Beyond the networked city: building innovative delivery systems for water, sanitation and energy in urban Africa
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Civil Engineering
Abstract
Our research will develop and test improved systems to deliver water, sanitation and energy services to marginalised people living in urban areas. These services are selected because they represent the most fundamental needs of urban populations and are the focus of SDG 6 (water and sanitation) and SDG 7 (energy). Our work will support the achievement of SDG 11 (sustainable communities and cities).
The research will be undertaken in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Kampala, Uganda. The population in both these cities is growing rapidly, with significant levels of poverty and significant numbers of informal settlements. Current rates of access to water supply, sanitation and energy are low in these cities, with striking inequalities in access to these services between wealthy and poor areas. The rapid increase in population has led to communities being established that are distant from existing infrastructure and difficult to serve. Households in marginalised communities therefore have to access water, sanitation and energy from informal and often 'off-grid' sources. This includes, for instance, using charcoal for energy, dug wells or protected springs for domestic water and basic on-site sanitation.
Our research will combine social, economic and political analysis with insights from natural and engineering science to understand how the infrastructure, management, finance and governance can be developed to improve water, sanitation and energy services. Our research is designed in five inter-related work areas. We will first establish a thorough understanding of each city. We will analyse how the cities have developed to date and how they are likely to develop in the future; we will identify which areas have access to formal services and which have access to informal services; and will we map the hazards and risks in each city. We will use data collected from official statistics to analyse each city and in Freetown we will use remotely sensed data from NASA to map the city.
We will then assess the formal on-grid services, using data key attributes of the infrastructure to develop risk maps. We will research the attitudes of suppliers, policy makers and city officials regarding the challenges and opportunities to extend services to people who don't currently have access. We will complement this by looking at how informal suppliers provide services, including the technologies they use and their business models. We will assess the resilience of the services and research the perceptions of the informal suppliers about how services can be improved and what they see as being their role in this. Next we will work in four marginalised communities to understand how and from where they currently access services, how much they pay and their perception of the quality of services. We will explore what people living communities think would be the best way to improve services and who they think should provide services.
We will use all the data we have collected about the city, from suppliers of services and from communities to develop a set of options for improving services to marginalised communities. This will use a 'Delphi' method that uses discussions to build consensus on which are the best options. We will involve policy makers, service providers and members of marginalised communities to develop the preferred options. The final part of our research will be to test specific interventions in four communities. We will undertake a formal outcome evaluation to assess how well these options work and undertake a value for money assessment of each option. We will also develop city-wide plans for the development of services over time. Throughout our research we will engage with local people, decision-makers and funders to ensure that our research addresses the questions they think are most important and to maximise the potential for our research to influence service development in each city.
The research will be undertaken in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Kampala, Uganda. The population in both these cities is growing rapidly, with significant levels of poverty and significant numbers of informal settlements. Current rates of access to water supply, sanitation and energy are low in these cities, with striking inequalities in access to these services between wealthy and poor areas. The rapid increase in population has led to communities being established that are distant from existing infrastructure and difficult to serve. Households in marginalised communities therefore have to access water, sanitation and energy from informal and often 'off-grid' sources. This includes, for instance, using charcoal for energy, dug wells or protected springs for domestic water and basic on-site sanitation.
Our research will combine social, economic and political analysis with insights from natural and engineering science to understand how the infrastructure, management, finance and governance can be developed to improve water, sanitation and energy services. Our research is designed in five inter-related work areas. We will first establish a thorough understanding of each city. We will analyse how the cities have developed to date and how they are likely to develop in the future; we will identify which areas have access to formal services and which have access to informal services; and will we map the hazards and risks in each city. We will use data collected from official statistics to analyse each city and in Freetown we will use remotely sensed data from NASA to map the city.
We will then assess the formal on-grid services, using data key attributes of the infrastructure to develop risk maps. We will research the attitudes of suppliers, policy makers and city officials regarding the challenges and opportunities to extend services to people who don't currently have access. We will complement this by looking at how informal suppliers provide services, including the technologies they use and their business models. We will assess the resilience of the services and research the perceptions of the informal suppliers about how services can be improved and what they see as being their role in this. Next we will work in four marginalised communities to understand how and from where they currently access services, how much they pay and their perception of the quality of services. We will explore what people living communities think would be the best way to improve services and who they think should provide services.
