Water Engineering and Development Centre

Diagnostic tools and guidelines for faecal sludge management


WEDC staff involved: Rebecca Scott, Mike Smith, Sam Kayaga

Funded by: World Bank     Value: £60,000

Location: Global                Duration: 2013-2016     


Summary of project activities


This project identified how various components affecting urban sanitation service delivery could be analysed together, as a way to help decision-makers invest more effectively in faecal sludge management (FSM) services as part of broad urban sanitation improvements.

WEDC worked in close collaboration with Oxford Policy Management Ltd, the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program, and a number of individual consultants to apply a common methodology and analysis framework across 5 cities. Results from these in-depth studies led to the development of a comprehensive set of improved diagnostic tools and guidelines to support better FSM services. 

Sanitation chain

Summary of project outcomes and impact

The project considered the wide-ranging enabling environment, political economy and service delivery factors that affect both current and future scenarios for FSM services. The project developed and enhanced a set of analytical tools to provide diagnostics of faecal sludge management (FSM) services at a city-wide scale. The tools have proven effective in guiding the collection, analysis and discussion of evidence, as a precursor to detailed feasibility studies, necessary to ultimately plan appropriate city-wide sanitation interventions. 

To find out more, visit http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/sanitation/brief/fecal-sludge-management-tools or read the journal paper Diagnostics for assessing city-wide sanitation services