NETSSAF Approach

The NETSSAF tutorial for sustainable sanitation planning presents an introduction to the participatory planning approach, targeting planners of sanitation programmes in West Africa and elsewhere and guiding them on how to facilitate “informed choices” in consultation with users and other stakeholders (read more on stakeholder identification factsheet) (BARRETO et al. 2008). The tutorial is focussing on seven steps for the planning and implementation of sanitation projects and programmes in a community, with emphasis on peri-urban and rural areas, which include (BARRETO and ONADIPE 2008) the following (Note: you will find tools for each of these steps also in the links shown at the end of every paragraph).

• STEP 1 (Project start-up and launch of the planning process): In this phase, the general problem and the overall goals of the project are formulated. A consensus regarding the project goals and boundary conditions should be reached through a series of discussions with key stakeholders and drafted into official document (find other tools to explore here).
• STEP 2 (Creation of demand for improved sanitation): Sanitation requires intervention at both household and community levels. Therefore, raising the demand for such services from individuals becomes of paramount importance for the project success. Awareness raising activities must reach out to all members of the community, including diverse gender, ethnic and class groups, and be structured so as to provide a relevant message to each group. This is an on-going activity and will continue throughout the subsequent planning steps and beyond (see also demand creation).
• STEP 3 (Description of settlement conditions, with assessment of existing sanitation situation and user priorities): This step will collect the background information necessary to determine the terms of requirement for a sanitation system from both technical and user perspectives (see also: baseline data collection).
• STEP 4 (Identification of feasible sanitation concepts and service systems): The objective of this step is to reach a decision about the most suitable sanitation system based on the baseline information gathered in step 3, an assessment of the enabling environment, information on user priorities, and any additional knowledge that was gained from exposure sub-step (see also the various tools on the decision making site).
• STEP 5 (Consolidation and finalisation of implementation plans for sustainable sanitation): In this step, an action plan for the implementation of the sanitation structures will be developed, as well as the corresponding management system. Financing methods, roles and responsibilities in construction, operation, and maintenance of the chosen system are clarified (see e.g. stakeholder strategy plan).
• STEP 6 (Implementation): Implementation is a multi-step process itself, and requires an adaptive and flexible project management approach with continuous feed-back via monitoring and evaluation systems. This step is designed to govern the process and key conditions necessary for successful implementation and service delivery (see also project implementation).
• STEP 7 (Participatory monitoring and evaluation): Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) methods are used throughout the project as a feedback system to increase the consensus on appropriateness of goals, objectives and activities. It provides timely, reliable, and valid information for coordinating the other planning and decision making steps (see also monitoring and evaluation).

The tutorial, available in French and English, has been designed as a web-based tool (see the NETSSAF manual for more information). The 7 steps that make up the process of planning sustainable sanitation are shown in different screens. Each step is comprised of the following elements: introduction, timing, sub-steps, expected outcomes and results. In order to support the implementation of each step, a set of tools and methodologies is available to facilitate the actual carrying out of the proposed activities. A set of pre-defined questions and study cases is also prepared as illustration modules. The section “Further information” is a compilation of literature which will complement users’ understanding of the project/programme cycle of implementing sanitation in a community. To be used as reference, the tutorial also contains a section called “For all steps” in which the following components can be observed: validation of key actors and their roles, technical and non-technical requirements, differentiating between peri-urban and rural. Finally, the system also includes a full menu with complementary information related to sustainable sanitation, planning sustainable sanitation and participatory planning approach. This guideline was developed by 19 organisations from West Africa and Europe, which make up the NETSSAF consortium, a project supported by the European Union under the 6th Framework Programme.