Attitudes and actions of participants in multi-stakeholder processes and platforms

Year of publication: 2009

Where multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs), tools and platforms are being used to address various aspects of water management and where they are implemented in conjunction with participatory process monitoring, the overall outcomes can be enhanced through continuous learning and adaptation, and the motivation that it fosters.

MSPs have been championed as a way to improve planning and coordination to involve marginalized groups, and to increase learning and uptake of innovations. Irrespective of which tools are used, key lessons are that process monitoring needs to start at the outset and be incorporated into the main body of the project. It requires a facilitator or champion but should be done in full collaboration with all team members and stakeholders. The findings should be analyzed regularly, to ensure that useful information is being collected and to enable the team and stakeholders to react to the findings; the analysis should consider whether the right tools are being used and the correct processes are being monitored.

These are lessons from the experiences of an action learning programme called ‘WASPA Asia" between 2005 and 2009. It put in practice multi-stakeholder platforms in two cities, Kurunegala in Sri Lanka and Rajshahi in Bangladesh, addressing wastewater use in agriculture and its impact on farmers’ livelihoods.

Providing spaces for information sharing and awareness-raising

The paper below presents findings on the benefits and constraints of a particular MSP around a ‘Learning for Change Alliance’. It also describes and analyzes the methodology used to obtain findings and suggests ways in which such a methodology could be used to improve results of MSPs. The paper indicates that the obvious merit of MSPs is in providing spaces for information sharing and awareness-raising. In time, MSPs can evolve to bring about changes in stakeholders’ attitudes and actions, but in many cases they are established around short-term projects, which limit their potential for (institutional) change. Given this constraint, attitudinal change and a better understanding of the issues amongst stakeholders are major accomplishments. Analysis of the methodology used for the review shows the benefits of regular joint monitoring, open communication, and the usefulness of relatively simple tools such as ‘change stories’.

This article appeared in: Journal: RKMD: Knowledge Management for Development Journal Manuscript ID: 445477 Manuscript Title: Attitudes and actions of participants in multi-stakeholder processes and platforms By: Varma; Evans; da Silva Wells

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