal guidelines and formats. However,

52 I. Programme development
 Activities/ Unit Quantity per period Cost Fund. Code Schedule cost Total cost
Resources Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 per unit source Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Construction of 15 water points

Equipment
Well tripod unit 2 ... ... ... 400 € ECHO B 67-A 800 € 800 €
Ring moulds unit 4 ... ... ... 300 € ECHO B 67-A 1 200 € 1 200 €
Tool set kit 2 ... ... ... 300 € ECHO B 67-A 600 € 600 €
Handpumps unit 3 4 4 4 700 € DFID C 42 2 100 € 2 800 € 2 800 € 2 800 € 10 500 €

Materials
Cement 20 kg 130 130 130 130 25 € ECHO B 67-B 3 250 € 3 250 € 3 250 € 3 250 € 13 000 €
Reinforcing bars 12 m 240 320 320 320 3 € ECHO B 67-B 720 € 960 € 960 € 960 € 3 600 €

Salaries & allowances

Masons month 16 16 16 16 300 € ECHO B 27 4 800 € 4 800 € 4 800 € 4 800 € 19 200 €
Pump installer month 1 1 1 1 300 € DFID D 32 300 € 300 € 300 € 300 € 1 200 €
Labourers month 20 20 20 20 200 € ECHO B 27 4 000 € 4 000 € 4 000 € 4 000 € 16 000 €
Team leader month 4 4 4 4 500 € ECHO B 27 2 000 € 2 000 € 2 000 € 2 000 € 8 000 €

Transport
Car rent month 8 8 8 8 300 € ECHO B 85 2 400 € 2 400 € 2 400 € 2 400 € 9 600 €
etc.

Figure 2.15: Example of a resource schedule.

the proposals will be essentially similar, whatever the donor concerned. An example of a proposal
structure can be found in ECHO’s guidelines (www.echo.org).

3.4 Project approval and financing

There are several types of entity which fund projects, including national and international aid
departments (such as ECHO (European Commission Humanitarian Office ) DG (Directorate General,
European Union), DfID (United Kingdom Department for International Development ) etc.), regional
and municipal governments, associations, businesses and NGOs. Each has its own guidelines and pro-
cedures for project approval and financing.
Project approval and financing involves a range of discussions between donors and imple-
menting agencies before signing a contract. Participation of the donor in proposal making depends
mainly on their strategy. Budget negotiation is one of the main issues.
Timing for approval of the project mainly depends on the availability of funds and agreements
with other stakeholders. Emergency funds are normally assigned quickly.
Once the project is approved, funds come in at established times or on completion of agreed
outputs. Once funds are allocated and contracts are signed, the project starts. The implementing
agency regularly communicates with the donor through periodic progress reports.

4 Project implementation and monitoring

Project implementation and monitoring are the core stage of a project. Resources are mobili-
sed and activities are carried out with the aim of providing beneficiaries the planned services.
This chapter can not develop all aspects related to the implementation phase; many of them
are developed in other chapters of the book. This section describes some important issues related to
the management of the activities developed during the project: planning of activities, staff manage-
ment, internal procedures, security and safety awareness, community involvement, and management
of information collected.

2. Project management 53
 Implementation corresponds to the activities defined in the logical framework. Common acti-
vities in water and sanitation programmes include: construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure,
provision of supplies, training and health promotion activities, studies, and assessments. Monitoring
is also required. For example, the implementing agency should check back periodically to ensure that
the handpump installed is properly used by the beneficiaries and is covering their needs. The reason
for this monitoring is 1) to ensure the implementing agency is properly carrying out its work, 2) to be
sure the planned activity is adequate, 3) to answer any questions that beneficiaries have which were
not addressed in the initial intervention and 4) to be sure that training is adequate.
Many aspects of a project need to be actively managed. During implementation, and in consul-
tation with beneficiaries and other stakeholders, the project-management team assesses actual pro-
gress against planned progress to determine whether the project is on track towards achieving its
objectives. If necessary, the project is re-oriented to bring it back on track.
Monitoring is a system to collect, analyse and use information to verify that the project stays
on track towards the achievement of its objective. Monitoring will measure the level of accomplish-
ment of the planned activities, but it is also a larger concept that involves evaluation of the degree to
which results are obtained and objectives are reached during the different phases of implementation.

