Delivering adaptation and water security: behavioural determinants sustaining community volunteer champions in sub-Saharan Africa

Across sub-Saharan Africa, community volunteers — known as ‘champions’ — are widely used by nongovernmental organisations and governments to deliver climate adaptation and water security programmes. These local champions are well placed to understand the needs, challenges and conditions of their communities and can play a crucial role in making adaptation efforts work. However, many of these champions do not sustain their engagement after they are first recruited. This drop in participation can weaken the long-term impact and sustainability of local climate adaptation efforts.

The authors of this paper explore why it can be difficult to keep community champions engaged over time. They use a behavioural framework (called COM-B, which looks at people’s capability, opportunity and motivation) to analyse interviews with 158 champions across seven climate adaptation and water security projects in Tanzania, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. They find that champions generally feel they have the skills, knowledge and physical capability to maintain their activities. They also find that champions tend to have high motivation because of commitment to their communities, satisfaction, interest and pride — contrary to assumptions of low motivation causing low participation. However, champions’ opportunity to take part is often limited by factors outside their control, such as not having the right tools, materials or ongoing support from organisations.

These findings suggest that ongoing support from organisations is essential if community champions are to stay engaged in the long term. Programmes are more likely to succeed when they help remove practical barriers — such as lack of resources or support — and offer a combination of different types of help. By doing this, they can unlock champions’ existing motivation and support sustainable climate adaptation efforts that are led by communities.

Key points for decision-makers

• Engaged community ‘champions’ can play a key role in driving local climate adaptation across sub-Saharan Africa.
• Most champions already have the motivation and capability to stay engaged in adaptation programmes. 
• However, champions often face barriers beyond their control — including limited access to tools, materials, transport and wider support.
• Relying on volunteers without adequate support risks placing too much responsibility on already vulnerable communities who face the greatest climate impacts.
• Programmes are more likely to succeed when they address these barriers and provide ongoing support, enabling champions to turn their existing motivation into sustained, locally-driven adaptation.

DOI: 10.21953/researchonline.lse.ac.uk.00138704