Top 10 WASH Sustainability Tools of 2013

2013 has been a great year for SustainableWASH.org. We have seen the number of endorsers for the WASH Sustainability Charter swell to over 130, and we have seen the sector make great use of the Self-Assessment tool launched early in the year, with 17 organizations having completed the full assessment. To endorse the WASH Sustainability Charter or use the self-assessment tool, please visit this page.

For those of you that haven’t yet used the self-assessment tool, beyond providing you with scores on different areas of sustainability, you will receive a personalized recommendation of resources that can help you where your organization has the greatest opportunity for growth. These resources are also available to search or browse. Throughout 2013, these resources have been viewed hundreds of times by users across over 150 countries. Today, we are sharing the most popular resources (by number of views).

If you are interested in learning more about tools in the water sector, we invite you to join the upcoming WASH Sustainability Webinar Series events on tools for ensuring WASH Sustainability on March 4th and 18th. To learn more and to register, click here.

Without further ado, here is a countdown of the top WASH Sustainability Tools of 2013:

Top WASH Sustainability Resources for 2013

10) Assessing hygiene improvement: guidelines for household and community levels
The guidelines are intended to assist program managers to develop and evaluate hygiene improvement interventions at the community and household levels. They describe 66 indicators and propose 360 model survey questions for measuring hygiene improvement comprehensively at the household and community levels and at institutions such as schools and health facilities. They help in planning and conducting the following evaluation tasks: - Perform a situational analysis and needs assessment - Develop a performance monitoring plan - Establish a baseline of and assess the current hygiene practices - Measure differences in access and hygiene behaviors between different population groups - Evaluate the impact of hygiene improvement programs

9) SARAR techniques: Tools for Community Participation, a manual for training trainers in participatory techniques
Focuses on an approach to participatory training called SARAR, which stands for: self esteem; associative strengths; resourcefulness; action planning; and responsibility. The SARAR approach to community participation in development projects is designed to ensure that sect oral improvements correspond to people’s priorities and benefit from people’s willingness to use them effectively and maintain them in good order

8) CLUES (Community-Led Urban Environmental Sanitation)
The planning approach builds on a framework which balances the needs of people with those of the environment to support human dignity and a healthy life. CLUES is a multi-sector and multi-actor approach accounting for water supply, sanitation, solid waste management and storm drainage. It emphasizes the participation of all stakeholders from an early stage in the planning process. CLUES promotes a shift away from centralized conventional sewerage (but doesn’t exclude it) towards offering a range of technology solutions for people living in poor and unplanned urban areas. The CLUES approach has three distinct elements: • seven planning steps, • three cross-cutting tasks relevant throughout the entire planning process, and • the enabling environment which is required for sustainable interventions.

7) ISO Water Standards
The International Standard Organization presents three key standards for managing water utilities, and assessing water services (processes, activities, means and resources) necessary for abstracting, treating, distributing or supplying drinking water and for collecting, treating and disposing of wastewater as well as for providing the associated services and evaluating the service being delivered. The three standards are: - ISO 24510: activities relating to drinking water and wastewater services – Guidelines for the assessment and for the improvement of the service to users - ISO 24511: activities relating to drinking water and wastewater services – Guidelines for the management of wastewater utilities and for the assessment of wastewater services - ISO 24512: activities relating to drinking water and wastewater services – Guidelines for the management of drinking water utilities and for the assessment of drinking water services.

6) Operation and maintenance of rural water supply and sanitation systems: A training package for managers and planners
This training package provides activities for planners and managers interested who are challenged by the effective implementation of WASH Operation and Maintenance services in developing countries. It highlights the importance of community participation, gender balance, emphasizing the efficient use of local human resources for sustainability.

5) USAID hygiene improvement framework (HIF)
This framework is used as a model to sustainably combat diarrhea by USAID and their partners. Aspects of the HIF have been incorporated into existing health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS and child survival programs to increase the likelihood of sustainable work throughout other development sectors.

4) Developing Financing Strategies in Water Supply and Sanitation
This paper provides information about financing strategies in water supply and sanitation (WSS) that are realistic and meet established development objectives. It addresses the preparation, development and implementation of a financing strategy in WSS in developing and transition countries. In specific, the paper: - offers a definition of a financing strategy for WSS - lays out the stages for preparing, developing and implementing a financing strategy in WSS - breaks down the challenges in each step

3) Sustainable sanitation and water management toolbox
This integrative toolbox is used for capacity development at the local level. It provides a collection of tools and approaches to improve water resources management sanitation, targeting decision makers and practitioners. It can also be used by international agencies for education and training. It offers material covering: clarifying the sustainable sanitation concept, understanding existing local water management systems, planning and process tools, implementation tools, and train the trainers modules.

2) Handbook on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) methodology
The CLTS methodology is a popular tool used to motivate change for improved sanitation in the rural context. CLTS recognizes the importance of behavioral change in improved sanitation through community mobilization. Through facilitation techniques, communities conduct their own appraisal and analysis for open defecation and take their own action to become open defecation free. CLTS recognizes that providing toilets does not guarantee or result in improved and sustainable sanitation and hygiene. By focusing on behavioral change and awareness building, CLTS invests in community mobilization rather than hardware installation and triggers change within communities through mutual support, local solutions and innovation.

1) PHAST - step by step guide: a participatory approach for the control of diarrheal diseases
Through the promotion of participatory technique, this guide presents a seven-step approach to help people feel more confident about their ability to take action and make improvements to their communities. In the first five steps, community groups are guided on the development of a plan to prevent diarrheal diseases by improving water supply, hygiene behaviors and sanitation. The last two steps involve monitoring and evaluation.