Learning alliances for integrated and sustainable innovations in urban water management

Abstract

In a rapidly changing and ever more complex world, 'wicked problems', which traditional, narrowly focused research struggles to grapple with, are becoming more and more common, including in the water sector. Here, numerous good practices derived through traditional research have shown a remarkable resistance towards scaling up. This paper discusses the Learning Alliance approach and its application to try to overcome the twin challenges of solving complex problems and scaling-up innovations in urban water management. Learning alliances are interlinked multi-stakeholder platforms formed at appropriate levels. Critically, the purpose of a learning alliance is to do things differently, rather than to do different things, in order to have more impact on policy and practice. The paper summarizes initial experiences and lessons learned in applying this approach in three urban water management projects.

Poverty Politics and Governance of Potable Water Services: the Core–Periphery Syntax in Metropolitan Accra, Ghana

“…With a combined installed capacity of 424,134 m 3 /day, and an average production rate of 363,417 m 3 /day these two facilities are currently producing below capacity [86%]. This translates into between 93 and 106 litres/day per capita, which is considerably lower than the average optimal demand (including losses) of 150 litres/day per capita (Verhagen et al 2008). Significantly, per its current capacity, the water company is unable to provide potable water to all Accra residents due to production and distribution limitations.…”

“…The real challenge, however, lies in the longer term when demand is expected to increase considerably (i.e. about 6.5 times by 2030 of 2007 production levels) (Verhagen et al, 2008). The future becomes bleak with increasing annual rates of unaccounted for water, emanating from physical (27%) and economic (33%) losses, and representing lost income of about $140,000 per year (Water-Aid, 2005).…”

Learning alliance methodology: Contributions and challenges for multicultural planning in health service provision: A case study in Kent, UK

“…This article is the first to analyse the experience of implementing a learning alliance in the south-east of England for the provision of health services to BME communities. Despite its potential for having different areas of focus, prompting criticisms in the literature that it lacks a standard definition (Locke, 2009), a learning alliance is commonly defined as a series of connected multi-stakeholder platforms or networks (practitioners, researchers, policy-makers, activists) at different institutional levels (local, national) involved in two basic tasks: knowledge innovation and its scaling up in time (sustainability) and space (coverage) (Butterworth et al, 2011;Moriarty et al, 2005;Smits, Moriarty, & Sijbesma, 2007;Verhagen, Butterworth, & Morris, 2008;Penning de Vries, 2006).…”

Water sensitive cities in South Africa: developing a Community of Practice

“…In other words, they are a way of achieving the required trans-disciplinarity for WSD. The purpose of a LA is to do things differently in order to have more impact on policy and practice -this is achieved through the skilled facilitation of a locally-derived and managed action approach [13].…”