Finance
Costing services and finding mechanisms to finance them
Costing services and finding mechanisms to finance them
WASH services are financially sustainable if the mix of financing flows is sufficient to cover all the different costs related to the service delivery, not only capital expenditure and basic operating costs - the two which are most commonly considered.
IRC developed a life-cycle costing approach to get a detailed understanding of costs of service delivery. This approach identifies six cost categories, as explained in the figure below.
Figure 1: Cost categories considered as part of the life-cycle cost approach (click on the image to open it in larger format)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) identifies the three Ts as sources of financing for WASH services: tariffs (the contribution made by users), taxes (investments by governments, coming from nationally or locally levied taxes), and transfers (funding from international donors). Put simply, sustainable financing requires that the three Ts are matched with the six cost categories.
IRC has developed a comprehensive methodology for life-cycle cost analysis of WASH service delivery. This generic methodology consists of a detailed conceptual framework and guidance on data collection, processing and analysis. The methodology has also been adapted for WASH in specific settings, such as refugee settlements and schools. The on-line training course offers a complete introduction.
WASHCost Share is a web-based tool that provides support for compiling, processing and visualising life-cycle costs, as well as making it possible to zoom in on one or more of the cost categories for a more detailed analysis. It helps users evaluate:
Other tools available include:
This is a free-of-charge Moodle training provided by IRC.
Get started with the WASHCost Share tool with this quick start guide.
The actual tools are in Spanish, but there is an explanation available in English.
This paper offers a methodological framework to assess the cost effectiveness of hygiene interventions based on preliminary test observations in...
The life-cycle cost approach to costing the provision of water services to refugees in camps
This tool serves to increase awareness about water integrity by stimulating debate on the topic and to quickly assess integrity risks in the water sector.
This set of tools is developed to support district authorities in planning and budgeting for sustainable water services in their district or municipality.
This tool can be used to review historical expenditures and derive estimates that can be used for financial planning purposes.
Briefing note describing the cost components in the life-cycle costs approach.
Briefing note describing the life-cycle costs approach and why it was developed.
What is domestic public finance? and why is it essential for providing universal water and sanitation services?...
This paper concludes that there is chronic underfunding of rural water services, to meet the costs required to provide and sustain a basic level...
This paper is about the costs of providing direct and indirect support to rural water service provision and provides an overview of the features...
Briefing note with key findings on the comparison of the financial costs of a range of traditional and improved latrines and the quality of...
This study presents the first adaptation of the life-cycle costs approach to school WASH interventions. It is based on a survey of the...
The report provides insights on the cost of providing water in emergency situations using two camps as case studies. The life-cycle costs approach...