SWASH+ website

SWASH+ is an action-research and advocacy project focused on increasing the scale, impact and sustainability of school water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Kenya. Since September 2006, SWASH+ has collaborated with teachers and students in 185 primary schools in four districts in Nyanza Province, Kenya to identify challenges and analyze innovative solutions for sustaining school WASH. The project’s randomized controlled trials and numerous sub-studies have resulted in a compendium of research publications, one-page research summaries, stories from the field, photo essays and short films. They have been made available on this dedicated project website.

The partners that form the SWASH+ consortium are CARE, Emory University, the Great Lakes University of Kisumu, the government of Kenya, andWater.org. SWASH+ is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Water Challenge. The SWASH+ website is created and hosted by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.

Website: www.washinschools.info/home/swash

Guidelines for planning and providing multiple-use water services

This manual synthesises various existing guidelines on the multiple-use water services (MUS) approach into one concise set of generic guidelines on ‘how to do MUS’.

The MUS approach considers the multiple needs of (poor) water users, who take water from a number of sources, and communities’ own priorities as the starting point for investments in new infrastructure, management arrangements, the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, or for improvements in management and governance. MUS approaches have been successfully piloted in over 20 low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The set of guidelines provide guidance on planning, developing and providing MUS based on the experiences of members of the MUS Group, which was established in 2006. The guidelines are targeted towards people and organisations already interested in applying or adapting the MUS approach in their specific context.

The guidelines are divided into four parts:

Part 1 provides the conceptual background, by introducing the main terms and concepts referred to in the guidelines.

Part 2 presents guidelines for planning and provision of multiple-use water services;  introduces common elements; and describes the six identified common steps in detail, including suggestions for support tools.

Part 3 consists of guidelines for the creation of an enabling environment for MUS at intermediate and national levels, which focus on evidence-based advocacy for MUS and capacity development;  suggestions for support tools are also included.

Part 4 provides a reference guide to the support tools mentioned in parts 2 and 3.

Annexes provide an overview of organisations with a special interest and experience in MUS, and overviews of the different elements and summaries of the various MUS guidelines presented.

Adank, M., Koppen, B. van and Smits, S., 2012. Guidelines for planning and providing multiple-use water services. [online] The Hague, The Netherlands: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 123 p.; 16 tab.; 7 fig.; 3 boxes. ISBN 9789066870796
Available at: <http://www.musgroup.net/page/1447> [Accessed 18 May 2012].

Aid effectiveness in the water and sanitation sector

Verhoeven, J., Uytewaal, E., and Harpe, J. de la, 2011. Aid effectiveness in the water and sanitation sector : policies, practices and perspectives. (Thematic overview paper / IRC; 26). [online] .  The Hague, The Netherlands: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 83 p.; 6 fig.; 2 boxes. With bibliography on p. 53 – 80 and a list of relevant sites on p. 81 – 83
Available at: <http://www.irc.nl/top26>

This paper examines the aid effectiveness agenda and reviews its implementation at international and various regional and county levels. The paper begins with a brief historical snapshot of the beginnings of the aid effectiveness agenda and how it had evolved over the years. It is followed by a discussion of the main mechanisms that deliver aid and how aid effectiveness had been put in practice in the water and sanitation sector. Highlighting the obstacles faced by the sector in making aid more effective, as well as on-going initiatives in rescuing the developmental potential of aid effectiveness, in this TOP, the writers offer a preliminary insight into how the contours of the aid effectiveness agenda may be redefined to better suit the developmental needs of countries. [authors abstract]

Related web sites:

• IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre – Aid Effectiveness - www.irc.nl/aideffectiveness
• WASH Aid Effectiveness blog - washaideffectiveness.wordpress.com

Documenting change : an introduction to process documentation

Da Silva Wells, C. et al., 2011. Documenting change : an introduction to process documentation. (Occasional paper series / IRC; 47). The Hague, The Netherlands: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 41 p.; 1 fig.; 7 tab.; 7 boxes. With a list of resources, toolkits and references on p. 34 – 37.
Available at: <http://www.irc.nl/page/67642> [Accessed 13 December 2011].

Documenting change is a vitally important activity for learning from and improving upon the work carried out in development initiatives. While collecting information and analysing key activities and outcomes of a project do provide initial insights, documenting how a change process unfolds (and not just their outcomes) can provide strong (and new) insights for practice and learning. This is achieved by highlighting factors that lead to an initiative’s outcomes.

In this Occasional Paper, IRC consolidates lessons learned across a range of IRC projects and describes the resultant and emerging understanding of how process documentation can promote learning and action through joint reflection and analysis. This Occasional Paper also offers tools for collecting and presenting observations that stimulate reflection, learning and sharing.

The lessons, concepts and tools presented in this paper are relevant for project designers, managers and field staff members involved in conducting monitoring and communications tasks. This paper may also be of interest for donors as it provides an example of enhanced forms of documentation that enables more effective monitoring, evaluation and sharing of lessons.

Ladders for assessing and costing water service delivery – 2nd edition

Moriarty, P. … [et al.] (2011). Ladders for assessing and costing water service delivery. (WASHCost working paper; no. 2). 2nd ed. The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. iv, 19 p. : 5 fig., 5 tab. 14 ref.
Download full paper

This working paper introduces the concept of service levels, grouped as sequential rungs on a ladder, as a way of differentiating between broad and recognisable types (levels) of service. By developing this metaphor, a structure is provided to analyse the data being collected in different countries and settings, not just in terms of the technologies being used, but in terms of the domestic water services being received. The paper introduces water service levels and explains how these can be used as integral components of an analytical tool for applied research or benchmarking. It is best read together with Working Paper 3: Assessing sanitation service levels. Both papers are aimed at providing a framework for data analysis of life-cycle costs. This second edition reflects the experiences of applying this methodology in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique and India (Andhra Pradesh).