We will use all the data we have collected about the city, from suppliers of services and from communities to develop a set of options for improving services to marginalised communities. This will use a 'Delphi' method that uses discussions to build consensus on which are the best options. We will involve policy makers, service providers and members of marginalised communities to develop the preferred options. The final part of our research will be to test specific interventions in four communities. We will undertake a formal outcome evaluation to assess how well these options work and undertake a value for money assessment of each option. We will also develop city-wide plans for the development of services over time. Throughout our research we will engage with local people, decision-makers and funders to ensure that our research addresses the questions they think are most important and to maximise the potential for our research to influence service development in each city.
Planned Impact
We have designed this project to maximise the potential for impact and have made impact a central consideration at each stage in the design. Th approach we have adopted in the research design, strongly rooted in the realities of each city and engaging with communities, service providers, policy makers and funders, ensures that our research will respond to the priorities of people living and providing services in each city and engages them in the research process.
The beneficiaries of this research fall into three groups. Firstly, we expect people living marginalised communities in both cities to benefit by supporting them to access safer, more reliable and more resilient water supply, sanitation and energy services. By directly involving communities in the research to identify their concerns and to understand their preferences, the findings and recommendations will reflect their needs and demands. By actively engaging the four selected communities in the Delphi workshops to develop preferred options, we will provide a direct voice for marginalised people on how and where services should be improved. These four communities will also directly benefit from the testing of the options, resulting in improvements in service delivery for them. Other marginalised communities will ultimately benefit from the development of municipal-wide service development plans which are based on the reality of their environments and experiences.
The second group of beneficiaries are the formal and informal providers of services and municipal authorities in each city, who will have access to evidence-based options and plans to help extend and maintain high quality services across their city. By using our research to look at the resilience of their systems and risks they face, and by working with them to identify their views on how services can be improved, our research findings will reflect the constraints and conditions they must operate within. Their role in the Delphi workshops and subsequent testing of options means that they will play a central role in developing new service delivery models that are realistic and deliverable. Their inputs into the municipal-wide plans that are the final output of the research will mean they have a stake in ensuring these can be successfully delivered. We anticipate that the models that emerge for testing and the municipal plans will include provision for formalising the important role of informal suppliers and so provide long-term opportunities for their business development.
The final group of beneficiaries are national and international policy makers who will have access to evidence-based models of service delivery for marginalised communities in rapidly growing urban areas. This will help national authorities plan the future development of these two cities and the other towns and cities in their countries. For international policy makers, it will provide models that can be applied in other countries and similar settings. Their engagement particularly in the Delhi workshops will allow them to both input and define preferred options, but also to hear the voices of marginalised communities and service providers directly, which will help them in defining more responsive policies.
The beneficiaries of this research fall into three groups. Firstly, we expect people living marginalised communities in both cities to benefit by supporting them to access safer, more reliable and more resilient water supply, sanitation and energy services. By directly involving communities in the research to identify their concerns and to understand their preferences, the findings and recommendations will reflect their needs and demands. By actively engaging the four selected communities in the Delphi workshops to develop preferred options, we will provide a direct voice for marginalised people on how and where services should be improved. These four communities will also directly benefit from the testing of the options, resulting in improvements in service delivery for them. Other marginalised communities will ultimately benefit from the development of municipal-wide service development plans which are based on the reality of their environments and experiences.
The second group of beneficiaries are the formal and informal providers of services and municipal authorities in each city, who will have access to evidence-based options and plans to help extend and maintain high quality services across their city. By using our research to look at the resilience of their systems and risks they face, and by working with them to identify their views on how services can be improved, our research findings will reflect the constraints and conditions they must operate within. Their role in the Delphi workshops and subsequent testing of options means that they will play a central role in developing new service delivery models that are realistic and deliverable. Their inputs into the municipal-wide plans that are the final output of the research will mean they have a stake in ensuring these can be successfully delivered. We anticipate that the models that emerge for testing and the municipal plans will include provision for formalising the important role of informal suppliers and so provide long-term opportunities for their business development.
