How can we support professionalisation of maintenance and what will it take to build the systems that underpin these models?

Over the past four years, Aguaconsult has been working with the Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership to better understand WASH maintenance approaches and the system conditions required to set them in place. To arrive at some consistency around language in the sector, this brief proposes “professionalized maintenance” as a common umbrella term for improved maintenance of rural water services and outlines 10 characteristics of a professionalized service. It concludes with implications for supporting the emergence and growth of such maintenance approaches, including the critical role of decentralized local government and the importance of strengthening regulatory policies and ensuring their application. In addition to SWS partners, contributors include Aguaconsult UK, The Rural Water Supply Network, Uptime Consortium, WaterAid, and the World Bank.

Read the new concept note here.