Dissertation Annotated Bibliography for….. (Due date – Sunday 21st January) for Talented Writer

Annotated Bibliography

As part of your Doctoral Seminar for this set of weeks, you are participating in a seminar-style discussion about the weekly topics. You must address 5 of the attached Dissertations in the prescribed format. As a related exercise, submit an annotated bibliography of the 5 resources you referred to this week. For each dissertation entry, be sure to include the full APA citation and address the following :

1. Scope

2. Purpose

3. Philosophical Approach

4. Underlying Assumptions

5. Research

6. Limitations

7. Opportunities for further inquiry

8. Validity of use

Dissertation Resources:

General Topic: Sustainability and Community participation

Perr, A. (2014). Development of a model of participation of community-based, discretionary activities by people who use wheelchairs (Order No. 3612343). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1507461931). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1507461931?accountid=14872

Kautzman, A. M. (2018). The influences on and impact of economic and community development policies in a micropolitan city (Order No. 10690069). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1986770754). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1986770754?accountid=14872

Artyushevskaya, N. A. (2014). The role of women in sustainability of donor-funded rural drinking water supply projects in developing countries: A case study of tajikistan (Order No. 1560727). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1562750005). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1562750005?accountid=14872

Pulido-Rozo, A. (2014). The sustainability of community-based water supply organizations (CWOS): A case study analysis of rural colombia (Order No. 1568338). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1624892969). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1624892969?accountid=14872

Moritz, M. C. (2016). The effect of community connectivity on water and sanitation systems in rural panama (Order No. 10244781). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1870785954). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1870785954?accountid=14872

Annotated Bibliography

Akange, S. S. (2016). Impact of potable water availability on economic development of north Benue state (Order No. 10240266). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1834498174). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1834498174?accountid=14872

Scope

This dissertation examines how economic development and social transformation deficiencies in Benue state, Nigeria are caused by lack of water or inadequate water supply.

Purpose

The study conducts a quantitative, non-experimental and cross-sectional research to gauge of the lack of portable water availability in Benue state and its socioeconomic development impacts thereof.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher adopted a quantitative, non-experimental and cross-sectional approach in the study because it is best suited to examine the complex relationships and correlations that exist between variables. This approach is also more practical when conducting research on rural community settings where decision-making agencies are involved.

Underlying Assumptions

One of the paper’s underlying assumption is that the lack of portable water availability is directly linked to other variables. In addition, the paper’s second assumption is that the direct link between other variables and lack of potable water availability has significant impacts on Benue’s economic development and social change.

Research

The researcher adopted survey-sampling methodology, where participants, were interviewed in lieu of the impacts of lack of potable water or its inadequacy on their economic and social development.

Limitations

The researcher indicated that paper’s limitation is the lack of political will in Benue state to implement the findings of the study. According the researcher this lack of political will undermines the implementation of policies that seek to enhance social-economic development in Benue state.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The researcher indicated that there is need for further research on other areas that have the potential to serve as great opportunities to develop and improve Benue’s subsector services.

Validity of use

This dissertation was essential as it illustrated how lack of portable water availability has impacted Benue’s economic and social development.

Madsen, T. (2014). Evaluation of a leadership program’s impact on participants and civic engagement (Order No. 3640165). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1619572076). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1619572076?accountid=14872

Scope

The dissertation explores how leadership programs have impacted the participants civic engagement in the US.

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to evaluate and address the gap in the program assessment to effectively determine how it has impacted the participant’s civic engagement.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher adopted a mixed-method approach which focuses on increasing a leader’s capacity and to enable one to connect with the participants in a way that there is equitable sharing of resources and effect full change implementation.

Underlying Assumptions

The study contained several assumptions. The first underlying assumption in the study was that it was hoped that the responses given by the participants was honest and accurate. The second underlying assumption was that survey conducted in the research provided relevant data that addressed all the research questions.

Research

The researcher used summative program evaluation based on Community Leadership Survey that was sent to the program’s association comprising of 448 graduates from 2003 to 2012 which had a total yield of 155 surveys.

Limitations

The first limitation of the study was the inability of the programs curriculum design to reveal the long-term impacts on the graduates and the ability to achieve the program objectives. The second limitation was the lack of adequate resources, which hampered the ability to conduct an internal summative evaluation of the program. The third limitation was lack of adequate financial resources to contract external researchers.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The study illustrated that the local MWCLP and alumni association are the primary stakeholders who have an opportunity to address the gap between in the achieving the program objectives and decision-making authorities.

Validity of use

The study showed how program assessment impacted the participants engagement in civic duties.

Owusu-Achiaw, K. (2013). The effect of community participation on affordable housing: A study of a housing program in a borough of New York City (Order No. 3565621). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1415457665). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1415457665?accountid=14872

Scope

The research explores how community participation in reference formulating affordable housing.

Purpose

The objective of this study was to examine how effective community participation via exploration of particular program in the US leads to affordable housing.

Philosophical Approach

The study employed community participation approach in reference to provision of affordable housing programs. The approach provides sustainable education and outreach programs to the public on the best ways and practices of having affordable housing.

Underlying Assumptions

The first underlying researcher’s assumption is that the selected participants in the study provided accurate and forthcoming responses in reference to the interview questions on the participants’ experience and knowledge in affordable housing. The second assumption was that the participants’ experiences were instrumental in helping them express their perceptions on community participation. The third assumption was that the participants voluntarily responded to interview questions.

Research

The researcher used semi structured interviews where open-ended questions were posed to the participants and used to collect lived experiences.

Limitations

(1). There was small sample used of the original population due to the participant’s financial and time constraints. (2) The views and responses expressed by the participants may not accurately reflect those of the selected community. (3) The research methodology used was inherently limited.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The research deducted that if community members played a leading role, there would be positive social change in reference to affordable housing. In addition, if extensive education is conducted, community members can be able to use their abilities to take effective measures to promote positive social change.

Validity of use

The study indicates that it is imperative for community members to have positive social change to address their housing needs.

Engelbright, C. L. (2015). Planning for a community supported farmers market in a rural USDA food desert (Order No. 3707617). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1696319272). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1696319272?accountid=14872

Scope

The study seeks to develop community initiative to illustrate how it can effectively address the inadequate access to fruits and vegetables to persons living in USDA designated food desert.

Purpose

The study’s purpose is to develop and plan for implementation and evaluation of farmers who are supported by the community, residing in South Wood County to ensure that the farmers’ access to fruits and vegetables is increased.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher conducted the study based on three approaches. (1) Assembling interdisciplinary project team comprising of community stakeholders. (2) Use of literature review on the best practices to have a sustainable farmers’ market. (3) Creation of a development plan to review literature used in the study.

Underlying Assumptions

(1) Produce prices will reduce in the farmer’s market when compared to the local retail outlet. (2) Implementing local and sustainable food system will increase the access to fresh produce and at the same time increase the community health.

Research

The researcher adopted survey-sampling methodology, where participants, were interviewed on the experiences on lack of affordable and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Limitations

(1) There was limited community resident participation. (2) The town hall meeting used to conduct the meeting was small. (3) Bad weather conditions hampered travelling to conduct interviews and attend meetings. (4) The town hall meetings coincided with a large sporting event, which significantly reduced the level of attendance.

Opportunities for further inquiry

If there is a liaison between the community and other government authorities, the cost of fresh produce can significantly reduce and make it affordable and accessible.

Validity of use

The study was instrumental in seeking ways in which fresh produce can be made accessible and affordable.

Amabipi, A. K. (2016). Understanding host community distrust and violence against oil companies in Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1619572076?accountid=14872

Scope

The study explores the reasons behind community distrust and violence against oil companies in Nigeria via use interviews.

Purpose

The study seeks to gather comprehensive and contextual account of the causes of the said distrust and violence in addition to examining various elements that can be used to address the causes.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher uses sampling and survey approach to determine the root causes of distrust and violence that is experienced by oil companies in Nigeria.

Underlying Assumptions

Experiences of distrust and violence netted on oil companies will be communicated freely. (2) Authorities cannot control the distrust and violence on oil companies. (3) The experiences are not similar in all geographical areas. (4) Data collected is based on accurate responses. (6) Data collected is a representation of the host communities. (7) Study findings will provide peaceful management strategies. (8) Elements of social change spread from the affected villages to other communities. (9) Case study will portray the accurate story in reference to the host community and oil companies.

Research

The researcher used interviews to ascertain the root causes of community distrust and violence on oil companies.

Limitations

(1) The terrain impended access to various geographical locations. (2) Participants not giving accurate information. (3) Residents not willing to be interviewed.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The researcher deducted that if there is more transparency and coordination by the oil companies and the respective communities, the distrust would significantly reduce and the violence. Thus the researcher was of the view that there needs to be more studies to achieve this management practices.

Validity of use

The research was instrumental in determining the possible root causes of the said distrust and violence and the possible solutions.

Walden University

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation

Anna Kautzman

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made

Review Committee

Dr. Linda Day, Committee Chairperson,

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Dr. Christopher Jones, Committee Member,

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Dr. Aman Khan, University Reviewer,

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Chief Academic Officer

Eric Riedel, Ph.D.

Walden University

2017

Abstract

The Influences on and Impact of Economic and Community Development Policies in a

Micropolitan City

Anna M. Kautzman

JD, University of Denver, 198

MEd, Jones International University, 20

BA, Goucher College, 19

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Public Policy and Administration

Walden University

December 2017

Abstract

As the U.S. economy changed from industry to information, small cities suffered a

decline in quality of life and an increase in poverty. The existing research has focused on

demographics and descriptive attributes of micropolitan cities, but not on efforts to

overcome these challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand how

a micropolitan city used economic and community development policies to rebuild its

economy and improve quality of life. Using Holland’s conceptualization of complex

adaptive systems, research questions focused on triggers for policy creation and its use to

create social change by improving the local economy and reducing the effects of

poverty.

Data for this qualitative case study were collected through open-ended questions in sem

structured interviews with policymakers (elected officials), policy implementers (city

employees), and policy influencers (community leaders). Interviews were supplemented

with document review and photographic observation. The data were analyzed using

descriptive coding, categorical aggregation, and direct interpretation to identify

overarching themes of acceptance, resilience, building on strengths, and the interwoven

nature of policy. The findings indicate that economic and community development

policies can lead to positive changes such as the rehabilitation of blighted areas, growth

of new and existing businesses, and influence state policy, illustrating the attributes of

complex adaptive systems. The positive social change implications of this study include

recommendations to city administrators to develop economic and community

development policy based on their unique circumstances, to build partnerships, promote

community change, and build a positive mindset to benefit their city and citizens.

The Influences on and Impact of Economic and Community Development Policies in a
Micropolitan City
by
Anna M. Kautzman

JD, University of Denver, 19

MEd, Jones International University, 2010
BA, Goucher College, 1980

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Public Policy and Administration

Walden University
December 201

ProQuest Number:

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10690069

10690069
2017

Dedication

To my family, who has encouraged me for years; especially my sister Donna.

Acknowledgments

With much thankfulness, God has granted me the opportunity and ability to

achieve much and to complete this research. Many heart-felt thanks go to Dr. Linda Day

for her patience, wisdom, and encouragement. She truly is amazing. I am also grateful to

Dr. Christopher Jones for his good humor and support. His perspective has been valuable

throughout the process. I am also thankful for Dr. Aman Khan’s great wisdom, invaluable

teaching and his willingness to stay with me through unexpected turns.

I don’t have adequate words to thank all the participants connected to

Danville

who made the study possible and who spent so much time bringing life to the topic of

policy making.

Table of Contents

List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study …………………………………………………………………………

Economic and Community Development …………………………………………………………….1

Background of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………..

Policy Approaches ……………………………………………………………………………………………5

City of Danville, Virginia, Micropolitan Area………………………………………………………7

Problem Statement ……………………………………………………………………………………………

Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………

Research Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………10

Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………………………………………………10

Nature of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………

Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………………………………………1

Assumptions …………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

Scope and Delimitations ………………………………………………………………………………….

Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Significance……………………………………………………………………………………………………15

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….1

Chapter 2: Literature Review …………………………………………………………………………………

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………17

The Purpose of this Literature Review ………………………………………………………………19

Search Strategy ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Complexity Theory …………………………………………………………………………………………

Complex Adaptive Systems ……………………………………………………………………….

Understanding Micropolitan America ……………………………………………………………….

Existing Research about Micropolitan America ……………………………………………

Economic Development in Micropolitan Areas ……………………………………………

Development Strategies …………………………………………………………………………….

Regional Governance and Partnerships ……………………………………………………………..

International Influences on Local Economic Development …………………………………..

Summary and Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 3: Research Method ………………………………………………………………………………….

Purpose and Research Questions ………………………………………………………………………51

Design of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………

Qualitative Research Method …………………………………………………………………….. 52

Case Study Qualitative Approach ……………………………………………………………….

Justification of the Case Study Approach …………………………………………………….

Sampling for the Study ……………………………………………………………………………………

Sample Size ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Role of the Researcher …………………………………………………………………………………….

Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Documents ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Interviews ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 65

iii

Direct Observation ……………………………………………………………………………………

Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Structure of the Narrative Report ………………………………………………………………………

Ethical Considerations …………………………………………………………………………………….72

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter 4: Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………75

Setting of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………

Demographics …………………………………………………………………………………………. 76

Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………………80

Evidence of Trustworthiness…………………………………………………………………………….

Key Attributes of the City of Danville ……………………………………………………………….84

Results… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Acceptance ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 88

Resilience ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Building on Strengths ……………………………………………………………………………….

Economic and Community Development Policies are Interwoven ………………..

104

Keeping Focus ……………………………………………………………………………………….

106

Continual Assessment ……………………………………………………………………………..

110

Partnerships: More Than a City ………………………………………………………………..

111

External Influence ………………………………………………………………………………….. 114

Achievement …………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Relation of the Themes to the Research Questions ……………………………………………

124

Summary of Findings for Question 1………………………………………………………… 124

Summary of Findings for Question 2………………………………………………………… 1

Summary of Findings for Question 3…………………………………………………………

125

Summary of Findings for Question 4…………………………………………………………

127

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations ……………………………………1

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

129

Interpretation of the Findings………………………………………………………………………….1

Findings in Context of the Literature …………………………………………………………

131

Theoretical Framework …………………………………………………………………………… 1

Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………1

Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………

140

Implications for Social Change ……………………………………………………………………….1

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………1

Appendix A: Interview protocol …………………………………………………………………………..

159

List of Tables

Table 1. Participant Types ……………………………………………………………………………………

Table 2. Aggregation of Quotations to Codes to Themes ………………………………………….

Table 3. Frequency of Themes in Participant Interviews ………………………………………….

Table 4. Important Events in the History of Danville, Virginia …………………………………

Table 5. Selected Statistics for Danville and Virginia. …………………………………………… 1

Table 6. City of Danville Population ……………………………………………………………………

123

List of Figures

Figure 1. Danville, Virginia area map …………………………………………………………………….

Figure 2. Cycle of data collection …………………………………………………………………………..69

Figure 3. Visual presentation of study participants …………………………………………………..77

Figure 4. Danville: Geography of key locations ……………………………………………………….

Figure 5. Blighted buildings ………………………………………………………………………………….

Figure 6. Riverwalk entrances within the River District ………………………………………….

101

Figure 7. Bridge Street in the River District …………………………………………………………..

120

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study

Economic and Community Development

In this study I focused on the interactions and influences on economic and

community development policies in a small, nonmetropolitan U.S. city. The aim was to

develop a better understanding of how these types of policies interact and are managed to

support common, and sometimes differing, goals. Local policymaking in these areas is

generally intended to combat the effects of poverty, create a sustainable local economy,

and improve the community’s

quality of life.

Economic and community development are the policies and actions taken by the

local government, often partnering with nonprofit organizations, to improve the overall

quality of life within the community while reducing the undesirable effects of sustained

unemployment and poverty, such as blight, crime, and health challenges. Such policies

frequently take the form of efforts to reduce poverty, increase employment, increase

educational attainment, and improve access to healthcare and social services. I did not

intend for this study to be a model to remove poverty or to create economic growth, but

to understand the interaction of factors and policies in the effort to transform the local

economic base and to improve the community’s quality of life.

Economic growth is a term used by economists to refer to an increase in an

economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) or an increase in the output per person for an

area (Noell, Smith, & Webb, 2013, p.3). But economic development is a broader term that

encompasses a broad based, sustainable improvement (of which economic growth is one

element) in the community’s standard of living as measured by individual quality of life

(Greenwood & Holt, 2010, p.3). Community development is a systematic and sustained

action within a community to use policies and strategies to identify and address local

needs, assets, and investments (infrastructure, public facilties, community centers,

housing, public services), and other concerns that affect the quality of life of individuals

within the community (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

2014).

The

combination of successful economic and community development policies should lead to

an improved quality of life. In this study I examined the influences and policies used to

transform the local economic base and to address the overall well-being of a community

combating poverty and its effects.

Studying policies, influences, interactions, and effects appears more manageable

on a smaller scale. Yet, the subject community should be large and diverse enough to

enable a variety of policies and programs in order to examine those interactions and

relationships. A micropolitan city (an urban center, integrated with the surrounding area,

having a population between 10,000 and 50,000 people) that is located in a largely rural

area and nonadjacent to a metropolitan community is ideal for this study. The city studied

has experienced the positive and negative aspects of both urban and rural life. The

community selected has attributes of a metropolitan area, including economic and social

diversity, access to education with a community college and a private university offering

both undergraduate and graduate level programs, and cultural amenities, such as

museums, shopping areas, and restaurants. It also has attributes of a rural area, including

lack of significant transportation infrastructure, home-grown leadership rather than

professional politicians, limited access to surrounding communities, and an

agricultural/industrial based economy (Federal Highway Administration, 2013).

Similarly, it has experienced challenges of both rural and metropolitan areas: limited

employment opportunities within a small community, population leaving for more

attractive opportunities in metropolitan areas, housing blight, drug use, and the related

increase in criminal activities.

A better understanding of policy and influence interactions, both successful and

unsuccessful, may help practitioners and scholars in policymaking. The social change

results could be far-reaching as communities gain greater understanding of policy

interactions and as individuals benefit from improved quality of life.

In this chapter, I describe the research problem and state the research questions. I

also present the purpose of the study, the theoretical framework used to guide the

research, and a discussion of the nature of the study. Finally, the chapter includes a

definition of terms.

Background of the Study

Much of human history was marked by dire poverty with only royalty and

privileged classes escaping until economic growth spurred by the industrial revolution

created prosperity and the rise of the middle class (Noell et al., 2013, p. 2). Today,

poverty refers to the condition where a household’s total income is less than the amount

needed to pay for basic needs (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2014). In 2014, about

15% of the U.S. population is lived in poverty, about 8.5 million in rural areas (U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 2014). Since poverty rates were first tracked in the 1960s,

U.S. rural areas have had greater rates of poverty than urban metropolitan areas, with the

difference averaging between 2 and 3% (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2014).

However, the difference has been more marked in the Southern and Appalachian regions

of the country, with southern metropolitan areas experiencing poverty at a rate of 15.2%

in 2012 while nonmetropolitan areas are at 22.1% (U.S. Department of Agriculture,

2014). According to the United States Census Bureau, poverty has been relatively

common within the United States during recent years, with nearly 32% of the population

experiencing poverty for 2 months or longer during the 3 years from 2009 to 2011, which

is after the Great Recession (DeNavas-Walt & Proctor, 2014).

Officially dated as lasting from December 2007 through June 2009, the Great

Recession has been identified as the most severe economic decline since the Great

Depression of the 1930s (Danziger, 2013). During the 18-month Great Recession, jobs

declined by 6% and family incomes by 8% (Danziger, 2013). However, the recession did

not just happen; it was preceded by declining housing values, declining stock prices, and

increasing foreclosure rates. Reports on the economy 6 years after the start of the Great

Recession indicated why economic and community development are so important to the

recovery of local communities. As of January 2014, the United States needed an

additional 7.9 million jobs to return to prerecession levels (Shierholz, 2014). A

significant portion of the apparent improvement in the unemployment rate from fall 2009

(10%) to January 2014 (7%) is arguably due to workers who drop out of the labor force

or potential workers who never enter it (Shierholz, 2014). If these employment

nonseekers are counted, the unemployment rate would have been 10.3% (Shierholz,

2014).

Policy Approaches

Economic and community development are the two approaches that local

communities can use to try to overcome these daunting circumstances. The two efforts

are intertwined, although they have different focuses. Economic development is often

focused on creating or attracting new businesses to the area to increase the number of

jobs (economic growth). Ideally these jobs improve the local employment rate and local

families benefit. But, the growth also may result in traffic congestion, increased demand

for public services such as fire protection, police, public utilities, and road maintenance,

and pollution (Greenwood & Holt, 2010, p. 4). Community development seeks to: lower

crime rates; improve the quality of neighborhoods; and, provide recreational, cultural,

educational, and health care services, as well as access to natural resources to residents.

These goals may be inconsistent with economic growth that can lead to overcrowding

and increased crime (Greenwood & Holt, 2010, p. 13). As development attracts new

residents to an area, social and economic inequalities can arise between those who are

benefiting from the development and those who are not (Greenwood & Holt, 2010, p.

77). This phenomenon, called negative trickle down, creates an environment that is

conducive to crime committed by those who do not benefit. “Rural economic growth and

development and rural crime patterns are two sides to the same coin” (Deller & Deller,

2010, p. 267). So simply creating employment opportunities in an area does not

necessarily lead to an improved quality of life for the community.

Prior research on micropolitan areas is limited since this specific category of

community was only recently defined (Lang & Dhavale, 2004). These communities

existed but were not readily identifiable, and statistical data were not recorded in a

manner that could be correlated since some were included within larger metropolitan area

statistics and others were included within rural areas identified as nonmetropolitan (Lang

& Dhavale, 2004). Researchers have looked at rural economic development focusing

primarily on the measurement of success of various types of projects ― prisons (Hooks,

Mosher, Genter, Rotolo, & Lobao, 2010), tourism (Gartner, 2004) and development as a

retirement locale (Das, 2007). Other researchers have examined the use of specific

strategies, such as the development of a professional network of small business owners

a rural area (Miller, Besser, & Vigna, 2011) or the use of a community market as an

economic development tool to foster local merchant networking and to increase local

commerce (Morales, 2009). Policy-based research has taken the approach of evaluating

specific initiatives and their effectiveness: workforce development (Harper-Anderson,

2008) and enterprise zones (Wainwright, 2012).

In this study, however, I looked at a different aspect of development: how internal

and external influences affect policy development and how the various economic and

community development policies interact. The time period I studied was that following

the Great Recession, June 2009 through June 2015, as a time period when communities

and the country were focused on economic growth and rebuilding. I conducted the

research in a setting where data are relatively severable from surrounding economies and

communities. The outcomes, thus, are largely attributable to policies made and actions

taken within the subject community. Yet, the community is not isolated from outside

influences altogether and it often competes for new businesses with larger cities within a

several-hour drive.

City of Danville, Virginia, Micropolitan Area

The City of Danville is located in southern Virginia in the mid-Applachian area.

Historically, the city has depended on two industries for its livelihood: tobacco and textile

manufacturing. It is rich in history, having served as the last capital of the Confederacy

durng the Civil War. The area offers a variety of attractions for residents, including a

moderate climate, opportuntities for water sports on the river, hiking and climbing in the

nearby mountains, and weekends at the beach just a few hours’ drive away. During much

of the 20th century, the city thrived. It grew economically and boasted its own

millionaires’ row of mansions along a main street. Spanning both sides of the Dan River,

Danville was growing yet maintained a community feel in many of its neighborhoods. Its

population reached a high of 53,000 residents within the city in 1990 before its main

industries began to decline (BiggestUSCities.com, 2014). By 2010, the population had

declined by almost 20% to about 43,000 residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014a). The

population has remained at about that level since. Danville is the core city in the

micropolitan area that includes the surrounding county, with an additional population of

nearly 20,000 residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014b).

The area has a long history of industrial and agricultural employment, with a

downtown area that included textile mills and tobacco warehouses. With the decline of

those industries, the city experienced an economic decline accompanied by a declining

population, decreased tax base, abandoned buildings, and an increase in drug use and

crime. Located along a river, near the state border, the city has large industrial properties

sitting empty. Some buildings have been damaged and subsequently demolished while a

few others have been renovated to create office space for new and expanding business

ventures (Star News, 2013) or lofts and apartments (Tupponce, 2012). Part of the

community development efforts have created a riverwalk, an outdoor amplitheather, and

a science center (City of Danville, Office of Economic Development, 2014). These

efforts have improved conditions in the city but much more remains to be done. This

micropolitan area offers an opportunity to study policy interactions, influences, and to

gain insight as to how they connect and conflict.

Problem Statement

The research problem addressed in this study was to explore how economic and

community development policies are affected by internal and external factors and how

they interact with each other to help transform a community’s economic base and

improve the quality of life within that community. Poverty is a problem nationwide, and

it is worse in the Applachian Region and rural areas than in metropolitan urban areas

(Economic Research Service, 2014; Jacobsen, Lee, & Pollard, 2013). Poverty increases

when the national and local economy are in distress or decline (Economic Research

Service, 2014). But decreasing poverty and improving life for residents of those areas is

largely determined by local government (Greenwood & Holt, 2010). Following the Great

Recession, employment lagged and recovery was slow, leaving workers and potential

workers without jobs (Economic Research Service, 2014; Shierholz, 2014). During the

economic turmoil of the early 21st century, neighborhoods suffered physical deterioration

evidenced by abandoned buildings, trash accumulation, and streets and sidewalks in

disrepair (Allen, 2013), problems which now need to be addressed as part of community

development actions.

The challenges are well known. There is an extensive body of research on

economic development and a somewhat lesser, but still significant set of research, on

community development. Yet, no studies have focused on the interaction of these policies

as a function of the natural influences within and surrounding a community. Since the

Great Recession has left many communities to address these issues, the understanding

gained from this research is needed. This study contributes original research on economic

and community development policymaking and influences; it provides community

leaders with research-based insights and understanding that can inform their policy and

implementation decisions.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore and understand the

interaction of local economic and community development policies, as affected by

internal and external influences. In particular, the study examined their interaction in the

context of efforts to improve the local economic base and engage in community

development with a focus on quality of life for residents of a rural micropolitan city in the

United States. The aim was to explore how these compatible, yet competing, goals are

managed by a set of policymakers over time and to see the progress of a micropolitan

area overcome challenges, learn lessons, and create opportunities to improve the local

economy and the lives of its residents.

Economic and community development together focus on building economic

growth through the creation of jobs and to increase the wealth of an area and its residents

while also improving the quality of life within that community through the creation and

preservation of cultural, recreational, environmental, educational, health, and

neighborhood resources. This case study provides insight into the interactions,

challenges, and successes.

Research Questions

The focus of this study was to explore and understand the interaction among

community and economic development policies and the factors that influence them. The

research questions for the study are:

1. How can a small, nonmetropolitan city use policy to address its local economic

and quality of life challenges?

2. How do the economic development and community development policies and

strategies interact to create positive social changes?

3. What factors raise the awareness of public officials of the need or desire to engage

in economic development and community development?

4. To what extent has the interaction of policies and their implementation been

effective in reducing poverty and its effects, and why or why not?

Theoretical Framework

Complexity theory has been used in biological science to address the interaction

between an evolving organism and its changing environment. It posits that life develops

in a nonlinear fashion and is influenced by internal and external factors so that while

periods of stability can be achieved, they cannot be maintained unless the organism

continues to change with its environment (Ozer & Seker, 2013). When applied to public

administration, complexity theory often takes the form of complex adaptive systems

theory (known as CAS). CAS and complexity theory enable researchers to examine the

interactions of policy, implementation, process, and changing environments. Economic

and community development and the role of complexity theory and CAS in public policy

development are discussed further in Chapter 2.

Ozer and Seker (2013) said that public policy is a complex system with nonlinear

elements that are in a coevolutionary relationship with the other elements. This makes

public policymaking a good fit for a complexity theory approach to study. Byrne (2003)

noted that a key attribute of complex systems is that they stay what they are even as they

experience change. An industrial city can change to a postindustrial city, but the system is

still that of a city with policy, structure, and social realms. Complexity theory enables

exploration of alternatives for future change that are not likely with other approaches to

urban planning (Byrne, 2003). Teisman and Klijn (2008) favored a complexity theory

approach to public policymaking because it enables a focus on the dynamics of a story

through time, place, seeing it evolve in unexpected ways, and recognizing that

phenomena develop as a result of internal features (employment, education) as well as

external forces (economic conditions, federal policy).

Nature of the Study

For this study, a qualitative research method and single case study approach was

used to explore the interaction of policies and influences on economic and community

development in one small city’s efforts to transform its economic base and reduce the

effects of poverty. According to Flyvbjerg (2011), case studies provide a close look at

real-life situations and the details that enable understanding human behavior at a depth

not found at the rule and theory levels of research. The benefits offered by a case study

approach also include gaining an understanding of context and process while linking

causes and outcomes (Flyvbjerg, 2011). Data collection in a qualitative case study in

public administration and policy research most often uses a combination of methods

including interview, observation, and analysis of internal and external documents

(McNabb, 2008, p. 294). Interviewing allows a researcher access to things that cannot be

observed, such as thoughts or feelings; it enables a researcher to enter and view events

and information from another’s perspective (Patton, 2012, pp. 340-341). Observation

enables the exploration of the subject as an outsider while recording events, behaviors,

and impressions that can be used with interviews to paint a fuller picture of the case and

to provide context for the interviews (McNabb, 2008, pp. 294-295). Document collection

is a tool that provides information about things that cannot be observed and may reveal

things that participants have forgotten or prefer not to reveal (Patton, 2012, pp. 293-295).

Use of multiple methods of data collection enables triangulation of the data for a more

accurate picture of events (McNabb, 2008).

Definition of Terms

Community development: the process and the product of people working

collectively to address common concerns and achieve common goals (Greg, 1998); often

used in the context of reducing poverty, providing affordable housing and services to

moderate and low-income families in distressed or underserved areas (The Community

Reinvestment Act, 2005)

Counterurbanization: the migration of population out of urban areas down the

urban hierarchy to suburban, micropolitan, or rural areas (Vias, 2011).

