Multi-Stakeholder partnerships for service delivery of rural water supply in Uganda – A case of Kamwenge District

There has been considerable progress in terms of rural water service delivery in Uganda although national safe water coverage in rural areas has stagnated at 70%. Support to local Governments in the form of private sector and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) partnerships has increasingly become essential. This research takes Water For People’s Everyone Forever program implemented in Kamwenge district as a case study to understand the extent to which the multi-stakeholder partnership approach is working for rural water service delivery. Through in-depth semi structured key informant interviews, document analysis and focus group discussions, results show that synergetic collaborations have the potential for enhancing rural water service delivery although considerable effort is required to sustain future joint working. Besides having an effective common vision, the most effective strategies include intentional relationship building at different levels, creative working styles, joint planning guided by evidence-based decision making. The research recommends that future joint working could benefit from revamping coordination structures, closer collaborations between regional structures and a top-down capacity building strategy.