posted on 2018-02-12, 15:11authored byNathaniel Mason, Andres Hueso, Mariana Matoso
More and more governments are committing to achieving universal access to sanitation, but rhetoric
alone will not be enough. High-level expressions of political will need to be turned into prioritisation of
sanitation, across different levels and departments in government, and into course correction systems
that can identify and adapt to implementation challenges. Research, carried out by the Overseas
Development Institute and commissioned by WaterAid, investigates the underlying incentives that
encourage these processes, drawing on case studies in India (Chhattisgarh State), Ethiopia and
Indonesia. We find that organisations championing sanitation can tap into personal values as well as
career aspirations and ambitions, to get different levels of government to prioritise sanitation. To enable
timely course correction, it is important to build a culture of learning and trust, which means investing in
reliable verification, enabling informal information sharing, and securing participation of people with
power to make and follow up on decisions.
History
School
Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Research Unit
Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
Published in
WEDC Conference
Citation
MASON, N. ... et al, 2017. How to unlock the incentives to turn political will on sanitation into action. IN: Shaw, R.J. (ed). Local action with international cooperation to improve and sustain water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services: Proceedings of the 40th WEDC International Conference, Loughborough, UK, 24-28 July 2017, Paper 2580, 7pp.
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