Economic development: a broad based, sustainable improvement (of which

economic growth is one element) in the community standard of living as measured by

individual quality of life (Greenwood & Holt, 2010, p. 3).

Governance: horizontal, collaborative, and participative decision-making

practices by groups of people and organizations linked by place and interest (Lu, 2013).

Micropolitan: an area with at least one urban center with a population of at least

10,000 but less than 50,000 plus surrounding area with social and economic integration

evidenced by commuting ties (Office of Management and Budget [OMB], 2003).

Quality of life: the aspects of a community used to assess the relative standards of

living such as health, education, culture, recreation, cleanliness, and safety (Greenwood

& Holt, 2010, p. 33).

Regionalism: a grassroots effort across political or jurisdictional boundaries

within an area to overcome challenges posed by small populations and limited fiscal

resources to enable economic development, and often to address a particular issue such as

water access and quality, transportation, or recreation (Lu, 2011).

Urbanization: the migration of population up the urban hierarchy from rural areas

into micropolitan or metropolitan areas (Vias, 2011).

Assumptions

There were several assumptions underlying the study. The first assumption is that

the city has characteristics and approaches in its leader’s policy-making efforts related to

economic and community development. The second assumption is that city leaders desire

to improve the city’s economic circumstances and improve the quality of life for its

citizens. The third assumption is that participants were honest and have relevant

knowledge regarding the research topic. The fourth assumption is that the documents

collected are accurate and relevant to the inquiry. These assumptions are necessary

because proving them true would require additional studies, and the assumptions are

important to the results of research.

Scope and Delimitations

The focus of the study was on economic and community development policy in

an isolated micropolitan city located in a largely rural area near the Appalachian region.

Use of a qualitative exploration within a single case study research design means the

sample size will be small and based in one geographic region. The analysis explores the

policy interactions in a specific setting that has some unique features, but it may also

provide insights that apply to isolated micropolitan cities that are located in highly rural

areas. It is expected that the findings of the study will not translate well to larger urban

areas with more developed infrastructures or to purely rural areas without a central urban

core because the differences in internal conditions and desired outcomes will likely differ

significantly.

By using complexity theory as the framework for the study, it is expected that

much of the analysis will be applicable to other local governments since it explores the

interaction of both internal and external influences. While the factors for any given locale

may vary, the theoretical framework should translate well.

Limitations

I am familiar with the City of Danville. This close knowledge of the subject city

could produce bias based on preconceived notions about the city’s challenges and

opportunities. By being aware of my own bias and being careful to ask open ended

questions and listening carefully, I was able to separate the views of the city

policymakers from my own. The findings and results of a single case study cannot be

generalized broadly, but they may be used to provide context specific understanding of

how the factors interact to create policy and how economic and community development

policies interact within a small city.

Significance

This case study has the potential to illustrate how economic and community

development policies interact within small cities. Policymakers are expected to benefit

from the research, as will economic development professionals and community

improvement agencies. The social change goal for the research is to provide a deep

understanding of how these types of policies interact with each other and with significant

internal and external factors so that policymakers and other community leaders can make

good policy decisions.

Summary

Chapter 1 has presented the background and framework for a qualitative case

study on community and economic development policy creation and interaction in a

micropolitan city. The purpose is to gain understanding of how these policies interact and

are affected by internal and external factors using complexity theory as a framework for

the study. Current literature on micropolitan America has been limited and largely

focused on demographics or measurement of specific attributes. While there is extensive

literature available on economic development strategies and community development

activities, there is almost no research on the interaction of these policies and how they

interact in a specific city. Chapter 2 expands the information on the literature review to

further inform the problem, and efforts to understand approaches to economic and

community development.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction

Dr. Christina Gabriel, president of a partnership among five universities, led a call

to discuss regional economic development in which she emphasized the need to focus on

regional strengths (U. S. Department of Commerce, 2012). In her message of hope,

Gabriel promoted the idea that even regions that have lost industries, people, and other

resources can turn around their economies. She made specific mention of the importance

of culture, perspectives, and innovation from the bottom up as being keys to successful

partnerships and economic development. She highlighted the role that universities can

play in supporting these positive relationships. In this study I sought to expand on

Gabriel’s idea that communities have unqiue attributes that represent resources, and that

changing the path of a community or region involves many perspectives. Understanding

policy interactions within and outside the community can lead to increased effectiveness

in economic and community development. Its purpose is to explore and understand how

the interaction of local policies, along with internal and external influences, can change a

micropolitan community and its economic base.

Community and economic development are intricately tied together; as the local

economy improves, the resulting revenues are reinvested into the community in the form

of law enforcement, parks and recreation, improved housing, better transportation, and

more sustainable structures and employment. Likewise, if the local economy declines,

unemployment rises, property values decline, lower revenues are generated, and

infrastructure and the quality of services suffer (Greenwood & Holt, 2010). Economic

growth is one aspect of economic development that can either contribute in a positive

way to the local economy or it can subtract from economic and community development

with increased sprawl, pollution, rising utility and service costs, and increased crime,

creating a drain on public services (Greenwood & Holt,

2010).

The local economy is affected by factors within the community, within the region,

the state, nation, and by global influences. To be effective, policymakers need to

understand these factors and how they influence the local economy, as well as how

policies interact to create succesful economic and community development programs.

The research problem this study addresses is the gap in the existing literature regarding

how economic and community development policies interact in small, rural cities to

combat poverty and improve the quality of life. I investigated the problem of how a small

community balances the sometimes inconsistent goals of both economic and community

development in its efforts to reduce the effects of local poverty. Economic development

seeks to create new jobs and raise revenues while community development addresses the

quality of life by improving social and recreational opportunties, improving the

environment, and increasing safety, health, and education levels. Often economic growth

can impact the community aspect of a city by increasing traffic, crime, and greater

demand for services than the exististing infrasture can supply. The purpose of the study is

to gain an in-depth understanding of how the internal and external factors and policies

interact to create positve growth and improve life in a micropolitan city located in a

largely rural area.

In order to understand the dynamic interaction of policies, the factors influencing

those policies, and how a community with limited resources and infrastructure can

manage those interactions to create positive changes, this literature review explores local

economic and community development policies and strategies, regional development

alliances, and complexity theory. This literature review includes: (a) a discussion of the

strategy used to conduct the literature search, (b) the purpose of the literature review, (c)

the review itself, and (d) a summary of

conclusions.

The literature review lays a scholarly

foundation for this case study to demonstrate and understand the interplay of influences

and policy in micropolitan economic and community development efforts to combat

poverty.

The Purpose of this Literature Review

A literature review provides the foundation for the research: what is known and

not known ― a summary of previous research (Eisenhart & Jurow, 2011). It also helps

focus the study on a gap in the literature and provides insights into the directions and

trends in the field being studied (Patton, 2012, p. 226). This literature review sets the

context for this study and helps show why the study is important and timely (Rudestam &

Newton, 2007, p. 62).

With qualitative research, there is a concern that conducting a literature review

prior to doing the research can create a bias and influence the researcher’s thinking so

that the review is better done either simultaneously with or following the field work

(Patton, 2012). However, in this study, the literature review was used to inform and focus

the study by providing a foundation for the study of economic and community

development, an overview of research on micropolitan areas, and key policies and

approaches for combating poverty in nonmetropolitan areas.

Search Strategy

The information and scholarly works within this literature review were collected

through multiple comprehensive searches of several databases, through the Walden

University Library and the Averett University Blount Library. Databases searched were:

Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, Political Science Complete: A

Sage Full Text Collection, Lexis-Nexis Academic, ProQuest Central, ERIC, World Bank

Open Knowledge Repository, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Keywords

used in the database searches included: economic development, community development,

micropolitan and rural development, economic policy, poverty, complexity theory, and

economic growth – both individually and in conjunction with other keywords. These

searches led to several subject matter experts who were then used by name in author

searches to locate additional research by Greenwood and Holt (2010), Lu (2011), Vias

(2011), Lang and Dhavale (2004) and others. These same keyword terms and authors

were used in searches for books held in the Averett University library, available through

interlibrary loan, and on Amazon.com. Web searches also were conducted on government

agency websites.

The results of these searches were 30 articles included in this review as well as

many articles that I read and did not include as not directly relevant to this study or which

represented material adequately covered by other, more recent articles. The journal

articles, books, websites, reports, and other published documents I consulted and

included for a total of 40 resources that I used to prepare this literature review. While

many of the sources used are from recent literature (within five years), some are dated

prior to that time period and are included because they are relevant and inform the topics

in ways that more recent literature does not.

Complexity Theory

Complexity theory originated in science to address the interaction of an evolving

organism with its environment, to explain the development of changes in an organism in

response to influences in the external environment and to needs within itself (Haynes,

2008). The theory acknowledges periods of stability, but holds that an organism must

continue to change with its environment in order to thrive or even just to survive. When

looking at community and economic development, the use of complexity theory enables

the examination of a community system as a whole through interactions of policy,

implementation, and changes within and external to the community (Haynes, 2008). As

described by Haynes (2008), complexity theory recognizes that individuals are

subservient to society but also have the power to contribute or influence the future and

structure of that society (p. 402). Applying complexity theory to a policy system is a

holistic approach that has a focus “as much on evaluating an evolving policy process as it

is on the ends of current outputs and outcomes of policy” (Haynes, 2008, p. 403).

Because economic and community development are so intertwined with each

other and are affected by and influence other policy-driven factors such as housing,

education, and healthcare, the complexity methodology provides an adequate lens for

viewing a case study. Haynes (2008) conducted a policy case study to determine (a) if it

was possible to identify stability and instability phases in a policy process, (b) if that

identification was aided by the use of time series data, and (c) how this method of

studying policy process compares with other theoretical models. Through his

examination of social care policy for older people in England over time, Haynes was able

to validate that complexity theory did enable a more thorough understanding of policy

process over time than other methodologies. He highlighted three key concepts from

complexity theory as applied to policy and change over time:

• Complex systems are not easily regulated by simple devices. They have

complex evolving mechanisms related to interaction and feedback within

the system, which may “evolve around dominant logics and values that are

constantly being reinterpreted and redefined” (Haynes, 2008, p. 404).

• Complex policy systems view historical and present data through

emerging events as “part of the feedback and interactive process within

the system” (Haynes, 2008, p. 405).

• Complex systems go through periods of instability and stability. Instability

can increase the magnitude of a seemingly small change, and change can

happen within a system without creating instability (Haynes, 2008).

Complex Adaptive Systems

Holland (2014) identified two forms of complexity theory: that of physical

systems and that of more social or interactive systems (complex adaptive systems or

CAS). In the social science realm, CAS is based on the actions of an agent and a network

of agents. According to Holland, each agent has three core behaviors: performance

capabilities, evaluation of capabilities, and generating new capabilities. Agents are

sensitive and respond to their internal conditions (changes in population for a

community), external conditions (economic conditions, for example) and other agents

(such as neighboring communities). CAS also recognizes that not all agents are the same;

some are specialists while others are generalists, although there is a trend toward

specialization as seen in the production line approach to manufacturing (Holland, 2014,

p. 44).

While applying CAS to a social organization, attention should be given to

describing the framework, hierarchies, and populations. The role of time as it relates to

functions and dynamics is also a key consideration according to Holland. In short,

Holland suggested that complexity theory as applied to a social organization means

considering all the levels of agents, their interactions (network) and their diversity. The

system can be described as it works over time and the changes (emergence) that happen

in repsonse to change within itself and its environment. Given the nature of economic and

community development within a city, CAS, as described by Holland, seems an

appropriate mechanism for understanding policymaking and implementation.

Emergence is the phenomenon, in complexity theory, where aspects of a system

or entity combine to produce a new attribute that is more than the sum of the aspects

(Holland, 2014). It is the creation of new properties, such as new markets or rules. In his

use of complexity theory to study urban regeneration in Ireland, Rhodes (2008) applied a

complex adaptive systems framework to explore the concepts of emergence and fitness

landscape. The fitness landscape as defined by Rhodes was comprised of the decisions

that can be made, rules governing those decisions, and the outcomes associated with the

decisions (p. 363). After examining six cases, Rhodes concluded that not only was the

complexity framework a viable lens for viewing public policy, but that it also

accommodated the different events and decisions made within each separate case as well

as enabling identification of emergent behavior patterns with predictable effects (Rhodes,

2008). By viewing the interactions of decision makers and the resultant outcomes through

a complexity lens, patterns emerged even though each case had different circumstances

and players. Such a tool enables policymakers to understand the overall interactions and

relationship to outcomes.

Understanding Micropolitan America

For 50 years, policymakers and scholars relied on the definitions developed by the

federal OMB for a central city and metropolitan statistical area system (MSA) of

classifying U.S. counties as metropolitan or rural (Frey, Wilson, Berube, & Singer,

2004). The metropolitan concept was based on the idea of a central city with more than

50,000 people as the center of social and economic activity in the area (Frey et al., 2004).

Over time, the decentralization of the population and employment created smaller cities

that had significant influence but were not recognized under this statistical measuring

scheme (Frey et al., 2004).

In 2003 a revised system that created a new type of classification was

implemented: the core-based statistical area system (CBSA; OMB, 2003). A new

category of micropolitan area was established to address smaller cities, many located in

nonmetropolitan counties that had previously been included in a larger metropolitan area

or that fell into unclassified rural space (OMB, 2003). When first defined, 5

micropolitan areas were identified within the US, excluding Puerto Rico; by 2013 when

the list of statistical areas was updated, there were 536 micropolitan areas within the

United States (OMB, 2013). Micropolitan areas are an important opportunity for

research; they represent 10% of the nation’s population, about 25% of American

counties, and nearly 20% of U.S. land territory (Vias, 2011). Identified micropolitan

areas are spread throughout the country and generally display population growth rates

that are lower than metropolitan areas but still greater than rural areas (Vias, 2011).

There is a great range of variation among the communities that have been

identified as micropolitan in terms of geography, amenities, and other characteristics.

Vias identified three types of micropolitan areas that differ in “economic, demographic

and social structure, geographic site and situation, migration processes, and prospects for

growth and change over time” (p. 119):

1. A micropolitan area that is located in a relatively isolated location that

offers desirable scenic and recreational amenities such as sking, hiking,

fishing, and camping.

2. A micropolitan area that is near or adjacent to a metropolitan area and may

even be included within the metropolitan combined statistical area.

3. A micropolitan area that lacks the beneficial aspects of either amenities or

metropolitan resources and that may be in a rural or isolated area (Vias,

2011, p. 119).

Lang and Dhavale (2004) developed another approach to stratifying micropolitan

areas, by using various attributes, including population and proximity to a metropolitan

area, to identify several categories or types. The categories themselves show the diversity

of micropolitan areas: Minimetros (highest populations) and Smallvilles (lowest

populations); Boomtowns (population growth) and Dwindlevilles (population loss);

Nearburgs (close to a metropolitan area) and Lonesometowns (the most remote from a

metropolitan area); and Middleburgs (the most average areas). The study looked at the

geographic occurrence of each category of micropolitan area and noted while

Middleburgs are useful as being an average, they cannot be considered typical since the

diversity of micropolitan areas is so great (Lang & Dhavale, 2004).

Existing Research about Micropolitan America

Because micropolitan areas, as a defined statistical area is a relatively new

creation, there is only a relatively small body of research focused on it. Much of that

research is related to population characteristics and comparison of micropolitan areas to

metropolitan areas, with little focus on policy. When it comes to micropolitan cities, there

is a significantly large gap in the research in many areas, including policymaking for

economic and community

development.

Vias (2011) examined population changes from 2000 to 2009 and found that

micropolitan areas were positioned to benefit from two opposite migration trends:

counter-urbanization and urbanization. In some areas of the country, micropolitan cities

have benefited from the immigration of both legal and undocumented aliens. He

recommended that more research be done to examine the demographic differences

between micropolitan and metropolitan areas. Following up on that idea, Oliver and

Thomas (2014) examined land cover changes in micropolitan cities, recognizing these

areas as “important transitionary regions that may provide insights into the economic,

demographic, and social forces driving urbanization” (p. 84). That study concluded that

land conversion for development in micropolitan areas is different from both

metropolitan and rural areas, but that as a micropolitan area grows, it becomes more

metropolitan-like in its development.

Another study examined racial and socioeconomic differences, as measured by

home ownership rates, in micropolitan and metropolitan cities. They found that there was

less segregation in southern micropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas and suggested

that it was a result of increased rates of homeownership rather than of any other social

factors (Wahl & Gunkel, 2007). This study is representative of research on micropolitan

America in that the primary research interest is the comparison of micropolitan areas to

either metropolitan or rural areas, rather than being studied as the sole, independent focus

of interest.

Economic Development in Micropolitan Areas

Because the focus of this present study is a micropolitan area that is surrounded

by rural territory, rather than one that is adjacent to a metropolitan area, the literature on

economic development in rural and, to a more limited extent, urban areas of the United

States is relevant. In the decade since their definition, little research has been performed

on micropolitan economic development. Local economic development has been defined

by the World Bank as the building of economic capacity “of a local area to improve its

economic future and the quality of life for all” (The World Bank Group, 2011). Local

economic development can involve one or multiple local governments, private business,

and community nonprofit organizations working together to improve the local economy

and to create sustainable, inclusive growth (The World Bank Group, 2011). Economic

development can include a wide range of activities or strategies:

• Maintaining an investment climate that is functional for local business

• Supporting small and medium sized enterprises

• Encouraging the formation of new enterprises

• Attracting external investment (nationally and internationally)

• Investing in physical (hard) infrastructure (transportation, utilities)

• Investing in soft infrastructure (education and workforce development,

institutional support systems and regulatory issues)

• Supporting the growth of particular clusters of businesses

• Targeting specific areas for regeneration or growth

• Supporting informal and newly emerging businesses

• Targeting certain disadvantaged groups (The World Bank Group, 2011)

To engage in economic development activities, any community, regardless of

size, must consider sources of funding to support the proposed project, whether it is

building infrastructure, developing a business or tourism locale, or supporting the growth

of local entrepreneurial ventures. Further, fiscal sustainability of the project over time

must be considered in that tax revenues combined with use or impact fees must be

sufficient to sustain the improvement and development (Greenwood & Holt, 2010, pp.

117-124). One source of initial funding for economic development projects has been

federal grants. Jeremy Hall (2010) studied the correlation between rural areas and need to

the distribution of federal grants across the state of Kentucky, which includes poverty-

ridden rural areas as well as more affluent metropolitan areas. Hall’s quantiative study,

using a cross-sectional time series analysis, indicated that funding was greater for rural

area projects measured on a per capita basis than for urban areas, but it had a negative

correlation with need (Hall, 2010). This finding may mean that areas with improving

economies receive more grant funding than areas with high poverty and little economic

growth, making economic development more difficult in the places that need it the most.

With the recent prolonged national economic downturn known as the Great

Recession, many areas, metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural, have found themselves

suffering serious economic distress (job layoffs, business closings, declines in

entrepreneurship, declines in tax bases as a result of outmigration and poverty). While

communities struggle with these effects, they are also experiencing an increase in

demand for social and public services (Eberts, 2010). The consequence of these

problems is an underutilization of assets: abandoned buildings, deteriorating

infrastructure, mismatch with human skills and knowledge, declining community values

and leadership, and a lessening financial base to sustain or grow the local economy

(Eberts, 2010). Eberts (2010) identified four measures of success: (a) per capita income,

(b) employment, (c) gross metropolitan product (GMP), and (d) productivity. Eberts used

a factor analysis approach to identify measuring factors that would reflect these four

measures. Although the factors are assuming a metropolitan or urban location, most of

them translate well to a micropolitan setting. These identified factors are:

• Skilled workforce and research and development (R&D) – contributing to

an improved per capita income and productivity. Measured by the

percentage of the population with bachelor-level or graduate education,

percentage in professional occupations, R&D per employee, and

population dependency on social services (negative impact). Improved

education levels and increased R&D support regional competitiveness.

• Technology commercialization – contributing to an improved per capita

income, GMP, and productivity. Measured by venture capital investment

per employee, patents per employee, and the cost of living index. Product

innovation increases investment and produces economic growth.

• Racial inclusion and income equality – contributing to all four measures.

Measured by percentage of the Black population, isolation index for the

Black population, income inequality, free lunch rate in schools greater

than 70%, and violent crime rate. Economic growth is impeded when large

segments of the local population are isolated or experience poverty.

• Business dynamics – contributing to employment and GMP. Measured as

the number of single location businesses that opened to the number that

closed. Entrepreneurism is associated with employment growth.

• Urban assimilation – contributing to employment, GMP, and productivity.

Measured by the percentage of the Hispanic and Asian populations, share

of minority business employment, rate of immigrant population, and

productivity of information sector. Diversification is associated with

employment growth and productivity.

• Individual entrepreneurship – contributing to employment and GMP.

Measured by the percentage of self-employed and businesses with fewer

than 20 workers. Growth of small businesses is related to growth in

employment and output.

• Locational amenities – contributing to per capita income. Measured by

transportation, arts, recreation, and health care indexes. Locational

amenities are related to growth in per capita income.

• Urban/metro structure – contributing to employment and GMP. Measured

by the percentage of the population in the MSA and the property crime

rate. The connection between a central city and its surrounding area

impacts employment and the GMP.

• Legacy of place – negatively impacting employment, GMP, and

productivity. Measured by business churning, climate, age of housing,

dissimilarity index for black population, poverty ratio, number of

government housing units per capita, and the amount of manufacturing

employment. These factors slow or inhibit economic growth. (Eberts,

2010).

Eberts’ factors are intended to enable governments to develop a framework for

their economic development activities that is relevant to their unique circumstances, to

align resources based on a prioritization of factors, and to track progress. Eberts’ factors

are considered as internal factors in this present study and will be considered for

relational interaction with policies intended to support community and economic

development.

Development Strategies

Historically, the two main strategies for development in rural areas have been

tourism and prisons. Tourism has been shown to be successful in towns such as Black

Mountain, NC, Branson, MO, and Etowah, TN (Lambe, 2008). This approach is popular

in rural areas with special cultural, historic, ethnic, or geographic features because it is

easier and less expensive than other strategies, such as industrial or commercial

complexes (Wilson, Fesenmaier, Fesenmaier, & Van Es, 2001, Gartner, 2004). In a study

to determine what factors were necessary for success, Wilson et al. (2001) examined

communities that had been successful and others that had been unsuccessful. Using two

types of focus groups (community leaders and businessmen), they identified 10 factors

related to success:

1. A complete tourism package.

2. Good community leadership.

3. Support and participation of local government.

4. Sufficient funds for tourism development.

5. Strategic planning.

6. Coordination and cooperation between businesspersons and local leadership.

7. Coordination and cooperation between rural tourism entrepreneurs.

8. Information and technical assistance for tourism development and promotion.

9. Good convention and visitors’ bureaus.

10. Widespread community support for tourism. (Wilson et al., 2001, p. 134)

Included within these factors are elements of community development that are not

purely economic in nature (do not directly contribute to production of goods or income):

transportation infrastucture, clean and well-maintained community appearance,

development of community and business organizations, and community support to

develop a local tourism industry (Wilson et al., 2001). That the buy-in of the local

community to the development project was an essential factor for success is consistent

with the finding of research investigating successful regional governance (Lu, 2013).

Although rural tourism can be successful when marketed on a domestic level,

some scholars have expressed that to be truly successful, there must be an international

focus to the marketing (Gartner, 2004), which is also a trait associated with high growth

firms (Mason & Brown, 2013). Gartner (2004) identified several reasons why rural

tourism may be a successful strategy for economic development: (a) interest in tradition,

heritage, and rural life, (b) multiple holiday opportunities enable short rural trips, (c)

increased awareness of health and exercise associated with outdoor recreation, (d)

increased interest in performance gear such as bikes and climbing equipment, (e) desire

for solitude and peace, and (f) an aging, but active, population. Rural touism has the

potential to tap into international tourism and to create growth to transition micropolitan

or rural area into a metropolitan one. For example, Orlando was largely surrounded by

undeveloped rural areas until Disney built its tourist destination there. Las Vegas was a

micropolitan city in the middle of the desert, but skillful marketing has led to visitors

from around the world. Branson, Missouri, has grown from a truly rural small town to a

micropolitan city (that is still growing), with its global attraction for those who enjoy

music and performing arts (Gartner, 2004).

An alternate, but related, approach to rural tourism is that of becoming a

retirement destination. For many years, Florida and Arizona represented popular

retirement destinations based on their natural amenities (primarily climate), but within the

past decade, retirees have been choosing other locations, causing states and communities

to evaluate development of retirement communities and attractions (Das & Rainey,

2007). Das and Rainey (2007) noted that prior research established that affluent retirees

moving into an area had beneficial outcomes for the community, including growth in

healthcare, housing, entertainment, and banking sectors. Using an input-output model

adjusted for several factors, such as trade area capture and pull factor, researchers ran

simulations of the economic impact on two rural counties in Arkansas becoming

retirement locales predicting significant increases in tax revenues and spending in retail

and service sectors (Das & Rainey, 2007). Employment overall was projected to increase

only slightly but was still in the positive direction (Das & Rainey, 2007). Thus,

developing a micropolitan city that has some degree of natural amentities (weather or

attractions) as a desirable retirement destination may be a viable economic and

community development strategy if the community can sustain a balanced population of

retirees and working-age community members (Das & Rainey, 2007).

Another popular approach to rural economic development in the 1980s and 1990s

was the building of prisons, which were thought to be recession-proof sources of

increased employment and thus improved economic and community circumstances

(Hooks et al. 2010). In the updated study of the economic effects of prison building,

Hooks et al. (2010) focused on the employment at prisons on a county level, particularly

new prisons, between 1976 and 2004. Findings were contrary to the popular belief. In

metropolitan areas, prisons appeared to have no impact on employment levels. But in

rural areas, if there was a low level of college-degreed, or higher educated, people, a

prison may have actually impeded or harmed employment, since these public sector jobs

require education beyond high school and are filled with workers from outside the

community (Hooks et al., 2010). In addition, it is noted that many positions are filled as

seniority or promotion positions for officials employed elsewhere in the state system,

again importing the labor from outside the host community (Hooks et al., 2010).

Furthermore, prisons are not viewed generally as an attraction for new businesses and

may deter new residents from moving into the area. When businesses do open in support

of a prison, they often employ only low-wage workers and may have a further negative

impact on the local economy by driving out locally owned businesses that cannot afford

to compete with large chain stores or fast-food restaurants (Hooks et al., 2010). Before

prisons are validated as economic development opportunities, more research is needed

into the specific long-term effects on rural and micropolitan communities.

Encouraging and growing new businesses

Inherent in the nature of economic development is the growth in the number of

jobs available, which can happen in two ways: increased success in fostering

entrepreneurship and expansion of businesses within the community or attraction of

outside businesses to locate within the community. Encouraging job growth is not solely

the role of local policymakers, but is often the subject of state-level policymaking as well.

Taylor (2012) conducted a review of governors’ economic development proposals from

all 50 states over a 12 year period to study the variation in the economic development

policies they promoted. Approaching the study, Taylor tested three hypotheses: (a)

expecting that there would be more economic development proposals made when

economic conditions are poor, (b) states with high-cost business climates would have

more locational policies than states with low-cost climates, and (c) states with scarce

entrepreneurial resources would have more entrepreneurial development polcies. He

found that his first hypothesis failed; rather, governors proposed more locational policies

when wages were lagging and not in response to overall poor economic conditions. The

second hypothesis held true that more locational policies were proposed when a state had

high-cost climates; and, the third hypothesis was true only when low levels of high-tech

employment were seen (Taylor, 2012). Taylor concluded that gubernatorial economic

development policymaking was only partially an attept to solve economic problems but

also partially an attempt to attract a larger share of business during times of economic

expansion. If Taylor’s findings are true, then local and regional governments must bear

greater responsbility for economic turnarounds through fostering entrepreneurship and

not merely rely on the state-level government to attract and develop new businesses.

As far back as the 1980s, there was an awareness that some start-up firms develop

at a significant rate of growth while others grow so slowly as to make little economic

impact or will even fail. But financial support was available to most start-ups as it was

not possible to know which ones would succeed and which ones would not (Freel, 1998).

After conducting a study of six cases, Freel concluded that “while blanket financial

support of start-ups is inappropriate the notion of ‘picking winners’ pre-start is

untenable” (Freel, 1998, p. 19).

Following on Freel’s work, Mason and Brown (2013) examined how public

policy can be used to support the portion of small businesses that have greater growth

potential (high-growth firms called HGFs) rather than pumping resources into start-up

firms that will fail and generate little employment or economic improvement.

Acknowledging that external conditions, such as macroeconomic circumstances,

regulation of products, taxes, and immigration affect HGFs, they focused on what mico-

level policies could support HGFs on a local or regional basis (Mason & Brown, 2013, p.

213). Their survey of current policy shows support for research and development, often

through research universities, and accesses to funding (Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 214).

They contend that the assumption that technology and HGFs correlate is erroneous and

that HGFs exist in all sectors.

In fact, new technology innovations are the most challenging to finance because

of the lack of a proven market, and therefore less likely to experience high growth

(Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 214). In essence, it is more profitable to improve current

products than to create entirely new ones. Second, consistent with this idea is that HGFs

are not necessarily new businesses but may be older firms engaging in innovation, often

pre-incubating new organizations until they are ready to spin off into a separate business

(Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 216). Their third finding is that manufacturing is often

considered more valuable than a service industry for economic development, even though

knowledge, technology, and customer service have been promoted as key factors for

business growth (Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 217). A key finding of Mason and Brown’s

study was that support of HGFs on a local or regional level needs to address

identification of HGFs from other entrepreneurial undertakings and improve financing

opportunities. The study also suggested coordinating the timing of support with critical

junctures in a firm’s growth. Perhaps use of an economic development account manager

to work with a firm over time in a relationship, rather than isolated grants or interventions

would achieve better outcomes (Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 218). To aid communities in

identifying and developing HGFs, the study identifies several charateristics of HGFs and

attempt to link them to specific policy initiatives. The first characteristic is a “strong

market orientation and customer engagement” that can be developed through funding

joint product development with customers (Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 218). The second

is an “emphasis on sales and marketing” to be supported with development of marketing

and sales skills and promotional programs for specific companies and the local economy

(Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 218). The third characteristic is a focus on internationalization

supported through training programs and connecting young firms with international

networks and advisors outside of the regional community (Mason & Brown, 2013, p.

