Implementation plan

An implementation plan can be used to identify and describe all components and actors that will facilitate the implementation of a National Water Safety Plan. This type of planning tool can assist in coordinating between stakeholder’s and members of the implementation team, can be used to ensure good governance for the duration of plan implementation, and can ensure that all resources available for implementation are used to maximum efficiency. It can additionally aid with the replication or upscale of individual components of the water safety plan in the future, or in different settings.

Implementation plans should be practical, comprehensive and written in simple language. It is often useful to base an implementation plan on a logical or pre-existing framework. This will help structure the different aspects of the implementation process.

The core components listed below can act as a guide to developing an implementation plan:

Introduction 

• Summary of water safety plan goals and objectives.
• Description of the context in which the plan will be implemented and identified target populations.

Implementation plan goals

• List of major tasks and milestones - it may be useful to mark the progress of each task over the duration of plan implementation.
• List of stakeholders or implementers accountable for each task.
• Priority ranking of tasks.
• Implementation schedule.

• Implementation requirements
• Personnel required for plan implementation (staff and training).
• Resources required and maintained over time.
• Performance monitoring.

Approaches to evaluating the quality of implementation

• How effective is the water safety plan in raising awareness on drowning and water safety?
• Is it effective in reducing exposure to risk factors associated with drowning?
• Are associated interventions being implemented as anticipated? 
• Are the interventions accessible and acceptable to the target populations?
• Are the interventions effective in reducing drowning cases?
• Implementation challenges and risks
  
  

Advantages

• An effective and practical way to outline how National Water Safety Plan goals and objectives will be achieved.
• It unites stakeholders and the implementation team under common goals.
• Can be developed during water safety plan development to help identify plan components. 
• Highlights practical or tangible activities that need to be completed in order to progress towards water safety plan goals.
• A good implementation plan can be used to lobby governments and communicate the importance of water safety to potential funders and stakeholders.
• Can be based off or linked to existing national strategic health plans.

Disadvantages

• It can be time consuming to create, with the potential to be a complex document that may require expert input to design.
• It may be difficult to predict or anticipate all components of implementation.
• Some goals may no longer be feasible, or were not originally well planned, making implementation activities limited or non-existent.
  
  

Context

• An implementation plan is most useful when completed during the development stages of a National Water Safety Plan. It is an effective way to reduce risks and ensure planned goals and objectives are met in a timely manner.