4.1 Planning
Planning is the first step of project implementation, and is an essential tool that ensures that all
project activities are considered and scheduled.
Planning project implementation consists of review and further development of the work-plan
and resource schedule which were drawn up at the end of project identification.
When planning project implementation, the following points must be taken into account:
– Humanitarian context (emergency, refugees or internal displacements, post emergency etc.):
planning will not be the same in all contexts, and depends a great deal on the severity of the situation.
– Programme duration: the implementation time is initially defined when making the propo-
sal. Extensions and amendments can be negotiated with the donor if the context changes between wri-
ting the proposal and starting implementation (if the funding decision causes a delay), or during
implementation (if delays in implementation can be justified).
– Human and financial resources.
– Security situation: if the project area is unsafe for any of the staff, this factor must be taken
into account in the plan as well as in the working methods.
– Project participants’ availability: some people from the communities involved in the project
may be away for part of the year (e.g. in Guatemala, the farmers from the area of ‘El Altiplano’ leave
their villages and go to the coffee plantations to work as casual workers for the harvesting season).
Activities must be scheduled taking into account periods when community labour is not available.
– Rainy season: some countries are affected by a heavy rainy season for several months of the
year, including countries like Myanmar which experience monsoons. Reaching remote communities
and conducting field work like drilling boreholes may be impossible during several months.
– Technical constraints: these issues include variation in yield of water sources, such as springs
and rivers, which may be very significant between the rainy season and the dry season. The choice of
the source, which is made on the basis of the water demand and, in some cases, distribution-network
calculations, must be based on lower flows. The water table in a borehole may drop during the dry
season and this must be accounted for when setting pump depth. Other technical constraints include
difficulties in prospecting for, and reaching, groundwater, inappropriate national or regional technical
policies etc.
– Political context: external events can delay the implementation of the programme. Some,
such as elections, can be forecast, but others cannot.

54 I. Programme development
 – Collaborating with counterparts (local/international NGOs, universities, local authorities
etc.) may require time at the beginning (making contact, presentation, training and organisation) but
is essential for proper project implementation in terms of sustainability, time efficiency, and pro-
gramme effectiveness. Given these elements, planning must be as participatory as possible and must
involve all the people and entities affected by the project.

4.2 Staff management

Staff require administrative and operational management. The number of staff and the struc-
ture of the team vary according to the context, the nature and size of the project, the degree of invol-
vement of beneficiaries and other stakeholders, and staff competencies. Emergency responses usually
require a high number of staff; however, this also depends on the context and the degree of benefi-
ciary involvement.

Creating a project team is one of the first steps in implementing a project and it is fundamen-
4.2.1 CREATING THE TEAM

tal for it development.

– A flow chart should provide a clear picture of staff structure and the relationships among the
different positions. Common positions include: administrators, managers, technicians and logisti-
cians, among others. Each position requires a different set of skills.
– A job description needs to be created for each position, including:
• Name of the position.
• A brief description of the project.
• Responsibilities of the position. It may be appropriate to include specific tasks and activities to
be achieved. However, the programme manager should be aware that when many specifics are
included it can be difficult to alter the responsibilities if required as the project adapts to the context.
• Location of work and working hours.
• People to manage, person who supervises this post, co-ordination and reporting responsibilities.
• Other work conditions: salary, holidays etc.
– Following the creation of a job description, a job vacancy is posted, first internally and then
among other NGOs, universities, institutions, on the radio and in newspapers etc. Applications and
curriculum vitae are received from candidates.
– Candidates for the post are chosen and interviewed. Interviews aim to check if the information
given on the curriculum vitae is accurate, to obtain additional information, and to present the organisa-
tion, objectives and activities. The methodology used is mainly open discussion and, for certain positions,
a written test. Interviews should be conducted by the immediate supervisor and other appropriate staff.
– Once an appropriate candidate is selected and the job has been offered and accepted, a
contract (for a specific duration) and work regulations are signed.
– The new staff person should be appropriately briefed and introduced to the organisation.
– Periodic review of staff needs, the staffing structure and the organigram should be undertaken.

