The Partnership Paperchase: Structuring Partnership Agreements in Water and Sanitation in Low-income Communities

Tripartite partnerships between water utilities, local government and civil society are often seen as a good way to deliver services to informal urban communities and slums. However, while these 'partnerships' can be seen as benign relationships, they often fail because the incentives and interests of the partners are not well aligned. In this report, the authors argue that the development of robust documentation (in forms which consitute a 'contractual' agreement) can enhance the performance of such partnerships. Aspects of the partnership which should be included in such documentation include roles and responsibilities, financing, objectives and indicators of success and dispute-resolution mechanisms. The report provides practical guidance and examples of good practice to guide the reader through a process of developing such documentation

The Partnership Paperchase: Structuring Partnership Agreements in Water and Sanitation in Low-income Communities

Tripartite partnerships between water utilities, local government and civil society are often seen as a good way to deliver services to informal urban communities and slums. However, while these 'partnerships' can be seen as benign relationships, they often fail because the incentives and interests of the partners are not well aligned. In this report, the authors argue that the development of robust documentation (in forms which consitute a 'contractual' agreement) can enhance the performance of such partnerships. Aspects of the partnership which should be included in such documentation include roles and responsibilities, financing, objectives and indicators of success and dispute-resolution mechanisms. The report provides practical guidance and examples of good practice to guide the reader through a process of developing such documentation

Closing the Sanitation Gap: The Case for Better Public Funding of Sanitation and Hygiene

Slow progress is being made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation despite the fact that investments in sanitation have significant health, educational and economic benefits. More action is needed to improve the quality and accountability of service delivery. This report presents and summarises all the latest information on benefits and costs of sanitation and lays out proposals for government and donor action to address the problem

Output-based Aid for Sustainable Sanitation

A review of the experience to date in applying output-based and other results-oriented financing aid formats to the delivery of sanitation services and goods in developing countries. The paper looks at the theoretical underpinnings which justify output-based subsidies in sanitation, reviews a selection of output-based aid projects and then proposes some new approaches which could help to make financing in sanitation more effective and accountable

Willing to Pay but Unwilling to Charge: Do willingness to Pay Studies Make a Difference?

A review of willingness to pay studies in India found that although poor people were generally willing to pay for improved access to water and sanitation services this willingness is rarely translated into revised policy. So-called pro-poor pricing strategies appear to be advantageous to the non-poor and are therefore politically difficult to change

Hygiene and Sanitation Software: An Overview of Approaches

A review of the state of the art in methods and techniques for sanitation and hygiene behaviour change, and other non-hardware aspects of sanitation programming. Includes introductory text and detailed entries on more than 20 approaches and techniques, with key references, summary information on effectiveness and implementation and an assessment of when different approaches should be used