What to do when things go wrong?
Hosted by charity:water and Helvetas USA Event registration starts: 5:45PM Panel discussion and Q&A: 6-7PM Reception and drinks: 7-8PM ID required to... Read More
Mistakes to Successes: Learning from Errors
by Susan Davis, Executive Director In August 2015, I was in Stockholm for World Water Week. I was surprised and excited to... Read More
What WASH can learn from the Game of Thrones
By Susan Davis, Executive Director [This blog is based on a talk Susan gave at FailFest DC on December 10, 2015. If... Read More
Guest Blog: Playing With Failure
Guest Blog by Muthi Nhlema, Communications and Monitoring Specialist, Water For People Malawi From Susan Davis, Executive Director, Improve International: I was working... Read More
Failure data: an acquired taste
By Susan Davis, Executive Director When I first posted on the Improve International website a list of water and sanitation failure statistics,... Read More
WEDC Conference Presentation: Future Proofing Rural Water Systems
By Susan Davis, Executive Director I gave this talk today at the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) International Conference: Good afternoon,... Read More
Summary of RWSN D-groups discussion on resolution
By Susan Davis, Executive Director For two weeks in March, our friends at the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) let me lead... Read More
Thoughts from the 2015 Colorado WASH Symposium
If all of us are held to more consistent standards of success and data on progress and failure is broadly shared, we have some reason to hope that today’s students and tomorrow’s practitioners will stop repeating common failures and deliver on the promises we’ve made.
How can we make evidence-based decisions…without evidence
By Susan Davis, Executive Director As we’ve shared before, it’s hard to find evaluations of the work of many WASH organizations, never... Read More
Predictors of non-functionality for community-managed handpumps: a simple summary of Foster’s analysis
By Susan Davis, Executive Director This is a summary of a useful study by Tim Foster. It was actually titled “Predictors of... Read More
Launched today: the Guidelines for Resolution of Problems with Water Systems
By Susan M. Davis, Executive Director Today we are proud to launch the report on Guidelines for Resolution of Problems with Water... Read More
Why water systems fail part 15: inappropriate technology
By Susan Davis, Executive Director What leads to success or failure of water systems? Everything we read points to a complex mix... Read More
Why water systems fail part 14: lack of spare parts
By Susan Davis, Executive Director What leads to success or failure of water systems? Everything we read points to a complex mix... Read More
Why water systems fail part 13: users don’t want to pay
By Susan Davis, Executive Director What leads to success or failure of water systems? Everything we read points to a complex mix... Read More
Why water systems fail part 12: inadequate water fees
By Susan Davis, Executive Director What leads to success or failure of water systems? Everything we read points to a complex mix... Read More
Why water systems fail part 11: lack of protection of water resources
By Susan Davis, Executive Director What leads to success or failure of water systems? Everything we read points to a complex mix... Read More
Why water systems fail part 10: lack of funds for maintenance and repairs
By Susan Davis, Executive Director What leads to success or failure of water systems? Everything we read points to a complex mix... Read More
Water on the brain: the discomfort of cognitive dissonance
By Susan Davis, Executive Director Are you working on international development? Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable? This might sound a bit like... Read More
Can failed water & sanitation projects cause harm? Quote from a recent evaluation
By Susan Davis, Executive Director A recent AidSpeak blog asked “Is any harm being done?” It was about “amateur do-gooder, voluntourism” but... Read More