Dr Paul Hutchings, Lecturer in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Impact Evaluation, is the lead author in a recently published book by Routledge, titled Community Management of Rural Water Supply.
The book addresses the challenge of supplying reliable and safe water in developing countries, particularly India. Community management has long been the declared model for rural water supply and is recognised to be critical for its implementation and success. Based on 20 detailed successful case studies from across India, the book outlines future rural water supply approaches for all lower-income countries as they start to follow India on the economic growth (and subsequent service levels) transition.
The book is supported by: the IRC, an international think-and-do tank that aims to find solutions to the global crisis in WASH; Australian Aid, the public service agency that provides policy advice and implements the overseas aid policy of the Australian government; and SPLASH, a social justice organisation committed to providing safe water for children in India and globally.
Cranfield’s Water Science Institute is committed to supporting policy makers in lower income countries to reach their sustainable development goals. Other projects include WASHTech, which is supporting decision makers in Africa to review and introduce new technologies. And the International Centre for Infrastructure Futures (ICIF) project, which is integrating social and engineering sciences to inform Government policy and industrial practice around infrastructure planning and management.
Book reviews
Ravi Narayanan, Chair, Governing Council, Asia Pacific Water Forum: "This excellent book, based on a series of case studies in India on both the concept and practice of community management, has a wider relevance because of the rigour of the research, the clarity of the financial, social and institutional analysis and the relevance of the comparisons that it draws between different contexts and countries."
Sean Furey, Skat Foundation/Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Secretariat: "The authors of Community Management of Rural Water Supply have delved into the rich, complex world of rural water supply in India (where the RWSN story began) and have produced insightful and thorough analysis from across the many different socio-economic and environment contexts found across the sub-continent. Researchers, practitioners and policymakers will find a lot here on how community, private and public water services can be strengthened so that the government plays an active role in ensuring their citizens are able to exercise their rights and responsibilities to get water, that most of essential of resources. This book is a valuable contribution to this challenge faced by rural water supply professionals worldwide."
