WASH Governance – Services in water, sanitation and hygiene

The WASH Governance Group at IVL focuses on making tangible improvements in water governance, with a specific focus on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Our vision is sustainable, resilient water and sanitation services for all.

We understand water governance as a set of core functions and processes, performed with quality attributes, mobilised to achieve agreed water outcomes. These are shaped by the values and aspirations of the individuals and organisations involved.

Our work responds to a clear gap: WASH governance is widely recognised as essential for sustainable and climate-resilient services, but it remains poorly defined and difficult to improve in practice.

Our thematic priorities include governance of water and sanitation services, resilience of services, WASH for vulnerable populations, interactions between WASH, Water Resources Management (WRM) and Nature Based Solutions (NBS), and other critical issues, such as antimicrobial resistance and nutrition.

We connect research, policy and practice to strengthen WASH governance and improve resilient service delivery. Our focus is:

1. Providing technical and policy support to countries and international organisations to improve governance for better WASH service delivery

2. Developing tools and methodologies to improve governance and systems performance

3. Advancing knowledge on water and WASH governance

4. Positioning neglected topics through research, evidence and advocacy

IVL can help you with:

• WASH systems strengthening
  • Analysis of structural, institutional and political drivers and barriers
  • Integration of systems strengthening into WASH policies and strategies
  • Support the development of strategic planning, regulation, financing strategies, coordination and monitoring systems
  • Capacity development of strategic actors at national, regional and local level
• Resilient water and sanitation services
  • Climate-resilient WASH services and programming
  • Safely managed and inclusive sanitation
  • Water security in the context of climate risks
  • Risks assessment for WASH (including climate, conflicts) to inform appraisal of resilient solutions
  • Climate rationale development
  • Climate finances analysis and training on climate finances
• Regulation, accountability and integrity
  • Support to regulators and policymakers on WASH regulation (including the WASHREG approach)
  • Design and strengthening accountability and anti-corruption mechanisms
  • Guidance to build transparent, better-regulated WASH sectors
• Service delivery models and utilities
  • Support to utilities and service providers on sustainable management and performance improvement
  • Alignment of service delivery models with sector policies, legal frameworks, roles and standards
• Inclusive services
  • Advice on policies, strategies and institutional arrangements for vulnerable populations
  • WASH in institutions and public spaces
  • WASH in informal settlements
  • Support to work with local communities and Indigenous Peoples
• WASH–WRM linkages and Nature Based Solutions
  • Support to integrated approaches that connect WASH and water resources management
  • Drought and flood management,
  • Nature-based solutions
• Peace–Humanitarian–Development Nexus
  • Support to WASH coordination from emergency response to preparedness and longer-term recovery
  • Guidance on transitioning from humanitarian to development-oriented WASH systems
• Innovation in water governance
  • Design and implementation of original research and pilot initiatives
  • Participation in world-class research partnerships
  • Synthesis and translation of latest evidence into usable tools and guidance