218). The fourth characteristic of HGFs is strong leadership to be supported through use

of experienced entrepreneurs to provide peer review and training, and the development of

a strong board of directors to provide strategic guidance (Mason & Brown, 2013, p. 219).

A final conclusion of the study was that although serial entrepreneurs are not necessarily

correlated with HGFs, they are more likely to succeed if they have a track record of prior

entrepreneurial success and therefore are worthy of policymaker support (Mason &

Brown, 2013, p. 220).

There are a number of ways in which a community can foster developing

business: providing economic incentives (as discussed above); providing a venue in

which new businesses can launch; and, providing support systems to small business

owners. One traditional venue for launching new businesses has been that of a public

market. These markets, whether rural or urban, can serve as business incubators,

providing social, political, and economic benefits to a community (Morales, 2009). In a

qualitative study conducted over three years, Morales (2009) observed and interacted

with vendors in Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market to gain an understanding of who starts

a business in a market, how, and why. The finding was that the market was an attractive

venue because the barriers to entry were low with little overhead or start-up costs. The

result is that entrepreneurs can experiment with their business ideas and test market

products with relatively low investment costs. Many of the vendors in the market were

seeking to improve their economic situation after being released from the formal

employment market or to supplement earnings from other employment. Morales (2009)

suggested that cities can support new business ventures though a public market setting

and put into place policies and programs that help graduate experienced merchants into

more institutionalized venues as their business grows.

Another way of supporting entrepreneurial businesses is to encourage and support

a network among the business owners. Miller et al. (2011) engaged in a study with small

busness owners of women’s apparel stores in small rural communities in the Midwest.

Framing the study with social capital theory and strategic network theory, the study

investigated the formation of a network, the flow of resources within the network, and the

bonds and opportunities resulting from the network (Miller et al., 2011). The findings

indicated that network members developed ties, supported each other’s businesses, used

other network members as resources, referred business among the network members, and

provided social support to each other (Miller et al., 2011). While it cannot be said that

providing an avenue for small business networking guarantees business success and

positive economic development, these two studies do indicate that there is a connection

between providing a supported networking environment and short-term business growth.

Whether through a community market or a merchant’s network, supporting new

entrepreneurs working together appears to a viable strategy for economic and community

development.

Workforce development

An educated workforce and a business community engaged in research and

development has been identified as a positive factor in economic and community

deverlopment (Eberts, 2010). Regarding the state of research in rural and micropolitan

communities, Strasburger (2009) discussed that land-grant colleges were created so that

working class people could acess higher education and so that the research needs of

agriculture and industry could be met (p. 137). Yet, there is a disconnect between that

founding intent and the current state of research within the US. “At present, micropolitan

and rural areas are not viewed as potentially viable research locations by many academic

faculties and institutions” (Strasburger, 2009, p. 133). There are identified barriers on

both sides (community and university) that prevent or inhibit research activitity from

reaching micropolitan America. Among the community barriers are lack of experienced

grantwriters, lack of access to university partners, lack of matching funds for research

projects, and difficulties in compiling local statistics to support a research grant. On the

university side, regimented protocols and timelines that favor larger metropolitan areas,

lesser appreciation among the university team for rural and micropolitan researchers,

under-representation of rural and micropolitan communities on university and advisory

boards, and policies that foreclose the comittment to research in remote micropolitan or

rural areas were identified barriers (Strasburger, 2009, p. 134). However, recognizing the

success of the Mayo Clinic in a largely rural area, Strasburger also presents lists of

recommended steps that universities, communities, and legislatures can take to enhance

education and research opportunities in non-metropolitan areas. These steps for

communities provide factors and policies that were considered in this research

study.

The linkage between workforce development and economic development seems

to be widely accepted among policymakers and scholars. Legislation was passed during

the 1990s encouraging the connection of workforce development programs to local

business communities. Those efforts have been reinforced by federal initiatives, such as

the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Initiative (Harper-

Anderson, 2008). One positive outcome of the recent economic recession is that

economic developers and workforce development teams have begun to find ways to work

together. Sector-based initiatives have become more common as workforce developers

try to align their programs with demands created by the economy or by local economic

development activity (Harper-Anderson, 2008). Harper-Anderson conducted a national

quantitative survey of workforce development administrators to explore the connectivity

between economic and workforce development, to evaluate if sector-based strategies are

effective, and to determine the outcome of increased connectivity. The number of

respondents reporting significant connection or even integration between workforce

development and economic development was at least 50%, with only 10% describing

their functions as separate, even though 97% reported their goals as being the same or

related to the economic development goals (Harper-Anderson, 2008). More than 90% of

the respondents indicated they use sectors or clusters as part of their work, and many

have formalized them with written plans, boards, and specialized funding. Connectivity

between workforce and economic development did correlate with the use of sector or

cluster-based approaches, with most respondents indicating positive outcomes (Harper-

Anderson, 2008). This study did not focus on a particular segment of population

stratification, so it cannot be broken down into metropolitan, micropolitan, or rural;

however, it does indicate that formal alignment of workforce development activities with

economic development activities, combined with a sector-based approach, may generate

positive outcomes for the local community.

Role of amenities

Local amenities have been repeatedly correlated with economic success on a

community level (Eberts, 2010; Lambe, 2008; Wilson et al., 2001). The debate regarding

the degree to which amenities influence economic development is an ongoing one,

exploring the attraction of urban amentities (shopping, entertainment, cultural venues),

natural amenities (climate, landscape), and rural recreation and lifestyle amenities

(neighborhood communities, less traffic and noise, greater access to outdoor recreation).

It has become linked to the question of whether people follow jobs, or if jobs follow

people (Ferguson, Kamar, Olfert, & Partridge, 2007). In their study of population

changes in Canadian communities, Feguson et al. (2007) found that economic factors

were most important for rural growth and that urban growth was more strongly linked to

amenities. They acknowledged that Canada lacks the climate variation (warmer) that has

been linked to rural amenity migration in the United States. However, although focused

on Canada, this study reinforces the relationship of economic factors with amenites in

people’s choices of where to live. And while not identified and set apart in Ferguson et

al.’s research, rural-located micropolitan communities are poised somewhere between the

urban/rural extremes and potenially could offer both types of amenities if they can

overcome the need for improved economic conditions.

Housing

One of the factors that can be significant in local economic development is that of

affordable housing availability. Five years after the micropolitan designation was created,

the first study was done looking at the affordability of housing in the micropolitan areas

within the contiguous 48 states and linking it to potential economic development

considerations (Lang & Danielsen, 2008). The researchers analyzed characteristics of

micropolitan areas and found that those nearest metropolitan areas tended to be larger and

experience greater growth, while those which were more remote were smaller and grew

more slowly, if at all. In analyzing housing affordability, their research used the

Micropolitan Affordability Index (MAI), which is the percentage of households in a

micropolitan area that can afford to purchase a median price home in that community.

They found that in several ways housing in micropolitan settings was comparable to

housing in metropolitan settings: age, average number of bedrooms, and average number

of total rooms (Lang & Danielsen, 2008, p. 191). They noted differences in that

micropolitan areas had higher percentages of detached single-family homes,

manufactured homes and nonowner-occupied homes (Lang & Danielsen, 2008, p. 191).

Rather than attempting to analyze each micropolitan area in detail, the study

focused on the least and the most affordable micropolitan areas (Lang & Danielsen,

2008). There was a correlation between the least affordable areas and remoteness, as well

as an association with scenic or recreational amenities. These areas included Jackson,

Wyoming, Silverthorne, Colorado, and Key West, Florida. This author notes that these

areas are reflected in Vias’ first type of micropolitan area―one that is remote with scenic

or recreational amenities (Vias, 2011). The most affordable micropolitan areas were

found to be clustered in two states, Texas and Kansas (Lang & Danielsen, 2008). These

micropolitan areas were in largely rural areas and were experiencing population declines

(Lang & Danielsen, 2008). Not surprisingly, Lang and Danielsen’s analysis of median

home values mirrored these findings. The highest median home values were in areas with

low affordability and scenic/recreational amenities, while the lowest median home values

were in areas of high affordability with either declining populations or populations

increasing as a result of immigration (Lang & Danielson, 2008, p. 195).

Considering these findings, some policymakers may need to use affordable

housing as an attribute to attract economic development, while others may need to

address the addition of affordable housing to their communities to support continued

growth; housing opportunity is tied to regional development (Lang & Danielsen, 2008).

Looking at housing with regard to rural community vitality (economic strength and social

well-being), a study was done of 134 communities in nine states. It further reinforced the

connection between availability of affordable, appropriate (non-aged) housing and

economic development (Cook et al., 2009). The study was conducted as a mixed-methods

design and correlated community vitality to housing planning, finance, and inventory, as

well as to community leadership and population changes. The findings indicated that

entrepreneurial leadership that addresses housing as part of economic development

contributes to community vitality and that solutions to rural housing challenges require

collective efforts, including planning activities and external funding. The researchers

concluded that availability of affordable, appropriate housing is a necessary part of

community and economic development plans if the community is to attract new

businesses (Cook et al., 2009). Although the availability of affordable housing is a

significant factor in encouraging local economic growth, it is not the most important one.

A later study of micropolitan area growth found that industry composition was the

most important variation in micropolitan population growth, although correlations were

noted for housing supply, climate as measured by average January temperature, and state

and local policy (Davidsson & Richman, 2012). Among policy variables, county

spending on education and highway infrastructure had a positive correlation with growth.

State income taxes had a negative effect on growth (Davidsson & Richman, 2012).

Finally, the distance of a micropolitan area to the nearest metropolitan area indicated that

remoteness tended to reduce growth (Davidsson & Richman, 2012). Davidsson and

Richman’s (2012) analysis of a broader range of variables seems to confirm Lang and

Danielsen’s contention that housing supply and affordability should play a significant

role in a community’s economic development policy.

Regional Governance and Partnerships

Many of the challenges faced by small communities require more resources than a

single community can provide and thus are appropriate for a regional partnership or

governance approach (Lu & Jacobs, 2013, p. 82). Rural and micropolitan areas that seek

to build infrastructure, such as roads or transportation systems, are faced with the reality

of the high costs. When the costs of building, operating, and maintaining infrastructure

are spread over a smaller tax base, it is more expensive on a per capita basis than it would

be in a metropolitan area, where there is a higher population density. Many of these types

of infrastructure projects are candidates for a regional governance approach, as was

shown in a study of the cost efficiency of building roads in rural areas (Chicoine, Deller

& Walzer 2001). Chicoine et al. (2001) studied the costs of building and maintaining

rural roads across several Midwestern states at the township level using an empirical

model that suggested the joining together of the smaller government units to form a

regional approach to infrastructure building was more cost effective. Considering the

Resource Conservation and Development Program as a successful program of regional

governance, Lu and Jacobs (2013) performed an archival study on the program,

particularly focusing on Kansas, to identify aspects of the program that enabled success.

Their findings highlighted that each council was comprised of a wide variety of

organizations, governmental and private non-profit, that worked together to identify

projects and priorities, address funding, and represent the unique nature and interests of

the specific region. The authors concluded that the council system was an effective way

to combine state and community interests to achieve economic and community

development goals (Lu & Jacobs, 2013, pp. 96-97).

In an earlier study, Lu (2011) explored the use of ad hoc regionalism in rural areas

to both deal with challenges and to implement economic development strategies. As

examples, the Western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance (WKREDA) and

the San Juan Forum (SJF) were compared and contrasted. The WKREDA was formed

with 46 counties bonded by the need to fight economic decline in their region. Over 5

years it succeeded in developing a governance system that focused on equal

representation of interests, improved employment, and expansion of the dairy industry in

the region (Lu, 2011). The SJF, led by a partnership between a four-year college and a

community college, was formed to enable information sharing and to increase efficiency

of resource development in the Four Corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,

and Utah. However, the forum did not develop broad-based representation, but rather it

depended on the vision and efforts of one person to hold it together (Lu, 2011). The

lessons learned from these studies indicate that regionalism can produce positive

outcomes but requires committed participation by policymakers, reasonably equal

distribution of power and benefits, and achievement of desired outcomes in order to be

effective over time (Lu, 2011).

International Influences on Local Economic Development

We live in a global society, so whether a community is part of a metropolitan

area, a micropolitan community, or a rural area, international concerns and changes can

affect economic conditions directly or indirectly. In 2011, Forbes reported that the US

Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released data that showed, in this

century, millions of American jobs are moving overseas and that major corporations

shrank their U.S. workforces by 2.9 million workers, while adding 2.4 million workers in

non-U.S. locations (Adams, 2011). In 2012 the Wall Street Journal noted that a number

of companies were reincorporating outside of the United States, with one reason cited as

lower taxes (McKinnon & Thurm, 2012). In an effort to analyze the effects of

international trade on the US labor market, Autor et al. (2013) undertook an empirical

analysis of trade shocks on regional employment and economic adjustments within the

United States. During 1991 to 2007. Goods imported from China increased by 1,156%,

while exports lagged far behind. The researchers correlated the increase in Chinese

imports with negative effects in manufacturing employment, a drop in average household

earnings, and an increase in government payments for disability, retirement, medical

payments, unemployment insurance, and income assistance (Autor et al., 2013). So not

surprisingly, unidirectional internationalization tends to hurt local communities. To

support economic and community development within U.S. cities, policymaking should

include attracting foreign investment and provide incentives to keep employment within

U.S. communties.

Summary and Conclusions

The existing literature on economic and community development shows a lack of

information on policy issues relating to micropolitan America. Much of the research that

has been done has examined the success of specific strategies or at certain factors that

correlate with economic development. The research performed to date on micropolitan

areas does provide limited insight as to why some areas experience growth and why

others do not, but it does not relate those findings to specific policy development or

address the interaction between economic and community development. In this present

study, I examined the interaction of the factors and policies idenfied, as well as the

influence of the sometimes conflicting goals of community and economic devlopment.

The findings should enable development scholars and practitioners to better understand

the influences and how to balance the competing interests.

Chapter 3 presents a description of the methodology used in exploring the policy

interactions and influences on economic and community development in a micropolitan

setting. The chapter also includes information regarding the city selected for study, the

research design, and the data used in the study.

Chapter 3: Research Method

Purpose and Research Questions

The purpose of this study was to explore and gain an understanding of the

interaction of economic and community development policies and how they are affected

by internal and external factors. The aim of the study was to determine how the

sometimes-conflicting interests of the policy goals are balanced and influenced by

circumstances and events. For this study, economic development policy relates to policy

decisions and actions taken to improve the local economy and employment while

community development policy relates to those policy decisions and actions taken to

improve the quality of life within the community with improved environment, health,

education, and recreation. Within the study, I explored what factors influenced decisions,

what outcomes were desired, how implementation affected future decisions, and how

policymakers put the pieces together while balancing the key interests of economics and

quality of life.

The understanding of policy interactions with influencing factors was achieved by

answering the following research questions:

in economic development and community development?

4. To what extent has the interaction of policies and their implementation been
effective in reducing poverty and its effects, and why or why not?

This chapter reviews the research questions and presents a discussion of

qualitative research methods, particularly the case study approach. It provides

information on the role of the researcher, data collection, and method of data analysis.

The chapter concludes with a discussion of ethical considerations.

Design of the Study

This section describes the research design used for the study, including research

method and approach, sample population, proposed data collection methods, ethical

considerations, and role of the researcher.

Qualitative Research Method

Quantitative research is appropriate when testing theories by measuring variables

and using statistical analysis to interpret results (Creswell, 2014). A qualitative approach

is appropriate when the research is exploratory in nature (Creswell, 2014). It is conducted

by putting the observer in the world to study organizations, people, and events in their

natural setting and transforming that world into interviews, photographs, and other

representations (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). One important aspect of qualitative research is

that the researcher is an instrument in the study. As such, the researcher must focus on the

meanings the participants attach to the issues and data. Because the nature of this inquiry

is how types of policies relate to each other and the environment in which they are made,

it cannot be studied in a laboratory setting or without immersion into the environment in

which the events have occurred and are occurring.

The research questions for this study are not focused on a set of variables or

testing an existing theory; rather, they explore relationships, interactions, and the

viewpoints and understandings of policies and policymakers. A qualitative approach will

enable the depth needed to answer the research questions while providing the richness of

detail to build the context in which policy decisions and events occurred. Based on the

nature of the inquiry, a qualitative approach is the more appropriate research

methodology.

Case Study Qualitative Approach

A case study is an intensive research approach in which the description and

explanation of developments within one case is developed in full, rich detail (Swanborn,

2010). Because the case study approach can be applied to so many disciplines and

studies, a definition of a case study is both lengthy and complex. One definition provides

that it is the study of a social phenomenon that is conducted in the setting, during a set

period of time, where the researcher focuses on the description and explanation of

processes with an open mind and using multiple data sources to gain understanding

(Swanborn, 2010). Yin (2014) provided a two-part definition. First, “a case study is an

empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth, within its real-

world context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context may not

be clearly evident” (p. 16). Second, it copes with situations having many variables, relies

on multiple sources of data, and uses theoretical propositions to guide the collection and

analysis of data (Yin, 2014, p. 17).

For this research, the case is defined as one micropolitan city that is not part of a

larger metropolitan area and which has both experienced economic and quality of life

challenges and has taken steps to address them. The time period studied is that following

the Great Recession, June 2009 through June 2015, when communities have been focused

on economic growth and rebuilding. Interviews were conducted, documents reviewed,

and observations of actions and settings were made to develop the rich description and

develop the deep understanding that constitutes a case study.

Justification of the Case Study Approach

While there are more than 20 research designs within the qualitative approach,

only the 5 identified by Creswell as being most common in the social sciences were

considered for this study: narrative, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and

case study (Creswell, 2014). Choice of design should consider several aspects of the

research, such as what is being studied (Creswell, 2014), the purpose, audience, and other

factors, such as funding and researcher interests (Patton, 2012). Narrative or

phenomenology is well suited to studying individuals, while ethnology is more

compatible with the study of cultural aspects of groups (Creswell, 2014). Because this

study is focused on processes, activities, and events, a case study, or grounded theory

design, could be considered appropriate (Creswell, 2014).

The grounded theory research design “is a method of social scientific theory

construction” (Charmaz, 2011, p. 360). Although the data collected and used in a

grounded theory design can be much like that used in a case study, the key difference is

in the overall goal as reflected by the research questions. Grounded theory is more

appropriate for studies that seek to build a theory from the data gathered rather than

understanding a specific instance of interactions.

A case study has four key features:

• the study of an individual unit

• that has depth through its rich, detailed information

• that evolves over time, and

• it considers the environment or context

(Flyvbjerg, 2011).

It is the preferred method when the research is exploring the “how” or “why” of

something. The researcher does not control events, and the focus of the study is

contemporary rather than entirely historical (Yin, 2014).

Sampling for the Study

In selecting the case for the research, several decisions needed to be made. The

research focuses on a micropolitan city that is not part of a larger metropolitan area and

which constitutes a relatively small population. The 2013 list of principal cities of

micropolitan statistical areas shows a total of 564 cities, many of those adjacent to or part

of a larger metropolitan area (United States Census Bureau, 2013). Sampling in

qualitative case study research is generally performed using a purposeful or informed-

oriented selection process so as to be sure the sample used will inform the study

(Flyvbjerg, 2011).

Choosing a case from the subject population can be done using one of several

approaches that should align with the research questions of the study. Extreme case

selection seeks out unusual cases which are valuable to understand the extremes of

existing theories or to develop new theories. Maximum variation cases are those that

when taken together are similar in several ways but very different in one key dimension

and can be used to study that difference or the effect of the difference. A critical case is

one that is chosen because it has strategic importance to the topic of

the research.

Finally,

a paradigmatic case is one that exhibits the characteristics of the societies or cases in

question, often called a typical case (Flyvbjerg, 2011). Based on the research questions

for this study, a paradigmatic, or typical, case is the most appropriate for the research

since the purpose is not to explore extremes or unique qualities. Trying to identify a

critical case requires enough experience with the topic being researched to know how to

define it (Flyvbjerg, 2011), which is not a quality of this researcher. Rather, this study’s

research questions are best answered by a typical case chosen based on identified criteria.

In choosing a case, Yin (2014) stated that the researcher needs “sufficient access

to the data for your potential case” and given more than just one potential case, the

researcher should choose a case or cases “that will most likely illuminate your research

questions” (p. 28). His advice differs from Swanborn (2010), who suggested using all

available cases under many circumstances and using pragmatic considerations only as an

additional criteria; however, many of his recommendations focus on the independent and

dependent variable so that his approach may be more useful in a quantitative case study.

I purposefully chose the city of Danville, Virginia, (which is located less than 30

miles outside the official Applachian Region) as the case for this research. It meets the

objective criteria of a relatively isolated (at least 30 miles from the nearest metropolitan

area), is a micropolitan area city that had experienced a “boom” period followed by

economic decline, significant issues with poverty and unemployment, and has active

economic and community development programs. Danville is located in a rural area with

mulitple urban areas relatively distant in most directions. It is 45 miles from Greensboro,

NC; 56 miles from Durham, NC; 144 miles from Richmond, VA; 73 miles from

Roanoke, VA; and 65 miles from Charlottesville, VA. See Figure 1 for the location of

Danville, VA, relative to the nearest metropolitan areas.

Figure 1. Danville, Virginia, area map.

The city’s population is approximately 43,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014a) with

about 27.4% of households below poverty level as compared to the state’s overall rate of

11.3% of households in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014a). Unemployment in

Danville was 8.3% in August 2014 when the state unemployment rate was 5.5% (U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). It is also a location that I can access and be able to

succeed in accessing key officials and records.

I then used purposive sampling to select participants who could provide

information and insights into the city’s policymaking and who can identify other potential

participants. The participants interviewed were elected city officials, key city employees,

and community leaders. Participants were chosen based on their experience and

knowledge of events during the time period of the study. One factor to be considered

when interviewing is maximum structural variation of perspectives― to interview

participants who hold various perspectives relative to the topic (Patton, 2012). The

elected officials were selected because they are the policymakers, and their perspectives

related directly to policy initiatives, choices, and strategies to address problems and

achieve goals. The city employees were part of the study because they were largely

responsible for implememtation of policy and could provide information on how policies

were enacted and and whether or not they were well received. Finally, the community

leaders were identified as policy influencers, individuals who represented private

organziations within the community who have interests in the economic future of the city.

These participants provided a nongovernmental view of policymaking and outcomes. The

three categories of participants were able to provide diverse, relevant perspectives to

build a well-rounded understanding of the case.

I created a list of potential participants for the study within city government based

on public information available on the city’s website. In addition, key individuals within

the community, identified through various news articles, were included in the potential

participant pool as well. From this pool, participants were recruited for interviews.

Participants who engaged with me, either in interviews or in exchanges in which they

declined to be interviewd, were asked for names of other potential participants who

would know information relevant to the study.

Once the pool of potential participants had been identified, I attempted to contact

each individual for whom contact information was publicly accessible or for whom such

contact information was provided by other members of the participant pool. Because of

the small size of the case being studied, the pool was relatively small; by requesting

interviews of all members of the pool, I was attempting to assure that a sufficient number

of participants with various perspectives who were active during all or part of the time

period studied would be included in the study. By asking participants during interviews

and declination conversations for names of others who had relevant information, I was

able to interview others and maximize data collection and confirm or disconfirm

information provided. Collecting data that includes a number of perspectives and sources

is one way in which qualitative data can be collaborated and validated (Yin, 2014).

Sample Size

With purposeful sampling, the sample size is determined by information, with

validity, meaningfulness, and insights being determined by the information richness of

the research rather than the size of the sample (Patton, 2012, pp. 245-246). Saturation is

reached when additional data no longer reveals new information or insights (Creswell,

2014). Although saturation is an important aspect of qualitative research, there is little

guidance as to estimating the sample size needed to reach saturation. Guest, Bunce, and

Johnson (2006) conducted interviews with 60 participants to determine at what point data

saturation was reached. They found that data saturation with high frequency codes was

reached as early as 6 participants and clearly within 12 interviews. I anticipated a sample

size of 8 to 10 participants, but to assure full information and complete representation of

each of the perspectives, 11

interviews were conducted.

At that point, data saturation was

reached with approximately equal representation among the three perspective types.

Table 1 and Figure 3 show the number of participants broken down by category. Of the

11 participants, 4 were policymakers, 4 were primarily policy implementers, and 3 were

policy influencers. In addition, data samples included a large number of documents and

photographs.

Access to participants

Gaining access and building trust and rapport with participants was an essential

step in the data collection process. I discussed the importance of the study and the

opportunity participation provided for the participants to discuss their perspectives. Trust

was built through personal communication, including telephone calls, email exchanges,

and conversations. I presented as a learner interested in economic and community

development. I explained the purpose of the study and why the participants were invited

to participate. They were assured of anonymity and confidentiality and asked not to

reveal any information that they were uncomfortable sharing or that could jeopardize

projects if the study results were released before the project was complete, all of which

helped build the needed trust and rapport. Written consent was obtained before the

interviews were conducted.

Role of the Researcher

I was born and raised in a small city surrounded by farmland in Pennsylvania. As

a child of two factory workers, I was always aware of challenges relating to poverty and

efforts to build a better quality of life within the community. Having lived in many

communities in several states, over time, I became aware of the differences in the quality

of life in different communities and the impacts that economic development activities

could have. My interest in economics and community development grew out of those life

experiences. My academic experience reflects that interest in creating social change in

communities as well. With an undergraduate degree in biological science, I quickly

realized that alone was not sufficient education to make a significant change for the

better. I obtained a law degree and worked in financial services and government

regulation for many years. Acknowledging that education was the key that enabled

change to people’s lives and circumstances, I retired from law, obtained a master’s

degree in education and began working in higher education administration as a way to

help others change their lives and communities.

Having lived in major metropolitan areas, rural areas, and several micropolitan

cities, I have seen the differences in the goals, policies, and outcomes based on the

policies made and implemented. Some communities appeared to be successful at

economic development, but at the cost of quality of life, while others seemed to offer a

great quality of life, but with little to no economic growth or activity. It became a goal to

gain an understanding of how communities manage these differing priorities in

policymaking and accommodate the ever-changing business and economic climates. My

current position in education administration does not directly interact with the topics or

issues being studied.

Although several members of the leadership team at the university where I am

employed are also local political leaders (city council), no bias or conflict of interest

relating to their professional relationship was evident. These individuals are not people

with whom I work regularly and my role as a student conducting research, rather than an

employee of the institution or working colleague, was presented and steadfastly adhered

to during the research

process.

I personally conducted all the research: data collection, data analysis, and writing

of findings. I recruited participants, obtained consents, conducted interviews, and

collected documents and photographs. Telephone calls and emails were used to contact

participants. Each interview was conducted, audio recorded, and transcribed by me.

There were no additional team members used for data collection or analysis in this study.

My professional experience in the legal field, as well as business experience

collecting and analyzing data, helped build my skill in interviewing. I had also worked as

an investigator for a federal agency investigating financial institution failures,

interviewing and reviewing documents to build professional liability cases against those

responsible. These experiences and education prepared me and honed the skills needed to

identify valuable participants and to conduct informational interviews. With years of

professional experience as an attorney, investigator, and business leader, I have

developed the necessary skills and an awareness of the need to collect data with an open

mind while following ethical practices and protocols.

One of the concerns in qualitative research that may affect data interpretation and

analysis is the predisposition or biases of the researcher (Patton, 2012). During the course

of this study, I took several precautions to address subjectivity or bias. First, I maintained

a high degree of awareness of the need to be objective and of the possibility of bias. I

reported data that appeared discrepant and used data triangulation to minimize bias.

Interview transcripts were subjected to member checking to assure accuracy and to

enhance the credibility of the study. The combination of these precautions should have

minimized or eliminated any researcher subjectivity or bias.

Data Collection

As part of this study, I obtained approval from the University Institutional Review

Board on December 10, 2015, to conduct the study under approval number 12-10-15-

0266730. I collected data from December 2016 through August 2016. Data analysis began

immediately upon data collection and continued until this report was complete.

Data collection for this study was performed using three methods in overlapping

phases, each informing the others: document review, interviews, and observation of

place. Yin (2014) advised case study researchers to be prepared before they begin the

data collection process by developing five attributes: asking good questions and being a

good listener; staying adaptive to identify new opportunities; having a firm grasp of the

issues being studied; avoiding biases by including contrary evidence; and, conducting the

research in an ethical manner. By being organized, recording data, and engaging in

constant comparison, I was able to follow the evidence to additional data to inform the

study.

Yin (2014) identified four key principles of data collection that help establish

construct validity and reliability of the data and study; these principles were used in

conducting this research. First, whenever possible, multiple sources of evidence (data)

were gathered by using several data collection methods to help avoid examining only one

perspective or attribute and to assure accuracy (data triangulation). Second, a case study

database or computer files were created and maintained separately from my own writings

and documents. The database (within Atlas.ti) contains documents, photos, transcripts,

researcher notes, and other data collected, indexed, and sorted in a method that makes

them easily retrievable. Third, a chain of evidence was maintained that links statements

in the case study report to the sources in the database, and to the protocol and research

questions. By linking the specific data to conclusions and back to research questions, it

enables another person to follow the analytical flow from data to conclusion. Finally,

electronic sources of data were handled with particular care and caution because the

source of the information had to be validated as reliable and because electronic sites can

change over time. Specific URLs and screen prints have been printed and scanned, or

downloaded and saved, creating permanent electronic records, to document what data

was present and used in the study.

Documents

Documents “constitute a particularly rich source of information about many

organizations and programs” (Patton, 2012, p. 293). Relevant documents can include a

wide range of types, such as minutes of meetings, reports, administrative documents,

news clippings, and correspondence (Yin, 2014). While documents are not always

accurate, and often represent only the viewpoint of the author, they are useful in several

ways: identifying key individuals to interview, providing background information, and

providing corroborating or augmenting evidence (Patton, 2012; Yin, 2014). In this study,

document review was part of the preparation for interviews; document review helped

identify potential interview candidates and, most importantly served as additional

evidence to validate and augment information gathered from other sources.

