This discussion document draws on perspectives of researchers, research users from government and UN agencies, and funders, to reflect on the enabling environment that funders and universities can create to support the translation of research into impact. Areas for funders to focus on to strengthen enabling environments include (1) fostering science-practitioner networks, (2) enhancing collaborative research environments based on equitable partnerships, and (3) shifting financing and incentives to sustain partnerships for impact at scale.
Research theme
Improving water security through a Science-Practitioner Partnership with UNICEF
UNICEF has been a global, regional and national partner with REACH since 2015. A science-practitioner partnership was one of three foundations informing REACH’s work to improve water security for millions of poor people in Africa and Asia. The partnership aimed to...
Policy and practice recommendations on flood risk management in the Awash basin
In 2020, extreme rainfall triggered massive flooding and severe damage to property in Ethiopia’s Awash river basin. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) examined climatic and non-climatic drivers of this event and its impacts on different social groups. Recommended action points for practitioners and policy makers include institutional design for coordinated flood management and response, collaboration on operational guidance and improved early warning system, revision of studies based on recent science and data, improving access to data for researchers and research-users, integration of indigenous knowledge into flood risk preparedness and research, and strengthening of Awash-flood related research in Ethiopia’s university and higher education institutions. Gender-responsive interventions to flooding are critical.
Unbundling water and land rights in Kilifi County, Kenya a gender perspective
Feminist scholars have highlighted the importance of women’s land rights, and irrigation studies have explored the gendered relationships between land and water rights. However, less research has been conducted which assesses the relationship between water and land rights for domestic and productive purposes. Therefore, by collating community profiles, focus group discussions, interviews and survey data, this study explores women’s rights to land and water within rural communities in Kilifi County, Kenya. It provides interesting insight into the dynamics and negotiations of water access, including the social networks that affect how water transactions take place.
Reinforcing Feedbacks for Sustainable Implementation of Rural Drinking-Water Treatment Technology
Water safety management is a key factor that rural service delivery models must incorporate if they are to achieve universal access to safe drinking water. Practices such as source protection and water treatment help reduce the risk of fecal contamination. Therefore, this study recognises the importance of water treatment, assessing the implementation of passive chlorination and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technologies in rural parts of South America, Africa, and Asia. The results identify a series of leverage points which highlight the need for fit-for-purpose intervention design reinforced by collaboration between facilitating actors through hybrid service delivery models.
Multibranch Modelling of Flow and Water Quality in the Dhaka River System, Bangladesh: Impacts of Future Development Plans and Climate Change
The rivers of Dhaka, Bangladesh, suffer high levels of pollution from untreated sewage and industrial effluent. To address this, over the next 20 years, the government is planning to install 12 large Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) across the Dhaka River System. This paper applies a water quality model to assess the efficacy of this planned investment. The model suggests that the STPs will improve water quality in the most densely populated areas of the city along the Turag and Buriganga rivers, and in some other parts of the city (Tongi Khal). However, future upgrades will be needed to improve dissolved oxygen levels more widely, due to predicted population growth. Policies to reduce industrial pollution should also be pursued.
Hydrologic Extremes in a Changing Climate: a Review of Extremes in East Africa
This review presents recent research on drivers and typologies of climate extremes across different East African geographies. Droughts and floods remain the major challenges of the region. There are improvements in forecasting these extremes, but further research is required to improve understanding of key drivers and improve information provision for risk-based decision-making.
Environmental isotopes (δ 18O–δ 2H, 222Rn) and electrical conductivity in backtracking sources of urban pipe water, monitoring the stability of water quality and estimating pipe water residence time
In this paper, environmental isotopes and electrical conductivity are used to investigate water quality variations in the urban piped water network of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The isotopic signature of the water allows the back-tracking of tap water to its source and also provides insights into pipe water residence time for groundwater-sources supplies. The tracers reveal that 50% of the city relies on groundwater, and that groundwater-sourced water supplies show the highest water quality instability. One important cause of water quality variation in the city is borehole stoppages and reconnection as a result of electricity cuts.
Evaluating the effects of geochemical and anthropogenic factors on the concentration and treatability of heavy metals in Awash River and Lake Beseka, Ethiopia: arsenic and molybdenum issues
This study assesses heavy metal and pollution sources within the Awash River Basin, in Ethiopia. In this region, significant urbanization and industrialization have caused pollutants to enter water bodies on a large scale. After finding high levels of heavy metals across surface water sampling stations, the study advocates for increased efforts towards water security within the Addis Ababa and Awash watershed region.
Story of Change: Progress to deliver safe drinking water services to 100 million rural people by 2030
In 2021, REACH and RWSN led a global diagnostic survey to identify rural water service providers in 68 countries with interest or existing experience in results-based funding. Results suggested that up to 68 service providers in 28 countries could potentially provide results-based services to 5 million rural people. Subsequently, the Uptime Catalyst Facility has expanded results-based contracts for reliable water services serving 1.5 million rural people in 7 countries in 2022 to over 5 million people in 17 countries, including Latin America and India in 2024.
