The evaluation followed a participatory methodology and was relatively transparent, as demonstrated by two key approaches of the ET. Throughout the fieldwork, the ET was accompanied by representatives from five Partner Organisations (POs) and one representative from WAI, which together comprised the Evaluation Fieldwork Team (EFT). Wherever possible, Participatory Learning Assessment (PLA) approaches were used with significant efficacy.

The EFT of 9 held meetings with representatives from key POs at the start of the evaluation to finalise issues the evaluation should cover. The Team met with nearly the same group at the end to share findings and invite discussion on possible recommendations. Staff of WAI, POs as well as the people in visited communities were all cooperative and contributed greatly to the evaluation by their insight and experience. ~

While generally commendable, the process's most identifiable drawback stemmed from the participation of only one woman as part of the relatively large 9-member EFT. Also, the scope of this evaluation was quite ambitious for the range of issues to be covered in the short time available. The ET also found it challenging to work in three languages: Tamil, Telegu and English.

The ET responded to these challenges by dividing EFT members into three groups for project visits so that respondents dealt with smaller numbers of visitors at any one time. It also made the maximum use of women staff employed by POs during work at village level. Finally, ET members ensured that translation was provided and that review discussions were held each evening to maximise the potential of each visit and minimise misunderstanding.

Recommendations
Towards the implementation of improved methodological processes of evaluation, it is recommended that:

~..	communities are better informed and aware of evaluation methodologies before the arrival of ETs in their villages; and
	.
~..	where programme evaluations of this type are undertaken in the future, ETs are designed so that there can be a better balance in the research between 'micro' and 'macro' issues.

Process and Progress
Water and sanitation issues remain critical in India as the country wrestles with needs related to consumption, sanitation, irrigation, and power generation purposes, and as more of the population moves into towns and cities. Consumption tends to be rising much more rapidly than supply in all areas while water is largely perceived as a free good rather than as a scarce resource or commodity.

WaterAid (WA) has been working in India for the last 15 years and has had field offices there since 1992. Its work has focused on responding to a basic and expressed need for water and water-related services by communities and Partner Organisations (POs) largely in South India, where rapid social change and urbanisation have resulted in an increased need and demand for WA activities.

Over the past ten years, both WA and WaterAid India (WAI) have experienced major shifts in strategy and effort, away from projects focused solely on water supply and towards interventions with a strong emphasis on sanitation, hygiene promotion and community management. It is generally accepted that these components are essential if water projects are to lead to improved health, maintenance and sustainability. WAI's work is spread across 69 projects over 5 states.

It is clear that WAI took very seriously recommendations of the 1995 South India Project evaluation. Several key factors and events have helped focus its efforts, as well as those of POs, as part of an iterative process of experiential learning and development. For instance, trainings and workshops held for WAI and PO staff have increased their appreciation of incorporating sanitation and hygiene promotion into all project work. WAI and POs staff are clearly dedicated and committed to improving their process and efforts.

ET findings indicate that economic and social benefits effected by the programme to date are followed by health and environment benefits on a scale of significance. Of conceptual and strategic relevance to the programme, it is believed that opportunities provided by the extensive women's activities in water supply and sanitation continue to enhance the social development of both women and men.

Building on its extensive experience and evolving expertise, WAI is currently preparing a five-year strategy focusing on issues such as hygiene promotion, community management, partner networking and advocacy. The challenge facing WAI and PO for this next phase is to secure the same level of quality throughout the projects, noting the reasons why changes occur, and investigating further the failures.

Water and Technology
An extensive technical assessment of the South India programme was not undertaken as part of this evaluation. Information concerning specific technologies used in the region can be found in the 1995 evaluation and summary report. It should however be noted that the development of new water points and continued rehabilitation of existing water sources, through the availability of borehole/tube well water for instance, continues to afford communities safe drinking water.

The programme's contribution to the delivery of a safe and accessible water supply has impacted the communities significantly. Rather than spending time searching for and carrying water, beneficiary communities, and particularly women, have used the time for the implementation of hygiene practices, including regular bathing, washing clothes and for kitchen gardens. Also, they have found more time to meet domestic responsibilities and engage in income-generating activities. Given that more water has become accessible to the communities, wasted water has become a rising concern.

Recommendations
Towards the improved delivery of water and appropriate use of development technology, it is recommended that:

~..	Partner Organisations (POs) pay greater attention to the issue of wasted water.

Sanitation
The past few years have seen a big change in the work of WaterAid India (WAI), with sanitation coupled with hygiene promotion being integrated into all projects. Having enabled a greater understanding of the need for latrines in the communities through very effective hygiene education activities, WAI has had spectacular success in the uptake of latrine-building advice and loans for their construction.

Partner organisation (PO) activities in this regard have proven to be thorough and competent. Emphasis has been placed on their educating communities about choices available and ensuring that people construct something suitable and affordable, easily maintained and made from locally available materials.

Low cost latrine designs and other valuable information on construction and maintenance of latrines have been included in various WAI documents, including the 'Training Manual for Field Workers in Water, Health and Sanitation' and Masons and Caretakers Manuals. In particular, the training of masons has been useful in helping them understand the concepts and design. The masons have since become motivators and are available for latrine construction.

Production units, which include daily-wage villagers, have been organised by POs to improve access to low-cost materials such as mud bricks, ferro-cement slabs and pans, door shutters and pre-fabricated wall panels. In an effort to assure the availability of spare parts, some POs support increasingly self-supporting Rural Sanitation Marts (RSMs) which sell sanitary items such as latrine pans and pit covers, in addition to being stores for spare parts for handpumps. RSMs have been established in many parts of India by various agencies, notably UNICEF.

Many POs have built a variety of latrines at their office sites or in the communities as a way of demonstrating the varieties of latrines available to community leaders and community-based organisations (CBOs). WAI and some POs have constructed small-scale models to show to project staff. Significant efforts have also been made to encourage projects to include activities related to drainage and environmental cleanliness more broadly. For instance, designs for hygiene improving structures are recommended, including: soakpits and kitchen garden diversions for waste water; domestic rubbish pits; compost pits for animal wastes, plate drying racks; house repairs to reduce rodents; street and household drainage; and biogas plants. While there are many examples of excellent work being undertaken to reduce the wastage of sullage and overflow water, examples of wasted water remain abundant.

The marketing of latrines as time-savers and for privacy was frequently mentioned as key reasons for construction. Women, in particular, felt safer using their own latrines. Where bathing facilities were constructed as part of the latrine complex, these were highly appreciated for privacy and convenience. They are kept very clean and are used by all family members.

Particular efforts have been made to approach men and address their specific problems, given that project staff initially reported that women and girls were the main users of latrines. A significant change in the use of latrines by men has been noted over the last three years. Intense school health activities have also brought more children and teenage users of latrines.

Overall the improved water supply, construction of latrines and improved hygiene practices have helped reduce waterborne diseases, the impact of which has rippled positively throughout the communities medically, socially, economically and environmentally.

Recommendations
Towards increasing access to improved sanitation, it is recommended that:

~..	POs are able to meet families' requests for their own latrines through loan schemes, subsidies and advice;
	.
~..	more advocacy about water wastage is undertaken throughout the work; and
	.
~..	WAI and POs give priority to ensure that all RSMs become increasingly self-supporting.

Hygiene education
Coupled with its sanitation work, WaterAid India (WAI) has responded to recommendations of the 1995 South India Project evaluation to incorporate a hygiene education component into all its projects. The approach to hygiene promotion developed by WAI with its Partner Organisations (POs) seems to be thorough and very effective. A wide range of methods is used to get WAI's hygiene promotion messages across to communities. Initial awareness-raising activities are often broad-based efforts of Culture Teams drawing on culturally-based methodologies and tools. These activities are often timed to coincide with local village festivals.

Key knowledge dissemination relates to the protection of water sources, of water in transit and in the home; personal hygiene, particularly handwashing after defecation and before handling food; food hygiene, storage, preparation, handling; disposal of urine and faeces, construction and use of latrines; disposal of liquid and solid waste from animals; faecal-oral transmission of disease; and prevention of diarrhoea and treatment of dehydration.

Most projects indicate that the most effective method for encouraging behaviour change is interpersonal communication. Thus, village-level workers undertake visits to households covered by the project, collecting baseline data, observing hygiene practices, disseminating information, encouraging attitude and behaviour change. They hold regular village meetings and attend meetings of the community-based organisations (CBOs). They advise on and follow-up activities undertaken by the community members, such as construction of latrines and soak pits. Generally, POs have a community-based health worker for about 100 households (visiting between 6-10 houses per day) and a supervisor for 4-5 villages. The selection and training of health motivators / volunteers from the project communities has been very effective, though the motivators are often paid little for long hours of work.

As knowledge and experience flows to and from villages, in many of the projects visited, the study of local health practices for the prevention and treatment of disease were included in baseline surveys. POs share very good relationships with local primary health care centres. The POs and health centres commonly use one another's facilities, transport, meetings and workshops, and undertake joint activities focusing on disease prevention and hygiene promotion. Traditional healers and Birth Attendants (TBA) have been involved with projects, often as local health volunteer, and are often promoting oral rehydration therapy (ORT) along with other treatments. Workshops have been held to increase their understanding of hygiene behaviours and how they influence health. WAI is funding a number of POs who recommend that project beneficiaries grow various herbal plants in the kitchen gardens for locally-made remedies. Alternately, discussions with PO staff revealed little liaison with the local private medical practitioners and pharmacies.

Over the last 6-24 months, participatory, accessible and entertaining hygiene education activities have been very successfully undertaken at local schools. Demonstrating great awareness and understanding of hygiene issues, children have become actively involved in hygiene activities in their schools and are encouraging their parents, siblings and other community members in better hygiene practices and the construction of latrines. Generally the POs have recruited experienced staff as school hygiene educators and have built good relationships with local education offices and schoolteachers. Most schools had School Health Committees for a variety of different activities. Student, parent and teachers' health funds have been developed which produce what are considered to be beneficial activities.

The impact of hygiene education was undoubtedly better in schools where there is a water supply and latrines, and particularly where there are current water and sanitation projects in the children's villages. The potential for marketing the idea through the schools is enormous and covers many sections of the community. Some of the POs are supporting crèches and Out of School clubs for children who do not go to school.

The hygiene education component of the WAI programme has seen the effective use of a variety of inventive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials and activities. IEC activities generally coincide with the construction or rehabilitation of water supplies and continue for at least six months. These activities are often planned now to continue for three years after construction has finished, though sometimes at a reduced level of input. This long time frame is meant to enable behaviour change to be sustainable.

While it is too early to expect hygiene promotion activities to be fully incorporated into all the work funded by WAI, this is clearly the direction the programme is taking.

Recommendations
Towards expanding the reach and effectiveness of hygiene education activities, it is recommended that:

~..	greater attention is paid to the importance of using correct and contextually-appropriate health messages;
	.
~..	the activities of Cultural Teams are monitored;
	.
~..	a long-term view of staffing is taken to ensure that community members are properly trained, educated and paid where appropriate;
	.
~..	WAI continue to support the development of IEC materials in local languages;
	.
~..	simple materials are developed to be left with families after household visits by health promoters;
	.
~..	regular impact studies are conducted to ensure that costs of the hygiene promotion activities are measured against benefits in behaviour change;
	.
~..	behavioural change is reinforced through monitoring with communities, newsletters, close links with both TBAs and other health staff, and through promoting the school health programme;
	.
~..	training of local healers and midwives is continued and encouraged further;
	.
~..	private medical practitioners and shops are encouraged to give hygiene education to patients;
	.
~..	all advice on the use of herbal remedies recommended by WAI and PO staff is scientifically sound;
	.
~..	POs maintain and nurture relationships with the Ministry of Health, encourage the local Village Health Nurse to help supervise activities of the Village Health Motivators, and to use the CBOs for health activities in the future;
	.
~..	a water supply is organised for a school, and a latrine constructed, at the start of hygiene education activities to allow for reinforcement of messages
	.
~..	POs should try to involve the teachers more in the hygiene education work and provide them with appropriate teaching aids and refresher trainings;
	.
~..	hygiene education is incorporated into the main education curriculum, directly through schools, and through advocacy efforts aimed at the Ministry of Education at national, state and district level;
	.
~..	hygiene promotion and latrine use are promoted in pre-school crèches/balwadis and Out of School clubs
	.
~..	POs liaise with Indian NGOs using Child-to-Child methodologies and incorporate good ideas; and
	.
~..	care is taken to ensure that hygiene promotion is replicable throughout project areas equally.