The project manager is responsible for the overall management of the project, and can also be
4.2.2 THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER

involved in the strategy of the organisation at the country or regional level, participating in coordina-
tion bodies, conducting new assessments, defining new projects etc.
Overall management involves: human-resources management; collaboration and coordination
with local or international NGOs, institutions and local authorities; capacity building; budget moni-
toring; material and equipment orders; budget and supply forecasting; equipment maintenance; data

2. Project management 55
collection and analysis (assessment, monitoring and evaluations); reporting; institutional learning;
investigation; development; security; strategy; project definition; integrated approach with other tech-
nical departments; gender issues; environmental issues; and any other points that come up.
In the area of human resources, project managers are in responsible for:
– defining human-resources needs for the project, preparing job descriptions and organigrams;
and recruitment if needed;
– organising staff trainings and meetings;
– leadership, motivation and communication;
– organisation and supervision of the team;
– evaluation of each person in the team.
A sample water and sanitation project manager job description is included in Annex 4.

There are several ways to hire people to conduct work:

4.2.3 LABOUR RELATIONS AND CONTRACTS

– Regular staff: these people are full employees with standard employment contracts which
must follow the national laws and guarantee benefits such as insurance, holidays, sick leave, end of
contract compensation etc.
– Casual workers: these people are paid daily and are normally under informal contracts or no
contract at all. A letter of understanding is recommended to establish engagements, and the organisa-
tion must take the responsibility to cover the worker if an accident occurs.
– ’Food-for-work’ casual workers: food-for-work can be an option in situations where food aid
is needed, where people are paid in food for work that is generally considered to be the responsibility
of the community. This type of payment is usually made in situations where food aid is deemed neces-
sary and labour is available. It is necessary to do a proper food-security analysis before implementing
these activities, to ensure that:
• local food production is not in danger due to the food aid;
• the food-for-work programme is adapted to the needs of the beneficiaries;
• voluntary work is not discouraged.
– Sub-contracting: a complete activity can be subcontracted to a company, to a group of people
or to another organisation. The contractual relationship must be established correctly, and payment for
the services provided must be dependent on the quality of the work.
One problem associated with subcontracting is that community participation becomes more
difficult, as subcontractors normally do not have a social agenda. Subcontractors may also economise
too much on money and time, which can lead to a drop in the quality of work. On the other hand,
contracting out work can be the best way to make use of good professionals and relieve the project of
many management and logistical tasks.
A common problem in project design is that personnel budget lines are often inflexible, whe-
reas subcontracted activities or casual workers can be assigned under the activity implementation bud-
get lines. However, if budgetary problems are the primary reason for subcontracting or using casual
workers, it is preferable to renegotiate the budget to increase the personnel budget lines. This ensures
that personnel are under regular contracts and enjoy social labour rights and other advantages. It is
also preferable to employ staff as there is more opportunity for capacity building.

Training
4.2.4 SPECIAL MANAGEMENT TASKS

Training of staff serves the project, the organisation, and the team members. A skilled, auto-
nomous, motivated and responsible team is essential for reaching the objectives of the project and
build sustainability.

56 I. Programme development
 Training can be developed in two ways:
– Continuous training: day-to-day work and communication enables constant transfer of skills
and knowledge.
– Specific organised training: this may be undertaken on specific topics according to the needs
of the programme and the capacity of the staff.
It is important to design a training plan, where objectives are defined over a distinct period of
time. The first steps are to evaluate personnel capacities and expectations. Staff should be involved in
setting the training agenda and it is important to consider the professional growth of each staff member.
Training topics range from technical (e.g. borehole drilling, hygiene promotion, community
mobilisation) to administrative (e.g. warehouse management) to organisational (e.g. strategy formu-
lation). Training can also be focused on humanitarian issues, such as human rights etc., and can be a
way to involve staff in the organisation’s principles and mandate. Other training can be aimed at rein-
forcing specific skills such as languages, computer use, mathematics, literacy etc.
Training should be evaluated to measure its impact, improve future trainings and provide ideas
for other subjects for training. If several training sessions are held with the same group, each session
can include a review of topics covered in previous sessions and the opportunity can be taken to eva-
luate the training.
Staff training can be internal or external, in seminar format or as a practical demonstration.
Training can be carried out locally, nationally or regionally and for an individual or a group.
Coordination within the team: organisation and supervision / meetings
Team management requires respect, flexibility, clear rules, fairness, transparency, communi-
cation (understanding, listening and access to information), leadership, availability, delegation, and no
discrimination.
Frequent meetings ensure good communication within the team and the organisation.
It is important that delegating responsibilities is done with appropriate control and supervision.
Conflict resolution is another important issue in staff management.
Evaluation of personnel
Evaluating the performance of each staff member is important for the person, the project and the
organisation. Evaluations should be conducted as an open discussion between the supervisor and person
being evaluated. An evaluation form should be used, containing both general criteria (e.g. contact with
local population, with authorities, respect of the organisation’s rules, commitment to the project etc.) and
specific criteria (technical, managerial etc.). Evaluation objectives should be fixed at the beginning of the
employment contract (professional behaviour, understanding capacity or technical basis etc.).
Staff evaluations should be constructive and honest. They must always be done together with
the person concerned, who should have the freedom to express their agreements or disagreements. If
there are different points of view, they must be explained. Both people should read the completed eva-
luation form and sign it upon completion. One copy of the completed evaluation form should go to
the staff member and another should put in their personnel file.
It is also useful to have bottom-up evaluations of managers by the people they manage as well
as top-down evaluations of staff by their managers, to help to improve management relations and
avoid possible problems.