Life-cycle costs approach: costing sustainable services

Fonseca, C. … [et al.]. (2011). Life-cycle costs approach : costing sustainable services. (WASHCost briefing note ; 1a). The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 37 p. :  6 fig., 7 tab.  22 ref.
Download full briefing note 

This briefing note describes the life-cycle costs approach and why it was developed. It explains the main cost components for water and sanitation in rural and peri-urban areas. Detailed cost breakdowns are presented in the annexes. Different types of analysis can be made with disaggregated cost information: comparing costs of infrastructure components, comparing the cost of services delivered or comparing the costs of difference service delivery models. The briefing note explains the building blocks used in the life-cycle costs approach for all these types of analysis and explores how these fit with different accounting practices. It explains why the WASHCost Project has adopted a regulatory accounting approach to calculate aggregated total expenditure costs and  provides a step-by-step approach to comparing and reporting costs.

Assessing sanitation service levels – 2nd edition

Potter, A.; Klutse, A.; Snehalatha, M.; Batchelor, C.; Uandela, A.; Naafs, A.; Fonseca, C.; Moriarty, P. (2011). Assessing sanitation service levels. (WASHCost working paper; no. 3). 2nd ed. The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 27 p. : 16 fig. 12 ref.
Download full paper

Conventional sanitation ladders rank sanitation in increasing complexity of technological options. However, sanitation improvement is not as straightforward as the concept of “a ladder” with incremental improvements, might suggest. For example, from the user perspective, a VIP toilet may in some circumstances be a better option than a septic tank system. There is a wide gap between technologies and service provision, especially when O&M considerations are taken into account. This working paper from IRC’s WASHCost project sets out a common framework to analyse and compare sanitation cost data being collected across different country contexts (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, India) with different service delivery norms and standards. It represents a fundamental shift away from the focus on capital investment costs, to the costs of sustainable sanitation services.

New web resource on rural water supply – www.waterservicesthatlast.org

One out of three rural water supply systems in developing countries doesn’t function at all or performs far below its promised level. IRC’s Triple-S (Sustainable Services at Scale) initiative has put together a web resource to help those involved in financing, planning or implementing rural water supply projects or providing services. The website brings together the latest thinking on creating water services that last, including results from Triple-S work in Ghana and Uganda. It covers key elements such as monitoring, financial planning, institutional models, and capacity building for service providers and local government. Here you’ll find tools, concepts, case studies, videos, cartoons, and more.

Web site: www.waterservicesthatlast.org

SWITCH in the city: putting urban water management to the test

Butterworth, J. (ed.); McIntyre, P. (ed.); Da Silva Wells, C. (ed.) (2011). SWITCH in the city : putting urban water management to the test. The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. v, 413 p.; fig.; tab.; boxes.
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With more than half the planet’s population living in urban areas, and rapid growth predicted, cities present a daunting test in water management. Their scale and concentrated populations provide a special challenge in providing water and sanitation services, creating a safe and pleasant environment, and handling wastes. As sustainability concerns have risen up the agenda, the challenge is for cities to do more, with less. To provide better services to all citizens, with less negative and more positive environment impacts on cities and their rural hinterlands. The SWITCH project was a five year experiment focused on some of the key sustainability challenges in urban water management. In a number of cities around the globe, it set out to test what was needed for a transition to more sustainable urban water management through a combination of demand-led research, demonstration activities, multistakeholder learning and associated training and capacity building. The book brings together the experiences of 12 cities involved in the SWITCH project from four continents (Accra, Alexandria, Beijing, Belo Horizonte, Birmingham, Bogotá, Cali, Hamburg, Lima, Lodz, Tel Aviv and Zaragoza) with a set of guidelines focused on promoting stakeholder engagement in such processes. It is targeted at people interested in undertaking demand-led research, promoting multi-stakeholder engagement, and scaling up research impacts, not only in urban water management but also in other areas where we find such complex and ‘wicked’ problems. [authors abstract]

Sharing experiences: effective hygiene promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific

Parry, J. Kathy Shordt, K., Cousineau, D. and Wicken, J. (eds) (2010). Sharing experiences : effective hygiene promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific. Mitcham, Vic,. Australia, Water Aid Austrakia ; Brisbane, Qld, Australia, International WaterCentre (IWC) ; The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 74 p. : boxes, fig. photogr., tab. ISBN 978-1-921499-03-6. Download document in full and by chapter.

This publication searches for answers to the question: What makes hygiene promotion work? The search is guided by two keynote papers and 11 project case studies. Each of the case studies examines hygiene promotion from its own perspective, ranging from large national campaigns to remote island communities. The majority of case studies describe experiences in the Pacific and South-East Asia, while a few highlight different approaches and issues from other regions. The case studies are grouped according to the three main
approaches to hygiene promotion: community-based approaches, campaign approaches and a school focus. Key learnings from the 11 case studies are presented using the FOAMS model for behaviour change:
F: Focus practices and focus groups;
O: Opportunities to practice the behaviour
A: Ability to practice
M: Motivation to practice
S: Sustained behaviour change

Listen below to the key lessons from the book