Capacity Building of Partners
Considerable learning has taken place within Partner Organisations (POs) over the last four years with particular regards to sanitation and hygiene education activities, backed by the WaterAid Country Representative (CR) and supported by key training events. The POs appreciate and make good use of WaterAid India (WAI) for advice and interactive expertise development though the ones that are close to Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) have had more time spent on them than others.

WAI staff has been encouraged by the CR to develop their expertise through reading. WAI has a small, indexed resource collection of books and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials collected from other agencies and WA. The WAI newsletter published quarterly has been found by the POs to be a useful tool to keep them updated on key issues. The POs, through local networks are also planning to have Resource Centres at one PO office in each District.

The regular meetings and workshops held by POs over the past four years have enabled learning to take place for the development of content and methodology. All health and hygiene promoters have received training by PO staff. For instance, POs have provided training for caretakers and mechanics at community level, including Training of Trainers (TOT). One notable success has seen the Government of Andhra Pradesh incorporate the Handpump Mechanism training as part of the TRYSEM programme (a government training programme for rural youth). Clearly, the addition of hygiene education in the training of handpump mechanics and caretakers has been an enormous help in increasing understanding in the need to care for pumps, etc.

A few important challenges remain which offer capacity-building opportunities. The staff at WAI does not yet have easy access to the internet at work nor do they have email access from their desks. This situation has made it difficult for them to use the web to search for updated information or communicate with the Hygiene Promotion Adviser in London or experienced staff in other WA Country Programmes.

The ET were unable to see staff or volunteer training hence no comment can be made on the quality of specific training activities. There were few training resource files in the WaterAid office containing information about training courses. Staff had a number of Powerpoint packages prepared for content of training sessions, but these were not collected together for each target group. There was not a line item for training in the WAI staff budget.

While WAI staff has attended some training courses or workshops related to their work in hygiene education and sanitation, few had had any training in participatory training skills. It has been recognised by WAI that its training of trainers and communication skills training needs improvement. Anticipating the need to respond to some of these concerns, training courses for WAI and PO staff had been scheduled for early 2000.

Recommendations
Towards the improved capacity of WAI and POs, it is recommended that:

~..	WAI continue to identify and build the capacity of POs to the currently high standard;
	.
~..	a more systematic approach is undertaken with regards to the analysis and assessment of training needs of existing as well as new staff and of the organisation, with an increased training budget;
	.
~..	WA staff involved with PO staff training or work in the community undergo a formal training of trainers in participatory training skills;
	.
~..	more training for staff is provided in how to analyse data with communities;
	.
~..	WAI continue to learn from outside sources and from the fieldwork of the POs to improve and develop the methodology, documentation and monitoring of its activities;
	.
~..	e-mail access and documentation systems are improved;
	.
~..	POs circulate newsletters to project CBOs for three years after project activities have ceased; and
	.
~..	WAI encourage different state governments to recognise the Handpump Mechanism Training as part of the TRYSEM programme on the basis of experiences in AP.

Organisational Links
WaterAid India (WAI) has a very active policy of encouraging learning between partners and others with whom it participates in the water development sector in India.

Regional and sub-regional thematic networks have become increasingly useful channels for the exchange of ideas and experience between organisations. Maximising their value, network meetings and exposure visits are sometimes combined with valuable joint visits to projects and often supplemented by joint training courses. Project directors of Partner Organisations (POs) that were part of the evaluation sample have all been involved in these evolving state networks.

Perhaps most significantly, WAI has recently set up WaterNet in Tamil Nadu as a network of Water and Sanitation NGOs covering the whole State through four different 'chapters' or groups. The convenor for WaterNet is a member of a PO and there is much enthusiasm both amongst WAI staff and POs for this new network. In contrast, networks WAI has supported in Andhra Pradesh (AP), Viswasamakya and the Rayalseema Watershed Development Programme are most active at district, rather than State level. Thus it was hard for the ET to assess either the long-term impact or sustainability of these networks.

