Analysis of partnerships between user associations and private providers of operating and maintenance services. During the last fifteen years, much has been learned about rural water supply and sanitation projects. The Program is continuously increasing its knowledge of what works and does not work in rural areas, and it reaches out to partners in the sector in applying this knowledge. Despite increasing urbanization, much of the developing world is still primarily rural. Rural communities tend to suffer disproportionately from poverty and constraints to development as a result of poor infrastructure, limited income-generating opportunities, and lack of political voice.
Rural populations tend to be dispersed, which can make service provision expensive and complicated.
Rural challenges differ from urban ones, and often require building capacity to enable rural communities to assume greater responsibility for the provision and management of basic services such as water and sanitation. The Program's experiences with rural water and sanitation world-wide have been analyzed and general rules have been distilled regarding demand responsiveness in project design and implementation. A Global Rural Water Supply Study was recently completed in Benin, Bolivia, Honduras, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Uganda in coordination with each of the Program's regional offices. The study analyzed how specific project rules contribute to the sustainability of rural water supply projects. The findings of a global study on institutional rules and the relationship between demand responsiveness and sustainability were shared.