HOW TO START TACKLING THE PROBLEMS
The most important part of any project is to make sure that the procedures that
have been developed can be implemented long after the completion of the project.
The project team has therefore devoted considerable resources to the development
of a range of “How To” guides to guide users through the process of using the
structured-facilitated process. These guides have been developed for;
- Water Quality Management staff,
- Local Authority staff, and
- Community Members.
These guides are supported by more detailed guides on how to;
- Hold a workshop
- Identify and involve stakeholders, and
- Do a Problem Analysis and prepare a problem tree.
The general process outlined in these guides is as follows;
1) Organise a meeting with selected people to do a preliminary problem analysis.
This process aims to identify the main, often visible, problems. For example
there are frequent sewer blockages that are costly to repair, or most of the
solid waste is left in the settlement in spite of a formal solid waste
collection system. The Guide to problem analysis outlines some of the tools that
can assist this process.
2) Meet with the community and local authority and service providers agree that
there is a problem, and to identify the people who should be involved in
identifying the problems and finding solutions.
This process takes the initial problem analysis a bit further, for example not
only do we have frequent blockages, but the blockages take a long time to
repair. The process will also help identify who can help identify the root
causes of the problem. The Guide to workshops, as well as the Guide to
Identifying and Involving Stakeholders provides more information on this
process.
3) Determine the root causes of the problem
This process uses the structured-facilitated process to identify the underlying
causes of pollution by asking the question why? This is done in joint service
provider, local authority and community workshops, where everyone can offer
reasons. In this process you start with the physical or visual problems. For
example;
This process helps everyone understand the problem better.
4) Prepare a problem tree
A problem tree links the physical pollution problems with the underlying social
and institutional problems. This helps make the cause-effect links that lead to
pollution and helps identify which underlying problems should be addressed. This
is the problem that may be developed from the problems outlined in step 3.
5) Identify possible solutions to the root causes of problems in your problem
tree(s), and write these into the Water Services Development Plan or the
Integrated Development Plan.
Once you have developed the problem tree, you should test the ideas with the
community. Then you can start working on possible solutions together. Some
solutions to the solid waste problem outlined above may be;
- To move the skips to places where people can easily drop off their bags on the
way to work,
- To change the route or days of the refuse collection to make the time of
collection in poor areas a bit more certain, and
- To run an awareness campaign on why its important to dispose of waste safely,
where to do this and what time and day the refuse will be removed.
- It is also often important to remove all the old waste from the settlement by
running a clean up day – so that you can start with a clean settlement.
Once you have identified the solutions, and agreed these with the community, you
can write these into the Water Services Development Plan (for the Sullage and
Sewerage waste streams), and into the Integrated Development Plan for the Solid
Waste and Stormwater Waste Streams)
6) Develop a monitoring plan
It is important to show the community that the interventions you have selected
are working. This monitoring plan is also based on the problem tree, and the
idea is to develop a way of monitoring each branch of the problem tree. For
example you could ask community members before the awareness campaign if they
are aware of the links between solid waste pollution and health, and when the
refuse removal occurs. You could also monitor the amount of waste that is
removed from the settlement to see if this increases.
You should download the “How to” Guide that best suits your needs, as well as
the Guide to Problem Analysis, the Guide to Stakeholder Identification, and the
Guide to holding Workshops – if you want to know more about how to use the
structured-facilitated process.
The Options for Interventions document also outlines a range of different
solutions that you may want to consider.
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