96 The Future of Water in African Cities
urban form will impact the degree to which an IUWM strategy can be implemented successfully. Hence, it is critical that the strategy be considered early on during the urban planning phase of the emerging areas in Mbale and before the urban form is committed. A project champion may already have been identified. Following the second workshop, the economic and sector work team received very positive feedback from the mayor of Mbale, as well as an email from the acting CEO of NWSC who requested identification of concrete next steps for follow-up. Critical to the success of the roadmap (and the implementation of IUWM strategy) is the early and continuous integration of all stakeholders in the planning, decision, and implementation processes of the IUWM strategy. A formal Mbale stakeholder platform should be established early on, involving expert coordination, facilitation, and a process of monitoring and evaluation. This platform should be created with the support of the stakeholders already identified in this study (for example, city councilors, NWSC, urban planners, environment agencies, upstream community representatives), as it can build on the outcomes of the two workshops already undertaken. The stakeholder participatory process could adopt the learning alliance approach, developed during the Sustainable Water Management Improves Tomorrow’s Cities Health (SWITCH) project (see Chapter 5).