Integrity failures and corruption in the water and sanitation sectors are not inevitable: they are symptoms of weak systems and they are often preventable with the right tools and resources.
An investment in integrity is an investment for sustainability. There are many ways to act for integrity – in individual projects, within water and sanitation institutions, and across the water and sanitation sectors.
We work with partners to motivate collective action at different levels. This can mean working with local integrity champions to monitor project implementation, managing integrity with service providers, or supporting regulators to promote integrity for the sector.
Principles for integrity
To build integrity, start with the building blocks: promoting Transparency, Accountability, Participation, and Anti-corruption (TAPA). There are then many ways to act for integrity, in individual projects, within water and sanitation institutions, and across the sector.
Tools and support for integrity management
Integrity management is the process of assessing risks regularly, then creating a practical action plan to address them. Our open integrity tools can facilitate this process.
We work especially closely with service providers from major cities to remote communities, that use integrity management tools to increase user trust, develop better customer relations, and ensure financial stability.
We also provide facilitator training and support for integrity processes at all levels.
Tools for water and sanitation utilities
Utilities face major challenges to deliver on their mandate and provide essential service in the face of climate change and urban transformation.
The best leaders will make sure integrity issues don’t hold them back.
Integrity management tools can help utilities:
Develop staff understanding of the integrity risks that can jeopardise performance, creditworthiness, and reputation.
Develop practical plans for improvement on key issues related to human resources, accounting, contract management, or customer relations.
Get support for integrity management work:
Get started with self-assessment! Where does your utility stand across the 5 integrity principles of corporate governance?
Integrity Management Tool
InWASH
The complete integrity management toolbox for water utility performance, with resources to assess risks and plan practical integrity work.
Resources for a coached integrity management process with assessment indicators
Developed with support from the IDB, GIZ, cewas, and SIWI
In use since 2014, in over 20 utilities worldwide
Case studies:
Through an integrity management process, utilities in Albania and Bangladesh have worked to address staff motivation issues, implementing more effective monitoring and increasing field inspections.
By doing so, both utilities were able to better control illegal connections and reduce non-revenue water (NRW).
Tools for small and
community-managed water systems
Small water supply management committees face steep challenges to ensure water is available for their community. With limited means, often limited support from authorities, unclear regulatory frameworks, systems not always built to last will fail prematurely or be difficult to keep up. One-time technical trainings are not the solution.
An integrity lens makes it possible to:
Focus on root causes of poor system performance and premature failure
Find systematic solutions in a participatory manner
Get support for integrity management work:
Resources for a coached integrity management process
Developed with Caritas Switzerland with input and support from KEWASNET, KWAHO, NIA, Controla Tu Gobierno, and Cantaro Azul
Used in 100 communities in Kenya, Mexico, Ethiopia, and South Sudan
Case study:
Mexico
In Mexico, rural communities located in the centre and south of the country which have implemented the IMT-SWSS, put in place a numbers of measures to engage with users, for example: complaint mechanisms for users, regular meetings with families and community audits, or agreements on a transparent fee or rate structure.
The measures are changing the reputation and support for the water committee and are the foundation for better service.
Tools for regulators
Regulatory agencies have a crucial role in promoting and safeguarding integrity in water and sanitation. They can incentivise equitable and professional service and hold water and sanitation stakeholders accountable, against clear standards.
Regulators must also be protected from corruption, capture and undue interference.
Integrity management tools can help regulators to:
Develop an understanding and address internal integrity risks that would compromise their position
Develop frameworks for accountability of water service providers under their purview, for example reporting standards on integrity, procurement, or disclosure.
Get support for your integrity management plans:
Resources for a coached integrity management process
Developed by the Consortium for Water Integrity in Latin America (WIN, cewas, SIWI) with support from IDB.
Piloted in Latin America
Case study:
Honduras
In Honduras, where a large share of water services are managed by community groups, applying the IMT allowed the regulator to address integrity risks and legalise more than 500 water boards, ensuring funds in the name of organisations and not individuals and limiting opportunities for fraud.
Resources for multi-stakeholder partnerships for water
Cooperation, across sectors or across stakeholders, is critical to effective water management. Integrity is a way to build trust and develop common ground among different partners.
Where governance structures are fractured, complex, or vulnerable to capture by morepowerful partners, integrity can contribute to more balanced decision-making and limit accountability gaps.
There are high integrity risks in water and natural resource management that need to be taken into account directly for partnerships to be effective, serve the public interest, and secure funding.
Integrity tools can help partnerships put in place the needed structures and safeguards to reach their objectives sustainably.
Get support:
Resources for introducting integrity measures across the lifecycle of water stewardship initiatives
Developed with support from GIZ
Resources to build trust among partners and strengthen integrity in key risks areas of WEFE Nexus inititiatives
Developed with support from GIZ
Case study:
Zambia
The Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI) has an extensive stakeholder engagement process including local and national, public, private, and civil society actors working towards water security. Importantly, the initiative also gathered input from 12 of the city's most vulnerable wards to inform its plans.
LuWSI also publicly shares information about its results and expenditure.