In the short term, discussions with one new partner, the Association for Women's Development and Education (AWED) in Tamil Nadu showed WaterAid is indeed encouraging learning from more established partners like Community Action for Social Transformation (CAST) and Gramalaya to new partners. In such instances, these activities tend to be arranged by WAI as the funding agency rather than the network itself. While these networks are promising structures, network convenors for each area are Project Directors who have assumed added responsibilities. Still, a positive indicator of their value is that WA partners are well aware of the need to incorporate strong governance structures into networks from the outset.

Publicatons distributed in different parts of WAI's zone of operation have been playing an increasingly useful role in facilitating the development of regional links between organisations. WAI's quarterly newsletter started over 3 years ago is very popular and the South East Zone of WaterNet has recently started to produce its own newsletter in Tamil called Thaniyum Thagam.

WAI has become a well-respected agency and desirable partner with whom to collaborate in the region. The Council for Advancement of Peoples Action and Rural Technology (CAPART - the NGO funding wing of the Ministry of Rural Development) now funds projects without a previous field visit once they have been assessed and recommended by WAI staff. Similarly the Tamil Nadu office of UNICEF is happy to channel funds direct to WAI's partners and to use WAI for monitoring.

As a respected international NGO, the kinds of messages that WAI wants to promote are seen as highly relevant. WAI (often together with UNICEF) has achieved notable successes with regard to advocacy, especially in Tamil Nadu where the Government is relatively progressive. For example, WAI has worked closely with the Society for Community Organisation and People's Education (SCOPE) to act as a model NGO in respect of hygiene education, school health, and the marketing of products like soap and latrine slabs.

WAI has influenced the Central Government, and in particular CAPART, to reduce the level of subsidy provided for latrines. High levels of subsidy meant that there tended to be a greater emphasis on constructing latrines than on their proper use and maintenance. In Andhra Pradesh, WAI's major advocacy and programme success has been the community based handpump maintenance programme in Visakhapatnam District. There, WAI has supplied the Training and Development Centre (TDC) with considerable financial and training assistance to ensure the technical competence of handpump mechanics recruited from the community where a strong network of 43 NGOs are involved in water development work. Working through support organisations like TDC is an attractive way in which an International NGO like WAI can build up the capacities of its partners without having to rely solely on its own staff and infrastructure.

At a regional and international level, WA and WAI engage in opportunities that directly impact the India Programme's development. The recent International WA conference has inspired discussion on gender issues and poverty alleviation, and on the need for water for animals and cottage industries. Staff also found visits to Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) and the 1998 Regional meeting in Bangladesh useful opportunities to share experiences of methodology.

Other key actors in this sector like the UNDP/World Bank Water & Sanitation Program and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) would like to hear more about the experiences of WAI and its partners. This is in particular reference to WAI and its partners work in community management of water and sanitation, as they undertake applied research and formulate policy recommendations.

Recommendations
Towards the development of effective organisational links, it is recommended that:

~..	WAI provide the finance and encouragement to develop WaterNet as an independent organisation with the four existing area Convenors acting as Trustees, and a full time Network Coordinator;
	.
~..	financial procedures for WaterNet continue to be developed, that it should be prepared to receive and disburse funding in support of its members;
	.
~..	WAI formulate a clear advocacy strategy and recruit a senior manager responsible for the implementation of this strategy;
	.
~..	WAI enhance its capacity to commission and undertake research, to disseminate the results and to use them where appropriate for advocacy purposes;
	.
~..	TDC continue to build on its considerable strengths in relation to technical support and practical training. In order to reduce its dependence on WaterAid, WAI should continue to encourage TDC to supply these services to a wide range of other agencies on a financially sustainable basis; and
	.
~..	WAI link up with DFID's Slum Improvement Programmes in AP which are now being extended to cover more district and regional towns.

Community Management
WaterAid (WA) documentation continues to provide an excellent framework for WaterAid India (WAI) and Partner Organisations (POs) to develop their planning, information systems, reporting procedures and general management of their work. Although POs are free to develop their own methodology, generally they have demonstrated a similar approach.

Where WAI can be seen as relatively interventionist is that it sets its partners high standards in relation to proposal writing and reports. All POs found these standards challenging, even daunting at first, but all now welcome them, feeling that WAI has helped improve their capacity to produce convincing documentation. Project proposals are all now expected to include baseline information on hygiene and sanitation practices and to include clear plans for implementing hygiene promotion and sanitation interventions, with separate budgets and specific staff.