The organisation must be ruled by clear and transparent procedures to guarantee fair and
4.3 Internal procedures

smooth operations.
– Administrative procedures should exist for:
• use of funds;
• cash management, money and supply forecast, orders and budget monitoring;

2. Project management 57
 • agreements with other organisation or institutions;
• staff management (recruitment, contracts, staff regulations, meetings, working hours, eva-
luations etc.).
– Logistics procedures should exist for:
• orders, quotations, purchases;
• stock management (in/out, storage);
• use and maintenance of material and equipment (spare parts, maintenance and repairing
procedure);
• transport of material and equipmen;
• use and maintenance of vehicles (weekly planning);
• radio, phone and e-mail communications (the security situation will determine many of
these procedures).
– Security procedures: staff movements, working hours, hours in the field, places to go and not
to go, communication etc. (see Section 4.4).

4.4 Security and safety awareness

Security and safety must be a priority for humanitarian programmes and interventions should
not take place (or must stop) if security and safety are not guaranteed.
Humanitarian interventions often take place in areas with serious security considerations.
‘Security’ refers to the risks of conflicts or intentional violence. Establishing security procedures
requires a good understanding of the situation. Security must be a priority for all the members of the
team and a security plan must be established and continuously updated with clear and understandable
guidelines and rules (see Figure 2.16). This requires that the programme manager does the following:
– Obtain and collect reliable information.
– Maintain close and continuous contact with local communities and key informants.
– Analyse trends, risks and vulnerabilities related to security.
– Have and respect the security plan.
– Ensure all team members follow the rules and respect the decision-making mechanisms and
the people responsible for security.
– Communicate and train staff on the procedures and what to do in case of emergency.
– Ensure that all staff demonstrate good behaviour with the communities and other actors.
– Maintain neutrality in a conflict.
– Respect the local social structure and decision-making mechanisms.

1) Information
gathering

4) Information dissemination Updating 2) Analysis

and training information of the information

3) Security plan

Figure 2.16: Process for developing a security plan.

58 I. Programme development
 – Involve the communities in the security of the team and the project assets.
– Continuously evaluate the organisation’s capacity to response to security problems.
Security must be taken into account from the early stages of the project cycle as a fundamen-
tal characteristic of the context in order to properly define the project. It is also essential to plan appro-
priate resources and time in the project design to ensure security throughout the project. Security is
the first priority in the field. If it is not guaranteed, the project must be stopped or not implemented.
‘Safety’ refers to risks associated with natural events and work activities, as well as accidents
related to daily activities, and medical problems of the staff. Safety procedures are aimed at reducing
vulnerability from such occurrences, and require the following:
– Safe working practices, including:
• having a set of safety regulations and provision of safety equipment;
• awareness and training about hazards and regulations;
• team members taking responsibility for ensuring the safety of themselves and others;
• having procedures in case of accident, and basic medical kits;
• having insurance cover for workplace accidents, which meets legal requirements as a minimum.
– Choosing, designing and constructing facilities which guarantee the safety of the communi-
ties during their use. (e.g. avoiding open wells without any protection in schools, building
fences, protecting wells to prevent accidents during standby in construction etc.).
– Involving communities in their own safety during construction and use of facilities upon
completion:
• protect against any community member disturbing the construction site, endangering them-
selves, others, the equipment or the facilities;