The final group of beneficiaries are national and international policy makers who will have access to evidence-based models of service delivery for marginalised communities in rapidly growing urban areas. This will help national authorities plan the future development of these two cities and the other towns and cities in their countries. For international policy makers, it will provide models that can be applied in other countries and similar settings. Their engagement particularly in the Delhi workshops will allow them to both input and define preferred options, but also to hear the voices of marginalised communities and service providers directly, which will help them in defining more responsive policies.
Publications
Baptista I
(2022)
From problematisation to propositionality: Advancing southern urban infrastructure debates
in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
Cirolia LR
(2024)
Handbook of Infrastructures and Cities
Cirolia LR
(2022)
Centring the 'Urban State' in African Urban Governance Debates
in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Cirolia, L.R.
(2025)
Coastal encounters with electrical hybridity: Karpowership in Africa's energy transition
in Sustainability Science
Hermanus L
(2024)
Distributed energy technologies, decentralizing systems, and the future of African cities
in Environment sand Urbanisation
Howard G
(2021)
The future of water and sanitation: global challenges and the need for greater ambition
in Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua
Kajjoba D
"We have a big problem with electricity [yet] it contributes to the development of my community": The lived energy experience within Kampala's informal settlements
in Energy for Sustainable Development
Tumwebaze I
(2022)
Water and sanitation service levels in urban informal settlements: a case study of Portee-Rokupa in Freetown, Sierra Leone
in Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
| Description | The Beyond the Networked City investigated how low-income communities currently access water supply, energy and sanitation services and to explore how the quality of those services and ability of poor households to access quality services could be improved. It used two case study cities, Kampala in Uganda and Freetown in Sierra Leone, to explore these issues in an African context. We also hoped to explore the learning that could be applied across these different services. The project generated a new detailed data set on and evidence on water supply and energy products and services in Kampala and Freetown drawn from multiple sources. This data and evidence provide a comprehensive overview of the different services which has previously not been available. This data and evidence show where services are vulnerable, how people access these services, the options for service improvement in the long-term will form the basis of ongoing engagement with communities on their preferences for services. This will support improved access to services in each city and contribute to poverty reduction and in addressing inequalities in access between different population groups and taking into account gender inequality in access and participation in decision-making. We have developed testable options for improving services and are now starting to assess these and model their likely impact. Water supply In water supply, our key findings demonstrate the complex nature of access to water supplies and to sanitation in low-income communities. In Kampala, the primary source of water used was piped water, primarily from a public tap. Multiple sources of water are used by households to cope with poor service water quality and these alternatives may increase the risks to the health of the users. Our study provided strong evidence that increasing sustained access to piped water supply was the best option to improve water supply in low-income communities. Our investigation into whether the mechanisms used by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) during the COVID pandemic to provide access to water in low-income communities provide a viable long-term solution concluded that there are opportunities for NWSC to expand these. In particular, the study found that used of pre-paid meters were most highly valued by households as they offered the best mix of accessibility and price, although they had the shortest number of hours per day that water could be obtained. Our studies have shown that increasing the hours of operation of pre-paid meters will increase their use. Our work also suggested that community water tanks were also highly valued, but there are too few which increases the distance households must travel to obtain water. Increasing the number of such tanks is therefore required. Finally, although public taps are widely used, inconsistent and generally high costs should be addressed. As a consequence of our study, we have been able to provide NWSC with clear recommendations for improving their services for poor communities in Kampala. This data is being used to directly work with NWSC to develop new pro-poor programmes of work to accelerate access to piped water supply. This will support the achievement of SDG 6 in Uganda and the experience will be used to demonstrate to other utilities in other African cities how access can be increased. Our studies in Freetown showed that in contrast to Kampala, the use of sachet water for drinking was most common among poor communities. This is complemented by use of boreholes and wells to supply water for other domestic uses. These findings reflect the generally very limited development of the piped water network in Freetown and strategies to improve access to safely managed water will need to focus on improving off-grid water supplies in the short- to medium term. In the long-term investments in increasing the capacity of the piped water supply to serve all residents in the city may be realised, but this should not be a focus of actions currently. For both Kampala and Freetown we undertake an assessment of the vulnerability of the current piped water systems in light of increasing changes in climate. This resulted in a detailed vulnerability map of the piped water system for Kampala and an outline vulnerability map for Freetown. This information provides the water suppliers with information on where the critical points within their infrastructure are located and how to support prioritisation of actions to reduce