Once funding has been agreed, more detailed baseline data is collected through baseline surveys and other Participatory Learning Assessment (PLA) exercises, and discussions take place with the community organisations and leaders to plan the details of the project. It should be noted that while the knowledge and practice of POs in the use of PLA/PRA has increased over the last four years, the use of participatory methodology is still too extractive, thus falling short of its potential to empower communities.

As the project begins to take shape, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) methods are developed. Co-ordination takes place between the PO, government structures such as the local Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) and panchayat office, and schools. The already existing Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) like Self-Help Groups (SHGs), women's sangams and youth groups form specific groups such as Water Sanitation Committees (WASAN) which are community groups responsible for maintenance and management of water sources and village sanitation. Local WASAN Committees are working well, though most of the training they receive has a technical bias.

All POs employ senior staff which train all other technical and supervisory staff in hygiene promotion, sanitation and community management. They also employ health education/ hygiene promotion staff who in turn supervise village level community health workers who work on the project for three years to promote hygiene in their own communities. Village health workers or hygiene promoters generally undertake the monitoring of behaviour change. SCOPE is the exception, with volunteers from outside the area, often graduates, working in the community for a year or less.

Monitoring of progress is normally done by a combination of weekly staff meetings, which usually focus on administrative and operational issues, and monthly meetings in which the overall performance of the work is reviewed. All POs write quarterly progress reports to WAI, which usually supplies prompt feedback. In addition, either WAI staff or staff from a support organisation like TDC visit all partners at least twice a year. In some cases, staff from WAI and TDC prepares a detailed joint report on their visit.

The major weakness in the current reporting system is that partners do not as yet report in any consistent format on the impact of their activities. Considerable information is exchanged between WAI and POs. Requirements stemming from WAI's reporting systems are putting an unexpectedly heavy work burden on POs though they provide valuable information for project monitoring and planning. Also, while WAI conducts regular internal reviews of all partner projects, and has helped some partners carry out internal evaluations, WAI has no clear system for project-level evaluations using external consultants.

A fund has been created with subscription from all village households for maintenance purposes, including weekly preventive maintenance of hand pumps by caretakers. Major repairs / breakdowns of hand pumps are communicated to the PO for repair work. Village people contentedly pay for regular maintenance of the bore well and hand pumps, suggesting that maintenance arrangements will be self-sustaining in the future. Technically, spares banks (currently being run by POs), by which communities can access spare parts for hand pumps when they break down are working well.

Emphasis needs to be placed on the profound impact that WAI's work has had, especially on women, through the role of village sangams and Self Help Groups (SHGs). WAI recognises the village sangams and SHGs as important community-based organisations on which the water, sanitation promotion and hygiene education activities depend. Women members of SHGs valued the easy access to savings and credit made possible by their membership in these groups. They realise their own strength and capacity in supporting the family through additional income, which has had an important impact both in their families and in their communities. The programme has impacted communities in that the rigidity of traditional gender roles is softening.

Recommendations
Towards more effective community management, it is recommended that:

~..	WAI and POs are trained to ensure understanding and use of PLA as a holistic approach to their work with communities;
	.
~..	field staff use available materials in a more critical way, and assess which methods seems to have the best impact;
	.
~..	regular impact studies are undertaken to ensure that the costs of the hygiene promotion activities are measured against the benefits in behaviour change;
	.
~..	WAI partners encourage various forms of linkages between WASAN Committees and local government structures at every stage;
	.
~..	community-based monitoring of projects are introduced with more emphasis on visual recording to enable less literate community members to be involved;
	.
~..	WA examine information requirements and flows to ensure that information requested from Partner Organisations is essential, useful and feasible;
	.
~..	each village build up a well-utilised and properly managed maintenance fund which can be used to enable the community to invest in additional bore wells;
	.
~..	communities access any funds available from the local Panchayat;
	.
~..	Spares Banks are managed by village networks at cluster or mandal level, with training provided by NGOs for their management, as required;
	.
~..	the structure of village committees is examined in an effort to assure sustainability;
	.
~..	sangams and SHGs are trained in record keeping and basic management; and
	.
~..	Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are encouraged to form federations at the mandal or district level to give them greater overall bargaining power.

Programme Management
In recent years, WaterAid India (WAI) has tended to focus on supporting largely rural projects promoting sanitation and hygiene education, and to a lesser extent water conservation. Currently most of its partners prefer to work in rural areas, and within these rural areas, the majority of villages covered tend to be quite small settlements. The 1997 Strategy envisages that 10% of WAI's funds will go into urban areas. In actuality, the major initiatives in the urban sector have been its support for the Bangalore NGO, Deena Seva Sangha, and a new initiative to support 3 partners to work in the slum areas of Trichy. Any shift away from this will not be easy as some existing partners are more ready than others to work in these larger settlements.

The South India programme appears to be relatively expensive, largely due to high levels of staff involvement. Both WAI and Partner Organisations (POs) have had to get used to costs being much greater than when projects were limited to the construction and rehabilitation of water supplies. However the actual costs of these projects in India are inexpensive compared to similar costs of other WA efforts in Africa. As POs scale up their work, and work in larger villages, small towns or urban slums, they will need to plan for projects at these higher costs per beneficiary, for the same levels of hygiene promoter per household. It is the Evaluation Team (ET)'s understanding that WaterAid Overseas Committee appreciates the importance of including all these costs in projects, particularly since hygiene education activities are longer term and require a significant investment of time and resources.

The European Union (EU) and UK Department for International Development (DFID) pay 50% of the costs of the entire programme through their respective joint funding schemes - though the exact contribution from DFID may change after April 2000 following the revision of its own Joint Funding Scheme. Currently WAI supports 67 partners in five states but in 1998/9, 63% of its budget of £650,000 was spent in Tamil Nadu and 17% in AP. While the strategy of reducing spending in Tamil Nadu has been re-iterated both in the Feb 1997 South India Strategy and other reports, it has clearly taken longer than expected to achieve this objective.

In Tamil Nadu, WAI is committed to building up WaterNet as a network of NGOs with a capacity to raise their own funding from the State Government, CAPART, UNICEF, and other agencies. The existing strategy allows for modest geographical expansion in the 4 other states where it currently supports partners. While funding may limit the scope of this expansion, the prospects for increasing funding for WAI's programme appear bright.

Rental and living costs are comparatively low in Trichy, and most POs in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are happy with this location for the WAI office. Though the 1998/9 report proposed a 60% increase in staff numbers in the Trichy office from 10 to 16 it is unclear whether it is efficient, given the location of Trichy, for all staff to be based there. In the short-term WAI's staff capacity and the location of its staff may well constrain future expansion. As regards recruitment, until now WAI has recruited most of its staff from the immediate area around Trichy or from Tamil Nadu and lacks the gender representation the programme requires.

Recommendations
Towards the improved management of the Water Aid India programme, it is recommended that:

~..	more project level, impact evaluations are conducted, through partner networks;
	.
~..	tighter indicator-based reporting is developed, backed up by rigorous research, project-level impact studies, and a capacity to disseminate and follow up all such studies;
	.
~..	WAI respond to the growing need for external, though short and non-academic evaluations at the project level;
	.
~..	WAI formulate and implement an advocacy strategy;
	.
~..	undertake more policy-related research;
	.
~..	appoint senior staff responsible for advocacy;
	.
~..	better document the achievements of its POs;
	.
~..	WAI move more rapidly and encourage both existing and future partners to work in towns of all sizes and urban slums, both by encouraging existing partners to take on more urban work and by identifying new POs which already have good links with urban slum communities;
	.
~..	WAI replicate in other states the same kind of strong networks it has achieved in Tamil Nadu;
	.
~..	in managing its expansion to different states, WAI give a high priority to nurturing and supporting SHGs, sangams and other such groups;
	.
~..	in the long term, more authority is delegated to State-level offices;
	.
~..	over the next 2 years, WAI consider establishing a small national office at a more central location;
	.
~..	the next country strategy includes a Human Resources Development (HRD) policy. Gender and equal opportunities issues need to be an explicit part of the HRD plan;
	.
~..	WA improve its social development expertise and show key donors like DFID that it is able to relate water and sanitation to socio-economic factors in India;
	.
~..	WA increase spending in India over the next 3 years towards funding projects but increasingly directed towards institutional support for partner networks and advocacy work; and
	.
~..	excellent programme management guidelines are revised in the light of this evaluation and developed into a more user-friendly format.