Table 2.VI: Safety measures for some water and sanitation activities.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Activity Measures

Construction / rehabilitation of wells: people falling in, Use safety equipment: helmets, boots, gloves,
tools and equipment falling in, collapsing soil, accidents harnesses, good-quality lifting and lowering
with pick-axes and hammers, accidents with electrical equipment (tripods, pulleys etc.) to lower rings
dewatering pumps (broken electrical cables), poisonous Reinforce walls in areas at risk of collapsing
gases from pump engines or explosives Keep people out of water when using an electrical
pump
Use compressed-air-powered equipment rather than
electrical pumps for dewatering
Monitor the availability of air at the bottom of the well
and ensure enough for people inside
Do not use engines inside the well, to avoid gases
Cover and protect the well during standby periods

Drilling: equipment falling, accidents with the drilling rig, Use safety procedures and equipment (helmets,
burns from motor parts, compressor tubes gloves, boots, safety glasses, ear defenders
with no security connections Limit access to the area where equipment is placed

Use of chemicals: water treatment and analysis Use gloves and safety glasses, especially for
procedures which use methanol for disinfecting
water-analysis equipment
Use appropriate masks when handling dusty or
volatile treatment chemicals
Store and transport chemicals safely

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Accidents with vehicles Proper maintenance, following rules

2. Project management 59
 • put the community in charge of the worksite and safety equipment during non-working hours;
• ensure that communities understand that they are responsible for the facilities once the
work is finished, and this involves safety (maintenance of the safety barriers, ensuring that
other members of the community are aware of risks etc.);
• establish responsibilities through signed contracts with communities upon project inception.
Table 2.VI describes some activities related to water and sanitation projects that require spe-
cial attention to safety.

4.5 Community involvement

Successful implementation and sustainability of a project depends directly on full support from
the beneficiaries. Communities must appropriate the project and its outputs. This is only ensured if
they are involved in all phases of the project – from the early stages of project definition to imple-
mentation, operation and maintenance. Beneficiary input is also essential for project evaluation.
Participation of communities in the project design (i.e. choice of water source, technology
used, level of service and placement of facilities) helps to prevent:
– social problems such as unfair distribution of facilities, loss of access to the resource for cer-
tain people/groups, change of social habits (e.g. rivers, public water points and laundry areas
are important places where women meet and so installing individual water points may have a
negative impact on the social structure);
– technical problems such as technology that is not appropriate to the community’s needs or
lack of knowledge and resources for operation and maintenance of the system.
Community participation serves to motivate people, develop local capacities and reduce the
cost of construction. The sense of ownership is also important to guarantee sustainability.
Communities can participate in the project in different ways: by paying part of the cost of
construction, collecting materials (sand, gravel, water etc.), or participating actively in construction.
Beneficiaries should also take on responsibilities in the project, such as looking after the facilities,
ensuring the safety of the community during the work, helping accommodate the teams carrying out
the work etc. Involvement in the construction also benefits the operation and maintenance capacities
(see Chapter 16 for more details).
Finally, the community will be involved in the hygiene-promotion programme which is neces-
sary in all water and sanitation projects (see Chapter 15).

4.6 Management of information, lessons learned and reporting

During the development of projects, a large volume of information is gathered This informa-
tion, in addition to being used by the project designers, should be organised, analysed and transmit-
ted to the other stakeholders at all stages. Distilling the information systematically is also necessary
in order to capture learning in order to improve:
– Project evaluation: rather than waiting until the end of the project, there is a great deal to be
learned throughout the project cycle by regularly processing the information gathered.
– Adaptive management: actions, methodologies, objectives, and strategies can evolve throughout
the project in response to lessons learned.
– Comparative learning: information gathered can be compared at various scales such as local,
regional, national and international to enhance learning.
– Capacity building and learning: information distilled can facilitate transfer of knowledge,
improve skills and share successful experiences or lessons learned.
Access to the information gathered also facilitates transparency in project management.
Typical tools for information management and sharing include reports, publications and stu-
dies, databases, maps and geographical information systems.

60 I. Programme development
 BEFORE THE INTERVENTION DURING THE INTERVENTION AFTER THE INTERVENTION

Problems and capacities Activities developed: Comparison between the situation

when, how long, who, before and after the intervention
with who, methodologies Benefits
Who received the benefits?

Context Context Context

Underlying causes related Factors that favour Factors that contribute
to problems and capacities or limit the intervention to increasing the benefits
Constraints on local or the number of beneficiaries
responses to the problem Factors that limit the benefits
or the number of beneficiaries

INITIAL SITUATION PROCESS OF INTERVENTION FINAL SITUATION

Figure 2.17: Selection and structure of information during the project.

Reporting is essential to evaluate the progress of the project and also serves to communicate
lessons learned to local authorities, institutions and donors. Reports are also the usual way to docu-
ment project progress and a typical first step in discussing possible project changes with donors. There
are different types of report:
– Internal reports (monthly, quarterly and/or annual) between project base and capital or capi-
tal and headquarters.
– Intermediate (often quarterly) and final donor reports (as stipulated in the contract).
– Special reports on specific issues.
Capitalisation of experience can be done in a participatory manner where stakeholders define
the success, failure and innovation of certain project aspects. This information can be used to help
define future actions.
Information should be selected and structured during all the project process. It is recommen-
ded to follow a methodology and prepare it systematically as described in Figure 2.17.
This participative capitalisation of a project implies:
– Evaluation of the need capitalise and what to capitalise.
– Identification of actors who should be involved in the process.
– Collection and classification of necessary information.
– Interview process.
– Description of the intervention.
– Reporting and forms.
– Communication of the results.

4.7 Monitoring
Monitoring concerns the analysis of project progress related to the situation and the changes
which take place. It requires continuous information and data collection, and analysis and use of infor-
mation for adaptive management and decision making. It applies to:
– An analysis of the evolution of the logical framework, mainly a focus on the results,
resources and activities. Verification of relevance of objectives defined in the project.
– The progress of programme activities compared with the plan.
– Evaluating if the needs and constraints of the project are addressed and what changes of
situation and needs require changes in the intervention.

2. Project management 61
 – Evaluating the management of resources (financial, human and material) in relation to the
definition of the project and the results obtained.
– Review of the implementation procedures to determine information needs at the different
levels of the project-management structure. Essentially, this means matching information
needs to decision-making roles.
Monitoring can be a great way to involve the community. Participatory monitoring allows
communities to learn lessons and work with the team to make programme changes.
It is important to create a monitoring system that has clear objectives and that specifies the
human and financial resources required and the responsibilities involved. A monitoring system should
be simple and manageable. Steps in creating a monitoring system include:
– Selecting relevant indicators (relevant and easy to collect and to analyse, see SMART pro-
ject indicators in Section 3.2.1).
– Defining the data collection method and the responsibilities of the people involved in those
processes.
– Defining how the analysis will be presented, discussed with people involved and used to
inform programme planning and adaptive management.
Monitoring and evaluation are two different activities, with different objectives, which may
use the same information. Monitoring is progressive and more focused on project management, and
evaluation in the project cycle aims to assess if the project has fulfilled its objectives and other aspects
to consider for future interventions. Normally, monitoring feeds into evaluation.

5 Evaluation
Evaluation is a systematic way to review the achievements of a project against planned expec-
tations and to use project experiences and lessons learned to design future projects and programmes.
Evaluation can be defined as an assessment of the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, eco-
nomic and financial viability, and sustainability of a project. Evaluation is based on the measurement
of indicators (see Section 3.2.1).
Evaluation can either be internal (done by the organisation that implements the project) or
external (done by someone who is not involved in the project). It is recommended that projects have
external evaluations.
Evaluations require time and resources, and it is important to include the necessary time and
resources in the initial project design and budget.

Main criteria used for project evaluation

There are six main criteria used to evaluate a project:
Effectiveness
Degree of achievement of the specific objective defined by the project (comparison of the
results achieved with the specific objective planned).
E.g., 80% of the objective achieved: only 80% of the population have access to safe water after
the project instead of the 100% expected.
Efficiency
Efficiency measures the outputs/results (qualitative and quantitative) in relation to the
resources (inputs): does the programme use the least-costly resources to achieve its objectives with
quality in the context where it is implemented?
This generally requires comparing possible alternative approaches to achieving the same out-
puts/results to see whether the most efficient process has been used.

