Reporting aid flows for water supply and sanitation: official development assistance

Current resource allocations for water supply and sanitation are far below those required to meet basic needs, particularly in low income countries. Many organisations supporting advocacy and arguing for change make use of the primary statistical data for Official Development Assistance (ODA) which measures donor aid flows to the sector. Important changes have taken place to the way ODA is reported including disaggregation between aid flows for water supply and aid flows for sanitation from 2010 onwards. This paper reports findings from a consultative group regarding issues requiring clarification for the revised codes to be applied consistently. These include: disaggregation of water and sanitation from within integrated water sector projects; disaggregation of water and sanitation components from projects in other sectors; clarity on working definitions of ‘large and basic’ when reporting water and sanitation projects; capacity development that directly supports implementation; and recording the transition from projects to programme-based aid. Case studies drawn from donors’ reporting of ODA are used to illustrate key issues for users of ODA statistical information who aim to capture data on aid flows to the water sector

Africa-EU statement on sanitation

A commitment to do more on sanitation through an Africa – EU partnership to help achieve the sanitation MDG target in Africa where 589 million people (60% of the population) lack access to safe sanitation

Performance monitoring of micro-contracts for the procurement of urban infrastructure

This document presents the findings from Project R6857 Performance Monitoring of Infrastructure Procurement for Urban Low Income Communities carried out by the authors as part of the Knowledge and Research Programme, Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, Department for International Development (DFID) of the British Government. The purpose of this project is to develop a framework and tools for the appraisal, monitoring and evaluation of micro-contracts for the procurement of local infrastructure in urban low-income communities. In addition to the standard measures of time, cost and quality, the work also attempts to capture some of the crucial wider socio-economic impacts of community-based works. The findings in this booklet will be of use to donor/lending agencies, government officials, and non-government organizations (NGOs) involved in improving services for the urban poor

Community-partnered procurement : a socially sensitive option

The purpose of this paper is to provide information for promoting increased involvement of low income urban communities in the procurement of neighbourhood (tertiary level) infrastructure. The contexts are several and varied including • upgrading works carried out by urban government • donor funded urban development programmes • programmes initiated by NGOs. The paper aims to introduce the potential benefits to be gained from community partnered procurement(CPP). The content of the paper applies to those frequently occurring, low risk, routine small infrastructure works which characterise neighbourhood urban upgrading programmes and projects. We investigate cases relating to water supply, sanitation, drainage, access, paving, street and security lighting, solid waste removal, and community buildings. It is not applicable to complex, large, high risk and high hazard infrastructure projects. The findings are based on the results of interviews and a review of literature, documents and project files on urban upgrading projects in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. We are particularly grateful to the many government officials who so generously gave their time to us, and provided access to very detailed information on a wide range of both community-based infrastructure works and conventional procurement contracts

Public health reform: lessons from history

This is an historical review of the drivers behind the slow development of safe water and sanitation services that took place in Britain during the nineteenth century. Widespread social concern about the living conditions of the poor was combined with more powerful economic incentives to maintain an efficient workforce, and so public health reform was brought about through the joint forces of political reform and specific legislation. Today, the Millennium Development Goals aim to halve by 2015 the one sixth of the world's population that does not have safe water, and the one fifth that has no basic sanitation facilities. An understanding of the historical drivers for change, rather then simply 'good will', will help to ensure that these efforts are based on experience, rather than experiment

Achieving sustainable sanitation chains through better informed and more systematic improvements: lessons from multi-city research in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper presents the synthesised findings of the SPLASH Urban Sanitation research programme through the framework of the sanitation service chain. Urban sanitation service chains are complex and fragmented, involving a multiplicity of service providers and typically resulting in unsustainable or inadequate services. The aggregate data set covers a wide range of research methods including; household surveys, a randomised control trial, a willingness to pay survey prototype testing of technologies, focus group discussions and deliberative forums. Thorough the research, it has been possible to identify situations where incremental improvements are being made with varying degrees of success. Most importantly, it has identified weaknesses to the sanitation service chains where progress is either slow or extremely limited. It is through these weaknesses that key questions affecting the long term sustainability of sanitation service chains need to be answered

Improving water supply and sanitation programme effectiveness: lessons from WaterAid's outcome evaluation studies

Many low income countries are off-track to reach the Millennium Development Goals for water supply and sanitation. This paper develops a theoretical framework and methodology to improve the evaluation of water and sanitation programme outcomes, focusing on relevance, effectiveness and sustainability. The resulting set of evaluation questions are applied to seven independent evaluations of WaterAid's country programmes. Results are synthesised by assigning an ordinal ranking to the findings which are aggregated to assess overall outcome status that has validity at an organisational level, rather than just at country programme level. Strong areas of performance are partnership development, policy advocacy, equity and inclusion. Areas requiring attention are organisational learning, programme structure and government partner capacity for sustainability. The findings will be used to prioritise future programme management and are clustered into seven outcome areas that are of generic interest and significance to other organisations managing water supply and sanitation programmes

Towards improved labour standards for construction of minor works in low income countries

Purpose of the paper: The construction industry is one of the largest employment providers in the developing world. It is also one of the least safe industries, with a high frequency of accidents resulting in financial losses, injuries, disabilities and deaths. Decent working conditions and resulting improved worker satisfaction are key to sustainable productivity in the industry. International standards safeguarding construction workers are abundant and ratified by most low-income countries. Are these standards adequately reflected in contracts for construction works? If not, how can contract clauses be improved and operationalised? Design/methodology/approach: Based on research undertaken in Ghana, India and Zambia from 2000 to 2003, this paper explores the aforementioned questions. The paper comprises of analysis of contract clauses from the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and developing country contracts, along with cases study findings. Findings: This paper finds that more legislation is not the urgent issue; incorporating existing legislation into construction contracts and making clauses operational is a priority. This paper identifies practical and cost-effective procedures for bringing stakeholders together to implement and monitor labour standards, with the aim of contributing to the overall goal of providing “decent work” for all workers in the construction industry. Original/value of the paper: This paper explores issues around implementing labour standards in construction of minor infrastructure works in low income countries and concludes with suggestions on how best to operationalise contract clauses through a process approach

Contrasting perceptions : a case study of entry barriers to participation in public works contracting by micro enterprises in India and Pakistan

There is growing interest in encouraging private sector involvement in the construction and maintenance of public works in developing countries, and a preference to involve micro-enterprises in this work so as to achieve economic benefits and enhanced local employment for the poor. However, the administrative and procedural requirements of the public sector act as barriers for many small-scale contractors and hence discourage their participation in the procurement process. Whilst most clients and most contractors agree with this proposition in principle, their perception of the nature of the barriers and the practicality of their removal are likely to differ. This paper describes the results of practical research carried out in conjunction with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the Pakistan Public Works Department, and a range of Indian officials from public works departments, coupled with a questionnaire survey and direct interviews with proprietors of micro-enterprises. The study reveals the contrasting perceptions of contractors and clients’ representatives, and concludes that clients are sometimes excessively concerned with eliminating risks that are not particularly serious in the context of a highly competitive environment with relatively large programmes executed through small contracts by large numbers of very small enterprises

Community initiatives in urban infrastructure

This manual investigates the extent and nature of the involvement of low-income urban communities in the provision of their local infrastructure. It also provides guidance for policy-makers and professional staff of urban government, development agencies, non-government organisations, and small to medium enterprises for promoting increased involvement of communities in the procurement of neighbourhood (tertiary level) infrastructure. Cases relating to water supply, sanitation, drainage, access, paving, street and security lighting, solid waste removal, and community buildings are examined