vulnerability. Energy The data demonstrated that the majority of the population in both cities have access to grid electricity in their homes and mainly cook with charcoal on basic portable metal stoves (known as Coal-Pot in Freetown and Essigiri in Kampala). However, the access to both of these energy services is sporadic, due to problems with the reliability of the energy supply networks, financial challenges and the ad hoc governance of energy services. The data showed that both communities in Freetown and Kampala rely on heterogenous solutions to their energy needs, requiring their own redundant systems, and leaning on community members to support them in times of failure. There are a variety of energy enterprises within these community, from small ad-hoc suppliers, such as charcoal sellers, to more formal electrical suppliers, able the supply the communities with their energy needs (such as diesel generators and small-scale solar panels for electricity). The data did show some interesting differences between the two communities. In Kampala, households spend more on charcoal than they did on electricity, whereas in Sierra Leone, more was spent on electricity than charcoal. Some of this can be attributed to factors such as geographical location (in Freetown for example, coastal settlements can fuelwood supplies that are transported by boats from the Provinces) as well as generation capacity and mechanisms (such as subsidies) to reduce the cost of electricity. The data also showed that in both cities, households are keen on transitioning to modern and more reliable energy services but had both limited understanding of the technology and limited capacity to actively maintain, repair or replace parts of different technologies. The BNC data reinforced the narrative that energy service provision for lighting and energy service provision for cooking are different and, perceptions vary across communities and each service requires different approaches to address varying challenges. Both survey and focus group data highlight that electricity access is regarded a formal service whereby factors such as availability, access, and disruptions are (in theory) the responsibility of the utility provider. At the same time, there are multiple high-level stakeholders at national and municipal levels that incorporate electricity access into their agendas. Cooking, on the other hand is considered an informal service provision and availability, access, affordability and disruptions to the service is the responsibility of those who ultimately cook, whether at individual, household or community level. There is very little formal policy at national and municipal level in both cities, although this is beginning to change with the drive for electric cooking on the global agenda. The BNC data started to unpack this vis-a-vis the continued socio-demographic implications of energy access for electricity and cooking and highlighted aspects such as gender, age and socio-economic status that continue to be barriers. Based on this data, we initiated pilot activities in both Freetown and Kampala to demonstrate the use of energy efficient technologies and promote wider uptake of their use in low-income communities. This was achieved through community-based demonstration events for clean cookstoves and other energy efficient lighting devices. These activities were led by the communities themselves. These interventions will support achievement of SDG 7, promoting access to modern energy forms. In addition, the training and support to energy champions across numerous informal settlements in Freetown is increasing awareness of energy efficient cooking technologies and encouraging dialogue amongst stakeholders across both cities on how to maximise the benefits of clean technologies in low-income communities. By supporting community led initiatives such as cooking demonstrations, the BNC project has furthered the knowledge of clean fuels for energy intensive tasks, especially at a household level. In Freetown, the community were very keen on using clean cooking technologies, such as clean biomass cookstoves, LPG and electricity, but did not feel able to invest in them. Through a co-production workshop, the suggestion of a community clean cooking kitchen was developed. This was built with a series of stakeholders, enabling the community to access pay-as-you-go clean cooking facilities, and supporting small businesses to use clean cooking and more efficient fish smoking services. Our work on governance of off-grid energy systems has helped generate new evidence on how governance of energy provision can be improved in Africa and is leading to a new policy focused evidence note. We have also critically analysed the use of large-scale modular infrastructure such as floating ships for electricity generation and their place in Africa's energy transition. |
| Exploitation Route | The NWSC are using the findings from our evaluation to revise and improve their policies and practices in service provision to low-income communities and households. The findings from both the NWSC evaluation and the review on piped water supply will have wider impact as a model for utilities across the continent to increase access. We have a wide range of partners in our energy pilot projects and we anticipate this will lead to long-term change in provision of clean energy sources in low-income communities in African cities. The outcomes from this project will help both the development of more sustainable, equitable and resilient services in the two cities in which our project field work is being undertaken. Secondly we have developed a model for others to follow in terms of analysing problems at city-wide level and using data from multiple sources to help define options for service delivery for poor people in African cities. The findings to date will be useful for our partners in both cities consider how services are currently provided and what future initiatives are required to improve service quality. These findings will therefore help both Uganda and Sierra Leone tackle core development challenges in the provision of water, sanitation and energy services and contribute to improved urban planning and environments. Our findings will help support delivery of sustainable development goals (SDGs) 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy) and 11 (sustainable cities and communities) in Sierra Leone and Uganda. We expect that our detailed analysis of the needs of different population groups and differentiated gender needs in accessing services will help to address inequality in access and decision-making over service provision. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Energy Environment |
| Description | On the basis of our research and engagement in Uganda, we were requested by the National Water & Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to evaluate their approach to providing household water access to low-income communities that was developed as part of the COVID response with support from MTN (mobile service provider). The findings of the evaluation demonstrated to NWSC and the Government in Uganda the interventions that are most likely to be effective in increasing the accessibility of piped water supply in low-income communities. This forms part of an ongoing engagement with NWSC led by Makerere University and we anticipate that this will lead to changes in policy and practice by NWSC. This is leading to discussion of new initiatives by NWSC to deliver piped services to previously unserved or under-served communities. The dissemination of the findings of this evaluation, the research conducted in low-income communities in both Kampala and Freetown, and the scoping review of the evidence of effective approaches to increasing access to piped water supply, have reached a much wider audience. The evaluation and the scoping review provide both practical examples of how access to on-grid water can be improved and an up to date critical assessment of the wider evidence base from across Africa on piped water expansion. Both sets of evidence have been utilised by a range of actors across the continent in terms of their programming. Our work on energy in both Kampala and Freetown is led to new community initiatives to promote and acquire clean energy technologies and to promote energy efficiency. In Freetown the involvement of key local stakeholders in the construction of the community kitchen in Portee Rokupa was instrumental in the success of the project. Their active participation and support facilitated the development of the kitchen and created a sense of ownership and empowerment within the community. This collaborative approach fostered strong relationships and partnerships, enhancing the resilience and sustainability of the project. SLURC, the lead member of the research consortium in Sierra Leone, is planning continued collaboration with local organizations and government that are promoting clean cooking initiatives, to promote the replication in other informal settlements. This will help build a legacy of sustainable and inclusive practices, leveraging national policy to provide additional support for sustainable cleaning solutions. This team in Sierra Leone with support from the wider BNC team are supporting development of a strategy for replication to facilitate the adoption of the model in diverse communities. Our engagement with government and service providers in Freetown has led to the development of a 'festival of services' that will be held in the main community in the project as a means of creating more engagement in co-production of solutions to poor access to services. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Energy,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | Development of guidelines for WASH in health care facilities |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Review of progress on SDGs Ugabnda |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | ES/X004392/1 |
| Amount | £14,931 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/X004392/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 05/2024 |
| Title | Risk analysis tool for piped water and sewerage systems |
| Description | We are developing a new risk analysis tool that can be applied to piped water systems and sewerage systems that describe the vulnerability of systems and the hazards they are threatened by. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This tool is being further developed to become an operational decision tool and ultimately will help service operators in their routine work and in prioritising actions to improve services and help guide investment strategies. |
| Title | BNC data set |
| Description | Full data set for the Beynd the Networked City project |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Too early to say as only published December 2024 |
| URL | https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/857515/ |
| Title | Community datasets Freetown and Kampala |
| Description | We have developed detailed datasets on water, sanitation, and energy access in low-income communitiues in Freetown and Kampala. This provide a wealth of data on current practices, perceptions, and future demand among low-income households. The data is not yet publicly available but will be at the end of the project. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This detailed data will help develop options for service delivery improvement in the future. |
| Title | NWSC evaluation |
| Description | We have created a new data set of household preferences for access to piped water supply in Kampala. This documents which type of provision is preferred and what barriers exist that limit access to an at-house water supply. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This data will be used to influence NWSC practice moving forward in the provision of piped water supply to low-income communities and households. |
| Title | Understanding piped system vulnerability |
| Description | We have developed a new model for assessing the vulnerability of piped water and sewerage systems that is dynamic and can be linked to climate variables into an overall risk model and can also be used to predict future growth in demand and risks associated with this. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | We anticipate this new model being of use to water supply and water sewerage operators in their planning and management of their systems. |
| Description | Cabot Institute |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Department | Cabot Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Members of the University of Bristol team (Professor Howard, Dr Pregnolato, Dr Williamson and Dr Aggarwal) have contributed to discussion on urban futures in the cross-University Cabot Institute of the Environment. This has led to increased profile within the University and via the Cabot website to the general public. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Cabot Institute City futures theme bring together researchers from many different disciplines and focus and their inputs have helped the research team frame their objectives and vision for this project. |