62 I. Programme development
 E.g., other projects used local technologies for the pumping system, reducing the cost of this
activity by 70% and improving sustainability.
Impact
Impact looks at the wider effects of the project: social, economic, political, technical, and envi-
ronmental. It includes changes that are immediate and long-term, intended and unintended, positive
and negative, and macro and micro.
Impact studies address the question: What difference has the project made to the beneficiaries?
Sometimes it is difficult to assess impact because there are several factors which can influence
the results (the problem is to know to what extent the project affects the situation, taking account of
the other factors) and also because a result can have several impacts.
E.g., improved access to water had a positive impact in the economic status of the families: x%
of the cost of water consumption was saved.
Sustainability
Sustainability refers to the impact of the project once it is completed and over a long period.
It involves, in the long term, the proper use and the good condition of the facilities provided, the reten-
tion and use of the knowledge acquired by the beneficiaries during the project and the continuity of
the community organisation developed by the project. Sustainability is tested through questions such
as the following: Can more permanent actors continue achieving the programme objectives when this
project stops? Do the host country and beneficiaries ‘own’ the programme, such that they have the
motivation and capacity to continue it?
The main factors influencing sustainability are:
– financial and management capacities of the host institution;
– socio-cultural factors relating to the acceptability of the programme;
– technical factors: the appropriateness of the technology to the host institution’s financial and
human capacity.
Sustainability is generally a higher priority in longer-term development projects than emer-
gency relief projects. However, even emergency aid should be based on local capacities and move-
ment towards self-sufficiency of the population.
E.g., 80% of the facilities are still working and managed by the communities one year after the
end of the programme.
Relevance
In terms of relevance, evaluations seek to answer questions such as the following: Is the pro-
ject aligned with the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries, with the global objective and with ACF’s
strategy? Was the objective appropriate to the context throughout the project? It is useful to explore
this last point for learning lessons which can be applied to future projects.
Replicability
The following questions may be asked: Is the community or local institution able to continue
and/or expand services? Is the project transferable to other places and situations or was it so specific
to the particular context that it was an isolated experience? The answer to this may be neither positive
nor negative, but a full exploration of what can be learned and replicated and what cannot is useful
for the design of future projects, both in the same location and different ones.
The evaluation criteria developed above should be used at different levels of the logical fra-
mework matrix in order to have a complete overview in the evaluation of the project. Table 2.VII
locates the evaluation criteria in the logical framework matrix and describes the type of information
required and the timing of collection.

2. Project management 63
Table 2.VII: Evaluation indicators and logical framework matrix (adapted from E.U. Project Cycle
Management Training Handbook, ITAD, 1999).
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Level of logical Type of information Timing of collection Measurement concept

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
framework matrix

GENERAL OBJECTIVES Substantive development Project completion SUSTAINABILITY

change specific to the sector & ex-post “Continuing the flow
Measurement based on of benefits”
trends, possibility of key
sectoral indicators IMPACT
Note: the project is only one “Making a difference
of many factors influencing in the wider environment”
change
RELEVANCE
“Meeting target-group needs”
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE Realistic and sustainable Mid-term & project
change in target-group completion
situation, specific to
project intervention

Early warning of likelihood Quarterly / yearly LEADING INDICATORS

of implementation success (collected as part Proxies for relevant
BENEFICIARY from opinions of beneficiaries of results monitoring) and sustainable change
RESPONSE about their access to, use of
and degree of satisfaction
with services provided
by the project

RESULTS Quantitative and qualitative Quarterly / yearly EFFECTIVENESS

measures of physical progress at the end of the project “Progress towards objectives
in service delivery – doing the right things”
Cost ratios and input-output
ratios of performance EFFICIENCY
Comparisons of actual “Efficient implementation
achievements with planned – doing things right”
targets

ACTIVITIES Measures based on activity Weekly / monthly ECONOMY

schedule “Ensuring the best
Comparisons of actual start relation between cost,
and completion dates with quality and time”
planned dates
Variations from the planned
schedule
Milestone dates and events

COSTS Measures based on project Weekly / monthly

budget
Comparisons of actual against
planned spending
Analysis of government, donor
and beneficiary contributions

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Cost variance analysis

64 I. Programme development