A systematic review of success factors in the community management of rural water supplies over the past 30 years

Abstract

Community management is the accepted management model for rural water supplies in many low and middle-income countries. However, endemic problems in the sustainability and scalability of this model are leading many to conclude we have reached the limits of an approach that is too reliant on voluntarism and informality. Accepting this criticism but recognising that many cases of success have been reported over the past 30 years, this study systematically reviews and analyses the development pattern of 174 successful community management case studies. The synthesis confirms the premise that for community management to be sustained at scale, community institutions need a ‘plus’ that includes long-term external support, with the majority of high performing cases involving financial support, technical advice and managerial advice. Internal community characteristics were also found to be influential in terms of success, including collective initiative, strong leadership and institutional transparency. Through a meta-analysis of success in different regions, the paper also indicates an important finding on the direct relationship between success and the prevailing socio-economic wealth in a society. This holds implications for policy and programme design with a need to consider how broad structural conditions may dictate the relative success of different forms of community management.

Understanding Rural Water Services as a Complex System: An Assessment of Key Factors as Potential Leverage Points for Improved Service Sustainability

“…Both approaches appear to underappreciate the uniqueness of complex systems as a response to their distinct local environment and historical development [35]. Additionally, while a wide range of technical, environmental and social factors have been hypothesized to strongly affect service sustainability [36][37][38][39][40][41], there appears to be little consensus in the literature of which specific factors, individually or collectively, are most critical for sustaining WASH services, or if the importance of these factors varies across context. Furthermore, many studies of WASH systems seem to rely heavily on the perspectives of external technical experts and seldom give equal weight to the perspectives of local stakeholders.…”

Water system hardware and management rehabilitation: Qualitative evidence from Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia

“…Management factors associated with water system non-functionality arise within a community-based management paradigm for rural water supplies that was embraced in the late 20th century (Chowns, 2015; Lockwood et al, n.d.; Whittington et al, 2009). Specifically, community management with access to external technical expertise and spare parts has been implemented for rural water system management (Hutchings et al, 2015). External support for community-managed water systems is provided through post-construction support programs, which often focus on technical and administrative guidance and assistance (Kayser, Moomaw, Miguel, Portillo, & Grif, 2014; Whittington et al, 2009).…”

Effects of Community Perceptions and Institutional Capacity on Smallholder Farmers’ Responses to Water Scarcity: Evidence from Arid Northwestern China

“…The analysis also shows that community interactional capacities and socio-economic factors may influence community actions to mitigate and adapt to adverse effects of local water scarcity. Our findings provide insights for understanding social and institutional aspects of rural farming communities toward sustainable response decisions to overcome water scarcity challenges.Sustainability 2019, 11, 483 2 of 21 variations of community-based approaches emerged and were largely considered for adoption in many developing nations [3,6,7].To effectively and efficiently manage water resources, rural communities are the focal point and the community approach demonstrated a successful strategy with a wide range of development pathways [7]. The pathways can create opportunities for rural communities to tailor and implement their own plans for water management and development processes.…”

“…Schnegg and Bollig [17] found that a stronger community capacity (with a strong kinship and reciprocity) facilitated rural water users to more effectively manage water resources during a drought compared with formal water agreements. Thus, the community-based approach can enhance local people's ability to reshape the biophysical and socio-economic relationships and encourage communities to choose the approach that better suits them.In addition to the functionality and performance of community engagement, the other strand of the literature examines effects of exogenous factors on community management of water resources [7]. Based on a systematic literature review of successful community management, Hutchings et al [7] observed a direct relationship between prevailing social-economic conditions and outcomes of water system management.…”

“…Thus, the community-based approach can enhance local people's ability to reshape the biophysical and socio-economic relationships and encourage communities to choose the approach that better suits them.In addition to the functionality and performance of community engagement, the other strand of the literature examines effects of exogenous factors on community management of water resources [7]. Based on a systematic literature review of successful community management, Hutchings et al [7] observed a direct relationship between prevailing social-economic conditions and outcomes of water system management. They found evidence on both internal and external support for the successful outcomes, with the internal factors being collective initiative, strong leadership, and institutional transparency, and the external factors involving financial support, technical assistance, and managerial innovation.…”