Practical resources for managing committees of small water supply systems or community-based systems to develop a plan for better, more sustainable water services through integrity and compliance, while building relationships with local duty bearers.
WHEN TO USE IT
When responsibilities for the management and maintenance of a small supply system are unclear.
When long-term water services delivery in rural and marginalised areas needs improvement or is hampered by integrity problems.
To support efforts towards building capacity and ensuring compliance with local regulation
HOW IT WORKS
Poor O&M of small water supply systems is often linked not to hardware issues but to poor management, poor governance and lack of integrity. More technical trainings on O&M will not solve the root causes of the problem but the IMT-SWSS can. It is a coached process to examing integrity problems and develop a targeted action plan with support from local duty bearers.
With the IMT-SWSS, management committees of community-based or small water supply systems are in the driving seat. The tool includes accessible resources and templates, meant to enable users to carry out their own assessment of problems and compliance status, select tools and agree on a plan of action focusing on integrity and its building blocks: Transparency, Accountability, Participation, and Anti-Corruption.
IMT-SWSS creates a platform for customers, committee and local government to discuss problems and improve the quality of services, in some cases enabling longer-term fundraising and institutionalised support.
WHO CAN USE IT
NGOs and institutions, including local authorities, municipalities and regulators, supporting small water supply systems in rural, underserved, or remote areas
NGOs or institutions supporting community-based water supply,
HOW IT WAS DEVELOPED
The Integrity Management Toolbox for Small Water Supply Systems was first developed by Caritas Switzerland, the Kenya Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) and WIN with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooporation (SDC). It was devised as an innovative approach to support community groups operating outside the country’s regulatory framework and accountability mechanisms.
The current toolbox is the result of three years of consultation with sector stakeholders and a clearly defined testing/piloting/scaling up strategy in Kenya as well as adpatations and pilot applications with partners Controla Tu Gobierno and Cantaro Azul in Mexico (since 2019) and with Caritas Switzerland in Ethiopia.
HOW TO USE IT
Download the detailed overview of the methdology.
WIN provides a full facilitation kit (free), including descriptions of recurrent problems and integrity measures, templates and illustrations for communities where literacy may be a challenge. We also support adaptation and implementation in different contexts.