| Impact | Our contribution to the Cabot institute has the importance of ensuring urban populations in low- and middle-income countries have access to safe, sustainable and resilient services if cities are to healthy and productive environments. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | GWA Water Security Alliance urban dynamics of water security working group |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The GWA Water Security Alliance (WSA) is a group of academics drawn from the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff sand Exeter. On the basis of this project we have supported the WSA develop a new working group focused on the issues related to the provision of water and sanitation services and sustainable water management in urban areas of Africa. We are part of the steering committee for the working group and we are helping to frame how this group will foster knowledge-exchange and capacity development across the four Universities and our partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The leads on the working group bring different perspectives on water and sanitation service provision in urban Africa, ranging from socio-economic perspectives to new metrics for measuring water security. These perspectives are helping to develop a rounded and comprehensive approach o understanding these issues and helping to inform our thinking in relation to our research. |
| Impact | There are no outputs to date. The group is inter-disciplinary including social scientists, engineers and physical scientists. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | GWA Water Security Alliance urban dynamics of water security working group |
| Organisation | University of Bath |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The GWA Water Security Alliance (WSA) is a group of academics drawn from the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff sand Exeter. On the basis of this project we have supported the WSA develop a new working group focused on the issues related to the provision of water and sanitation services and sustainable water management in urban areas of Africa. We are part of the steering committee for the working group and we are helping to frame how this group will foster knowledge-exchange and capacity development across the four Universities and our partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The leads on the working group bring different perspectives on water and sanitation service provision in urban Africa, ranging from socio-economic perspectives to new metrics for measuring water security. These perspectives are helping to develop a rounded and comprehensive approach o understanding these issues and helping to inform our thinking in relation to our research. |
| Impact | There are no outputs to date. The group is inter-disciplinary including social scientists, engineers and physical scientists. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | GWA Water Security Alliance urban dynamics of water security working group |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The GWA Water Security Alliance (WSA) is a group of academics drawn from the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff sand Exeter. On the basis of this project we have supported the WSA develop a new working group focused on the issues related to the provision of water and sanitation services and sustainable water management in urban areas of Africa. We are part of the steering committee for the working group and we are helping to frame how this group will foster knowledge-exchange and capacity development across the four Universities and our partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The leads on the working group bring different perspectives on water and sanitation service provision in urban Africa, ranging from socio-economic perspectives to new metrics for measuring water security. These perspectives are helping to develop a rounded and comprehensive approach o understanding these issues and helping to inform our thinking in relation to our research. |
| Impact | There are no outputs to date. The group is inter-disciplinary including social scientists, engineers and physical scientists. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Partnership with NWSC, Uganda |
| Organisation | National Water and Sewerage Corporation |
| Country | Uganda |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The team from Makerere University involved in Beyond the Networked City undertook an evaluation of the approach developed by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) with support from MTN (mobile phone provider) to support low-income households can access to piped water supplies during the COVID pandemic to assess whether this approach could be adopted as a long-term strategy. The Makerere team is being supported by the UK BNC members to design the evaluation and analyse the data. The findings will contribute to the wider BNC learning. The evaluation study engagement took on an iterative and co-production process. The BNC team from Makerere established knowledge gaps that would inform decision making for NWSC during main project data collection process and the BNC team engaged NWSC to defdine the scope of the study and key themes of interest to integrate in the data collection tools. The evaluation collected data through household surveys and focus-group disucssions in two communities complemented by key informant interviews with staff from NWSC during August to December 2023. Analysis of both the quantiative survey data and qualitative data is now completed with two manuscripts developed - one focused on the qualitative study which is currently under peer review, and one focused on the quantiative study which is being finalised. In addition, an evaluation report is being finalised for NWSC, including an evidence brief. A dissemination event with NWSC was held in April 2024 and included key NWSC staff and other national ad local stakehlders from from governmentm private sector, public, civil society, and academic sectors. In addition, training was provided by the Makerere team to local leaders, selected community members and service delivery models managers in the study areas. The preliminary findings from the wevaluation were presenteed at the BNC workshop at the IWA Development Congress held in Kigali in December 2023. |