Specific documents used during the study included both primary and seconary

documents relating to the policymaking, economic development, and community

development activities in Danville. Available data was important because much of the

period of time being studied was in the past. A review of documents created at the time of

decisions and events may be the best source of factual information since human

memories may have faded over time and reflect biases of the participants. Available data

documents for this research included news articles relating to economic and community

development matters in the Danville, Virginia, micropolitan area; minutes and reports

from city council meetings; and consultant reports prepared for the city. The documents

were downloaded elecronically or hard-copy scanned and loaded into Atlas.ti for coding

and analysis for policy interactions and influences.

Interviews

Interviews have been described as being one of the most important sources of data

in case studies (Yin, 2014). Often conducted as guided conversations rather than a more

rigid question and answer session, the researcher has two main concerns during the

interview: follow the line of inquiry outlined in the research protocol and to do so by

asking questions in an unbiased way to discover relevant information (Yin, 2014).

Whether using a standardized question format or a more informal conversational format,

the key to a successful interview is the interviewer’s ability to ask open-ended questions,

patiently allow the participant to respond, to ask appropriate un-biased probing questions,

and to listen and learn throughout the interview (Patton, 2012).

Interviews can be conducted individually in-person, telephonically, or in focus

groups. For this study, I utilized individual indepth, in-person interviews to solicit

detailed information and clarify ambiguities. Research on micropolitan policymaking is a

new area of study, so gathering honest, accurate data under circumstances in which

participants are comfortable discussing choices, actions, and insights with anonymity was

important. Conducting interviews in-person enabled me to more easily build rapport with

the participants and assess body language, which could not be achieved in telephonic

interviews. The disadvantage I noted to conducting individual interviews was the

investment of time and the challenge of getting time on people’s schedules; but, the

disadvantages were outweighed by the ability to get detailed information and separate

perspectives of key individuals. Each participant was informed of the purpose of this

study, informed regarding the confidential nature of the interview, and informed of the

protection provided to assure that confidentiality is maintained. All participants were then

asked for their explicit consent before the interview was started (Rudestam & Newton,

2007).

It was expected that I would conduct between 8 and 10 individual interviews with

community leaders and government representatives, but a total of 11 such participants

were ultimately interviewed. The interviews were conducted using open-ended questions

in a conversational approach based on an interview guide to assure key topics were

covered. I developed an interview protocol for use with all participants (the Interview

Protocol is included as Appendix B). During some interviews with policy influencers,

some questions were adapted to fit their role. The use of open-ended questions allowed

me to customize the questions based on the participants’ responses and their roles in the

community. Interviews were recorded with an electronic recorder. The recorder used

enabled direct uploading of the interviews to a computer for safekeeping and later

retrieval. All participants agreed to the recording. In addition, I took notes to document

understanding and for use in case of equipment failure. Each recording was transcribed

using Dragon speech-to-text software, produced by Nuance, that accompanied the

recorder. The transcript was edited and proofread against the recording and then member-

checked with the participant to assure accuracy and completeness. To the extent possible,

interviews were conducted in the participant’s place of business. Three participants did

not have suitable workplaces so those interviews were conducted in other locations (a

restaurant, a borrowed office, and a library).

The candidates I initially approached for participant interviews included members

of city council, the mayor, the director of economic development for the City of Danville,

leaders in community development organizations, and representatives of organizations

active in economic development. Using a snowball sampling technique, I asked initial

contacts to help identify other potential participants who had knowledge to contribute to

the research.

The interviews provided first-hand information and understanding of prior

policymaking and influences, as well as current concerns, influences, and policymaking

practices. By setting aside bias and using neutral language during the interview process, I

focused on understanding how situations are viewed, how policy decisions are made, and

how interactions and competing interests balanced by the participants. Information about

actions and events were corroborated through other data, but gaining insights into the

participants’ opinions, attitudes, and meanings are available only through a successful

interview (Yin, 2014).

An interview guide, as approved for use in this research (Appendix B), was used

to conduct the interviews. Each interview was conducted with a clean, separate guide on

which observations, ideas, notes, and reflections of the interviewer were noted. The

interview guide was organized to address each research question and to allow for the

differing roles of the participants in the policymaking and implementation process.

Direct Observation

Because case studies are conducted in the natural setting and include

contemporary events, direct observation by the researcher is an essential source of data

for the study (Yin, 2014). Observation for this study included observation of city council

meetings and public areas of the city, particularly those that are illustrative of the

concerns and events discovered through document review and interviews. For example,

certain areas of the city are targeted for revitalization (such as the downtown River

District); I traveled to those areas to observe and to compare buildings that have or are

undergoing work to buildings that have not yet been worked on (or photographs of the

buildings and area prior to renovation). My observations were documented through

photographs made concurrently with the observation. Specific care was taken to avoid the

potential bias that comes with the role of a participant-observer and to remain objective

without endorsing a particular viewpoint (Yin, 2014). Although observation requires the

researcher to be in the community and walking through parts of the community,

interaction with city residents was not part of my research since the study is focused on

policymaking, rather than community perception.

Figure 2. Cycle of data collection.

Data Analysis

Analyzing the data collected involved multiple steps: reading and examining,

categorizing, coding for themes, and searching for patterns, insights, and connections

(Patton, 2012; Yin, 2014). There are several challenges with the analysis of qualitative

data, including the lack of set guidelines or formulas, combined with the massive amount

of data associated with qualitative studies. As data was collected, the detail of the data

(source, date) was recorded in the data collection database. Computer software, Atlas.ti,

was used in the analysis portion of the study. Documents, transcripts, and photographs

were analyzed through the use of the software to enable me to engage in constant

comparison analysis and refine coding structures as the research progressed. Yin

(2014)

and Swanborn (2010) suggested several activities to help with the analysis step, including

comparing data from interviews, placing data into categories, creating data displays

(flowcharts or graphics), looking at the frequency of events or ideas, and constructing a

timeline.

Because of the large volume of data collected, it was scanned and uploaded or

directly downloaded from websites to a secure computer and organized into folders based

on the type of data. Interviews were coded by participant numbers to maintain

confidentiality. Next, I read all the collected material at least two times through:

interview transcripts, city council meeting minutes, newspaper articles, and notes.

During the second and subsequent readings, I assigned codes. The codes were words or

short phrases reflecting topics, issues, or concepts. This process, known as open coding,

was a relatively exhaustive effort to identify the nature of the information and enable

further organization into categories (Silverman & Patterson, 2015). Using constant

comparison, codes were combined and organized until meanings, connections, and

relationships were clear. Additional coding was performed using a set of predeveloped

codes based on the research questions and the theoretical framework of complexity

theory. These reviews and the finalization of codes took many weeks to achieve because

of the volume of data and the number of research questions in the study. Use of this

approach enabled me to develop ideas and insights through the iterative process and

organize them into categories to provide understanding of the relationship between

economic and community development policies and the influences on the policymaking

process.

When selecting what themes or categories to be used in analysis, it is appropriate

to consider the research questions and sub-questions and to assure that the coded data

used is relevant and embodies information the message from the study (Denzin &

Lincoln, 2013). I identified descriptions and facts within the case that address the

research questions and classified them into categories or themes. Data was organized into

categories and interpreted to form conclusions that contribute to the understanding of

policy interactions and influences and lessons evident from the data concerning

policymaking in small cities.

The next step in the process was for me to diagram the relationships that were

identified by the data analysis process. Diagrams are useful in aiding a researcher to

develop a narrative describing the results of the research (Silverman & Patterson, 2015).

Some difficulty was experienced in this step, which necessitated that I return to the

categories and coding to review the data again and to clarify understandings and

relationships. The diagrams were used to solidify my understanding and help guide the

writing of results. Diagrams can illustrate results, or relationships between in support of

the written narrative to aid comprehension. Such diagrams and table presentations show

the relationship of codes to themes and categories, summarize findings, and illustrate

conclusions.

Use of multiple sources and types of data enabled the use of triangulation and

examination of discrepant data to establish credibility. In addition, member checking and

the diversity of participants to include a variety of perspectives, combined with the use of

rich, thick description provides a basis for dependability and transferability.

Structure of the Narrative Report

Denzin and Lincoln (2013) explained analytic realism as being based on the idea

that there is a real world in which people interact and create meaning. Although theories

approach some understanding, they cannot reach complete comprehension because other

theoretical perspectives are possible. Using realism to prepare the narrative means the

researcher provided detailed descriptions and quotes from participants and documents.

Words, visuals, and diagrams were used in the narrative so as to generate reader interest

and demonstrate significance.

While there may not be a standard format for writing a case study, it needs to

provide a granulated and textured narrative (Silverman & Patterson, 2015). My report

balances background information with analysis, interpretation, and discussion. Rather

than using a prescribed formula or ratio, I relied on the objectives of the research to guide

the writing to provide a deeper understanding of the policy interactions, policy

influences, and factors.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical integrity is an extremely important standard in conducting research that

needs to be considered at every step in the process. To assure this integrity in the study, I

took steps to assure information was provided to participants concerning the purpose of

the study; how the information would be used; and the confidentiality of participants

protected. Participants were not offered, promised, or given any rewards or incentives for

their participation, and appropriate steps were taken to assure they were not placed at risk

for providing their assistance. Meetings were scheduled at times and locations identified

by the participants as locations where they were comfortable discussing the research

topics. Such locations included a library, a restaurant, official offices, and a borrowed

office. Identities are confidential, with each participant identified only by a number. Each

participant explicitly consented to the interview after disclosure of the purpose and nature

of the research; had any participants objected, the interview would have been cancelled

(Creswell, 2014). Participants were informed that they could stop the interview and back

out of the study at any point in time. None did.

Only documents that were publicly available or provided with permission to use

were included in the study. While observing locations discussed in the interviews or

referenced in the documents, I recorded the details via photographs. Care was taken to

avoid the inclusion of persons in the photographs. In situations where it was not possible

to photograph a location without including people, I elected to not take photographs or to

return to the location at a different time.

Summary

This chapter has presented information on the research methodology and

approach for the study. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study based on

the research questions, which seek to understand policy interactions and influences within

the context of a specific small city situated in a largely rural area. The chapter also

identified the rationale for the selection of the case city to be studied by narrowing the

identified micropolitan areas (564) down to one particular area that meets predetermined

criteria and is accessible for data collection purposes. Finally, the chapter discussed the

data collection and analysis process used. I conducted the study using document analysis,

interviews, and direct observation as methods of data collection, resulting in a case study

that is rich in detail and well supported by a variety of evidence. Participants interviewed

were purposefully selected based on their involvement in policymaking within the city

during all or part of the time period being studied. Eleven semistructured interviews were

conducted using open-ended questions. Data were coded and analyzed using coding that

was later organized into families (themes or categories) that relate to the research

questions. Findings were validated through the use of multiple sources of data, rich

description, and member checking. The methodology used resulted in information that

provided in-depth insight and understanding of economic and community development

policy in a small city. Chapter 4 presents data analysis and findings from data organized

in response to the research questions.

Chapter 4:

Results

“I want to see where every person in this city has the ability to live their

American dream. And that’s where the catch becomes what is the American

dream for me isn’t the American dream for someone else.” Participant 619230.

Introduction

Chapter 4 includes the findings from this study. The purpose of the study was to

provide a deeper understanding of the interactions among economic and community

development policies and the factors that influence them within the setting of a small

U.S. city seeking to grow its economic base and improve the quality of life for its

residents by reducing poverty and its effects. There are four questions that have guided

this study:

1. How can a small, nonmetropolitan city use policy to address its local economic
and quality of life challenges?
2. How do the economic development and community development policies and
strategies interact to create positive social changes?
3. What factors raise the awareness of public officials of the need or desire to engage
in economic development and community development?
4. To what extent has the interaction of policies and their implementation been
effective in reducing poverty and its effects, and why or why not?

This chapter gives a brief presentation of how data were collected, and the process

used to interpret the data and gain understanding. I included a short history of the city

highlighting key events that affected economic and community development

policymaking. Next, I present the findings, organized by dominant themes, and discussed

in context of the research question.

Setting of the Study

The case study approach was the most suitable method to use to obtain the in-

depth context and perspective on the research topic. The research findings presented here

consist of analysis of three types of data: interviews, documents, and photographs. In

early 2016, I recruited participants who are active in influencing, making, and

implementing policy in Danville, Virginia. I recruited participants from only this location

since the unit of analysis was the Danville micropolitan area. Purposeful sampling was

used to assure that participants interviewed would have direct knowledge of activities,

events, and decisions impacting policies during the time period being studied.

No trauma or personal, professional, or psychological changes were experienced

by the participants during the time of the study that would have affected interpretation of

study results. Several of the city council members had terms of office that were ending.

One of them chose not to run for re-election, and those who did were successful in their

re-election bids. It is not apparent that the election campaign had direct influence on the

research since data from other sources was used to evaluate and validate data provided.

Demographics

The participants in the study represented policymakers, city employees who

implement policies, and nongovernmental policy influencers, in order to obtain a well-

rounded perspective of the case. Interviews were conducted with 11 participants. The

sample size was initially expected to be 10, but an opportunity arose to more evenly

balance the representation of policy influencers, so the sample size was expanded (see

Figure 3). The names of the participants were not used in the data, but rather participants

were assigned an identifier number. Policymakers interviewed were members of city

council; policy implementers were current or former city employees; and policy

influencers were leaders of major organizations within the micropolitan area representing

education, business, and charitable funding. All participants were active in the

community for much or all the time period studied.

Table 1

Participant Types

Primary Participant

Type Number Role

Policymaker 4 Elected Official

Policy Influencer 3 Community Leader

Policy Implementer 4 Government Employee

Figure 3. Visual presentation of study participants.

Data Collection

I identified members of city council and some key positions within city

government, using a purposeful sampling technique. Each member of the list of potential

participants held a position within the community that would indicate involvement in

policymaking or policy setting. I also used the snowballing strategy of asking participants

for names of other persons who have knowledge relevant to the study. Potential

participants who declined interviews were also asked for names of additional people.

This snowballing strategy was effective in that three of the participants interviewed were

identified in this manner.

Contact information for potential participants was gathered from public websites

for the city and other organizations that provided an email address and, in some cases, a

contact telephone number. The identified potential participants were initially contacted

by email, as included in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) application. Only one

response was received, so I sent the email a second time, followed by phone calls to those

potential participants who had publicly listed business telephone numbers. While many

still chose not to respond, others engaged in conversation with me about the nature and

purpose of the study; only one of them declined participation, but instead provided a

referral to another participant. That referral did lead me to an interview an individual not

originally identified. Several of the participants offered names of other potential

participants who would be knowledgeable. Many of those had already been included in

the pool of potential participants and had been contacted; however, several new names

were offered. One participant not only provided several suggestions, but also contacted

one of them and provided contact information for me, which did result in another

participant interview.

Generally, participants were interested in knowing who I was and why studying

policymaking and policy interactions in this small city would matter. Nearly all expressed

an interest in hearing the results of the study after it is completed. Willingness to share

results was an important aspect of interaction with participants, as it seemed to support

trust building between the participant and researcher. One participant reached such a

strong level of trust that the participant suggested I consider running for a position on city

council in the future. All participants were cooperative in sharing their thoughts, insights,

and experiences.

While conducting interviews, I observed participants’ demeanors. Policymakers

and policy implementers tended to be rather matter-of-fact about their responses.

Community leaders were more passionate and emotional during their interviews, with

one moved to tears while discussing community needs and policies to address them. No

participants expressed fear or anxiety about the research topic or participating in the

study.

Interviews were semi-structured using open-ended questions to allow participants

to respond with the information they chose as responsive and to say as much as they were

willing to contribute. Questions were prepared in advance, as an interview guide was

used. Questions were adapted slightly if a participant seemed to experience confusion or

an inability to answer the question as it was asked. At times, I asked prompting questions

to follow up or encourage participants to expand or explain some aspect of their initial

response. In a couple of interviews, the participants were so enthusiastic about the topic

that asking one question led to a discourse that also answered subsequent questions. All

interviews were recorded with an electronic recorder that provided speech-to-text

capabilities, thus streamlining transcription. I also took notes during interviews.

Participants were provided with an opportunity to review and correct transcripts; other

than a few transcription errors, no changes were made.

Documents collected and used as data for the study were minutes of city council

meetings, documents available through the websites of the city and other organizations

represented in the study, statistical information from the Danville Regional Foundation,

County Health Rankings prepared by the University of Wisconsin Population Health

Institute, and articles from the Danville Register and Bee (newspaper) relating to the type

of events described by the participants. Certain areas and aspects of the city were

presented by participants as examples of policy at work or policy outcomes. I visited

some of these locations and documented observations via photographs. These

photographs were carefully taken so as to not include any persons who were in the area.

Data Analysis

All documents, transcripts, and photographs were uploaded to Atlas.ti 7, a

software program designed to aid in the qualitative analysis of textual, graphical, audio,

and video data. Data coding was performed initially with open coding. I had developed a

series of preset codes based on the theoretical framework and topics of the study;

however, once data were collected, I determined that open coding was a more productive

first-step. Use of open coding enabled descriptive codes and coding based on issues and

ideas present in the data. I spent much time working to assure that data was coded

thoroughly and that codes were useful to further the research analysis. Interviews were

then coded a second time using the preset codes to enable data to be directly related to the

research questions and theoretical framework. Categorical aggregation of codes into

related groups (families) and families into themes enabled specific instances and

impressions to be examined together to form meanings. Direct interpretation enabled me

to identify meanings from statements, reports, and observations. Frequency of codes was

useful to show how often an issue or idea appeared, particularly in interviews.

Table 2

Aggregation of Quotations to Codes to Themes

Theme Major Code Families Codes

Acceptance Transportation infrastructure inadequate

Blight is a major challenge

Triggers to motivate new policies

Use consultants to provide expertise

7
26
3
6

Resilience Bring people together as a community

Learning from experience

City in transition, balance decline with growth

6
36
41

Building on Strengths Citizen input into policy

Industrial Parks

Riverwalk is an asset

Encourage Entrepreneurs

Preserve historic aspects

Recognizing and using the positive attributes

8
5
7
3
12
39

ED and CD are

Interwoven

Policy can also divide the community

Change children’s lives now to change the future

CD and Ed interact and are closely related

6
3
8

Keeping Focus Workforce development is part of ED activities

Creating new mindset in the community

Using ED and CD to create social change

17
16
9

Continual Assessment Measuring the impacts

Success stories but not enough impact

24
1

Partnerships: More

than Just a City

Funding makes the difference

Use a regional approach to increase

attractiveness

5
10

External Influence Federal/State action as influence/effect

Change state law and develop a land bank

Globalization is a factor and a challenge

Look outward for examples and inspiration

14
5
3
7

Achievement Danville receives recognition and awards

Community development has some success

River District success

14
8
41

The collected data yielded many quotations relevant to the research

questions.

Multiple reviews using a constant comparison approach enabled me to group the

quotations into codes and those codes refined into more inclusive codes, known as

families. The resulting families led to the identification of nine significant themes

relevant to economic and community development policymaking. An analysis was

performed to determine the frequency of the themes in the participant interviews and

overall data to help indicate areas of potential discrepancy and consistency. The relative

frequency of a theme does not reflect its importance, merely a difference in focus

between responding to questions versus recording information over an extended period.

Table 3

Frequency of Themes in Participant Interviews

Theme –

Ordered by

Frequency in

Interviews

Frequency

Interviews

Frequency

in All Data

Rank

Based on

All Data

Continual assessment 152 294 2

Resilience 112 393 1

Keeping focus 82 260 4

Acceptance 77 151 6

ED and CD are

interwoven
72 101 8

Partnerships: More

than a city
50 137 7

Achievement 35 169 5

Building on strengths 27 262 3

External influence 26 68 9

One correlation shows the prevalence of the themes of continual assessment,

resilience, and keeping focus across all types of data. The importance of external

influence, building on strengths, and recognition of achievement merit their inclusion,

even though they may not be overtly discussed as often as other themes.

While no information was found that contradicted data gathered from interviews,

some data is discrepant in that it provides additional information, not included in the

interviews, illustrating the extent of errors and repercussions of some policy decisions.

This discrepant information is included in the discussions of the relevant themes and is

used to present a more fully informed picture.

Evidence of Trustworthiness

Member checking, the practice of having participants review interview transcripts

to ensure completeness and accuracy, was used along with use of published data to

ensure that credibility was maintained. By using the same interview protocol for all

participants, consistency was maintained throughout the study. By allowing participants

to respond to questions without influence, I avoided any researcher bias. The use of

additional documents and photographic observation to substantiate, expand, or put

context around the participants’ information enabled me to avoid bias in analysis and to

triangulate and assure validity of the research. The conclusions may not be transferrable

to other cities since the nature of a case study is an in-depth examination of one case, and

is not intended to be directly transferrable to other cases.

Key Attributes of the City of Danville

Because this study was an in-depth examination of one city, the results of the

research must be viewed in the context of that city, its history, and circumstances. During

data collection and analysis, it became apparent that the geography of certain

neighborhoods and institutions as well as events in the history of the city were important

in understanding why and how policies were made, and in at least one instance, why the

policy led to the consequences it had.

The City of Danville is bisected by the Dan River with the downtown and

warehouse district on one side, along with the regional medical center, community

college, and private four-year university. On the other side of the river are shopping

areas, including the local mall and large strip malls, known as the Coleman Marketplace.

Industrial plants are present in the area and represent the major source of employment;

the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company currently is the largest employer in the city

(Office of Economic Development, 2015). See Figure 4.

The River District, as it is now named, was once the tobacco warehouse district in

downtown Danville. With rail lines running among the warehouses, this area adjacent to

downtown’s Main Street was home to several large tobacco processing warehouses. Once

the tobacco industry declined, these buildings were left empty and without purpose. The

other major industry that had supported Danville for decades was the textile industry,

with Dan River’s several mills located throughout the city, including along the river,

downtown, and near the tobacco district (National Park Service, n.d.). The physical effect

of these two industries disappearing from the city was that many large buildings were left

unoccupied and unmaintained. Not surprisingly, vandalism, decay, and fire affected the

properties. The socio-economic effect was that thousands of people lost their jobs with no

real alternative employment sources.

Figure 4. Danville: Geography of key locations.

Many families chose to leave the area in pursuit of employment elsewhere,

leaving their residences vacant and falling into disrepair as well. Of those who remained,

unemployment was common, and the available employment was often low-paying

(minimum wage retail or food service, for example) or required credentials beyond the

abilities of the citizens (such as physicians or education professionals; U.S. Census

Bureau, 2015). Consequently, more residences fell into disrepair and more businesses

failed because the local economy could not support them. Even the city’s “Millionaire’s

Row” along West Main street between downtown and Averett University’s main campus

fell into disrepair as the executives who once ran thriving corporations left them behind

for the next position in a new town. The city’s population declined, poverty increased,

and empty and decaying buildings were left throughout the city.

Table 4

Important Events in the History of Danville, Virginia

1746 William Wynne establishes a ferry at Wynne’s Falls

1793 Virginia General Assembly establishes a tobacco inspection station at

Wynne’s Falls and renames it Danville

1830 Danville receives its town charter

1836 Had a population of 1,000 with 2 tobacco warehouses and 2 tobacco

factories

1873 Dibrell Brothers Tobacco is formed in Danville; it later grew to be the

second-largest tobacco company in the world.

1890 Danville becomes an independent city

1856 R&D (Richmond and Danville) railroad completed

19th Century Tobacco industry continued to grow and Danville became known as

‘World’s Best Tobacco Market”

Civil War Danville became a major supply depot for the Confederate Army

April 4-10,

1865

Danville became the last capital of the Confederacy after the fall of

Richmond. The Sutherlin mansion served as the temporary home of

Jefferson Davis. This mansion is now home to the Danville Museum of

Fine Arts and History.

July 1882 Riverside Cotton Mills is founded; it later became known as Dan River,

Inc., the largest textile mill in the world

1994 Dibrell merges with Monk-Austin to form the Dimon tobacco company.

2005 Sale of the Danville Regional Medical Center provides $200 million to

fund the Danville Regional Foundation to improve life in Danville,

Pittsylvania County, and Caswell County (NC)

2006 Dan River, Inc. closed because of overseas competition

2010 City Council visits Greenville, SC, and gains a vision to revitalize

Danville

Note. Compiled from information published by the National Park Service: Virginia Main

Street Communities, City of Danville, the Caswell Messenger, Danville Register and

Bee, and the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.

Results

The research questions for this study represent a continuum of influences on and

effects of policymaking. Presenting results based on research questions proved to be

challenging because of the overlapping nature of the questions and themes. The first

research question was used to discover how community leaders viewed the role of policy

and how it could be used to further economic development and community development

goals. The second research question was to explore the interaction of economic and

community development in creating positive social change. The remaining questions

sought to identify factors influencing policymaking, and finally, the extent of success of

addressing the underlying challenges. Therefore, results are organized by theme with

discussion addressing the relevant research questions.

Acceptance

One of the major themes identified is the city’s acceptance of the changes in its

circumstances. As is often said in the context of addiction, the first step is accepting or

admitting there is a problem (CRC Health, n.d.). Participant 611136 described Danville

as a true mill town where people felt their opinions did not matter; instead, “it’s what the

people at the mill decide.” The data indicate the policymakers realized that the tobacco

industry was in a permanent decline and that textile jobs had moved away and were not

coming back. They accepted the new reality of the city. As one participant

(P619224)

stated, “We had tobacco processing plants closing right and left here and moving off

shore, and our downtown was decaying.” Another participant (P611122) presented the

idea that the city had a choice to either move forward aggressively or to let the business

market determine whether the city is successful or if it fails.

To move forward, the city accepted that its circumstances had changed from

being a mill town and tobacco-trading hub to be a city with more people than jobs, more

houses than families, and that without action, it would only decline further. The theme of

acceptance relates most directly to research question 3 in that acceptance of the changed

circumstances was a key trigger for policymaking.

Blight. After the decline in population and businesses closing, the city was left

with a large inventory of unoccupied and untended buildings, particularly in locations

where the textile and tobacco businesses and their employees used to live. In 2010,

Danville conducted a study of its housing stock and found that “about 2,000 of its

roughly 16,000 houses were dilapidated, boarded up or abandoned” (Thibodeau, 2014b).

It is not just housing that was affected though. In the past, Danville’s downtown was

thriving with several large businesses located there, along with shopping and restaurants

to support them. When shopping centers became the new norm, downtown saw some

loss, but when the tobacco companies pulled out and the “white mill” (so called because

it is a large white building located on the river downtown that housed a large portion of

Dan River Textiles’ mill operations) closed, conditions in downtown and along Main

Street worsened (P619224).

Downtown, nobody was coming anymore so you started seeing things closing

down, close down, close down. It got into decay mode. People that owned the

buildings didn’t live here, didn’t care about them, they were just trying to make a

buck. And that’s what finally got us to the point where we had to do something.

(P619224)

Participant 617138 described blight in terms of a ride down the street. “Houses

that have been poorly maintained…you see the shutters falling off, one hanging upside

down, the paint peeling, and maybe two of the porch columns are gone” (P617138).

Without jobs, residents cannot afford to repair or maintain their houses, so poor

neighborhoods continue to

decline.

A policy influencer (619230) stated that blight is a

deterrent to economic growth and vitality so policies to eradicate that blight are needed.

Several participants noted that the empty, blighted houses attracted crime.

You have people coming in who just moved in to the neighborhood; they may

stay 2 to 3 months. They may set up drug distribution areas and then they’ll move.

They’ll go from house to house. They won’t leave the community, they just go

down the street and rent another house. (P617138)

See Figure 5 for photographs of several blighted buildings in Danville.

Blight is relevant to all four research questions, particularly to research question 3

addressing triggers to policymaking. Once city leaders accepted the decaying conditions

and their effects on the city, they became enabled to address those conditions.

Figure 5. Blighted buildings. Photographs by A. Kautzman, 2016.

Transportation infrastructure. Looking at a map of Danville, Figure 1, provides

a visual reference for the city’s awkward, or indirect, highway connections that were

referenced by several participants. They noted that there are highways to and from

Danville, but they are not major interstates. Connections to large interstate highways

(such as I-64 or I-95) from Danville require travel on roads that are, at times, two lanes.

Danville is not a port and only has a local airport. Its tobacco and textile industries were

supported by railroad lines, which although are still active, have suffered significant

decline. Participant 611136 discussed an opportunity for establishment of a distribution

center in the region. Danville-Pittsylvania County was a finalist but lost to a location in

North Carolina because it “is on the interstate and we’re not.”

Highway 29 comes through Danville and is a four-lane divided highway going

south; it has also been designated “future Interstate 785” for years. About an hour away is

Greensboro, North Carolina, which hosts interchanges with three major interstates (I-40,

I-85, and I-73). The beltway around Greensboro is scheduled to connect to Highway 29 at

a point that is not interstate grade, leaving a 5.1 mile-gap before vehicles reach interstate-

grade road up to Danville. The ability to upgrade that 5-mile stretch rests with the state of

North Carolina; but North Carolina’s decision impacts Danville’s ability to attract

industry dependent on surface transport. Participant 611136 indicated that having spoken

with officials, they are not motivated to make that upgrade, which would position

Danville to compete more directly with North Carolina communities for economic

development opportunities.

The City of Danville accepted that its transportation infrastructure is inadequate

compared to other communities in the larger region by limited highway access, limited

airport access, and no maritime port. Directly relevant to research question 3, recognizing

and accepting the limitation, enables policymakers to explore alternatives and solutions.

Use consultants to provide expertise. Some participants discussed, and

documents supported, that city policymakers and policy implementers have expertise and

extensive experience in working with economic development in this region. They also

have hired consultants to provide in-depth expertise in certain areas. “We’ve got to study

best, next practices and bring in experts. We’re experts, but we need to have that

influence from outside.” (P612941).

One example cited by Participant 619224 was commissioning a housing study of

the city in which consultants looked at every house in the city to report on the health of

the neighborhood, even on a house-by-house level. The study identified some previously

recognized issues (oversupply of degraded housing stock) and additional issues, such as

“dead zones” around key areas, such as near the university and hospital that could be

used more wisely and productively (City Council 12.16.2014). Another example is the

use of a retail consultant to evaluate what is already present and to identify additional

opportunities (City Council 2.5.2015).

Accepting that there is value in objective, unbiased evaluations is part of the

process the city has used and has been identified as a factor in raising awareness of the

need for policymaking (research question 3).

Policy trigger. One policymaker (P619230) explained that when industry

declined, Danville was left with a larger population of poor and fewer people of

affluence.

What you’ve seen with the demographics in Danville is a lot of our middle and

upper-class have left because when jobs went away they moved where jobs were.

We no longer had corporate headquarters here …. A lot of those people left all at

once. The people in poverty became greater and the people in affluence got

smaller. (P619230)

Participants described these conditions and considered them as direct triggers for

policymaking (P617123, P617138, P618139). Danville City Council minutes reflect

discussion around the city’s priorities in 2012, which included “stimulate new private

sector jobs and investment; eradicate property blight and stem Danville’s population

decline by retaining and attracting more middle and upper income residents.” The city

has been described as having an economic divide; a small upper class with a large lower

class with very few in between. A 2014 newspaper article summarizing the report of a

consultant reported that the city’s population needs to be more diversified and “the

middle class needs to be grown in Danville” (Morrison, 2014b). City council minutes

from December 2014 state that Danville needs to attract employed working-class and

middle-class professionals and that housing is part of its economic development

challenge.

Many of the participants interviewed cited crime as another trigger for policy;

several linked crime problems in the city to the blighted buildings and high poverty in the

city. “With regard to dilapidated property, we found that there’s a lot of crime. A lot of

people conducting bad deals in that property” (P618139). The shooting of a popular

doctor walking home after work put violent crime in the news and stirred community

action as well as policy action. One participant, a policy influencer, noted that recognition

of a crisis leads to people think about what needs to be done.

Every Friday night we have a walk somewhere in the city that has been the

hospital stepping up. It started programs and some workshops. A lot of people

don’t seem to think there’s an issue until there’s a sense of crisis or urgency and

then people start to look at what do we need to do in our communities. (P619230)

Acceptance of the new reality motivated the city to create new economic

development policies and its citizens to engage in efforts to bring about social change in

the community. Acceptance enabled policymakers to move the city forward by

recognizing the need for change and focusing the efforts.

Resilience

According to the American Psychological Association (n.d.), resilience is the

ability to adapt and bounce back from adversity, trauma, and other sources of stress. In

this study, all the participants discussed actions and policies that demonstrate the

resilience of the City of Danville and its leaders.

Participant 611122, a policy implementer, discussed two opposite philosophies:

Do not do anything and let the free market determine if a community is successful versus

do everything you can to make your city competitive. “For a community, like Danville,

we’re somewhat isolated, we have to be aggressive if we want to see any success”

(P611122). In Danville, city leaders chose resilience by seeking strategies, making

policies, and implementing changes intended to not only stop the city’s decline, but to

reverse it and improve the city’s fortunes.

City in transition. After its main industries died, and the population declined, the

city found itself with a declining student population in its schools, spread across more

school buildings than the budget could support. City Council minutes from 2012 through

2014 show discussions of closing elementary schools and combining the magnet high

school back into the general high school. Ultimately, students were consolidated, the

magnet school was kept separate, and two empty school buildings were turned over to the

city by 2014. These buildings were declared as surplus property and put up for sale (City

Council meeting May 2015). Council meeting minutes reveal that along with schools,

other city operations such as library branches, fire stations, and the armory were reviewed

for restructure or combination. Participant 611122 summarized the city’s approach as

adapting over time, seeking better or new ways to manage.

A policy implementer, Participant 611122, noted that because the city had

established resources to assist its citizens, it is easier to live in poverty in Danville than in

other places. There is easy access to social services, affordable housing readily available,

and shopping and medical care within walking distance or a short bus ride from almost

anywhere within the city. These factors make Danville an attractive location for people in

poverty, worsening the challenge the city already faces. Participant 618139, a

policymaker, discussed the factors evidencing the city’s decline and the effects of a city

with aging infrastructure. At the same time as the city was addressing the need to replace

water lines and gas lines, it also was looking to improve other aspects before they started

to decline. Specifically, the participant mentioned finding the “right” presidents for the

private university and the local community college, as well as the development of the

River District. So as economic hardships accumulate, and employable citizens migrate

away and people struggling to get by are attracted in, the city leaders chose to mitigate

some issues while making focused efforts on the central business district (now known as

the River District) and its rehabilitation to create growth. Participant 168139 compared

the central business district to a home’s living room. If your living room is a mess and in

disrepair, no one will want to come in and stay; but if your living room is clean and

attractive and in good repair, people will choose to spend time there.

With the city experiencing a prolonged economic decline that led to the

population decline and increase of poverty and crime, and the city’s policy response, it

appears that Danville is a city in transition.

Learning from experience. Two policy implementers (P67123, P610435)

discussed that sometimes policymaking means recovering from your own earlier policy

mistakes. Not every effort to improve circumstances works. In 2013, the city formed

Danville United (City Council meeting October 2013), a new organization intended to

“create a community of all races in Danville” (P612941). The vision was that members of

the community would come together in a true grass-roots movement to unite the city’s

residents to foster tolerant, friendly, and welcoming attitudes towards people of differing

races, religions, and economic status (Thibodeau, 2014a). After a couple years of

meetings, the organization disbanded, and according to one policy influencer, may have

left minorities in Danville feeling disillusioned with the community and seeing the

experience as an example of community leaders not living up to their promises to support

the black community (P612941).

Another area in which Danville has learned from its past mistakes is in the use of

incentives for new businesses moving to or opening in the city. Among the resources

available for economic development identified by several participants has been funding

from several state and local foundations (primarily the Virginia Tobacco Commission

and Danville Regional Foundation).

Early in the economic development efforts, the city entered into arrangements for

grants to businesses interested in opening or moving to Danville. These arrangements

often included acting as guarantor to repay the foundations if the businesses did not meet

investment and employment goals and failed to repay (P617123, P610435).

Unfortunately, the city chose to do its own due diligence on companies without expert

assistance; the result has been that a number of those firms never reached investment or

employment targets (P617123, P611136). Rather than give up or cut back on economic

development incentives, Danville’s leaders made several decisions. First, the

relationships with the funding organizations are extremely important, so the city has been

making the repayments for at least six unsuccessful ventures (identified through

newspaper articles and city council minutes). Second, the decision was made to sue some

of the offending companies and principals to try to recover the lost funding (Morrison,

2014a). Third, an international law firm was retained and is now used to “vet” each new

company before the city extends an incentive package or aids in securing funds from

foundations or the state (P617123). Finally, but not least, as noted by nearly all

participants, Danville continues to aggressively pursue economic growth and

development and continues to offer incentives for current businesses to expand and others

to choose the Danville area as their new location.

Bringing people together. To build a sense of community and bring the city

residents together, Danville holds several annual events. All of which provide positive

experiences for people enduring the changes in the city, both positive and negative.

P611122, a policy implementer, noted that many of these events sell out every year, such

as ShrimpFest and BrewFest. Each year there is the Festival in the Park and a series of

summer concerts at the Carrington

Pavilion.

The theme of resilience crosses three research questions. The city is in transition

from a declining city with many challenges to becoming a city that moves forward,

rebuilding and revitalizing, starting with its living room. The resilience demonstrated

through its policies addresses the first research question. The resilience shown by

Danville in its efforts to transform itself and learn from its own mistakes in earlier policy

decisions and actions is relevant to research question 3. Sometimes the trigger for

policymaking is the need to correct policy. Finally, the resilience shown by continuing to

bring people together as a community for positive events and experiences relates to the

second research question of creating positive social change.

Building on Strengths

Every participant during their interviews noted the relationships of using the

strong assets of the Danville area to create stronger communities and economic

development. Assets frequently identified by participants included funding incentives and

tax credits, the Dan River, historic interests, citizen involvement, access to education and

workforce training, and recreation opportunities. The theme of building on strengths

touches on all four research questions.

Citizen involvement. Policymaker P611021 noted that he gets to speak to people

at events and through social media so that he hears a lot of ideas and what the priorities

are in ways that are less intimidating than standing in front of city council in a meeting,

although many do that as well. Policy influencer P619230 mentioned that the size of the

community enables people to have conversations with policymakers, to raise concerns,

and to propose changes in informal ways. This participant also discussed how after the

100

shooting of a popular physician during a hold-up attempt, the community now comes

together every Friday night for a community walk to protest crime and reclaim the

neighborhoods. Participant 617123 provided an example of citizen involvement that

directly makes a positive difference is a group of residents who worked to build a

mountain bike trail. The city allowed access to the property, but invested no funds or

resources; the volunteer group created it.

Citizen access to policymakers and input into policy were identified repeatedly

during participant interviews as a positive aspect of Danville. They also expressed a

desire to have more residents involved, including sitting on boards and commissions.

Riverwalk. One of the most popular city assets, identified by several participants,

is the Dan River. The Riverwalk was built in segments, and enables residents to enjoy the

river and nature as they walk, jog, or ride their bikes (P615137). Much of the work to

create it was done through the city public works and park and recreation departments.

Surveys and feedback from the residents and many visitors are that it is a valuable quality

of life asset to the city and to the River District (P611122, P617123, P618139).

Increasing the value of the trail as a city asset is the fact that many aspects of Danville’s

rebirth can be seen while walking it: the new internationally recognized YMCA, the

revitalized River District buildings, the events facilities at the City Market and Carrington

Pavilion.

101

Figure 6. Riverwalk entrances from the river district. Photographs by A. Kautzman,

2016.

Industrial parks. Through partnerships, Danville has designated and developed

four industrial parks in and near the city that house major entities, such as IKEA and the

Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (P617123). The industrial parks enable the

city to offer ground-up opportunity locations, or shell buildings, that can be custom

finished to accommodate the business, as was done with Nestle (P611122). Because there

are several locations/parks with varying options for building, the city has flexibility to

accommodate the needs of businesses interested in expanding or locating in the area.

Entrepreneur-friendly. New business can be brought into a community from

elsewhere or it can be developed within the community. Making a community

entrepreneur friendly has the potential to improve its economic conditions.

This approach led the City of Danville to partner with the surrounding county to

create the Dan River Business Development Center – a business incubator to help new

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business owners start and learn to operate their businesses (P618139). The Danville

Regional Foundation has supported several other initiatives that aid by providing funding

for start-ups, resources in terms of skill development, access to expertise, and locating a

property to house the new business (P611136). Another participant noted that by

developing entrepreneurs within the community, the people and the money stays in the

community rather than searching for opportunities elsewhere (P619224). An example

was given of a key leader in a relatively new company that is seeing some success

choosing to mentor a young high school student with a business idea. As such, the city is

starting to see entrepreneurs mentoring new entrepreneurs (P619230).

Preserving history. As the last capital of the Confederacy, Danville and its

residents have a strong sense of history and pride that extends to the industries that

provided for the city for so many years. Preserving that history as part of its economic

development activities also reminds the citizens of their community roots.

The central business district and the tobacco warehouse district are registered as

historic districts (P617123). As part of the neighborhood revitalization process, the city is

paying attention to the old homes that have deteriorated, determining which can be saved

and which cannot. “You have to pick what you can do and what you can’t do” (P619224).

When North Carolina ended its historic tax credit program, the construction

companies that specialized in historic preservation work became available to invest in

projects in Danville, such as converting tobacco warehouses to modern lofts while

preserving the building and cobblestone streets. With those projects showing success,

local investors are following that lead by purchasing and rehabilitating historic properties

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(P611136). In honor of the city’s heritage, the local historical society, History United,

along with a group of interested citizens rescued and restored the “HOME” portion of the

old Dan River Fabrics sign (P611021). The sign used to be on the white mill downtown

that greeted people with “Home of Dan River Fabrics.” Each letter was located and

repaired so that the HOME sign could be installed on a wall along Main Street as part of

the holiday light show in 2016.

Using positive attributes. One way the city builds on its strength is by recognizing

and using its positive attributes to attract new residents and present a positive quality of

life to companies. One policymaker discussed that that some people choose to live in

Danville because of its lack of traffic congestion, opportunities to engage in social

activities, and overall enjoyable quality of life (P618139). One employer noted that the

weather in Danville is an advantage because there are almost no severe weather closures

(Thibodeau, 2013). A beautiful river runs through the middle of the city, that with the

addition of a few cutouts, becomes a great place to canoe and kayak. (P619224). The city

has a strong information infrastructure: a fiber network, transmission redundancy, and it

is the location of the serial number three Cray XMT2 supercomputer. Participants noted

other attributes contributing to the desirability of the city, both as a place to live and as a

place to locate a business. These attributes include: easy access to higher education, with

both a four-year univrsity and community college, many parks throughout the city, a

baseball “farm team” – the Danville Braves, several museums, a science center, and a

myriad of activites and events.

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The theme of building on strengths applies to all four research questions. In many

ways it addresses the question of how the city can use policy to address its challenges

(research question 1). The riverwalk has been cited as a direct contribtion to the quality of

life in the community while the support of entrepreneurs supports economic

development. The focus on preserving history has contributed to both economic and

community development. Positive social change (the focus of the second research

question) is achieved, in part, through making use of the community’s positive attributes.

Citizen involvement helps trigger policymaking by bringing issues and concerns to the

attention of policymakers. Finally, a measure of success can be seen in the industrial

parks the city has developed.

Economic and Community Development Policies are Interwoven

Closely related. One policy influencer stated that community development and

economic development must work “hand-in-hand,” since one seeks to improve life in the

city and the other wants to present the city in its best light. The successful interplay of

these policies and their success not only improves the city, but it also makes Danville an

attractive and viable place for outside investors (P610435). Another policy influencer

noted that community development supports long-term economic success. As an

example, having a strong advocacy program through a merchant’s association will help

strengthen the revived River District. They brought the “Main Street” program back and

were successful in having Danville certified by the state as a Main Street City, which

makes additional funding available (P611136). Another noted that the two sets of policies

are so interwoven that it is not possible to separate them (P619230). The common ground

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is socioeconomic status: economic development seeks to raise it by increasing

employment and rebuilding the middle class. The community responds to magnify the

positive effect. When the city works with residents to repair their homes and to increase

home ownership, they noted those residents began talking to others about fixing up and

“picking up” their properties, as well as reporting suspicious and criminal activities; this

policy created additional positive outcomes with improvements in home quality, safety,

and neighborhood stabilization (P617138).

The theme of the interwoven nature of economic and community development

policies enlightens the first two of the research questions. The data collected relates to the

use of policy to address quality of life and to creating positive social change through the

interaction of these policies.

Change children’s lives. Several participants discussed that the hope for the

economic future depends on the children who are in elementary school or younger now.

The idea is that by changing children’s lives now, it will have a positive change on the

city in the future. One participant discussed Smart Beginnings, a program that focuses on

preschoolers and instills the idea that they can be great and become anything they want to

be. It sets the ideal (P615137). If children grow up with the expectation of staying in

school and going to college and building professional careers, they will positively

influence the economic future of the city. This sub-theme directly illustrates the use of

policy to create positive social change within the community (research question 2).

Policy can divide the city. A mistake in policy can have unintended negative

outcomes; one example was described by Participant 612941. After much public

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discussion and review, the city council voted to have all flags other than the US, state,

and city flags removed from all public property. As the last capital of the southern

confederacy, a large confederate flag had flown in front of the Sutherlin Mansion—now a

museum—for many years. The resolution meant that the flag had to be removed. “No one

ever dreamed it was going to cause people to come along and start putting up the

confederate flag everywhere” (P612941). There were those who thought the flag

belonged at the museum, some who felt it should be gone, and now those who are

exercising their rights to put the flags on their property in protest. Visitors and

prospective businesses will see them and question what our community values are. The

policy related to presenting the city in a certain light to attract business became the

incentive for a community campaign and citizen action.

Policy created in support of economic development and an awareness of the

different meanings attached to the symbol of the flag affected the community in

unexpected ways.

Keeping Focus

Several participants noted the importance of keeping focused on the goals and

working towards change. “Probably social change is the most difficult part of growth.

You get into a cycle and it’s difficult to break.” (P615137)

The intersection of economic and community development creates social

change. Development is a continuous activity, which always has room for further

improvement, was the perspective presented by one participant (P618139). Economic

development attracts people to the city, bringing in jobs and increasing the tax base.

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Community development builds stronger neighborhoods, forces improvements in

education and healthcare, and influences how people feel about themselves and where

they live. According to Participant 611136, building educational pipelines through

community development efforts will enable people to reach prosperity and will connect

those pipelines to economic development in the region.

Examples of programs that create these feeder pipelines include Smart

Beginnings, which works with preschool children to prepare them for long-term success

(P612941) and the Gentlemen by Choice Club at the public high school. The club is

founded on the idea that young men can project a positive image of themselves and their

peers; it provides opportunities, such as service, mentoring, leadership development, and

networking and career development. The club members engage in public speaking and

mentor middle school students (Staff, 2014). Another is the Engaged Employers initiative

led by Averett University that encourages employers to provide paid time off so

employees can engage in volunteer work to benefit the community. When people

(students and employees) are engaged in serving the community, they become a part of it

and stay to make it better (P612941).

The use of policies that affect both community and economic development to

create positive social change within the city directly relate to research question 2.

Workforce development. To change the local economics and address poverty, the

nature of the available workforce must change. Participants 619224 and 611

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described the situation as beyond just needing jobs, but the city residents need living-

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wage jobs that include healthcare and retirement benefits. To do that, the city must have

both the amenities for a quality of life but also a workforce to fill the jobs.

You have to get an industry that fits our community; it wouldn’t do our citizens a

lot of good if we brought in an industry or business and we couldn’t provide any

workers for them. So, we’ve got to select those businesses we feel we can supply

their workforce, or develop their workforce. (P615137)

It used to be that manufacturing jobs required no education, just a strong back;

however, with technology, it is now the knowledge and ability to use and fix the

technology that matters. So, the outlook needs to shift to understanding the role of

education. Participant 617123 believes the DRF has helped the community greatly by

providing access to funding for programs such as the RN to BSN program through

Averett University and the advanced manufacturing programs at the community college

and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. However, the people need to

understand they hold the responsibility for taking advantage of the opportunities to get

“trained up” (P611122).

Creating a new mindset in the community. One challenge that Danville must

overcome is the mentality of a mill town. Participant P611136 describes it as people

waiting for another big company to come in and give them jobs and run the city the way

it used to be. Too many residents do not believe in education because they are waiting for

a job like they used to have. Another participant expressed that citizens must get involved

in creating social change. If representatives of a potential new business interact with

residents and those residents are talking about how terrible it is to live here, Danville is

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not going to get that business and its jobs. There is an old saying: You are what people

think you are. Danville needs to turn negative criticism into a positive attitude (P615137).

Participants described several approaches taken by the city to create a more

positive outlook for the city. One was the demise of the Downtowner. The Downtowner

was an old hotel on Main Street that had undergone several attempts at revitalization

without success. It had become a symbol of failure, sitting right in the middle of

downtown on Main Street. The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) bought the

property and tore it down (P611136). Another approach was to redevelop targeted

neighborhoods; Participant 617138 described the transition. The city would provide

resources for qualifying homeowners to have their houses repaired and the yards cleaned

and mowed. That resident would then talk to neighbors about fixing their homes, cutting

the grass, getting the junk out of the yard, and so on. Pride returned to the neighborhood.

The city also provides opportunities for people to purchase homes, on affordable terms –

they make small loan payments and keep the home in good repair for a few years; the

loan is then forgiven, and they own the home. Participant 610435 described it as a game-

changer for the families because they develop pride and believe that life can get better;

the children have a renewed interest in learning.

The use of policy to change the way citizens think about the city, education and

future opportunity, and even their neighborhood is a way of creating positive change

within the community (Research Question 2).

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Continual Assessment

Development is a process. Measuring progress to assure the city is staying on

track for improvement is part of that process. The theme of assessment (and measuring

impact) provide insight to research question 4 regarding the effectiveness of the city’s

policymaking efforts.

Measuring the impact. Economic development is highly stressful because people

have big expectations and are always looking for another big announcement (P611122).

The city will keep trying to solve its poverty problems. The indicators of success are job

creation numbers, increased tax base, sales tax, and meals tax (P611122). Crime is

another metric to watch; people commit crimes when they have no hope to escape

poverty. Getting high school completion rates up and teenage pregnancy rates down are

also goals for the community (P612941). Another participant (P619230) discussed

measuring impact based on achievement of the “American Dream.” But people’s idea of

what that dream is varies, so measuring the achievement is difficult. Is it measured by

employment or income? Or is it measured by whether a family has adequate food and

healthcare access? Participant 611021 considers employment levels, median income,

population growth, as well as business and tax revenues as key measures of impact along

with “mood radar” ―how do people feel about being here. “There is more of a sense of

optimism now than there was in years past” (P611021).

Success stories but not enough impact. There have been some successes, and

some families are taking advantage of the services to help their children; there is still

more to do. The city has too much poverty and too little of a middle class (P611122).

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Looking at statistics, Danville has improved its unemployment rate, seen hotel revenues

rise, and people are choosing to return to downtown to live in the River District. Now the

challenge is to make a real impact to take the success from the River District and expand

it city-wide. The precision machining program has a 100% job placement rate, so that

program needs to be made accessible to more people by taking it to the city’s high school

(P611021). Danville has been successful in getting several large companies to locate in

the city and county, but now there needs to be targeted effort put into identifying what

their needs are so that the city can support them, keep them, and help them grow. Not all

manufacturing jobs have the advanced technology; some employers need entry level,

machine operators (P619230).

Partnerships: More Than a City

Partnerships between local government and private sector entities or other

governments have been a way to maximize strength and increase investment. Some other

identified benefits include reduced development risk, improved efficiency and

implementation timelines, and improved service to the community (Conrad, 2012).

Partnerships do not always go as planned and require flexibility, perseverence, and an

understanding of stakeholders and their perspectives in order to succeed (Stachelski,

2017). The partnership approach to economic and community development, as well as

funding for projects and policies, provides information relevant to research qestions 2 and

3: creating social change and triggering policymaking.

One of the most important partnerships the City of Danville has is with the

surrounding Pittsylvania County. According to Participant 618139, that alliance was a

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challenge to form since in the mid-1980s the city annexed 17 square miles of land and

10,000 people from the county, which created tension between the city and county.

Nevertheless, the need for an improved economy enabled the two governments to work

together to create the Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA), which owns several

industrial parks. This partnership works well enough that it has been noted as an example

of model cooperation (P618139 & P611122).

A second important partner with Danville is the Danville Regional Foundation

(DRF), which worked closely with the city to create the River District (P610435). In

2010, the DRF organized a trip to Greenville, South Carolina, for members of the city

council and key city employees; their experiences in Greenville inspired the vision for

Danville’s River District (P619224, P611136, & P618139). The DRF works with the city

to provide funding for economic development projects and incentives (P611136). Averett

University and the DRF were early partners with the city in converting a tobacco

warehouse in the River District into offices and classrooms to house the university’s

school of nursing and the adult education division. Other partnerships with community

groups, companies, and the Chamber of Commerce have resulted in a bike repair station

on the Riverwalk (Kiwanis Club), a dancing waters fountain on the downtown plaza

(Japan Tobacco International) (City Council minutes April 2012), and other benefits to

the community.

Regional approach. Working with surrounding governments to create a regional

approach to attracting new business development and addressing challenges is a

necessity. The city is surrounded by Pittsylvania County in Virginia and Caswell County

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in the state of North Carolina to the south, so working with several other local

governments and two state governments is essential. Many people in Danville work in

North Carolina or in the county and vice versa. The governments in the area have to

cooperate with each other if they are going to be able to compete with metropolitan areas

for jobs and funding (P611021). If a business locates in Caswell County, it benefits

Danville residents who get jobs there, so a regional approach makes more sense than

going it alone (P615137). A study investigating whether regional economic development

partnerships in metropolitan areas are effective in improving certain indicators of

economic health. The study linked adoption of a REDP with increased personal income

per capita and increased firm creation (Chen, Feiock, & Hsieh, 2015). Whether or not

these correlations are found in micropolitan areas remains to be seen.

Engaging in partnerships to further economic and community development goals

relates to research question 2 and the creation of positive social change. Participants

provided several convincing examples.

Funding makes the difference. Funding emerged as a significant factor in

policymaking. One Danville policy implementer (617123) described the sale of the

Danville regional hospital, which enabled the establishment of the Danville Regional

Foundation, as the most significant event affecting economic development and quality of

life in the area. Participants 617123 and 611122 also identified another source of funding

as the Virginia Tobacco Commission, which was established by legislation and managed

by its Governor-appointed board. These two foundations have provided a great deal of

funding, which enabled the city’s economic and community development activities. One

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of the largest was the internationally recognized new YMCA built overlooking the Dan

River. Policy without funding does not make a difference (P617123). But as the city’s

efforts began to take root in the River District, private investors began follow. Participant

619224 noted that small entrepreneurs are responsible for bringing restaurants, coffee

shops, a yoga studio, and an orthopedic treatment center to the city’s downtown River

District. “It’s gone from a government and nonprofit-primed pump to being driven by

investment dollars” (P611136).

Without the assets, all the policies in the world don’t get you where you need to

go. But which comes first? I think the assets drive the policy…If I have enough

financial strength I can afford a few mistakes in policy, but if I don’t have any

financial strength, the best policies in the world won’t get me there. (P617123)

The presence of funding sources to support economic development efforts in the

region encourages and supports the city’s policymaking efforts. In essence, the access to

funding that enables the city to put policy into practice is relevant as a trigger to

policymaking under research question 3.

External Influence

Complexity theory recognizes that an organism or entity responds and adapts to

external influences from its environment and that it also exerts influence back on the

environment that can, in turn, influence outward change (Holland, 2014). Data supporting

this theme provides information and examples to answer research questions 2 and 3.

Looking outward for inspiration. One way that external influences affected

Danville’s policies was through its intentional outward exploration, seeking examples of

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successful policies, strategies, or inspiration. One policymaker noted that seeing other

communities that have successful outcomes encourages Danville leaders to ask if that

strategy could work here (P611021). As a participant in the Virginia Municipal League,

city leaders saw what another locality had achieved and adapted it to fit the Danville

culture and needs. The designation of a tourism zone was a result of seeing its success

elsewhere (P611021).

The most impactful example of purposeful external influence is the city’s River

District. Several participants (618139, 617123, 619224, and 611136) described a trip the

city council took to visit Greensville, South Carolina, another city that had experienced

devastating changes when the textiles and tobacco industries left. That metropolitan city

remade its downtown into a pedestrian-friendly area with schools, housing,

entertainment, and businesses. Keeping that model in mind, Danville was inspired to

envision a new downtown now known as the River District.

These examples provide support for the influence of external models as a policy

trigger for small cities (Research Question 3).

National and state actions, events, and circumstances. One participant noted that

a change in state government in about 2012, correlated to an emphasis on economic

development and education in communities (a shift away from an earlier focus on only

the larger metropolitan areas). Now there is a better awareness of community

development (P610435). There were other positive policy influences from the state as

well. The state legislature might pass a law that makes certain conditions more favorable

or provide some funding that the city might be able to access. So, the legislature “could

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influence some of what you do” (P619224). For example, the state has passed a bill that

makes it legal to produce industrial hemp, which can be produced wherever tobacco can

be grown. So, for the Danville area, the state created an opportunity for Danville and its

partners in economic development to attract new business (P611021).

Less positive influences noted included changes to funding formulas (P619230)

and unfunded mandates set by the state with the costs of meeting them left to localities

(P617138). Events elsewhere in the country can create policy impacts in the city as well.

“The protests and things at political rallies, that affects Danville. The mass killing in San

Bernardino, that affects Danville.” Events like those cause the city to evaluate how well

protected the city workers are, and to make security changes to minimize the risk of such

events happening in Danville (P615137).

Finally, the overall economy was cited as an influence in policymaking and

economic development. One policymaker (P615137) correlated a bad economy with little

interest from businesses in locating here or expanding. Nearly all participants identified

the overall economic decline and recession as incentives to develop economic and

community development policies and initiatives.

Economic and community development policy in Danville is directly influenced

by decisions made at the state and federal level, whether it is in response to the creation

of new opportunities or to address the challenge of added burdens. The influence of

actions by the state and federal governments often trigger policymaking on a local level.

These issues are directly relevant to research question 3.

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Danville changes state law. Danville has influenced state law in order to move

forward with some of its development initiatives; Participant 611021 provided an

example. The city has an oversupply of housing that is falling into decay. While the city

can condemn the buildings, and tear them down, there has been no legal mechanism in

place for the city to seize ownership of the land and turn it back into a productive

property. The city looked to the external environment to find a solution and consequently

proposed a land bank based on the success of that approach in Michigan. For Danville to

proceed, however, state law needed to be changed. By working with the state

representative, a land-bank bill was passed and localities in Virginia can now create land

banks to acquire and remarket decaying properties (P611021). Another instance relates to

the city’s work toward attracting industries by developing several industrial parks. State

law created a circular bind since it required a company to commit to the property before it

could be permitted for the development of improvements, but tenants were unwilling to

commit to properties that were not permitted (P615137). Again, the City of Danville

pursued influencing lawmakers at the state and federal level to change requirements

(P615137).

Globalization. Participants saw both positive and negative impacts from

globalization. One policy influencer made the point that whether people believe it is good

or bad, it must be recognized and dealt with as a matter of policy that Danville is part of a

global competitive economy (P61136).

This region competes in a global economy. Our competition is not South Boston,

it is South Korea; it is not Martinsville, it is Malaysia. If we are to continue to

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compete successfully, we have to build a policy and practice framework that cuts

across borders, that builds new competitive advantage, that builds a much more

diversified economy, and I think we are making solid progress on all of that.

