Lessons in Failure: Applying an Organizational Learning Framework to Understanding Attitudes Towards Failure in...

Area of Science:

• Development studies
• Organizational learning
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector

Background:

• Failure is often stigmatized in development, hindering organizational learning.
• Understanding attitudes towards failure is crucial for improving WASH initiatives.
• Existing scholarship on failure in development lacks practical frameworks for learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore attitudes towards failure within the WASH development sector.
• To identify challenges WASH practitioners face in identifying, analyzing, and learning from failure.
• To develop a conceptual map for fostering organizational learning from failure.

Main Methods:

• Application of an organizational learning framework.
• Analysis of 35 key-informant interviews.
• Review of existing literature and initiatives on publicizing failure in development.

Main Results:

• WASH practitioners face significant challenges in identifying and analyzing failure.
• Past initiatives to publicize failure have had mixed success.
• Obstacles and lessons learned from mainstreaming failure into organizational practices were identified.

Conclusions:

• A 3-tier conceptual map is proposed to build an enabling environment for learning from failure.
• Mainstreaming failure can be achieved through deliberate organizational practices.
• Learning from failure is essential for effective development in the WASH sector.