Publications on scaling up
Overview of available publications, documents and a literature review on Scaling Up Community Management both from IRC and other sources.
Ensuring Sustained Beneficial Outcomes for Water and Sanitation Programmes in the Developing World
04 Jan 06
The two objectives of this document are firstly to suggest approaches to achieve sustained beneficial outcomes from WATSAN, and secondly how to ‘scale up’ application of these approaches, so that they impact positively on the lives of the millions of people who live without safe water or adequate sanitation.
Read more or download OP40-E.pdf (1.3 MB)
IRC publications on Scaling Up
14 Nov 03
Community management is the functional control of systems by communities or their representatives. It can and often does, but does not have to, include elements of community ownership, and involvement in day to day operation and maintenance. It is particularly reliant on clarity of ownership of schemes.
Scaling Up - A Literature Review
14 Jan 05
Scaling up is a term which is becoming familiar in the water and sanitation sectors but, despite or because of this increase in usage, it is apparent that the term means different things to different people. This review examines available literature in order to highlight the conflict between scalability and sustainability, between quickly expanding coverage and laying a firm foundation for longevity in terms of demand responsiveness, participatory decision making and inclusion of all.
'Waterlines' Journal dedicated to scaling up rural water supply
13 Jan 05
Waterlines’ last issue of the year (Volume 23, No 2. October 2004) is completely dedicated to scaling up rural water supply. Articles were written by the members of IRC’s Thematic Group on Scaling Up.
From System to Service: Mini-Conference Report, December 2001
23 Jun 04
This brief report summarises the main discussions and outputs of the mini-conference on “From System to Service – Scaling Up Community Management” held in The Hague, 12 and 13 December 2001.
Read more or download System_to_Service_report.pdf (541.6 kB)
Water: local level management
03 Sep 03
This book, available online in French and English, is a summary of the results of three decades of IDRC-supported research on water supply which demonstrates that some of the most powerful responses to water scarcities have been mounted at the community or local level. Field research is examined in three approaches to local water management: small-scale water supply; wastewater treatment and reuse; and watershed management and irrigation. Solidly grounded propositions with a focus on research findings, and failures are presented for decision-makers and researchers. Recommendations are given for policy design and future research efforts on local water management. Future directions are plotted where progress can be accelerated in the science and in the conduct of local water management.
Poverty reduction strategy sourcebook, chapter 9: community-driven development
31 Jul 03
This chapter in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook examines why and how governments can support community-driven development (CDD).
Institutional support mechanisms for community-managed rural water supply and sanitation systems in Latin America
31 Jul 03
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to organisations and individuals involved in the design and establishment of support mechanisms that contribute to a greater capacity for sustained community management of rural systems.
Taking sustainable rural water supply services to scale: a discussion paper
31 Jul 03
This paper reviews some of the issues associated with scaling up an effective RWS initiative, by which is meant that it reaches (or is expected to reach) the vast majority of the target population with sustainable, improved services within a reasonable time frame (inclusion), and that a system of actors and institutions (public, private, and/or civic) is in place that has the necessary capacity and resources to carry out the RWS service delivery approach indefinitely (institutionalization).
