The genesis of ODF Koppal in India: contextualising leadership and innovations to achieve sanitation at scale

From what was once the most hard to reform district in terms of sanitation coverage, to declaring itself Open Defecation Free(ODF) in March, 2018- Koppal district stands as a testimonial to Leadership & Innovations in WASH sector. The Koppal-KRISH project managed to turnaround the facets of low-WASH coverage, usage and scalability, even when it struggled with tough-terrained topography and poor human development indicators. Project initiatives like imparting leadership & change management trainings to field functionaries & devising nationally awarded, innovative prototypes for institutional WASH, catapulted the district forward as a model case for sustainable & resilient transformation. Through this paper, we examine multiple verticals of sustained innovation and leadership excellence in WASH that can help deliver sanitation success at scale, when coupled with CLTS and other behaviour change approaches. Also, this paper highlights the efficacy of using practical, context specific and multiple approaches for WASH when shrouded with local constraints.