Topic Briefs
The following Topic Briefs take an analytical and thought provoking look at successful and scalable models being demonstrated by WSUP and its partners and will reflect on key issues and debates within the sector from the perspective of a multisector partnership with large scale programmes in six countries.
When are communal or public toilets appropriate?
This Topic Brief presents an overview of issues related to communal or public toilets and argues that that communal or public toilets may be the most appropriate medium-term solution in some specific situations: notably in high-density slums with a high proportion of tenants and/or frequent flooding and water-logging.
A business model for private operation of local water networks
This Topic Brief describes a business model for delegated management of local water services, recently developed with WSUP support in the Kenyan Rift Valley town of Naivasha. This business model is designed to ensure affordable but high-quality services for consumers, profitability for the operators, and sufficient revenues for sustainable asset maintenance.
Delegated management of water and sanitation services in urban areas: experiences from Kumasi, Ghana
This Topic Brief focuses on a delegated management model developed in Kumasi (Ghana), where a WSUP-facilitated partnership between the water utility, the Metropolitan Assembly and a community management committee is starting to play a key role in expanding the provision of clean, affordable water and improved public toilet facilities in the low-income district of Kotei. The Brief explores the nature of the model, the contractual arrangements, and the central role of the community management committee. It also examines the potential for scale-up and replication.
Recognising and dealing with informal influences in water and sanitation services delivery
This Topic Brief draws on WSUP’s experience in the six-city African Cities for the Future (ACF) programme, to illustrate how both formal and informal factors can influence local service provider and low-income consumer behaviours. The Topic Brief also provides practical guidance aimed at sector programme managers to help explore and respond to some of the issues raised here, with a view to achieving greater project sustainability.
Dealing with land tenure and tenancy challenges in water and sanitation services delivery
WSUP’s work in providing water and sanitation services to the urban poor takes place in contexts with complex formal and informal land ownership arrangements. Drawing on WSUP’s experience in the African Cities for the Future (ACF) programme, this Topic Brief gives an overview of these challenges and discusses solutions that have been developed within the ACF programme. The Topic Brief also offers practical guidance on this issue for programme managers.
Community engagement in water and sanitation service delivery is key for ensuring project sustainability and accountability. This Topic Brief looks at community engagement approaches used by WSUP in three cities within the African Cities for the Future (ACF) programme: Antananarivo (Madagascar), Kumasi (Ghana) and Maputo (Mozambique). The specific focus is on ways to encourage community involvement in the design of water supply and sanitation projects, and ways in which service providers can elicit input and feedback from people living in low-income communities.
Designing effective contracts for small-scale service providers in urban water and sanitation
This Topic Brief draws on WSUP’s experience in the six-city African Cities for the Future (ACF) programme to illustrate ways of dealing with the challenges that arise when developing contracts between large and small service providers in the urban setting. The Topic Brief gives practical guidance for programme managers on how to make contracts of this type more effective and more enforceable.
Hybrid management models: blending community and private management
A clear distinction is generally made between community and private management of water and sanitation services to reflect the different motivations, values, attitudes and approaches generally associated with each type of provider.
WSUP often seeks to go beyond this “community” versus “private” dichotomy, to try to get “the best of both worlds”. In this Topic Brief, the approaches used by WSUP in Nairobi, Kumasi and Antananarivo under the African Cities for the Future (ACF) programme are examined from this perspective of blending community and private management models. The Topic Brief concludes with practical guidance on this issue for programme managers.