| Collaborator Contribution | NWSC particpated in the evaluation design and provided support in the organisation of community level workshops and in using the findings to develop training for community groups. This was covered by an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Makerere University and NWSC to support a partnership approach to the study. NWSC provided in-kind support for the evaluation. NWSC tasked the Pro-poor Unit Manager and the staff within the unit, together with the engineer to directly support the research process to link the team with the various branches within the study areas targeted. Further, one staff from NWSC was fully released to directly participate in all trainings and data collection processes. NWSC worked with the BNC team to design and deliver the dissemination event and there is a commitment from NWSC to use the findings from this evaluation in their future operational plannig around provision of water servcies to low-income communties. |
| Impact | Evaluation report for NWSC documenting the findings of the evaluation and recommendations for action based on our findings (in draft). Dissemination workshop with senior NWSC staff to present the fndings of the study. Two papers to be submitted to peer reviewed journals, one on the purely qualitative aspects and one combining both quantitative (being finalised) and qualitative data (under reveiw). |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Community engagement on improvement options for water and energy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Within Freetown, we have been having ongoing enagagement with local community involved in the BNC study (Portee-Rokupa) to feedback the findings of the field studies undertaken to date and to start preparing further engagement activities with the community to define future options for improving access to energy, water and sanitation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Community outreach and awareness |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | We have had a serires of structured engagements with community members and leaders in the two citiles where we are working to discuss the project and its aims, and to discuss how the findings may help in improvig access to services, In addition, we have engaged with sachet drinking water distributors, borehole and wells owners and caretakers, toilet artisans and manual and mechanical toilet emptiers in Freetown to discuss the project and the potential role they have in improving service dfelivery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Engagement with FCDO technical staff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The PI has discussions with the Health of Profession for Infrastructure in what was DFID to discuss the project and how this project may contribute to wider O|DA objectives in relation to water, sanitation and energy services and wider urban development in Africa. The purpose of this engagement is to ensure that we develop impact from the project by encouraging uptake of our findings by a key bilateral donor. The outcome was a commitment to continue to engage, although this has been put on hold given the recent merger of DFID and the FCO. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Engagement with WWF |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engagement meeting with World Wide Fund (WWF) to share information on the Beyond the Networked City project and to the previous experiences from WWF regarding similar works projects and to discuss successful experiences by WWF regarding previous research on the energy situation in informal settlements. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Engagement with WWF |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engagement meeting with World Wide Fund (WWF) to share information on the Beyond the Networked City project and to the previous experiences from WWF regarding similar works projects and to discuss successful experiences by WWF regarding previous research on the energy situation in informal settlements. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Engagement with policy-makers and service providers un Freetown |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A delegation of UK and South African researchers working on the Beyond the Networked City project and held a series for formnal consultations with service providers, municipal authorities, and civil servants involved in policy development on service provision in the City. The consultations focused on key challenges and opportunities to extending both on and off-grid services to low-income communities within Freetown. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Engagement with service providers in Kampala and Freetown |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engagements have been held at city-wide leves with service providers and decision makers workimg on water and sanitation, and energy services. We have also engaged formally with local government officials in both Kampala and Freetown. the pukrpose of these meetings has been to raise awareness of the Beyond the Networked BCity project and how this may support improved service delivery. Key staff involved were senor staff in Guma Valley Water Company, the Freetown City Council sanitation officer, and the Team Leader of the WASH Consortium (an umbrella network for NGOs in Sierra Leone. