In 2011, Triple-S undertook a review of 11 major WASH Development Partner's policy documents using a technique known as Qualitative Document Analysis or QDA. The results of this review are presented in this publication.Based on the reviewed documents, the policies of the development partners included in this analysis, demonstrate a clear commitment towards a number of important elements of sustainable service delivery including learning and adoptive management, coordination and collaboration and capacity support for local government. However, the policy documents indicate that the partner policies are particularly weak in planning for asset management (i.e renewals) and recognition and promotion of alternative service delivery options to community management (i.e renewals) and recognition and promotion of alternative service delivery option to community management (e.g self supply or delegated management to the private sector). These appear to be areas where additional support is needed in the sector to help improve sustainability of rural water services.These findings, together with feedback from the sector and other methods, can provide a better understanding of the policies and practices in the rural water sector in order to move closer towards ensuring sustainable services.