Evolution of the social franchising approach to water and sanitation maintenance in South Africa

The paper describes how the innovative social franchising partnership approach to the routine maintenance of sanitation and water infrastructure has evolved over a period of 15 years, from its origins in research into the condition of infrastructure, through three successive research projects including pilots on the maintenance of low-technology sanitation facilities, to implementation. The paper also describes the business procedures, the lessons learned from these pilots, and the first large-scale implementation contracts. Whereas other approaches to improve service delivery have also built capacity and developed skills, many of them have had limited success because they have not enjoyed sufficiently strong incentive structures and support systems. In contrast, the very practical social franchising partnership approach is built on a robust foundation of mutual support and incentives.