Concepts & tools

Develop your own toolbox.  Here you can find concepts, methodologies and technologies that can help you build water services that last.

Let us know about tools you've found particularly useful in your work; e-mail us here.

Concepts for understanding the big picture

  • Triple-S principles framework - a tool for guidance, analysis and planning
  • Theory of change - a document explaining our guiding messages and principles
  • Service delivery approach - one of the Triple-S principles, a service delivery approach provides a way to think about rural water supply that focuses on building the service instead of simply building the system
  • Life-cycle costing (LCC) - one of the Triple-S principles, LCC is about providing for all of the costs associated with delivering a sustainable service - including those that are often neglected such as post-construction support and capital maintenance

Terms and definitions - understanding the details

  • Service life-cycle - goes beyond the 'project cycle' to look at the life-cycle of a water service; helps service providers conceptualise inputs needed at various phases to sustain the service
  • Scale and sustainable service delivery - various definitions of scale and how they are used in the work of Triple-S
  • Institutional functions and levels - defines the roles of institutions and their appropriate functions at various levels (e.g., community, local/district, national)
  • Service levels - differentiating levels of service in terms of water quality, quantity, reliability and accessibility enables better planning and monitoring
  • Service delivery models - provide legal and institutional frameworks for delivering a service, including roles and responsibilities, types of infrastructure, and service levels

Tools for collecting data, monitoring, accounting and more

Published: 13 Apr 2011