We are addressing key evidence gaps around urban sanitation to move towards universal urban sanitation coverage

Alongside our direct implementation WSUP is working to advance understanding of issues faced by stakeholders across the urban sanitation and water sector. Through our research we explore how policies and practices can be improved to better serve low-income customers.

From 2017-2020 this work was undertaken through the Urban Sanitation Research Initiative, a UK-aid funded programme of rigorous research designed to drive pro-poor sector change in urban sanitation in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya and globally.

Learn more about the Urban Sanitation Research Initiative:

Research projects

Barriers to women adopting decision-making roles in sanitation public bodies

Clean Team waste collector

Evaluation of user experience outcomes of Clean Team service use

Modelling faecal pathogen flows in urban environments

Incentivising private sector provision of faecal waste emptying services

Identifying criteria for defining high-quality shared sanitation in urban contexts

Collecting water in Dhaka

Analysing citizen and decision-maker attitudes to urban freshwater pollution

Research around sanitation surcharges included in property taxes in Ghana

SWEEP operators at work, Bangladesh

Urban sanitation costs and low-income consumers’ willingness-to-pay

Accessing water in Korogocho, Nairobi, Kenya

Factors influencing willingness of customers to pay a pro-poor sanitation surcharge

Comparing models for Ghana’s proposed National Sanitation Authority

Comparing institutional frameworks for urban sanitation in decentralising countries

Solid waste in Mirpur, Dhaka

Assessing organisational capacity for sanitation planning and investment

The Urban Sanitation Research Initiative was supported by: