The August edition of WASHCost e-Update is now online. This month they present numerous new resources available on how to work with the life-cycle cost approach data collection tools and indicators.
Below are presented some of this month news, trainings and findings. For further information please visit http://www.washcost.info/page/121
1. Applying the Life Cycle Cost Approach to sanitation: 11 key messages from Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique
Research conducted by WASHCost has highlighted just how little is known about what communities invest in toilets, sanitation and hygiene. The analysis of costs and service levels is providing the best available data based on expenditures of governments, programmes and households - as illustrated with findings from rural and peri-urban areas and small towns in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mozambique. More
2. The costing sustainable services toolkit: Shifting to life-cycle costing, shifting to services that last (an interview with Catarina Fonseca)
In an interview with Catarina Fonseca, the WASHCost project director, she explains why the Costing Sustainable Services Toolkit was developed. Fonseca; 'Many people are recognising the need for applying the life-cycle cost approach and are interested in how they can improve the quality, targeting and cost effectiveness of WASH service delivery.' More
3. 105 key variables for costing WASH infrastructure and service levels
The Life-Cycle Cost Approach Indicator list is now available on the WASHCost website. The list allows the costing of sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services by assessing life-cycle costs and comparing them to levels of service provided. It contains an overview of 105 key variables and the adequate tools that can be used to collect them. More
4. Communicating results: Economic series & cost series, WASHCost Mozambique
WASHCost Mozambique has recently published a series of documents analysing the implications of fluctuations in the regional economy on the water sector. The papers also present the costs of construction, rehabilitation and monitoring of water sources by taking a closer look at contracts signed by the Government from 2009 to 2011. All publications are provided in Portuguese. More can be found at these locations: Economic series; Cost series
5. WASHCost Ghana briefing notes published, WASHCost Ghana
WASHCost Project Ghana has published the series of briefing notes on "Life-cycle costs approach for WASH services that last". The first four available highlight findings on the life-cycle costs and levels of service delivery in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in Ghana. More
6. WASHCost project reveals that toilet campaign in India fails to change family customs, WASHCost India
A team from WASHCost India has met the senior officials of the Department of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Rural Development at national level in Delhi to discuss the emerging results of their research. More
7. Ensuring sustainability of WASH services: A case for life-cycle cost approach, WASHCost Ghana
At the MOLE XXII Conference, Mr. Alexander Obuobisa-Darko (WASHCost Ghana Country Director), has concluded his sttement by saying that 'systems can only function properly when there are funds available to maintain them regularly otherwise they will continue to breakdown and we will not get value for money'. services. More
8. Taking research to the next level, WASHCost Mozambique
The WASHCost Mozambique team recently reflected on its past research process and how they will move forward into the coming years. Their key focus for moving into latter half of the WASHCost programme is to provide evidence on the practicality of the WASHCost approach on the ground, as well as helping district officials to better plan and budget WASH services using the life-cycle cost approach. More
9. Training event on Life-Cycle Cost Approach at Conference Water and Health: Where science meets policy, Chapel Hill, USA - 7- October 2011
The 2011 Water and Health Conference: Where Science Meets Policy, jointly organized by the Institute for the Environment and the Water Institute at UNC, will consider drinking water supply, sanitation, hygiene and water resources in both the developing and developed worlds with a strong public health emphasis. WASHCost will be hosting a training event on the Life-Cycle Cost Approach. More
10. The 2nd edition of Working Paper 3- Assessing sanitation service levels
This is the second edition of Working Paper 3. "Assessing sanitation service levels" sets out a common framework to analyse and compare sanitation cost data across countries with different service delivery levels. More
11. Defining what information to collect: 'How to use the Life-Cycle Cost Approach indicator list?'
The indicator list contains an overview of what information can be collected when applying the life-cycle cost approach. The list allows the costing of sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services by assessing life-cycle costs and comparing them to levels of service provided. It also enables a poverty analysis of service levels received by different (social and economic) groups in a specified area. More
12. Working with the Life-Cycle Cost Approach data collection tools
As part of the Life-Cycle Cost Approach, a methodology has been developed for costing sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services. Application of the life-cycle cost approach is supported by a set of data collection tools that have been developed to assess life-cycle costs and compare them to levels of service provided. More
13. Life-Cycle Cost Approach indicator list
The indicator list is available in an Excel 2007 format and can be sorted based on the type of information, the level of data collection and the type of data collection tool. For example, you can arrange the list based on variables that are collected at the level of household, with the use of a household survey tool. Or, you can select all variables that are related to collecting life-cycle cost information as expenditure on capital maintenance. More