Our work engages with technical, economic and governance challenges in urban sanitation and integration of wastewater and re-use solutions within wider water and nutrient cycles.
Citywide inclusive sanitation in Bangladesh
Client: SNV Development Organisation and Gates Foundation
Supporting SNV develop a manual to guide local governments in the implementation of safe and inclusive sanitation services for low-income communities in alignment with the Government of Bangladesh and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) National Urban Poverty Reduction Programme.
From urban waste to sustainable value chains: Linking sanitation and agriculture through innovative partnerships
Client: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
This applied research project in Sri Lanka connects the waste management, sanitation and agriculture sectors through the circular economy, to improve food security and environmental health. ISF-UTS is leading this two-year in partnership with Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Janathakshan (GTE) Ltd and the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture (DoA), funded through the Knowledge and Linkages for an Inclusive Economy Grants Program.
This project is building the knowledge and linkages to enable private and public enterprises to develop organic waste value chains from urban waste and sanitation systems, to deliver smallholder farmers with agricultural inputs such as compost. The project is assessing the potential supply of inputs from waste and sanitation systems, the market demand from farmers for agricultural inputs and the policy foundations, and building partnerships with government, research institutes, the private sector and NGOs through innovative stakeholder engagement.
Modelling faecal pathogen flows in urban environments: implications for sanitation investment decision-making
Client: WSUP
Dense urban areas suffer from challenges of faecal contamination in the urban environment, particularly in informal settlements and low-income areas.
This collaborative research by ISF-UTS, Emory University and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) aims to support better-informed sanitation investment decisions from a public health perspective. Using a systems modelling approach for a low-income urban settlement in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the project considers pathogen flows in the urban environment and how different potential sanitation solutions would be expected to influence health risks.
SNV-UTS Urban sanitation partnership
Client: SNV Development Organisation
ISF and SNV’s research and learning partnership focuses on improving practice and WASH sector knowledge and evidence in urban sanitation.
Research outputs and resources:
Considering climate change in urban sanitation: conceptual approaches and practical implications. A comprehensive conceptualisation of how climate change could be considered in urban sanitation policy and programming. [Full learning paper] [Conference presentation] [Summary learning brief] [Poster]
Scheduled emptying services as an entry point for change. Informs sector thinking and practice on scheduled faecal sludge emptying, with insight to its role in triggering wider system change. [Full learning paper] [Summary learning brief]
How we define ‘safely managed’ and why it matters for FSM. Poster developed for FSM5 conference on the importance of seeking clarity of assumptions on what constitutes ‘safely managed’ when addressing sanitation services. [Poster]
Exploring smart enforcement in urban sanitation. New ideas and case study examples of how to invest limited resources to effectively regulate urban sanitation stakeholders. [Full learning paper] [Summary learning brief]
Applying multi-barrier approach for safe faecal sludge re-use. Describes a pilot undertaken in Nepal to re-use faecal sludge. – [Summary learning brief] [Conference presentation] [Journal paper]
Financing sanitation for cities and towns. Innovative ways to access to the upfront finance and other lumpy finance needs for initial investment and for rehabilitation or replacement as physical systems approach their end of life. - [Full learning paper] [Summary learning brief]
Critical questioning of city sanitation planning. This paper prompts practitioners, policy-makers and development agencies to stop and reflect on their approaches to city sanitation planning and the assumptions that underlie them. - [Open access journal paper] [Full learning paper] [Summary learning brief]
Guidance for exploring legal and policy aspects of urban sanitation and hygiene. Supports WASH practitioners to undertake a scan of legal arrangements to inform the design or delivery or urban sanitation and hygiene programs. [Full Guidance] [Summary learning brief]
A guide to septage transfer stations. Provides information on the salient aspects of selecting, designing, building, operating and maintaining a septage transfer station. [Full learning paper] [Summary learning brief]
Women’s leadership in infrastructure development in Indonesia
Client: KIAT Facility (Indonesia-Australia infrastructure facility)
Women are under-represented in leadership positions in the infrastructure sector, and yet their needs must be considered in designing infrastructure and services.
ISF-UTS facilitated a workshop with Bappenas (National Planning Agency) and advised on a background paper on women’s leadership in the Indonesian infrastructure sector. This paper was designed to inform KIAT’s strategies going forward over the next five to ten years.
Enterprise in WASH
This research investigated the role of small-scale enterprises in sustainable WASH service delivery, with a focus on equitable outcomes for the poor. Conducted in partnership with civil society organisations and local research institutions in Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Cambodia and Vietnam.
