MANTIS - Monitoring and ANalytics To Improve Service

This project will explore the opportunities and challenges associated with the wider deployment of a 'proven' prototype hand pump monitor called MANTIS. The study will seek to further develop and deploy the MANTIS system and will consider the technological, societal, and market issues associated with its application to rural India. It is anticipated that this exercise will help cultivate more appropriate maintenance strategies for water points by integrating and responding to qualitative (human-centred) and quantitative (technical) insights into daily practices related to local water consumption. The anticipated improvements will relate to reduced waiting times for repairs to broken or poorly performing hand pumps. Prompt repairs are essential because when hand pumps malfunction, many local communities will resort to using less protected water-sources, increasing their exposure to a wide range of water-related diseases. Broken hand water pumps impose obvious hardships upon the rural communities that are reliant on them, and therefore have significant implications for the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 target of universal access to safe drinking water. This project will facilitate cross-learning between industrial, academic, and third sector stakeholders. In turn, this will be used to enhance both public and policy understanding of hand water pump maintenance strategies.