(P611136)

This global connection is evidenced by the presence of businesses in Danville that

represent ten foreign countries (P618139). That global diversity requires policy support to

create a city welcoming to international investment. “It’s also cultural diversity, cultural

enrichment, acceptance, learning from others” (P618139). A “China strategy” is a key

part of the city’s economic development efforts, as has been evidenced by outreach visits

to China by city officials, the hiring of a consultant, and development of marketing

materials in Chinese (City Council minutes February 2015).

While policymakers and influencers may see benefits for the city from

globalization, others realize that the citizens of Danville see it as negative factor in the

city. Many residents view the decline of Dan River (textiles) as being caused by the

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (P619230). This perspective of the

globalization is demonstrated by participant 617123 who attributed the consistently high

level of poverty and stagnant median income per capita to “globalization, which cost two

major industries; Danville lost two Fortune 500 businesses – totally, they’re gone.”

Achievement

The real issue is whether the economic and community development efforts have

been successful in addressing the effects of poverty in Danville. “Danville is

withstanding a lot of challenges better than a lot of cities our size” (P618139).

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The River District. “The downtown wasn’t like this three years ago. The

apartments, condominiums, and businesses wasn’t like this three years ago” (P618139).

Nearly every participant discussed the rebirth of downtown as the River District as a

major achievement. On Bridge Street, where there used to be empty warehouses, there

are now offices, apartments, condominium lofts, and an activity area with the Science

Center, Community Market, and Carrington Pavilion (concert venue), all along a restored

cobblestone street. Participant 611122 and others provided a financial overview of the

River District project. The city invested $30 million mostly into enhanced streetscape,

purchasing, and preparing properties for sale. Private investment in the River District has

been about $100-$110 million. Participant 611136 stated that the housing projects in The

River District have come online at about 85% leased and consistently remain full. The

population in The River District five years ago was about 200, and now it is more than

2,000 (P619224). Those residents use the Riverwalk to access the new YMCA to work-

out and then can walk to a number of restaurants within a few blocks of home for a nice

dinner (P619224).

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Figure 7. Bridge Street, The River District, Danville, Virginia. Photographs taken by A.

Kautzman, 2016. Top left is the former Dan River R&D building undergoing

rehabilitation into an orthopedic medical center. Top right is a former tobacco warehouse

now occupied by the Danville Regional Foundation and Averett University’s School of

Nursing. Center photos show warehouses converted to lofts and the restored cobblestone

street. Bottom left is the Danville Science Center. Bottom right is the Community

Market, which also serves as an event venue.

Some success, making progress. Participant 618139 explained that the economic

condition had been severe, so it takes a while to recover; however, many policies and

programs are paying off. The city is more attractive with blighted properties being

removed. Streetscape efforts are changing the face of downtown, and people are starting

to move in instead of out of Danville. Participant 611122 noted that Danville is an

affordable place to live with nice amenities and a good quality of life; there are

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educational opportunities available beyond high school, both vocational and academic,

and services and medical care are easily accessible. Those are attributes of success. The

city has good policies in place, is working to attract living-wage jobs, and has the

education and training programs to develop the workforce to fill them. Given time, it

should come together successfully (P619224). The Smart Beginnings program has taken

the number of children who were not prepared for kindergarten from 31% to 14% —

“that’s success” (P611136).

On the other hand, Participant 611136 indicated that there was only limited

success. Yes, the city has developed great recreation opportunities and has wonderful

educational opportunities, but poverty and its related problems are still present. There are

good policies and programs in place, but the city should not rely solely on policymakers

to make the change; rather, more citizens need to take responsibility for making Danville

a better place.

Most participants painted achievement to-date as a work in progress. There are

other goals related to employment, reduction of households in poverty, and an increase in

arts and culture discussed by participants that still lie in the future.

Recognition and awards. During the time period studied, Danville received a

number of awards and recognitions acknowledging the quality of its efforts and some of

the outcomes. In 2012, Danville was recognized for the Best Economic Development

Plan for Cities with a population of 40,000 to 100,000 because of for The River District’s

success (City Council Meeting August 2012). The Virginia Municipal League gave

Danville the 2014 Achievement Award for The River District improvements. It won The

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Digital Cities Award, a national competition, in 2011 (City Council Meeting March

2011). The Virginia legislature designated 15 miles of the Dan River through the city as

part of the State’s Scenic River Act (City Council Meeting October 2014). Several

participants also discussed that the magnet high school has been named a Blue-Ribbon

School several years running.

While there is no direct, demonstrable link between a specific policy and a

statistical outcome, looking at some key indicators over time and alongside those for the

state provides context for the policymaking and actions of the city’s leaders. Periodically

the DRF gathers statistics and publishes a regional report card that provides information

on the education, health, and socioeconomic indicators of Danville, several other cities,

and the state of Virginia. Table 5 includes information on selected measures related to

education, health, and socioeconomic status. Even though in most areas Danville lags

behind the state as a whole, it does show signs of stabilization. Improvement can be noted

in measures related to education, although it remains to be seen if it can be sustained.

Data from the US Census Bureau provides a historical overview of population

changes over time for Danville. From 1960 through the 1980s, the population was

relatively stable. The 1990 census showed a peak population of 53,056, with a marked

decline subsequently reflecting the attrition attributed to the city’s loss of tobacco and

textile industries. The 2020 census will provide some indication if the changes in the city

will have stopped or reversed the loss of residents. Table 6 presents the reported

population for each census.

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Table 5

Selected Statistics for Danville and Virginia.

City of Danville Virginia

Indicator 2010 2014 2017 2010 2014 2017

Education

PALS Pass Rate (K) 75% (2009) 82.8% (2013) 81% (2016) 86.1% (2009) 87.5% (2013)

86.2%

(2016)

HS Drop Out 11.5% (2010)

8.9%

(2012)

2.3%

(2016)

2.1%

(2010) 1.9% (2012)

5.3%
(2016)

Associates Degree 4.8% (2000)
9.1%

(2012)
9.4%

(2015)
5.6%

(2000) 6.9% (2012)

7.5%
(2016)

Bachelors or Higher 13.9% (2000) 16.5% (2012)

17.2%

(2016) 29.6% (2000) 34.7% (2012)

37.0%

(2016)

Health

Adult Obesity 28% (2010)
33.0%
(2014)

35.0%
(2016)

25%
(2010) 28% (2014)

27%
(2016)

Adult Smoking 27% (2010)

24%

(2014)

22.0%

(2016)

20%

(2010) 18% (2014)

20.0%
(2016)

Socioeconomic

Median Household Income $33,880 (2007) $31,609 (2012)

33,600

(2015) $68,467 (2007)

$66,061

(2012)

$65,015
(2015)

Percent at Poverty Level 24% (2007) 26% (2012)

23.6%

(2016)

9.9%

(2009) 11.1% (2012)

11.2%
(2016)

Percent of Children in

Poverty 37% (2010) 41% (2014)

37.0%
(2016)

13%

(2013) 16.0% (2014)

16.0%
(2016)

Homeowner Rate 55.6% (2007) 54.2% (2012)

54.0%

(2015) 69.5% (2007) 67.8% (2012)

66.2%
(2015)

Source: Compiled from Danville Regional Foundation, 2010, 2014, & 2016 Regional Report

Cards.

Table 6

City of Danville Population

Census Year 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Population 35,066 46,577 46,391 45,642 53,056 48,411 43,055

Source: Compiled from U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

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Relation of the Themes to the Research Questions

Summary of Findings for Question 1

The Danville case study provided several examples of ways in which

policymaking was used to address quality of life challenges. Resilience is the trait that

allows an entity to experience trauma and to recover from it. Danville is a city in

transition struggling to offset the effects of declines in industry, employment, population,

and housing quality. The use of policy in a flexible manner, adapting over time, has

enabled the city to balance slowing the decline into poverty (fighting blight) with

improving and developing new assets, such as the revived downtown River District.

One of the themes developed indicated that participants linked using policy that

builds on the city’s strengths with building the quality of the community and supporting

economic development. Using city resources and personnel to create the Riverwalk trail

to takes advantage of the river flowing through the city. Identifying and partnering with

other local entities enables the city to encourage and support local entrepreneurs. Another

attribute of the community that participants considered important was the efforts to

preserve the local history, from the magnificent mansions of Millionaires Row to the

tobacco warehouses downtown. Keeping the city’s history alive helps maintain the sense

of community that the residents value.

Economic development and community development are so closely interwoven

that a policy directed at one challenge can influence and support policies in another. As

illustrated with examples provided by participants, policy also can be used to create

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social change within the community, prepare the workforce for future economic

development, and build a sense of community.

Summary of Findings for Question 2

The case illustrates that resilience, building on strengths, and partnering with

other localities and organizations can be effective in creating social change in a small

city. Realizing that the community has a mindset that hinders the efforts to improve the

economic and community conditions, the city implemented policies to shift that mindset

from defeat and pessimism to one of hope and raised expectations for the future. Policy

was a tool used to create opportunities for home ownership, to create expanded education

and vocation opportunities, and to transform a neighborhood from empty buildings to

high-demand lofts, business offices, and restaurants and entertainment venues. The case

also provided evidence that a small micropolitan city can create social change not only

within its own borders, but can also exert influence back out to the larger environment

influencing change at the state level and, indirectly, to other communities. This small city

worked with the state legislature to create new law at the state level, permitting localities

to develop land banks to cope with nonproductive properties and to change permitting

regulations to enable effective development of industrial parks.

Summary of Findings for Question 3

Complexity theory presents the concept that an entity is influenced by factors in

its external environment as well as factors within itself. This study on a geographically

isolated micropolitan city identified a wide variety of factors, both internal and external,

that triggered active policymaking. Acceptance of the changed circumstances that beset

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the city following the economic decline triggered policymaking as corrective action to

address the undesirable effects. Internally, blight, increasing poverty, and a declining

population served as factors to trigger city leaders to explore options and make policy to

address those challenges

The attribute of resilience enabled the city to respond to an earlier faulty policy

and process through amended and new policy to address vetting of potential businesses.

One of the identified strengths is the access to policymakers to make them aware of the

need for policy. The level of citizen involvement supports the sharing of ideas and

influences the development of policy to move the community forward.

The use of partnerships and access to funding for community and economic

development initiatives also created awareness within city leadership of the need for

policy development and opened new directions for policy. Partnerships enabled the

development of multiple industrial parks to attract employers and to provide the funding

to make the location of those businesses in the region possible. Funding also provided

opportunities to explore options and models for the redevelopment of the downtown city

core. Looking outward to the external environment enabled Danville to consider several

models of redevelopment and create a vision for itself based on another city’s success.

Looking further afield, globalization has been a factor in triggering policymaking, both as

a negative factor in “taking” jobs away and as a positive factor as a source of new

investment back into the city.

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Summary of Findings for Question 4

Using policy to address challenges and to take advantage of opportunities is only

purposeful if there are outcomes to be achieved. Measuring the effectiveness of the policy

measures is a natural evaluation step. One aspect of measuring impact discussed by

participants is continual assessment of the progress being made. The study indicates that

while large steps are desirable, it’s also important to make small steps forward: to support

local entrepreneurs as well as seeking to attract large employers. The goals are to raise

the numbers of living wage jobs, increase tax revenue, lower crime rates, and raise

education levels as ways to contribute to an improved community.

In Danville, there are indicators of success evidenced by awards and recognition

of achievements by peer groups, successful partnerships, and a revitalized downtown that

attracts private investment, residents, and new businesses. The success of the River

District is evidence that this small city can preserve its history while achieving. Success

is not complete, as nearly all participants noted that there remains significant work to be

done with little improvement in poverty levels.

The findings of this case study are consistent with research findings by Laura

Reese (2014) on what types of economic development strategies and policies were most

effective in building the economic health of cities in Michigan. That study looked at all

cities within the state, not just metropolitan areas. The factors found to be positively

related to economic health for a city were investments in the downtown and spending on

local public services. Tax incentives were limited in effectiveness and worked best when

linked to the achievement of specific targets.

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Summary

Chapter 4 is a discussion of findings from the case-study research into how a

micropolitan city’s community and economic development policies interact to create

social change. The chapter opened with a brief description of how the research was

conducted and continued to discuss the analysis from coding through development of

themes and how they related and enlightened the research questions. The next chapter

provides an interpretation of the findings, social change implications, and

recommendations for further research.

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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and

Recommendations

Introduction

The purpose of this case study was to provide an understanding of influences on

and interactions between economic and community development policies. To achieve this

purpose, the study examined how policymakers, policy influencers, and policy

implementers in a micropolitan city developed and used policy. These four questions

guided the research:

1. How can a small, non-metropolitan city use policy to address its local economic

and quality of life challenges?
2. How do the economic development and community development policies and
strategies interact to create positive social changes?
3. What factors raise the awareness of public officials of the need or desire to engage
in economic development and community development?
4. To what extent has the interaction of policies and their implementation been
effective in reducing poverty and its effects, and why or why not?

A qualitative case study approach was the most appropriate method for the

research based on the purpose of the study and the type of data required to address the

research questions. A case study method requires the use of multiple sources of data to

discover a comprehensive understanding of how this micropolitan city makes policy,

implements policy, and uses economic and community development policy to create

positive social change in the city (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). A quantitative survey would

not have enabled an understanding of the policy interactions and implications that the

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analysis of the detailed data in a qualitative study provides. Three sets of data were used:

interviews; publicly available documents; and photographic observations. Participants

were 11 individuals in active leadership roles as policymakers (elected officials), policy

implementers (city employees), and policy influencers (representatives of non-city

government entities). The participants were selected for their involvement in economic

and community development in the city and represented a range of perspectives on those

policies. Each interview lasted for approximately one hour and allowed the participants to

discuss their experiences and understanding of the policies, influences, interactions, and

outcomes. Documents used included city council meeting minutes, special reports,

documents published on webpages, and newspaper articles. Photographs were taken of

locations discussed in interviews and in areas near those locations. Analysis was done

through descriptive coding, categorical aggregation using constant comparison, and direct

interpretation. Validation of findings was achieved through member checking, use of

multiple sources of data, use of detail-rich description, and peer review through the

committee process.

This chapter will discuss the findings of the study, its implications for social

change, and recommendations for future research. The study used the theoretical

framework of complexity theory and was not designed to test or develop any particular

theory. The study’s findings will contribute to the knowledge base on the use of

community and economic development policy in micropolitan cities. Flyvberg (as cited

in Denzin & Lincoln, 2011) described this type of knowledge as phronesis, which is

“action-oriented knowledge of a local social ecosystem” (p. 53). The best solution for one

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city is not a compilation of solutions from several others, but rather the solution is

dependent on the specific circumstances of that one locality. But looking at those other

cities may help the one city to develop policy that fits its circumstances.

Interpretation of the Findings

Findings in Context of the Literature

The analysis of the data collected during the study provides insight into the

influences and interaction of economic and community development policies in a small,

isolated American city. The research addresses influences on the creation of policy, the

uses of policy to address challenges and to create social change, and whether the policies

have been successful. Many themes that crossed multiple research questions were

developed during analysis. The findings of the study are that economic and community

development policies are so interwoven that a policy directed at solutions in one area

often has impacts in the other area. Triggers for policy are found both within and external

to the community itself and include factors from correcting earlier mistakes, to conditions

relating to poverty, as well as global, federal, and state influences. Participants repeatedly

emphasized the challenges that follow an economic decline and the importance of finding

and creating solutions to them. Resilience, strength, social change, and the key role that

partnerships and assessment play are common themes. The study indicates that economic

development and community development policies can lead to positive social changes in

the city, such as the rehabilitation of blighted sections of town, improved opportunities to

attract new businesses, the ability to support expansion of existing businesses, and

development of entrepreneurs.

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Acceptance

A number of consequences described in the literature as resulting from a declining

economy (Eberts, 2010) were identified by participants in the present study as problems

to be addressed by economic and community development policy. Specifically, these

include: abandoned buildings, deteriorating infrastructure, misalignment between the

workforce available and the needed skills and knowledge, and a declining financial base

and population. These items were present in the data in the context of leadership’s

acceptance of changing circumstances. As one participant noted, the city could accept its

fate and do nothing more, or it could accept that circumstances had changed, and action

would be needed to improve the circumstances.

The new conditions within the city at the start of the research period, noted by

every participant, included blighted buildings, both residential and commercial,

consistent with factors noted in the literature. The transportation infrastructure was less

than ideal, also consistent with factors noted in the literature review as impacting local

economic and community development. Individual participants provided specific

examples of how these conditions related to policymaking efforts and strategies.

Resilience

The theme of resilience emerged from participant interviews referring to the

determination to survive the poverty and economic conditions afflicting the city and the

leadership’s ability to learn from past mistakes. Although resilience was not discussed in

the literature, two of the factors identified by Eberts (2010) are racial inclusion with

income equality, and legacy of place. As described in the literature, these factors relate to

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poverty as an inequity among population segments within the city, as well as the

circumstances present in the “place” that policymakers need to address as a starting point.

These factors are very similar to the attributes of the theme of resilience.

Building on strengths

As noted in the literature review, little research has been published on

micropolitan cities since that category was defined in 2003. As a result, the literature on

economic development addresses metropolitan areas, or to a more limited extent, rural

areas. These studies include developing a skilled workforce, attracting investment to

produce economic growth, supporting entrepreneurs, building on the strengths of the

community, including local amenities, and negative factors of poverty ratios, aged

housing, and reliance on manufacturing.

The literature, particularly with regard to tourism as an economic development

strategy, discusses the importance of building on strengths and the existing amenities of

the community (Gartner, 2004, Lambe, 2008, Lu, 2013, and Wilson et al., 2001). Every

participant in this research discussed the strong assets of Danville. These strengths, or

assets, ranged from an active citizen base that provides ideas and feedback for

policymakers to amenities, both man-made and natural. The Riverwalk system takes

advantage of the scenic river flowing through the city; while the development of

industrial parks takes advantage of the availability of raw land for development and city-

owned utilities. The literature notes that economic success on a local level is correlated

with both natural amenities, such as climate and landscape, and lifestyle amenities, such

as shopping, entertainment and cultural activities (Ferguson et al., 2007). In documents

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reviewed, one employer noted the climate of Danville as being an attractive feature, since

there were very few weather disruptions to work. The city developed a shopping area

known as the Coleman Marketplace to serve not only the residents of Danville, but that

attracts people from surrounding communities. Other relevant amenities discussed by the

participants or observed include the presence of a Cray Supercomputer and a vibrant

event venue in the revived River District. The theme of building on strengths touches on

all the research questions, which further serves to highlight its importance in this study.

Support of entrepreneurs to develop and grow business was another strength

noted by several of the participants in this study. The presence of a business incubator,

access to funding support, and opportunities to open businesses in the developing River

District were provided as examples of how the community exhibits this attribute. The

literature review also noted the role entrepreneurs play in economic growth and the

challenges associated with determining which businesses are likely to succeed and which

are not. The city’s focus on developing a workforce trained in advanced manufacturing

techniques is consistent with Mason and Brown’s (2013) findings that manufacturing is

often more valuable for economic development than are service businesses. Danville’s

support and varied use of the Community Market is also consistent with Morales’ (2009)

studies of community markets serving as small business incubators providing an

affordable opportunity for entrepreneurs to test their business ideas and to network with

each other.

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Economic and Community Development are Interwoven

My review of literature suggested that this relationship is one that is consistent

even when not specifically addressed. The literature review noted that Ferguson et al.

(2007) found that urban growth was strongly linked to amenities, which relate to the

quality of life within the community. Participants often discussed the role that housing

plays in both economic and community development. Affordable housing is needed to

attract new businesses and residents; but a surplus of low-quality affordable housing can

be a problem for the community as it deteriorates over time. One study focused on

micropolitan cities considered the affordability of housing and its relationship to

economic development considerations (Lang & Danielsen, 2008). The present research is

consistent with their findings in terms of housing availability and the challenges with

rates of non-owner-occupied housing. Also consistent is that the most affordable

micropolitan areas were in more rural settings, rather than attached to metropolitan areas

and high affordability is associated with population decline. Participants attributed the

high affordability of Danville’s housing to the exodus of residents after economic

conditions declined. Danville’s programs to increase homeownership in target

communities is a strategy consistent with both community and economic development, as

some communities need to use affordable housing to attract economic development

(Cook et al., 2009 and Lang & Danielsen, 2008). Other areas that this study identified as

being related to both community and economic development are the quality of education

and opportunity available to children, and the effects of errors in policymaking.

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Focus on social change

Participants in the current study repeatedly connected both community and

economic development to the creation of social change within the community. Building

better educational pipelines connects to both and creates social change within the

community, its people, and their attitudes. Workforce development is recognized in the

literature as a positive factor in both economic and community development (Eberts,

2010). Workforce development is also a key factor in creating social change by preparing

people to take advantage of current and future opportunities. Participants noted the

advanced manufacturing programs and the new degree options offered by the local four-

year university as examples. One of the challenges to workforce development noted in

the literature by Strasburger (2009) is access to research and research funding. In the case

of Danville, however, participants noted among its assets a regional foundation that funds

community development activities and research and the Institute for Advanced Learning

and Research, as well as a local university and community college. All of these support

research and workforce development as well as help overcome the difficulties noted in

Stasburger’s research. Harper-Anderson (2008) explored the connectivity of workforce

development and economic development found significant connection, and even

integration, in many communities. Participants have indicated that Danville’s policies are

supportive of this approach as economic development and education pipelines have not

only common goals but work together to try to attract new employers to the area.

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Partnerships are key

Participants in this research cited several partnerships with other governmental

entities, private sector entities, and funding organizations as key factors in achieving the

city’s success so far. The literature has identified a number of benefits associated with

partnerships, such as reduced development risks, increased efficiency, and improved

services (Conrad, 2012). Lu and Jacobs (2013) suggested that regional partnerships are

appropriate for challenges that require greater resources than a single community can

provide. Chicoine et al. (2001) looked at a project to build roads in a rural area and found

that joining small government units together to form a regional partnership was a more

cost-effective approach. The findings in Danville are consistent with these studies.

Danville’s partnership with its neighboring county has enabled access to a number of

industrial parks that draw upon resources from both entities: land, utilities, and expertise.

Another partnership often cited was with the Danville Regional Foundation (DRF), which

helped develop the vision and access to funding for the revitalized downtown, the River

District. A partnership with the hometown university, Averett University, and the DRF

led to the conversion of a tobacco warehouse into offices for DRF and the university’s

adult education program and School of Nursing. It was one of the first projects in the

River District. Other business, both for profit and nonprofit, have contributed in

partnership to provide a fountain plaza downtown and the construction of an

internationally recognized YMCA.

Not all partnerships are successful or even formed. Participants discussed the need

for a regional partnership approach to address the completion of Highway 29 to interstate

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grade, but that it has not been successful because Danville is viewed as a competitor,

rather than a resource, to the North Carolina communities. Early in its economic

development program, the city partnered with a businessman from China, not only to

support opening his business in the city, but to connect and recruit other Chinese

companies to the area. Ultimately both aspects failed according to documents reviewed.

This experience is consistent with a study by Lu (2011) in which a partnership that

depended on the actions of one person or that did not have an internal governance system

was not successful.

Globalization

Within the literature review section, several articles were cited that discussed the

trend of American jobs moving overseas and companies re-incorporating outside of the

US (Adams, 2011; McKinnon & Thurm, 2012). Autor et al. (2013) related an increase in

goods imported from China to negative manufacturing employment, decline in household

earnings, and a greater reliance on government assistance programs in the US. The

experiences cited by the participants in the current study are consistent with the literature.

Dan River Textiles was acquired, and its US operations subsequently closed, by a

Chinese company. While a few participants acknowledged that globalization had the

potential to bring positive impacts to the community, most represented that the citizens of

Danville felt globalization was responsible for a significant part of the city’s economic

decline.

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Theoretical Framework

This study utilized complexity theory as its theoretical framework. In its simplest

form, complexity theory posits that an entity must adapt to changes in both its internal

and external environment in order to survive. In addition, as a consequence of its

adaptations, it may exert influence on its environment triggering new changes that will

affect others. This case study of economic and community development policymaking

within the City of Danville appears to be consistent with complexity theory. The findings

indicate that participants identified a number of internal (increased poverty and blight, for

example) and external factors (globalization, declines in core industries, national

recession, and external models for change) that affected the city. Its policymaking efforts

represent the city’s adaptation to the changes in its environment, its efforts to remake

itself in order to survive, and ultimately its hopes to thrive. Finally, some of the city’s

policies effected changes on its internal environment by creating positive social change

within the community in terms of education and workforce development, increasing

homeownership, and decreased blight. It also impacted its external environment as it

initiated and supported changes at a state level that resulted in permitting Virginia

communities to form land banks to repurpose abandoned property; legalizing the growth

of industrial hemp as a crop has been permitted as well. Finally, the awards and

recognition that the city has received are indications that it may be becoming a model for

redevelopment for other small communities. Complexity theory appears to be a viable

and valuable framework for examining and understanding locality policymaking.

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Limitations of the Study

The goal of this research was to understand the interactions among and on local

economic and community development policies in a micropolitan city, Danville,

Virginia. Specifically, the focus was on policies intended to improve the local economic

base and improve the quality of life for residents; goals that often compete for limited

resources, but which are closely related. The use of interviews as a data collection tool

has the inherent limitation of what people are willing to discuss. Thus, the information

provided may be incomplete or biased. Although the use of additional data sources

provides some level of validation for the information, there is no guarantee that those

sources are without bias or complete either. Therefore, the findings of the study are

limited by the nature of the data used.

Second, this case study represents the insights and experiences of one

micropolitan city. There are approximately 550 other micropolitan cities within the

United States (Office of Information and Regulator Affairs, 2015), each with unique

features, leadership, and values. Therefore, the findings of this study are not necessarily

reflective of what might be found if the same study was performed in another city. The

findings also may not be generalized to apply to larger cities (metropolitan) or smaller

towns.

Recommendations

Since the U.S. Census Bureau introduced the concept of micropolitan areas in

2003, the number of such areas within the US has changed, fluctuating from 560 to 536

and back to 551. The changing numbers indicate that some areas may be growing and/or

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that some are shrinking below the threshold. A study of the micropolitan areas over time

to identify characteristics of those that are succeeding in growth, those that are stable, and

those that may be declining may be useful in identifying some key areas for

policymaking. A multi-case study could be performed comparing several similarly

situated cities, which also may provide insight.

While many themes that developed during the data analysis correlated to some

aspects of existing literature, there were several themes that did not directly link to

existing research. These themes provide areas for additional research as well. The theme

of continual assessment relates to how the community measures its progress towards

goals and adjusts its policy efforts accordingly. However, there were many different

approaches and ideas presented by the participants; some statistical measurements related

to income and employment, while others were more qualitative, such as achieving

individual dreams. Additional research should be done to determine if there is a

correlation between these very different approaches. Creating a new mindset is another

theme of interest. In this study, participants noted that many residents had a negative or

defeatist mindset that needed to be changed in order to support economic and community

development. However, changing the mindset of one individual can be a daunting task, so

research into how communities have achieved a successful attitude change would be a

valuable resource for struggling communities.

One of the findings related to Danville’s influence on changing state law so that it

could better effect some of its policies. More research is needed to address how

micropolitan America can influence the actions and lawmaking of larger government.

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Localities are generally viewed as not having significant influence on state and national

government; small cities certainly are viewed as having even less impact than

metropolitan areas. Yes, this study would indicate that it is possible. More research into

other instances of micropolitan influences and what factors enabled that success would be

a useful tool for both practitioners and political science scholars.

Finally, but not least, more studies of specific micropolitan communities and their

policy challenges and successes would be useful. Perhaps a model of policymaking and

policy interactions unique to small communities could be developed.

Implications for Social Change

This research demonstrated some success and some missteps in economic and

community development policymaking. It also demonstrated the close relationship

between the two policies and provided an example of supporting both rather than

competing for funding. However, most of the participants were more able and appeared

more comfortable addressing economic development. Not all participants saw the two

types of policies as interwoven; a few seemed to think of them in terms of an if-then

relationship. If there is success at economic development, then the community will have

more financial resources and thus will have a better quality of life. There is a need for a

better mechanism to bring citizens and policymakers together in addressing community

concerns.

The findings also provide some useful insights into the nature of local government

partnerships with a variety of partners. Many of these partnerships were for short-term

specific projects, such as streetscaping and providing a fountain for the community to

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enjoy. The City of Danville should continue to engage with other localities and private

organizations to make strides forward. Finding benefits for other partners and finding the

right partners should enable more achievement. Specifically, the city needs to find a

reason and a way to engage Greensboro and North Carolina in a partnership to complete

the Highway 29 connection to provide true interstate access for the city. To do this, they

need to identify what they can bring to the table to create this joint effort.

Danville has demonstrated its ability to learn from past mistakes by implementing

a new vetting process for funding benefits for new business to locate to the area. Yet, at

the same time, it demonstrated its inability to accurately assess effects or outcomes of

some policies. While certainly subsequent events around the country, and just a couple

hours away in Charlottesville, VA, have confirmed that city council’s concern that a

display of the Confederate flag on city property may send a negative message; it also

failed to anticipate that citizens of the last Confederate Capital – Danville became the

Confederate Capital in 1865 following the fall of Richmond – may also view it as part of

their history and heritage. The policy enacted was to remove all flags, which included a

display in the River District of flags of the home countries of foreign companies that had

opened businesses in Danville (Thibodeau, 2015). Ironically, a policy to avoid negative

responses to one flag viewed as an enemy of diversity has resulted in lessening the

diversity apparent for many others. Decisions are not always yes or no and rarely should

be all or nothing. The city should give greater consideration to finding solutions that are

more accommodating to a variety of groups and opinions.

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Policy influencers, policymakers, and policy implementers who may want to use

Danville as a model for redeveloping their economic base and community should not

assume that it can be used in any city. The study does demonstrate complexity theory as a

viable lens for viewing the factors influencing policymaking and policy interactions.

Applying this theoretical lens to a city’s circumstances, can provide greater

understanding for policymakers. As Danville learned from adapting the revitalization

model from Greenville, SC, the inspiration for Danville’s River District, it needed to be

individualized based on the political, socioeconomic, and cultural dynamics of the

community. Danville discovered the need for a new law at the state level, so that

anticipation step should be included earlier in the process of planning policy. The need to

change, or grow, some community attitudes should also be considered as part of the

socioeconomic and cultural dynamics of the community as early in the process as

possible. Just as Danville recognized the need to create a new mindset within the

community, shifting it from thinking about failures and waiting for a rescue, to one of

recognizing the positive attributes and looking forward to the future, other communities

may need to strengthen the mindset of their citizens as well.

Conclusion

This study was based on a of couple basic assumptions. First, that micropolitan

cities are different from metropolitan and rural areas even as they have some aspects in

common. Secondly that poverty and its effects is a problem that can be addressed and

managed to some extent through policymaking on a local level. The findings confirmed

some of these underlying assumptions while showing them to be overly simplistic. It

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became clear that while the city engages in policymaking to try to transform the city into

a new economic future, it was divided on the problem of poverty. Poverty as a fact of life

is something that many accept. Working to minimize poverty or contain it is a different

approach than correcting it. Addressing the results of poverty on the community takes

much longer than creating the problems. The loss of one or two major employers from a

community can create high unemployment, lower median incomes, and lead to an exodus

of middle and upper-middle class citizens. Within a few years, those impacts result in

abandoned buildings, lower tax revenues, greater demand on public services, and

increases in crime. Repairing those consequences and rebuilding the city takes longer

than the decline into poverty. A community has many working parts that are affected

whenever there is a change in one area. Policymakers cannot always accurately anticipate

all those effects, but by knowing the community, by bringing that community to

consensus and giving it a vision, and by selecting the right partners, one small city can

change its course.

There are still questions to be answered and other policy areas that influence the

outcomes for this small city. The city leaders must decide on exactly what is best for that

city and then to evaluate the policy pathways to achieve the outcome given the political,

socioeconomic, and cultural context. History may be valued by some, but disdained by

others. The need to constantly consider and assess the policy choices means the job is

never really done. But in the end, policy should reflect and serve the overall interest of

the citizens. In Danville, that means creating immediate change to create hope while

addressing the underlying challenges of poverty through education, economic

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development initiatives, and workforce development. As one participant described, you

can take the view that you should accept your fate and that some cities, maybe yours, will

fall, or you can accept your circumstances and then start working on changing them for

the better. This case study demonstrates that policy can be a powerful tool in reversing

the fortunes of a city that has experienced severe challenges and pervasive poverty. By

drawing on strengths and partnering with carefully chosen public, private, and nonprofit

groups, a small city and its residents can be effective in addressing the causes and

consequences of poverty and can create a new, stronger future.

147

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Appendix A: Interview protocol

The following questions will be used in the interviews. The main questions are

numbered, and the follow-up questions or probes are listed under each question. Each

respondent will be asked to verify their professional role (City Council Member, Director

of a community organization, etc.) and their primary (and secondary if applicable) role as

it relates to policy (recommend, make, implement, or evaluate).

As you respond to these questions, please include information on both effective and

ineffective policies and efforts that have been used in Danville with regard to economic

or community development. For purposes of this research, economic development refers

to a broad based, sustainable improvement in the community standard of living as

measured by the individual quality of life. Community development refers to the process

and the product of people working collectively to address common concerns and achieve

common goals. I use the term, “policymaking” to refer to the making of decisions or laws

as actions intended to address local problems and challenges and/or improve the quality

of life for its citizens.

1. How can Danville, as a small, non-metropolitan city, use policy to address its

local economic and quality of life challenges?

a. What is your role in economic and community development or policy

making?

b. What policies have you seen used to address economic development?

Community development? Both together?

c. What issues, challenges, or other situations were being addressed with

those policies?

d. What considerations and factors played into the policymaking?

2. How do the economic development and community development policies and

strategies interact to create positive social change?

a. What are some of the outcomes you have seen from these policies?

b. Please tell me about a time when use of economic or community

development policies, used separately or together, resulted in the intended

positive social change in Danville, an improvement in life or a lessening

of a problem.

c. Please describe an unintended positive social change resulting from

economic or community development policies in Danville.

3. What factors raise the awareness of public officials of the need or desire to engage
in economic development and community development?

a. How does the local government determine when additional economic or

community development policies are needed?

160

b. What types of changes or influences in the external environment are likely

or common triggers for policy making?

c. What influences or situations within the community trigger policy making

intended to affect economic or community development?

4. To what extent has the interaction of policies and their implementation been

effective in reducing poverty and its effects in Danville, and why?

a. How do you measure the impact?

b. Please describe an example of how these policies have changed or affected

the issues they were addressing?

c. Why do you think the outcome was what it was?

5. What other information would you like to add to what has been asked?

As needed, appropriate probes and follow up questions may be used to help the

respondents understand what is being asked. These probes may include the following

questions.

1. To clarify what has been said:

a. Can you explain what you mean when you say, “….”?

b. So what it sounds like you are saying is,…, is that correct?

2. To elicit more detail:

a. Please tell me more about that.

b. Can you give me an example?

c. What would that look like?

d. How do you do that?

e. How did people respond to that?

3. To clarify reasoning and rationale:

a. Why was that important?

b. What was the motivation for that decision/action?

c. How did you feel about that?

d. Why was that decision/action significant?

4. To prompt discussion of differing viewpoints:

a. What might make you decide/act differently?

b. How has your approach changed over time?

c. I read/heard about an approach that used…, what do you think of that

idea/approach?

5. What factors influence your thinking about this point?

Blank Page

Development of a model of participation in community-based, discretionary activities

people who use wheelchairs

Anita Perr

A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Environmental Psychology

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

2014

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
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In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,

a note will indicate the deletion.

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Anita Perr

iii

This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in

satisfaction of the Dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

___________________ ______________________________

Date Dr. Gary Winkel

Chair of Examining Committee

____________________ ________________________________

Date Dr. Maureen O’Connor

Executive Officer

Dr. John Seley

David Chapin

Dr. David Gray

Dr. Mariette Bates

Abstract

Development of a model of participation in community-based, discretionary activities

people who use wheelchairs
by
Anita Perr

Adviser: Professor Gary Winkel

This cross-sectional research analyzed an existing data set of 302 wheelchair users to

identify the psychosocial predictors of participation in community-based, discretionary

activities.

Two defining elements of participation were studied: the extent of participation and satisfaction

with participation. Descriptive analyses of the participants’ demographic information and

portions of four assessments were completed first. Regression analyses were then used to

systematically eliminate potential covariates until the significant psychosocial covariates of

the

extent of and satisfaction with participation were identified. Perceived control over one’s life and

perceived reintegration to social function were found to predict the extent of

participation.

Perceived control also predicted satisfaction with participation as did the participant’s general

mental health. Additionally, because the extent of participation predicted satisfaction, the

perception of reintegration also predicted satisfaction through the extent of participation.

Limitations of this study include those inherent in using an existing data set as well as not

representing wheelchair users from sufficiently diverse racial, ethnic, socio-economic or

geographic backgrounds.

These important findings indicate a need for future study to identify how psychosocial

function is addressed during the physical rehabilitation process and may act as an impetus for

modifications in the education of professionals who work with people with disabilities.

Acknowledgments

There are so many people who supported me through this process. I would like to thank a

few of them here. I send thanks to my workmates, friends, and family for their support and

encouragement through my frustration and learning. I send thanks to my committee David

Chapin and Dr. John Seley and my external readers, Dr. David Gray and Dr. Mariette Bates for

their input and expertise as I planned the research and completed the dissertation defense. I send

thanks to Dr. David Gray and Dr. Holly Hollingsworth for sharing their data and their knowledge

and experience so freely. I send thanks to Dr. Kitch Barnicle for her insight and advice in helping

what was in my head come across in words. And I send thanks to my advisor, Dr. Gary Winkel,

for his mentorship throughout this process and especially for guiding me to ask the right

questions and to find the possible answers.

vii

Table of Contents

Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv

Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. vi

List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

xiii

List of Appendices …………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Background ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Theoretical Rationale ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Need for the Study ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Boundaries of this Research…………………………………………………………………………………………

Key Terms ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

Research Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Review of the Literature ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Tools Used to Measure Participation …………………………………………………………………………….

Barriers to and Facilitators of Participation ……………………………………………………………………

Physical barriers to and facilitators of participation. …………………………………………………… 23

viii

Psychosocial barriers to and facilitators of participation. …………………………………………….. 2

Methods……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Instruments ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M). ………………………………………………………… 2

The Personal Independence Profile (PIP). ………………………………………………………………….

The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI). ……………………………………………………

The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). ………………….. 3

Data ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Participants ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 33

Participants contained in the full data set. …………………………………………………………………. 33

Participants in this dissertation study. ………………………………………………………………………..

Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34

Variables derived from the PARTS/M. ……………………………………………………………………..

Variable derived from the PIP. …………………………………………………………………………………

Variable derived from the RNLI. ……………………………………………………………………………… 37

Variables derived from the SF-36. ……………………………………………………………………………. 37

Extent of Participation ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Satisfaction with Participation ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Results …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 41

Participants ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Outcome and Explanatory Variables …………………………………………………………………………….

Findings Regarding the Extent of Participation in Community-based, Discretionary

Activities

by People who Use Wheelchairs…………………………………………………………………………………..

Findings Regarding Satisfaction with Participation in Community-based, Discretionary

Activities by People who Use Wheelchairs ……………………………………………………………………

Discussion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Study Limitations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Using a Secondary Source for Data ………………………………………………………………………………

Recommendations for Future Research and Practice ………………………………………………………

Appendix A: UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Articles Relevant to this

Research ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Appendix B: Letter of Agreement ……………………………………………………………………………………

Appendix C: The Participation Survey/Mobility(PARTS/M) ………………………………………………

Appendix D: The Personal Independence Profile (PIP) …………………………………………………….

111

Appendix E: The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI) ………………………………………. 1

Appendix F: The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) ………

114

References ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

List of Tables

Table 1. Structure of the PARTS/M …………………………………………………………………………………

Table 2. Potential Covariates ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35

Table 3. Continuous Variables: Age, years at present living situation, years since onset

of the

disability. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Table 4. Characteristics of Participants (N=302) ………………………………………………………………..

Table 5. Descriptive Statistics Regarding the Outcome and Explanatory Variables ………………..

Table 6. Scoring Scales of Extent of Participation by Domain ……………………………………………..

Table 7. Extent Factor Analysis Structure Matrix ……………………………………………………………… 56

Table 8. Descriptive Statistics Regarding Extent of Participation in Selected Community-based

Activities of the PARTS/M ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Table 9. Descriptive Statistics Regarding Importance of Participation ………………………………….

Table 10. Importance Factor Analysis Structure Matrix …………………………………………………….. 58

Table 11. Descriptive Statistics Regarding Satisfaction with Participation ……………………………

Table 12. Satisfaction Factor Analysis Component Matrix …………………………………………………. 59

Table 13. Regression Analysis of Medical and Demographic Covariates of

Extent of

Participation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Table 14. Regression Analysis of Covariates of Extent of Participation ………………………………..

Table 15. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates of Extent of

Participation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Table 16. Extent: Significant Covariate Predictors …………………………………………………………….. 63

Table 17. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Social Function …………………………….

Table 18. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and General Mental Health …………………. 65

Table 19. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Emotional Role Functioning…………..

Table 20. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Vitality ……………………………………….. 66

Table 21. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perceived Control …………………………

Table 22. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perception of

Reintegration to Social

Function ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 67

Table 23. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and All of the Psychosocial Factors ………

Table 24. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates of Extent of

Participation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 69

Table 25. Extent: Significant Predictors ……………………………………………………………………………

Table 26. Regression Analysis of Medical and Demographic Covariates of

Satisfaction with

Participation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 71

Table 27. Regression Analysis of Covariates of Satisfaction with Participation …………………….

Table 28. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates of Satisfaction with

Participation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Table 29. Satisfaction: Significant Covariates …………………………………………………………………… 73

Table 30. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Social Function …………………….

Table 31. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and General Mental Health …………..

Table 32. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Emotional Role Functioning ….. 75

Table 33. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Vitality ………………………………..

Table 34. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perceived Control ………………… 76

Table 35. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perception of

Reintegration to

Social Function ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Table 36. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and All of the Psychosocial Factors 78

xii

Table 37 Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates …………………………

Table 38. Satisfaction: Significant Predictors …………………………………………………………………….

xiii

List of Figures

Figure 1. Sample of SF-36 subscale and item score ……………………………………………………………

Figure 2. Gender …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42

Figure 3. Race ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Figure 4. Education ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 43

Figure 5. Marital Status…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Figure 6. Income …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44

Figure 7. Primary Diagnosis Leading to Wheelchair Use ……………………………………………………

Figure 8. Incidence of Other Conditions……………………………………………………………………………

Figure 9. Frequency of Pain (n=215) ……………………………………………………………………………….. 49

Figure 10. Frequency of Spasticity (n=155) ………………………………………………………………………

Figure 11. Frequency of Skin Problems (n=105) ……………………………………………………………….

Figure 12. Frequency of Depression (n=131) …………………………………………………………………….

Figure 13. Amount of Assistance Received Per Week ……………………………………………………….. 53

Figure 14. A Model Predicting the Extent of Participation by Wheelchair Users in Community-

based, Discretionary Activities. ……………………………………………………………………………………….

Figure 15. A Model Predicting the Extent of Participation by Wheelchair Users in Community-

based, Discretionary Activities. ………………………………………………………………………………………. 70

Figure 16. A Model Predicting Satisfaction with Participation in Community-based,

Discretionary Activities by Wheelchair Users. ………………………………………………………………….. 73

Figure 17. A Model Predicting Satisfaction with Participation in Community-based,

Discretionary Activities by Wheelchair Users. ………………………………………………………………….. 79

xiv

Figure 18. A Model of Participation in Community-based, Discretionary Activities. ……………..

List of Appendices

Appendix A UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ……………………..95

Appendix B Letter of Agreement …………………………………………………………………………..96

Appendix C Participation Survey/Mobility ……………………………………………………………..97

Appendix D Personal Independence Profile …………………………………………………………..111

Appendix E Reintegration to Normal Living Index ………………………………………………..

112

Appendix F Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey ………………..114

Introduction

Like all people, wheelchair users have a life outside of their homes and work. They have

hobbies and avocational interests, familial and social relations, and needs for inclusion in

activities outside their homes. Participating in these activities is just as important for wheelchair

users as the rest of the population and as such, is considered a right (United Nations General

Assembly, 2006). This dissertation investigated certain aspects of how disability affects social

inclusion. This research used an existing data set to identify the social and psychological

characteristics of wheelchair users that predict participation in community-based, discretionary

activities. Discretionary activities are those that occur by choice, outside of work, chores, and

self-care. My experience as an occupational therapist specializing in seating and wheeled

mobility used by people with disabilities and the existing literature show that clinicians and

researchers focus more on the physical attributes of wheelchair users and their environments than

on the psychological and social attributes associated with being in the community and

participating in discretionary activities. Taking into account physical, environmental, and

demographic contributors, this research examined the social and psychological characteristics of

wheelchair users as predictors of participation in discretionary activities outside home.

Background

According to the 2010 U.S. census data, about 12% of the US civilian, non-

institutionalized population reported a disability, half of whom reported difficulty with their

ability to walk (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). According to the 2005 US Census data,

approximately 3.3 million individuals over 15 years of age, or 1.4% of that population, use a

wheelchair as their primary means of mobility (United States Census Bureau, 2008). It is

expected that the number of people with disabilities and the prevalence of wheelchair use will

increase as baby boomers age (Brault, Hootman, Helmick, Theis, & Armour, 2009; Christensen,

Doblhammer, Rau, & Vaupel, 2009). The vast majority of wheelchair users (at least 93%) report

a limitation in their ability to perform or participate in desired activities (Kaye, Kang, &

LaPlante, 2002). The reasons for the limitations have not yet been thoroughly identified. Until

the causes for the limitations are identified, it is impossible to act upon them and facilitate

improved participation for those who wish to take part in activities in their communities. The

mere numbers of wheelchair users and their perceived limitations due to their disabilities suggest

that further research is needed to identify the psychosocial factors that impede or facilitate

participation in such activities thereby increasing the knowledge base and perhaps suggesting

foci for intervention (Kaye et al., 2002).

The United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the

Convention) recognizes that discrimination against a person on the basis of a disability is a

“violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the person” (United Nations General Assembly,

2006). The Convention is based, in part, on the principle of full and effective participation and

inclusion in society. The Convention was adopted in 2006 and entered into force in 2008 (United

Nations Enable, 2008-2011a) and has 153 signatories (United Nations Enable, 2008-2011b).

Articles 9, 19, 20, 29, and 30 of the Convention clearly act to support the intent of the research in

this dissertation as they directly address accessibility, mobility, and participation in community-

based activities (Appendix A).

It follows then, if access and participation is a right for people with disabilities, it is

necessary to determine how people currently participate in order to determine where

interventions are necessary. It is further necessary to determine the facilitators of and barriers to

participation so that they can be addressed to increase participation where there are limitations.

The issue of participation by people with disabilities is too broad to study as a whole so this

project extracts one specific area to investigate closely.

Theoretical Rationale

There is no single theory or framework of participation. The theoretical base for this

dissertation draws on the work of a number of theorists who describe concepts associated with

participation, specifically participation in community based discretionary activities. Maslow’s

theory uses a hierarchical representation to describe the location of discretionary activities and

social activities taking into account a person’s needs and priorities. According to Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs, people have a need for belongingness and love and a desire for self-esteem

and for recognition, dignity, or appreciation (Maslow, 1987) which can be achieved through

participation in community-based, discretionary activities. At the base of his hierarchy is the

need for food and shelter. These needs to maintain survival precede the need to improve

satisfaction and happiness. It is through meeting needs at basic levels that a person can then

move on to higher levels of existence. Needs at the level of belongingness, a higher level in

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, may be met in part through participation in social and leisure

activities.

Most of the current research in rehabilitation regarding wheelchair users addresses

function at basic levels, focusing, for example, on mobility and self-care skills which correlate

with Maslow’s two lowest levels, those of physiological needs and the need for safety and

security. There is a lack of research investigating function at higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy

by people who use wheelchairs users. This dissertation investigates function that occurs at the

levels of love and belonging and self-esteem, both of which are higher levels in Maslow’s

hierarchy.

Oldenburg is another theorist whose work is relevant to this dissertation. He addresses the

need for participation in community based activities when he described what he calls “third

places” (Oldenburg, 1997). In his book, The Great Good Place, Oldenburg describes the roles of

place in the lives of humans. He describes home being a first place and work being a second

place. Related to the research in this dissertation, his description of the important role of informal

public gathering places or “third places” is particularly interesting. Third places are the places

where people go to be a part of their community and to feel comfortable and included

(Oldenburg, 1997). Although not hierarchical, it is interesting to compare Oldenburg’s

discussion of place with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, relating Oldenburg’s third place with

Maslow’s discussion of the need for belongingness. Although Oldenburg does not address the

needs for people with disabilities to have access to and to feel a part of these third places, he does

describe the need for all people to have these public places for regular, voluntary, and informal

gathering. In my reading of Oldenberg’s work, I include people with disabilities as part of ‘all

people’ although their specific needs and desires may be different than those of other people.

Oldenberg describes the sense of worth that people feel in these third places as a result of being

recognized, accepted, and valued (Oldenburg, 1997). My research begins to investigate whether

and how wheelchair users have places in their lives that act as their third places and may identify

whether third places are important to and available to people who use wheelchairs by

investigating the psychosocial factors that predict participation.

While the research in this dissertation focuses on adults, the following model of

children’s’ participation includes many factors that are relevant to adults and help to support the

work of this dissertation. King, et al. (2003) developed a model of factors affecting the

participation of children with disabilities containing three categories of factors:

1. Factors that reside within the child such as self-perceptions of athletic and scholastic

competence, physical and cognitive function, emotional and social function, and

preferences,

2. Factors that come from the family including supports and preferences, and

3. Factors that reside in the environment, including the presence or absence of barriers

and supportive relationships for the child and the family.

This socio-ecological model addresses the complexities of participation. Factors from three

levels, each containing multiple, variable constructs interrelate in various ways leading to the

complexity of participation. These theorists identify the directions of the relationships between

the different aspects of the model although, by their own admission, the links are based on theory

and logic. Empirical data supporting the direction of the relationships is limited (King et al.,

2003). The model described by King, et al. informs many aspects of participation revealed in the

research of this

dissertation.

Nosek and Fuhrer describe a model of independence that defines the contributions to

independence. The elements include perceived control over one’s life, physical function,

psychological self-reliance, and environmental resources (Nosek & Fuhrer, 1992). These

concepts serve as part of the framework of this research.

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is the World

Health Organization’s framework for describing health and health-related states. Participation is

central to the functioning described in the ICF. The ICF defines participation as the nature and

extent of a person’s involvement in a life situation. In a footnote, they go on to state that central

to participation is involvement, taking part, being included, and being accepted. The ICF’s model

of functioning and disability describes the interactions between the person, including his or her

health conditions as well as his or her mental, sensory and motor functions; the activities; and the

environments (Jette, Haley, & Kooyoomjian, 2003; World Health Organization, 2001). The

model defines all of the factors that influence participation and accepts the complex nature of

participation. It accounts for products and technology as well as the natural environment and

human made changes to the environment, as well as support, relationships, attitudes, services,

and systems or policies (Rimmer, 2006). The ICF model is used to describe disability and

function throughout the world and is being used as a foundation for many US and international

programs and services. The ICF has been used as the theoretical base for research on

participation by wheelchair users (Harris, 2007). Harris’ work takes into account issues related to

time, to capacity and actual performance, and to the social and physical environment.

The ICF presents a unified approach to explaining participation by people with

disabilities. In the past, disability theory focused on two separate perspectives: medical and

social. Rather than separating a person into parts, the ICF acknowledges that biological and

societal influences are so intertwined that neither explains participation without the other (Imrie,

2004). Disability is seen as a variation in function due to impairment, activity limitation, and/or

societal participation restrictions. Disability occurs as a result of interactions between an

individual and his or her environment-socio-cultural context. The ICF is flexible enough to

account for differences among people as well as in different environments and societies (Imrie,

2004). This dissertation is based on the ICF model, focusing specifically on the role of a person’s

psychosocial function while accounting for his or her health conditions and while situating the

activities within their environments.

Need for the Study

Many wheelchair users are limited in their participation in activities in their communities.

Barriers to participation include physical factors such as environmental obstacles, weakness, and

poor endurance. Barriers also include societal factors such as limited finances and inadequate

enforcement of laws regarding accessibility, and psychosocial factors such as poor social

functioning and self-efficacy (Cooper, Cooper, McGinley, Fan, & Rosenthal, 2012; R. Kennedy,

2002). Up to this point, little research has addressed the impact of psychosocial functioning on

wheelchair users’ participation in community-based activities focusing instead on the physical

aspects of performing skills and participating in activities. Additionally, little research regarding

wheelchair users addresses activities that are done by choice, in one’s free time focusing instead

on obligatory activities such as self-care and work. This research seeks to develop and evaluate a

model of participation that identifies the psychosocial factors, such as perceived control, that

predict participation in community-based, discretionary activities.

The need for this study was based on three main reasons: 1) limitations in physical

rehabilitation programs and the education of physical rehabilitation professionals, 2) a focus in

research on physical factors relating to wheelchairs and wheelchair use as a proxy for

participation, and 3) the complicated nature of studying and explaining participation. When

people experience a disabling illness or trauma, they frequently undergo physical rehabilitation

in order to return to their desired home- and community-based activities. People born with such

conditions and those who acquire the conditions early in life often undergo repeated courses of

rehabilitation to maximize their abilities to function in various settings including home, school,

workplace, and community. Most rehabilitation programs address the physical factors required to

perform activities like endurance, strength, and wheelchair propulsion techniques but they often

neglect psychosocial factors relevant to community living (M. L. Lund & Lexell, 2008; K. A.

Walker et al., 2010). This neglect of psychosocial functioning may become more acute given our

recent economic crisis and the emphasis on cost containment in healthcare. The focus of physical

rehabilitation is building independence but it is primarily limited to personal self-care issues

while opportunities to address socialization and function within the community are limited.

Wheelchair users participating in rehabilitation programs may be discharged once their basic

needs are met, such as being able to feed or dress themselves, but before more advanced skills

needed for effective social and community function are mastered.

Some researchers report that rehabilitation is shifting somewhat from a biomechanical

approach to a more holistic, client-centered approach which expands the opportunities to address

psychosocial functioning in physical rehabilitation settings (Cardol, De Jong, & Ward, 2002). In

a client-centered approach, the patient identifies his or her needs and participates in developing

his or her program of rehabilitation. While this may be the case, I contend that psychosocial

functioning is not addressed sufficiently by rehabilitation practitioners. While the client has

input, it is still within the confines of institutional and funding policies which focus on basic,

home-based, self-care skills. Because psychosocial functioning is not a priority during physical

rehabilitation, people undergoing rehabilitation may not achieve their desired levels of

independence or community reintegration. In order to integrate psychosocial functioning into

physical rehabilitation, it is imperative to describe the roles that psychosocial factors play in

predicting participation. Once the predictors are identified and a comprehensive model of desired

community engagement is described, researchers will be able to focus their attention on

strategies to incorporate an emphasis on psychosocial functioning during physical rehabilitation.

It may be possible to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of rehabilitation programs and

expedite the person’s return to community life. The content of educational programs for

rehabilitation professionals such as occupational and physical therapists who work with

wheelchair users in an ongoing manner may also need to be modified to emphasize

psychological and social functioning.

Participation in community-based activities varies greatly among wheelchair users. In

looking at popular media, there are wheelchair users who are quite active and visible in everyday

life. Examples of this variation include the popularity of sporting events and television shows

including participants who use wheelchairs. Conversely, isolation of and barriers to participation

are also evident in today’s culture. For instance, the media often depict wheelchair users as being

alone or in need of help. Participation in community based activities varies greatly among

wheelchair users and as yet is not predictable. A review of the extant literature does not clarify

whether or why some wheelchair users participate to a greater extent than others and it does not

emphasize the psychosocial factors that predict community-based participation. Participation is a

complicated concept that is likely affected by a wide variety of personal and societal factors

(Bode, Hahn, Bernspang, & Lexell, 2010). Most research on participation by wheelchair users

has focused on physical factors like propulsion speed, pushrim style, and medical diagnosis

(Chow & Levy, 2011; Dieruf, Ewer, & Boninger, 2008; Giesbrecht, Ripat, Quanbury, & Cooper,

2009; Harris & Sprigle, 2008; Howarth, Pronovost, Polgar, Dickerson, & Callaghan, 2010). To

use concepts such as these as markers of participation is shortsighted because the physical act of

propelling a wheelchair does not equate with participation. Further research must be done to

explore the relationships between the physical aspects of wheelchair mobility and the functional,

social, and psychological aspects of participation in selected activities. A recent study in the

Netherlands revealed that while there was a relationship between the wheelchair user’s

satisfaction with the fit and dimensions of his or her wheelchair with a more active lifestyle,

there was not a significant relationship between wheelchair-related characteristics and overall

participation as measured using the Dutch version of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction

with Assistive Technology (de Groot, Post, Bongers-Janssen, Bloemen-Vrencken, & van der

Woude, 2011).

Research that involves the psychosocial factors predictive of participation has primarily

focused on quality of life and satisfaction (Boschen, Tonack, & Gargaro, 2003; M. P. Dijkers,

1999; M.P. Dijkers, 1999; Tate, Kalpakjian, & Forchheimer, 2002). While quality of life and

satisfaction may result from participation, there is insufficient evidence regarding the

relationship between participation in discretionary community-based activities and quality of life

or satisfaction or that quality of life and satisfaction predict participation. Most participation

studies focus on a conglomeration of activities including 1) those that occur in the home, 2) those

that occur in the community, 3) those that are mandatory (such as bathing, dressing, grooming,

toileting, and work), and 4) those that are discretionary (performed by choice, after mandatory

activities are completed) (Boschen et al., 2003; Sonenblum, Sprigle, Harris, & Maurer, 2008).

Much of this research does not focus specifically on wheelchair users; instead it includes wide

variation in means and ability of mobility. While this research may include too broad a

population to be directly useful to any individual, it is important because it describes the

complexities of participation and offers a basic theoretical framework that can be used as a

starting point for describing participation among specific populations. Participants in these

studies were often grouped in ways that do not differentiate whether they use wheelchairs. For

instance, some researchers looked at people with all types of mobility impairments including

those who use walking aids like canes and walkers or otherwise have difficulty walking (M. L.

Lund, Nordlund, Bernspang, & Lexell, 2007). Others have grouped participants by diagnostic

category rather than by functional ability (P. Kennedy, Lude, & Taylor, 2006; M. L. Lund,

Nordlund, Nygard, & Bernspang, 2005; Noreau & Fougeyrollas, 2000). By studying these mixed

groups and by including a wide variety of activities in the research, it is impossible to describe

wheelchair users’ desired community engagement. My research focuses specifically on

wheelchair users and on community-based, discretionary activities in an effort to fill this gap in

the literature.

Boundaries of this

Research

This research focused on adults who use wheelchairs for the majority of those

activities

requiring mobility outside their home. This research addressed men and women, aged 18 and

over, living in the community in rural, suburban, or urban settings. It addresses participation in

community-based activities only. Participation in activities performed in the home were not

considered as part of this research. This research addressed only discretionary activities and did

not include those activities which the participants were compelled or required to perform like

work or daily self-care tasks.

Key Terms

Some of the concepts that are central to this project have multiple meanings in common

language that differ from their usage in disability literature. It is therefore necessary to explain

the specific use of some of the concepts in the context of this research. For the purpose of this

research, the term wheelchair is any wheeled mobility device such as a manual or power

wheelchair or a scooter. For the purpose of this research, a wheelchair user is a person who uses

his or her wheelchair for community access. Participation has long been difficult to define and

measure in the field of physical disabilities rehabilitation. For the purpose of this study,

participation refers to the active or passive engagement in an activity. Participation may occur

alone or with other people. It may involve physical and/or cognitive engagement.