See the project website, enterpriseinwash.info, to find research outputs, additional resources such as learning briefs and academic publications
Research Report 3: Motivators and barriers for water and sanitation enterprises in Indonesia (Full report) (Summary – English) (Summary – Bahasa Indonesia)
Socialisation and political prioritisation of urban sanitation services
Client: KIAT Facility (Indonesia-Australia infrastructure facility)
Despite significant investments in wastewater treatment capacity in cities in Indonesia, these facilities are not being fully utilised. One way to increase household connections is to invest in city-level engagement and advocacy and strengthened community engagement processes, particularly with the involvement of women.
ISF-UTS synthesised recent literature and practice on these topics to develop a program design for KIAT. The proposed program addresses these advocacy and engagement in several cities across Indonesia as well as piloting new approaches hygiene behaviour change in urban contexts.
Public health risks in urban sanitation planning
Client: Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP)
This research developed a conceptual approach to model faecal pathogen flows and public health risks in urban environments to inform sanitation planning. This work forms part of WSUP’s Urban Sanitation Research Initiative.
Research outputs and resources:
Modelling faecal pathogen flows and health risks in urban environments to inform sanitation planning - conference presentation
Mills, F.; Willetts, J.; Petterson, S.; Mitchell, C.; Norman, G. Faecal Pathogen Flows and Their Public Health Risks in Urban Environments: A Proposed Approach to Inform Sanitation Planning. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 181 - Open access journal paper [JW1]
Increasing local government responsibility for communal scale sanitation
Client: Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative
Research reviewing national guidelines for implementation of communal scale systems in Indonesia, financing mechanisms for local government support to these systems and two local government case studies implementing co-management approaches with communities.
Research outputs and resources:
Increasing local government responsibility for communal scale sanitation Part 1: Review of national program guidelines and two city case studies
Increasing local government responsibility for communal scale sanitation Part 2: Using Regional Budget (APBD) to support post-construction sustainability of communal sanitation
Governance of community-scale sanitation
Client: Australian Development Research Scheme Award (ADRAS) Grant
With the increasing numbers of community-scale sanitation systems in Indonesia, this research sought to improve the governance arrangements for these systems to ensure sustainable long-term services.
Research outputs and resources:
See the project website and research outputs at communitysanitationgovernance.info
Making pathogens visible
Wastewater treatment systems at household and community scale in Indonesia and other urban contexts are limited in their effectiveness in removing disease-causing pathogens. This paper puts forward a tool, the Pathogen Hazard Diagram, to support understanding of the pathogen levels resulting from wastewater treatment systems.
Research outputs and resources:
Strengthening governance arrangements for small city and town sanitation
Client: Australian-Indonesia Infrastructure Research Awards (AIIRA) Grant
This research examined ways to improve urban sanitation planning and governance by local governments in small towns in Sumatra, Indonesia. The research included six city case studies.
Research outputs and resources:
Strengthening governance arrangements for small city and town sanitation - Final report
Project brief for local governments - Project brief
Revision of BORDA’s global monitoring and evaluation framework
Client: BORDA
Through a collaborative process, ISF-UTS and BORDA reviewed the BORDA global monitoring framework, used to assess the performance of decentralised wastewater treatment systems built through BORDA’s international programs.
A quality data cycle approach was applied to ensure that BORDA’s organisational resources and investments in data collection and analysis create the best value for all involved. Engaging with BORDA regional and country staff and implementing partners, ISF-UTS developed a theory of change forming the basis of the revised monitoring framework.
Legal and institutional arrangements for urban sanitation and hygiene in Bhutan
Client: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), the Netherlands
This review explores the legal and institutional frameworks guiding urban sanitation and hygiene in Bhutan. It was commissioned in April 2012 to inform the Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All in Small Towns (SSH4A in Small Towns) programme being undertaken by SNV Bhutan and the Ministry of Works and Human Settlements (MoWHS).
Research outputs and resources:
Legal and institutional arrangements for urban sanitation and hygiene in Bhutan - Report
Investigating the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of sanitation options for Can Tho, Vietnam
This study assessed the costs and sustainability aspects of sanitation options for a peri-urban area in Can Tho, Vietnam. This study was awarded the 2011 International Water Association (IWA) Project Innovation Award for applied sanitation research in a developing country context.
Research outputs and resources:
Selecting sanitation options: a case study of South Can Tho – Technical Report