Field-Level Leadership (FLL) is a values-driven change management approach with a growing record of being able to mobilize staff across the ranks of public agencies, translating their motivation into systemic and significant performance improvements at the organizational level.
Invented by staff for staff, and building on key management and organisational psychology concepts, FLL was developed by front-line utility staff in the early 2000s who recognized that their organization was not performing well. They later formed the Chennai-based Centre of Excellence for Change Management (CEC) and further improved and systematized the FLL approach over the last 15 years, through numerous pilots, including many implemented in World Bank-financed projects. These pilots have spanned 13 public utilities, agencies and departments in Asia and Africa.
Seeing the added value and tangible results of this process, Mr. Zerihun Abate, the General Manager of the Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority (AAWSA), decided to invite CEC to work with his teams and initiate a full-scale roll-out already in 2019. Initially one of the institutions that implemented the FLL training by sending employees to Chennai, India, AAWSA has been a delivery partner since 2020 and is currently serving as FLL training center for Africa.
In a nutshell, an FLL program comprises of a standardized set of interventions and techniques, implemented through a South-South collaboration between public utilities, and covering peer-led safe-space workshops, support for emerging networks of change leaders across the organization, and individual and collective change initiatives.
The FLL Delivery Network
Building on the achievements of the FLL approach of the last 15 years and its great potential for addressing an important gap in the institutional reform processes at local and national level, CEC and AAWSA decided to jointly form the FLL Delivery Network for making FLL services widely available and to enable other public water agencies to benefit from the FLL approach. They invited the Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med) to join them based on their experience in supporting and facilitating partnerships and in delivering capacity building interventions with international public sector clients. A Network Agreement was signed by all three partners, formalizing their cooperation going forward.
“We are excited to have been chosen to work with CEC and AAWSA in building a Network that will make FLL programs available to a growing number of public sector agencies around the world”, said Mr. Vangelis Constantianos, Regional Coordinator/CEO of GWP-Med.
GWP-Med’s role as the anchor organization within the newly formed network will focus on facilitating quality assurance, business development and communication, as well as knowledge management and learning.
“Our work with water agencies in the broader Mediterranean area and globally is deeply values- driven. So, we are enthusiastic with joining the FLL Delivery Network as this can support even more tangibly the institutional reform processes across countries”, says Dr. Anthi Brouma, Deputy Regional Coordinator of GWP-Med.
GWP-Med’s involvement has been warmly received by both CEC and AAWSA. "GWP Med's decision to join us will be a game-changer for making FLL programs available to a broader group of water agencies internationally", explains Mr. Nagarajan Kuppuswami, President of CEC in Chennai.
"Seeing GWP Med join the FLL Delivery Partnership gives me confidence that we will be able to expand the availability of our programs towards more countries around the world", says Ms. Meseret Assefa Gessesse, Head of General Manager's Office and Legal Advisor at AAWSA and FLL coordinator in Addis Ababa.
More information about how FLL program delivery works can be found in the Field Level Leadership : Transforming Service Delivery - A Guide to FLL Implementation.