Triple-S and IRC are starting to monitor the impact of the work done through the Triple-S and other IRC programmes targeted at innovation and whole sector improvements, against hard indicators of the ultimate objective: that people are able to enjoy their right of access to appropriate and sustainable water and sanitation services that they can use and afford.

The interest here (apart from knowing where we stand) is to show the trends after a few years and start to be held accountable for a change (or lack thereof) at the scale at which we are working.

IRC does not provide WASH services, but we work with those who do, helping them to make their investments more effective in delivering services to all citizens and overcoming the challenges that lead to wasted investment. We work with practitioners in our focus countries in participatory action research to identify challenges, fill gaps, and develop robust models for sustainable and equitable service delivery. We learn the lessons from these activities with our partners and we document and share them with a wide audience. We use this understanding to advocate at national and international levels for improved policy and practice.

Monitoring in the water sector at national and international level is essentially focusing on coverage (i.e., is there water infrastructure that can potentially provide a service to a given population?).

More and more countries are beginning to track functionality (i.e., is the infrastructure operational?),despite its limitations as an indicator (it only provides a snapshot at the time of the survey, with no indication of the likelihood of continued functioning)

Triple-S has developed a set of service delivery indicators through its work in Ghana (see this Working Paper) ) to monitor the level of service provided and a number of performance indicators for service providers and authorities. Similar indicators have been developed for Uganda. The one shown here reflects the Average Service Delivered in the Districts where IRC is working, measured as the % of population who have access to a basic level of service as defined in the national norms. This indicator is currently only available in Districts with an IRC presence - or where partners have started to use the same methodology to assess the services delivered in their areas of work.

The Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) are updated annually.

Here we provide data on Triple-S outputs and outreach

The Stakeholder Engagement indicator reflects the number of people with which, through meetings, workshops, seminars, conference and other multi-stakeholder platforms, we have interacted over one year or per period of 4 months (4M). We expect, through these repeated and numerous interactions to influence thinking on the how rural water services are provided, maintained and upgraded and to spur action.

We also have a dynamic website, with various types of publications and tools targeted at both national and international audiences, as well as regular updates about our work. By monitoring basic web stats we aim to assess the reach of our information products. Unfortunately, these indicators cannot assess the degree to which viewers and readers use the information provided to improve their ways of working.

In spirit of the transparency that we would like to help foster in the water sector, we here provide the details of budget headings and amounts that have been actually spent in country.

We have annual planning and budgeting cycles from 1 June to 31 May of the following year, and our usual budget uptake is above 90% of the planned amount.

Triple-S is using an outcomes-based management system. In each country, desired outcomes have been defined based on an analysis of the main sector challenges using the Triple-S Principles Framework as a guide. On an annual basis, these outcomes have been refined or changed or even abandoned based on achievements, changing circumstances, or improved understanding of the challenges and strategies to overcome them.

This chart provides a visual of the changes that occurred in the definition of outcomes (the lines between the dots/bubbles), the relative importance of each in our work (the size of the bubble) and the extent to which the activities and outputs undertaken to reach them have been successful (the colour).

These are monitored on a 4M basis to allow for review and adaptation and to guarantee their continuous relevance and responsiveness to the evolving sector needs.

The elements monitored are :

• the level of achievement (i.e., are we where we expected to be at the reporting/reviewing moment in terms of progress towards the outcome - shown by the colour in an adapted traffic light system).
• the level of effort, measured via the time dedicated by our staff/team and the budget spent on this particular outcome (i.e. have we used our staff time and budgets as was expected, or did it require less or more resources than planned - shown in the outcomes healthcheck).
• Strategy change (i.e. has there been a change in our strategy to reach that outcome?).

the level of achievement (i.e., are we where we expected to be at the reporting/reviewing moment in terms of progress towards the outcome - shown by the colour in an adapted traffic light system).

the level of effort, measured via the time dedicated by our staff/team and the budget spent on this particular outcome (i.e., have we used our staff time and budgets as was expected, or did it require less or more resources than planned - shown in the outcomes healthcheck)

Overall Country Coverage data as calculated and reported in national systems (CWSA in Ghana and MWE in Uganda)

Average Coverage in Districts with IRC presence as calculated and reported in national systems (CWSA in Ghana and MWE in Uganda)

Overall Country Functionality levels as calculated and reporting in national systems (CWSA in Ghana and MWE in Uganda)

Average Functionality in Districts with IRC presence as calculated and reported in national systems (CWSA in Ghana and MWE in Uganda)

Average Service Delivered indicator for Districts with IRC presence - measured as the % of population who have access to a basic level of service as defined in the national norms