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | IWA Development Congress 2023, Kigali |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Beyond the Networked City (BNC) project team convened a workshop at the IWA Development Congress after submitting a proposal and being awarded a slot following a competitive process. The workshop's overarching question was: What water delivery models have worked well for the Urban Poor? We used the workshop to both communicate the findings from the BNC project but also to collect and discuss the findings of other work in this area. Background and Brief Description of the Session Urban water utilities in low- and middle-income countries face various challenges to extending and operating reticulated water services to low-income urban settlements, where over a billion people worldwide live (UN, 2021). Various water utilities have taken transitional approaches to improving services in these settlements. The purpose of this workshop was to generate discussions between various WASH professionals to explore approaches that have been used in various countries, and to what extent they have achieved the overall objective of transitioning into safely managed and climate-resilient drinking water services to the urban poor. Most of the 1.5 hour-session was spent on discussions in three breakout groups comprised participants and BNC researchers. The workshop included three presentations on the BNC findings, followed by group work framed around a set of questions related to how access to piped water may be expanded in LMIC cities. Participants The workshop attracted 15 participants plus nine BNC researchers. Participants were comprised of water utility managers, policy makers, regulators, development partners and researchers from the following countries : • Cambodia • India • Kenya • Nigeria • Rwanda • Sierra Leone • Switzerland • Uganda In addition to the presentations on the BNC research, case studies from Abuja, Nigeria, Kigali, Rwanda, Machakos, Kenya, Water Utilities in Zambia, Tamil Nadu Municipal Authority, India, Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Nairobi Water, Kenya were discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Participation in Attended UKCDR's 'Preventing Harm in Research' webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Sam Williamson participated in this workshop and was able to use the information and knowledge gained to support the development of the project safeguarding strategy and plan. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Participation in the GCRF Off-grid cities and sustainable energy virtual workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two members of the team (Guy Howard and Liza Cirolia) participated in the GCRF Off-grid cities and sustainable energy virtual workshop. This event provided an opportunity to engage with a wide range of research teams working on similar ODA-funded research projects and to explore issues where multiple projects are looking at and to learn rom other research teams how they are approaching these issues and delivery of research in LMICs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Poster presentation at Energy and Climate Transformations: International Conference on Energy Research & Social Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Attendance at the Energy and Climate Transformations: International Conference on Energy Research & Social Science to present a Poster: "Energy service provision in urban informal settlements: An analysis from Kampala and Freetown" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/all/international-conference-on-energy-research-and-soci... |
| Description | Presentation at FUTURES Festival of Discovery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This is an invited talk as part of the research communication festival FUTURES (https://futuresnight.co.uk/). The aim of the talk is to discuss how the lessons learned from energy service provision in informal settlements in Freetown and Kampala can help us to understand our energy transition here in the UK. This was to an audience of around 50 people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://futuresnight.co.uk/events/discovery-talks-cooking-up-net-zero/ |
| Description | Presentation at the Gridding Equitable Urban Futures in Areas of Transition (GREAT) closing conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presented the work: Understanding the barriers to clean cooking in informal settlements - Case Studies from Freetown and Kampala at the closing conference for the GREAT project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/great/ |
| Description | Project webpage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project website has just been launched as of March 2021 and will be developed throughout the course of the project. We intend to use it to disseminate research outcomes including tools developed as well as academic outputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/research/water-and-sanitation/beyond-the-networked-city/ |
| Description | SHaring of research findings and engagement with research groups/projects working in Freetown (ICLEI Africa, through their ENACT project) and Kampala (Spotlight Kampala, UC Berkeley). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Members of the Beyond the Networked City team focusing on energy aspects of the researhc have held consultations with otdher research groups and projects that working on energy related research in Freetown (ICLEI Africa, through their ENACT project) and in Kampala (Spotlight Kampala, UC Berkeley). This has helped create awareness of our researhc and findings and also allowed our team to get insights from other research to help inform our own research. This may also support the development of future researech collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | SLURC annual conference 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The annual SLURC conference focused on housing in Sierra Leone and as a core element of this considered access to basic services inclding water, sanitation, and energy. The conference included represetnatives from Government, as well as NGOs abnd academics. THis was a high profile event that used the findings of the Beyond the Networked City to put forward options for imporovement in policy and practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | UTA-Do African Cities Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of lessons from Beyond the Networked City in two core themes in a regional urban studies workshop focused on decentralized infrastructure and international project development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Western Area Peninsula Water Fund |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Thge Co-Investogator from Sierra Leone attended an event "Western Area Peninsula Water Fund" - workshop on project implemented by jointly by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Freetown City Councile and the National Water Resources Management Agency to contribute experiences from the Beyond the Netowkrd City project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |