A holistic framework for evaluating and planning sustainable rural drinking water projects

What is it about?

The Holistic Integrated Framework – HIF, is an evaluation and planning tool to address the complexity of sustainability in drinking water projects in the African continent. It adopts a systems perspective to reveal the entire ecosystem of a project beyond its technical components, identifying the broader dynamics affecting sustainability. The matrix includes two main dimensions: vertical – stakeholders’ levels and horizontal - sustainability factors dimensions, enabling an in-depth analysis required for a full understanding of the ecosystem by cross-referencing the two dimensions. The vertical dimension includes four main spatial-governance levels: Meta-global, Macro-national, Meso-regional, and Micro-village/scheme/utility/project levels. The horizontal dimension includes five general categories of sustainability factors: planning, social, economic, technological and environmental factors. The framework enables us to uncover as many sustainability factors as possible, as well as all stakeholders, and governance entities that might have an impact on the project, revealing underlying issues and identifying regional feedback loops that perpetuate unsustainable situations. The HIF enables researchers and practitioners to identify areas that require correction or mitigation.

Featured Image

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

Why is it important?

771M people worldwide do not have access to clean water. Non-sustainable water projects are a main cause of lack of access to clean water, in many developing countries. Sustainability is difficult to plan for, to attain, and finally, even to assess and measure. This tool can assist.