Participation

involves personal choice and individual meaning (Hammel et al., 2008). Community-based,

discretionary activities are those activities in which the person participates by choice, for their

own sake or pleasure, rather than from mandate or obligation. My research focuses on activities

that occur outside of the home, in public or private locations, indoors or outdoors and as such,

are labeled as community-based. Such activities include active recreation like playing basketball

or camping; leisure activities like attending movies or reading; taking vacations; socializing;

religious activities like attending weekly services or singing in a choir; and community activities

like attending community meetings or serving on a community board (Gray, Hollingsworth,

Stark, & Morgan, 2006).

This research focuses specifically on the role of psychosocial functioning on desired

community engagement. Psychosocial factors are the psychological and social characteristics

that are thought to influence a person’s participation in activities or make some people more or

less likely than other people to do what they want to do. In the literature in this field and in the

instruments used to measure such concepts, the psychosocial factors include the following:

vitality, social function, emotional role function, mental health, perceived control over one’s life,

and perceived satisfaction with the performance of everyday activities.

Vitality refers to a person’s energy or fatigue level. Social function refers to the type and

frequency of participation in social activities and considers the impact that physical health and

emotional problems have on it. Emotional role functioning refers to a person’s ability to function

in his or her usual roles, like worker or caregiver, and considers the influence of mental health on

role performance. Emotional role functioning accounts for limitations that occur as a result of

personal and emotional problems. Mental health is an umbrella term that includes anxiety,

depression, loss of behavioral or emotional control, and psychological well-being (Ware &

Sherbourne, 1992).

Perceived control over one’s life refers to the sense that what happens in one’s life is as a

result of the person’s own actions. It relates to the feeling of power to direct one’s life and the

ability to make choices (Nosek, Fuhrer, & Howland, 1992). Perceived satisfaction with the

performance of everyday activities refers to an individual’s perception of his or her physical,

psychological, and social characteristics that affect performance of routine living patterns (SL

Wood-Dauphinee, Opzoomer, Williams, Marchand, & Spitzer, 1988). Perceived satisfaction

with the performance of everyday activities is a predictor of quality of life.

In addition to psychosocial factors, sociodemographic and medical characteristics also

play a role in a person’s participation. Factors considered as central to this study are wheelchair

type, age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, income, living arrangement and

location, primary condition causing mobility impairment, time since onset of condition, other

medical conditions impacting participation, amount and type of help needed, and

transportation

methods used.

Research Questions

My research used an existing data set to describe a model of participation that identifies the

predictors of a wheelchair user’s participation in community-based, discretionary activities. The

data set includes information about the participants’ impressions of their physical and

psychosocial functioning during various activities in various environments. My research

investigated the roles of the following psychosocial factors as they predict participation in

community-based, discretionary activities: vitality, social function, emotional role function,

mental health, perceived control over one’s life, and perception of reintegration to social

activities.

1. After controlling for demographic and medical covariates, to what extent do each of the

psychosocial factors of interest predict the extent of participation in community-based,

discretionary activities by wheelchair users?

2. After controlling for the level of perceived importance, to what extent do each of the

psychosocial factors of interest predict participation in each of the domains of interest of

community-based, discretionary activities by wheelchair users?

3. After controlling for the extent and level of perceived importance, to what extent do each

of the psychosocial factors of interest predict satisfaction with participation in each of the

domains of interest of community-based, discretionary activities by wheelchair users?

Summary

This study will use an existing data base to describe a model of participation by

wheelchair users in community-based, discretionary activities. Participation research tends to

focus 1) on larger populations than wheelchair users, including people with all disabilities, with

or without mobility limitations; 2) on self-care, leisure, and work activities as a whole; and 3) on

activities inside and outside of the home. Results of those studies cannot be easily generalized to

wheelchair users nor can they be generalized to specific types of activities or specific locations.

Wheelchair users might have unique concerns or needs related to participation in community-

based, discretionary activities. Additionally, prior research focused on physical and

environmental factors that predict participation. Intrinsic, psychosocial characteristics are also

likely to predict participation in community based, discretionary activities. This research fills a

gap in explaining community-based participation by wheelchair users’ by identifying and

describing the psychosocial factors that predict participation.

Review of the Literature

This dissertation investigates certain aspects of participation by people who use

wheelchairs in community-based activities. The literature search revealed little literature

specifically on this topic. This literature review broadens the topic slightly to comprise two

topics that are integral to the investigation: 1) measurement tools and 2) barriers to and

facilitators of participation.

Tools Used to Measure Participation

My review of the tools designed to measure participation in community-based activities

revealed that there is no single, comprehensive instrument that addresses all of the factors related

to participation. Instead many researchers have begun to develop various tools to measure

participation (Boschen et al., 2003; Brown et al., 2004b; Cardol, Beelen, et al., 2002; M.P.

Dijkers, 1999; Fougeyrollas, 2010; Kannisto, Merikanto, Alaranta, Hokkanen, & Sintonen, 1998;

Noreau & Fougeyrollas, 2000; van Brakel et al., 2006). While some of the tools have been

embraced by researchers and clinicians none has been identified as the most effective in the field

of rehabilitation. This section of the literature review mentions these tools and then focuses on

the Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M; Appendix C) from which the dependent variables

in this study were derived. The complicated nature of describing and measuring participation is

partly due to whether measures should be subjective, objective, or both, and from whose

perspective the measures should be made (Brown et al., 2004a; Coster & Khetani, 2008). In an

effort to build the knowledge base in participation and rehabilitation, there has been a push to

quantify constructs that are subjective in nature. Participation involves the interplay between the

person and his or her environment involving choice, control, and opportunity and is interpreted

within each individual’s personal and social values (Hammel et al., 2008).The instruments that

are used most frequently in research on participation by people with physical disabilities are the

Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART) (Whiteneck et al., 1992), the

Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (Law et al., 1994), the Functioning

Everyday with a Wheelchair Instrument (FEW) (Holm, Mills, Schmeler, & Trefler, n.d.), and the

Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M) (Gray et al., 2006).

The CHART measures performance in six domains: physical and cognitive

independence, mobility, occupation, social integration, and economic self-sufficiency (Hall,

Dijkers, Whiteneck, Brooks, & Krause, 1998; Whiteneck et al., 1992). It does not however,

include participation in religious or political activities. It was found to differentiate levels of

function consistently with the Functional Independence Measure, a widely used measure of

burden of care (N. Walker, Mellick, Brooks, & Whiteneck, 2003).

The COPM uses a semi-structured interview to identify areas of functioning with which a

person has concerns or difficulties. After identifying the problems or concerns, the person is

asked to rate their importance and their satisfaction with that activity (Law et al., 2000; Law et

al., 1994). Two areas of the COPM, productivity that includes paid/unpaid work and school work

and leisure including quiet leisure, recreation, and socialization, may be helpful in describing a

person’s participation.

The FEW is a questionnaire that measures the wheelchair user’s perceived ability to

function in ten areas (Holm et al., n.d.; Mills, Holm, & Schmeler, 2007). Although considered a

participation measure, the FEW measures the person’s capacity, or potential ability, to

participate. It includes measures of indoor and outdoor mobility and transportation.

The current study uses The Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M) which was

developed by Dr. David Gray as part of the Research and Training Center on Measurement and

Interdependence in Community Living in St. Louis, Missouri

(https://enablemob.wustl.edu/CommunityParticipation.html). The PARTS/M contains 1

survey items in 20 life activities areas that are grouped into six life domains including self-care;

mobility; domestic life; interpersonal interactions and relationships; major life areas; and

community, social, and civic life. Each life domain addresses four components of participation:

temporal (such as amount of time), evaluative (such as choice and satisfaction), relation to health

(such as fatigue or pain), and supportive (such as assistance required).

The PARTS/M has been used to investigate the relationship between participation and

physical activity levels, the need for support, wheelchairs, and speeds of travel. The studies

reviewed below used specific aspects of the PARTS/M but did not look specifically at

participation in activities in the community nor did they specifically identify the psychological

factors that predict greater participation.

In one study, the PARTS/M was used along with wheelchair data loggers to investigate

the correlation between mobility characteristics like distance traveled, speed, number of stops

made, and the frequency of participation (Cooper, Ferretti, Oyster, Kelleher, & Cooper, 2011).

The data loggers were electronic sensors that were attached to the participants’ wheelchairs by

the research personnel in such a way that they did not interfere with regular use of the wheelchair

during everyday activities. They were used to calculate and record the speed, distance travelled,

number of stops, and the amount of time the wheelchair was used. The participants were asked to

conduct their daily activities as usual. Data were gathered over a three week period; the first

week was during the 2007 annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The second and third

weeks occurred when the participants were in their home environments. Data collected during

the two weeks in the home environment were used for this study. In addition to the data logger,

participants also completed the PARTS/M. Of the 31 participants recruited, 22 completed all

portions of the study. Because data from eight of those 22 participants could not be used either

because of instrumentation problems, participant’s inability to use their wheelchairs during the

study timeframe, or incomplete PARTS/M data, data from 14 participants were used for analysis

to compare their mobility characteristics with their PARTS/M community participation scores.

Data were analyzed for the group of 14 wheelchair users as a whole and for manual

wheelchair users and power wheelchair users as separate groups. Twenty four correlations

yielded two significant findings. The researchers found a significant positive correlation among

manual wheelchair users between the average speed traveled and the frequency of using

transportation (rs = .837, p = .019) and socialization (rs = .772, p = .042). Manual wheelchair

users who wheeled their wheelchairs faster also used transportation more frequently and reported

higher levels of socialization. The researchers also identified a trend towards a significant

correlation between the average speed and the total community participation score among

manual wheelchair users (rs = .714, p = .071). Among power wheelchair users, they found a

trend toward a significant negative correlation between average speed and leisure participation

(rs = -.635, p = .066).

I question the usefulness of these findings for a number of reasons. Firstly, the

participant pool was very small and homogenous. There were only 14 participants included in

the correlation analysis. Although 14 participants were included in the data analysis, the authors

report the demographics on the 16 participants who completed all aspects of the research

including the two whose PARTS/M surveys were incomplete. Of those 16 people, 15 were men

and 12 were white, representing an homogeneous group. Additionally, they were recruited

during a veteran’s athletic event and this event might attract a certain type of person. The

findings may not reflect performance of a larger sample of people with more varied experiences,

histories, and interests. Secondly, by running so many correlations, the researchers increased the

likelihood of finding significance simply by chance. Lastly, the conceptual link between the

variables studied and participation is questionable, even if significance was found. Traveling

further or faster, making more or less frequent stops, and spending more time driving may not

necessarily relate at all to participation. Wheelchair propulsion speed, for example, could be a

function of the person’s physical stamina or whether the environment is spacious, obstacle-free,

and smooth-surfaced.

Another group studied the relationship between the wheelchair, the person’s impairment,

and the environment in three settings: at home, in the community, and during transportation

(Chaves et al., 2004). Seventy spinal cord injured wheelchair users in Pittsburgh and St. Louis

were assessed using three sections of the PARTS/M: getting around inside the home, leaving the

home, and transportation. The participants’ responses were divided into two categories: 1)

participation limitations or health-related factors leading to limitations and 2) access limitations,

or non-health related factors like the physical environment, wheelchair, social attitudes, self-

concept, and lack of assistance. The frequencies of perceived reasons for limitations were used to

calculate the percentage that each factor was perceived to be a limitation in each of the three

settings. Chi-square tests were used to analyze differences between those with paraplegia and

tetraplegia and between the group in Pittsburgh and the group in St. Louis. A significantly higher

percentage of participants in St. Louis indicated that wheelchair seating was a limiting factor for

leaving the home than participants in Pittsburgh (St. Louis, 24%; Pittsburgh, 5%, p = .025).

Participants in St. Louis also reported that social attitudes (St. Louis, 18%; Pittsburgh 0%, p =

.007) and self-concept (St. Louis, 15%, Pittsburgh 0%, p = .015) were limiting factors for leaving

the home at significantly higher rates than participants in Pittsburgh. Lastly, people in St. Louis

reported that social attitudes were limiting factors for transportation at significantly higher rates

than participants in Pittsburgh (St. Louis, 15%, Pittsburgh, 0%, p = .017) (Chaves et al., 2004).

While these researchers found significance in the frequency of the wheelchair being a limiting

factor, the social and psychological findings are also very interesting and should be examined

further. However, the researchers did not define the terms social attitudes or self-concept nor did

they describe how these concepts were measured. This interests me because it is not overtly

obvious how these data were extracted from the PARTS/M. In addition to these findings

regarding social attitudes and self-concept, it would be interesting to investigate the participants

in St. Louis and Pittsburgh further to determine their differences in perception. It would be

important to determine whether there are differences in society’s perception and acceptance of

disability among people living in these locations.

A third group of researchers used the PARTS/M, SF-36, and RNLI to study the

relationship between physical activity and participation in major life activities of a group of 604

people with mobility impairments (Crawford, Hollingsworth, Morgan, & Gray, 2008). They used

the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

criteria for physical activity to identify three categories of activity level: high active- either 30

minutes of moderately intense activity five days weekly or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three

days weekly; insufficient physical activity- more than 10 total minutes per week of moderate or

vigorous activity but less than the recommended amount; and inactivity- less than 10 minutes

per week of moderate or vigorous activity (Crawford et al., 2008). Assignment to the groups

was based on responses to questions on the PARTS/M regarding the frequency and duration of

exercise inside and outside the home and participation in active recreation outside the home.

Using an ANOVA to examine the relationship between activity level and participation, they

found that the frequency of participation in the mobility, community, social, and civic life

domains of the PARTS/M was significantly higher for the high active group than the two lower

activity level groups. They also found that satisfaction and choice were significantly higher in

the high active group for self-care (p<.05), mobility (p<.01), domestic life (p<.01), and

community, social, and civic life (p<.01). Using an ANOVA to examine the relationship between

activity level and health status from the SF-36 scores, the inactive group was found to be

significantly lower on the social functioning subscale than the high active group (p<.01).

Additionally, the inactive group rated themselves significantly lower than the low active and

high active groups for the vitality subscale (p<.01) and for pain (low active group, p<.05, high

active group, p<.01). Using the RNLI to compare activity with reintegration to normal living,

they found that the high active group took more trips out of town and were more satisfied with

their personal assistance for self-care than the inactive group (p<.01). They also found that the

low active group reported higher frequency of enjoyable work than the inactive group (p<.05)

and that the high active group scored significantly higher than the low active group on

recreational activities (p<.05) and significantly higher in social activities than the inactive group

(p< .01). They found that the low active group scored significantly higher in social activities than

the inactive group (p<.01) (Crawford et al., 2008). The findings of this study are important and

support the need for further investigation. My research complements Crawford’s work but differs

from it in some significant ways. While Crawford focused on engagement through physical

activity, I am interested in looking at engagement in a broader sense by looking at participation

in all discretionary activities. Crawford investigated physical activity whether it took place in the

home or outside of the home. I am especially interested in focusing on activities that take place

outside of the home. Lastly, Crawford’s research focused on a group of people with all types of

mobility impairments including those who were able ambulate without a wheelchair. Using the

same data set, my research focuses specifically on wheelchair users.

These studies exemplify the potential usefulness of the PARTS/M in measuring

participation in activities in the community among wheelchair users. While these findings are

interesting, they do not fully explain participation. For instance, they do not address the

importance of considering how peoples’ experiences or how long they used their wheelchair

(time since onset) might affect their participation. They do not elaborate on the differences or

similarities between power and manual wheelchair users. My study will use multiple instruments

to develop of model of participation in community-based activities among wheelchair users.

Barriers to and Facilitators of Participation

Physical barriers to and facilitators of participation.

Much of the literature on wheelchair users’ participation focuses on physical barriers and

facilitators including environmental access, personal propulsion skills, and wheelchair features.

Participation requires that a wheelchair user be able to maneuver a wheelchair successfully in a

variety of environments. The American National Standard Index (ANSI) and International

Standard Organization (ISO) identify testing and reporting procedures for the performance

characteristics of wheelchairs such as tipping angles, turning abilities, obstacle climbing abilities,

and strength/durability of parts and whole systems. Based on these and other procedures, there

has been some research that informs everyday wheelchair use. For instance, in a study of power

and manual wheelchairs, Koontz and colleagues (2010) determined the styles and configurations

of the most maneuverable wheelchair systems by testing maneuvers like 360˚ and U-turns

(Koontz, Brindle, Kankipati, Feathers, & Cooper, 2010).

Driving characteristics like speed and distance traveled have been used as indicators for

participation (Bussmann et al., 2010; Harris, Sprigle, Sonenblum, & Maurer, 2010; Sonenblum et

al., 2008). Another group of researchers studied the participation of veterans in two locations: at

the National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games and in their own communities (Tolerico et al., 2007).

The researchers reported that the veterans traveled farther and faster during the athletic events

than they did in their own communities. They concluded that speed and distance traveled

correlated with participation but they did not say how or why speed and distance specifically

related to levels of participation. With the limited research in this area, it is not possible to draw

the conclusion they reported. They did not consider the contexts within which the participants

were acting. In the context they studied, speed and distance traveled made sense. In other words,

the size of the arena and distance between events may have dictated the distances traveled. In

another context, speed and distance may not have been important indicators of participation.

Wheelchair equipment itself can also be a barrier or facilitator to participation as

participation may be greater when the person is able to use his or her wheelchair to its fullest

advantage. Certain aspects of wheelchairs have been studied and have led to the design of new

styles of wheelchairs and of components that may impact function. Two recent and most notable

design changes are related to 1) the handrim shape and placement on manual wheelchairs and to

2) power assist systems that increase the effectiveness of manual propulsion (Dieruf et al., 2008;

Giesbrecht et al., 2009). The newly designed pushrims are shaped to match the user’s hands and

to increase efficiency of pushing. The power assist systems increase efficiency in that each push

of the pushrim is given a boost, making the wheelchair roll further than an unassisted push. The

researchers concluded that equipment such as these make propulsion easier and therefore leads to

increased participation. Their views are short-sighted, however, because their research focused

only on those specific wheelchair parts and did not investigate the combined effect of the other

many physical, societal, and psychosocial factors that influence a person’s participation.

Psychosocial barriers to and facilitators of participation.

Psychosocial barriers to community participation include issues such as the wheelchair

user’s confidence and sense of self-efficacy and his or her impressions of the psychological and

social attitudes of other people in the environment. It seems clear that the psychosocial context

influences participation at least as powerfully as the physical environment. Psychological factors

such as self-consciousness and the attitudes of non-disabled people, including professionals,

were also identified as barriers (Rimmer, Riley, Wang, Rauworth, & Jurkowski, 2004). For

example, in a study of how people with disabilities use gyms, Buffart (2009) found that the staff

members’ limited knowledge of how people with disabilities could use the gym equipment was a

barrier to participation. Another group of researchers found that attitudinal barriers such as

negative staff attitudes were barriers to participation in leisure travel by people with disabilities

(Card, Cole, & Humphrey, 2006). Conversely, attitudes and support from family, friends, and

colleagues can facilitate participation (Noreau, Fougeyrollas, & Boschen, 2002).

While there is a body of research that relates to psychosocial aspects of physical

disability, it does not specifically focus on wheelchair users nor does it specifically address

participation in community-based, discretionary activities. The studies vary greatly. When

looked at as a group, they do seem to indicate the importance of investigating the role of

psychosocial functioning on participation by people with physical disabilities. Persson and

Ryden interviewed 26 people with physical disabilities regarding their coping strategies (Persson

& Ryden, 2006). They found that most of the interviewees acknowledged the importance of

developing confidence or trust in themselves. This relates to a person’s ability to make choices

and the importance of having choice in their own lives. Ozanne, Strang, and Persson studied the

health-related quality of life, anxiety, and depression of people diagnosed with amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their closest relatives (Ozanne, Strang, & Persson, 2011). They found

higher incidences of anxiety and depression as well as a lower health-related quality of life

indicators in these research subjects than in the general population. Their study did not however,

investigate whether there was a relation between the levels of anxiety or depression and the

subjects’ patterns of participation in discretionary activities in their communities. In a study of

hopefulness, depression, and participation among people who had a stroke, researchers found

that hopefulness and participation may predict depression among stroke survivors (P.D.A. Gum,

CR Snyder, & P.W. Duncan, 2006).

A number of studies have been performed to determine whether there is a link between

physical activity and participation (Bergland & Narum, 2007; R.W. Motl & E. McAuley, 2010).

In an invited clinical commentary for the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, Mulligan

described numerous studies that indicate that the physiotherapist (rehabilitation professional) can

positively influence the patterns of participation by people with long term disabilities which in

turn, positively influences overall health and well-being (Mulligan, 2011). The studies that

Mulligan describes also indicate the importance of social relationships and psychosocial

functioning like self-efficacy in improving well-being. In a study of people with multiple

sclerosis, 292 participants were examined to explain the relationship between psychosocial

functioning, physical activity, and quality of life. The researchers found that the relationship

between physical activity and quality of life is likely indirect and that psychosocial factors like

mood, pain, social support, and self-efficacy (among other factors) are intermediate variables

(Motl, McAuley, Snook, & Gliottoni, 2009). Although this study investigates a different

population, it clearly identifies the role of psychosocial functioning on activity and supports the

need for further related research.

The literature described here points out the areas that have been emphasized thus far in

explaining participation by people with disabilities. The research focusing specifically on

participation by wheelchair users focuses primarily on the physical aspects of disability and on

the equipment used by disabled people. While there is some literature that also includes the role

of psychosocial functioning on participation, this pool of literature is limited. It was necessary to

broaden the scope of the literature review to a wider population of people with disabilities to find

more research explaining the role of psychosocial functioning on participation. This supports the

need for further investigation of wheelchair users in order to develop a comprehensive model of

participation among wheelchair users in discretionary, community-based activities and leads

directly to the following research questions.

Methods

This research was conducted using an existing data set provided by Dr. David Gray, Ph.

D., Associate Professor of Neurology and Occupational Therapy at Washington University

School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO (Appendix B). Gray’s research interests encompass broadly

ranging disability and socio-political topics including accessibility, care provision, and equality.

The data were collected with support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation

Research (NIDRR), award number H133B060018 as part of the Research and Training Center on

Independent Living at The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. This NIDRR funded project

studied how people with mobility impairments perform skills within and outside of their homes.

Data were collected regarding environmental access and participants’ opinions regarding their

own functional abilities. These data were also used to determine the parametric characteristics of

the PARTS/M, a measure developed by Gray with funding from the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (R04/CCR714134-03S).

Instruments

The data extracted and analyzed in this dissertation were collected using the following

four instruments: The Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M; Appendix C), The Personal

Independence Profile (PIP; Appendix D), The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI;

Appendix E), and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36;

Appendix F).

The Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M).

The PARTS/M is a self-report survey developed by Gray (2006), which focuses on 20

major life activities. The individual items that make up the PARTS/M instrument generate

responses that are categorized into six domains (Table 1). In addition to the six domains, the

instrument measures four components of participation. These components of participation cut

across all six domains. The four components are 1) temporal — frequency and time; 2) evaluative

— choice, satisfaction, and importance; 3) health-related –limitations as a result of illness, pain,

or fatigue; and 4) supportive — is assistance needed from another person or from

accommodations, adaptations, or special equipment.

Table 1. Structure of the PARTS/M

Domain Activities

Self-care Dressing

Bathing

Bladder care

Bowel care

Meals

Mobility Move inside home

Leave home

Vacations

Domestic life Work inside home

Exterior maintenance

Interpersonal interactions and

relationships

Parenting

Intimacy

Major life areas Employment

Volunteering

Money management

Community, social, and civic life Active

recreation

Leisure activities

Socializing

Community activities

Religious activities

The PARTS/M uses a combination of nominal and ordinal scales. An individual’s overall

PARTS/M score can be calculated, as can scores for each of the 6 domains, each of the 4

components, or each of the 20 life activities (Crawford et al., 2008). The internal consistency of

the two domains of interest in this dissertation study, as calculated using Cronbach’s Alpha, were

mobility = .72 and community, social, and civic life = .85. The internal consistency of the three

variables derived from the evaluative component of the PARTS/M as calculated using Cronbach

alphas were satisfactory: choice items = .93, satisfaction items = .94, and importance items =

.78) (Gray et al., 2006).

This dissertation used data collected from those portions of the PARTS/M related to

participation in discretionary, community-based activities. Of the 20 activities in the PARTS/M,

this study focused on the following six areas: active recreation, leisure activities, vacationing,

socializing, religious activities, and community activities. These areas are contained within two

domains: mobility and community/social/civic life. The three variables derived from the

PARTS/M were: 1) extent of participation in selected community-based activities (extent), 2)

importance of participation in selected community-based activities (importance), and 3)

satisfaction with participation in selected community-based activities (satisfaction).

The Personal Independence Profile (PIP).

The PIP is a self-report measure of psychological and environmental aspects of independence

based on a model of independence emphasizing control of life, having options, making decisions,

performing daily activities, and participating in community life (Bolton, 2001). The PIP is

comprised of three subscales: perceived control over one’s self, psychological self-reliance, and

physical functioning. Perceived control over one’s self is measured with 10 questions using a 5-

point Likert scale ranging from 1= no control to 5= complete control. It is scored by summing

the responses for a total possible score of 50 with a higher score indicating a higher level of

perceived control. Internal consistency using Cronbach’s α is .86, demonstrating high reliability.

The Psychological Self-reliance subscale measures the character traits of confidence,

assertiveness, and ambition using a 34 item, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1= completely

agree to 5= completely disagree. Items in this Psychological Self-reliance subscale are from

Fordyce’s Independence Scale (Fordyce, 1953). Cronbach’s α for the Psychological Self-reliance

subscale is .79.

The Physical Functioning subscale contains 25 items that assess the degree of independence

from other people in performing daily activities. Cronbach’s α is .93 for the physical functioning

subscale (Nosek et al., 1992).

The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI).

The perception of reintegration to social activities was measured using the Reintegration to

Normal Living (RNLI) scale, an 11-item self-assessment developed to determine an individual’s

perception of and satisfaction with his or her level of reintegration into social activities.

Reintegration to Normal Living is described as “reorganization of physical, psychological, and

social characteristics of an individual into a harmonious whole so that one can resume well-

adjusted living after an incapacitating illness or trauma” (SL Wood-Dauphinee et al., 1988).

Scoring of each item ranges from 0 = no integration to 10 = complete reintegration on a visual

analogue scale. The adjusted score ranges from 0 -100 with a higher score indicating better

perceived integration. Cronbach’s α was greater than .9 when tested with 109 patients with

cancer, cardiac conditions, center nervous system disorders, and orthopedic conditions, and their

families/significant others and health professionals (S. Wood-Dauphinee & Williams, 1987). In a

study on well-being in older community residents, Steiner, et al. report the Cronbach’s α as .

in their primary sample of 414 participants and .76 in their reliability sample of 50 participants

(Steiner et al., 1996).

The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36).

The SF-36 is a 36-item self-report measure of health-related quality of life. Four variables are

derived from data collected with this instrument: vitality, social function, general mental health,

and emotional role function. The SF-36, one of the most widely used health scales, is organized

into two major dimensions: physical and mental health. It contains eight scales: Physical

Functioning, Role Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health Perceptions, Vitality, Social

Functioning, Role Emotional, and Mental Health (McHorney, Ware, Lu, & Sherbourne, 1994).

The Physical Functioning scale measures the person’s involvement in various everyday activities

including exercise, walking, and bending. The Role Physical scale measures accomplishments

and limitations in the ability to work or perform other activities. The Bodily Pain scale measures

both the intensity of pain and the extent to which it limits participation with usual activities. The

General Health Perception scale measures the extent to which the person sees him or herself as

healthy or ill as well as his or her expectation of health in the future. The Vitality scale measures

the person’s perception of his or her energy level. The Social Functioning scale includes items

related to health problems that interfere with social activities. The Role Emotional scale

measures the extent to which the person sees him or herself as accomplishing less than desired.

The Mental Health scale measures emotions like nervousness, sadness, calmness, and

downheartedness (McHorney, War Jr, Lu, & Sherbourne, 1994). The SF-36 is widely used with

various populations, has been translated into 140 languages, and is available in numerous

formats including fixed form, oral interview, online, fax, eForm, smartphone, tablet/kiosk, and

interactive voice response via telephone (McHorney, Ware, et al., 1994) (McHorney, War Jr, et

al., 1994; McHorney, Ware, et al., 1994; Quality Metric, 2012; StrokEngine, n.d.). Reliability of

the SF-36 (Cronbach’s α) ranges from .78 to.93 as follows: physical functioning = .93, role

physical = .84, bodily pain = .82, general health = .78, vitality = .87, social functioning = .85,

role emotional = .83, mental health = .90 (McHorney, War Jr, et al., 1994; McHorney, Ware, et

al., 1994).

Data

Permission for use of these data was obtained prior to analyses (Appendix B). The

original data set provided for use in this dissertation study did not include personally identifiable

information. A description of how the original data set was created appears below.

Participants

Participants contained in the full data set.

Participants represented in the original data set were recruited from across the United

States. They were adults, over age 18, with mobility impairments who lived in the community

for at least one year. Non-English speaking people, people with less than one year of disability

experience, people with cognitive impairments or psychiatric conditions that prohibited

participation, and people living in institutions were excluded from the original study. Participants

were recruited via mailings from charitable organizations, service provider agencies, and

advocacy organizations as well as through newspaper advertisements and newsletter notices.

Seven hundred and one research packets, including the surveys, project information, and

informed consent requests were mailed to potential participants who responded to the call for

participation and met the inclusion criteria. Six hundred and four responses were received, a

response rate of 86%.

Data from the surveys were coded, identifying information was removed, and data were

entered into SPSS, a statistical software package. The data set was checked to insure accuracy.

Data coding, input, and checking were performed by Dr. Gray’s research team. Dr. Gray

provided the SPSS data file, minus any personally identifiable participant information, for use in

this dissertation study.

Participants in this dissertation study.

The original dataset included people with mobility impairments who used various

mobility aids including canes, crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs as well as those who reported

difficulty walking up to three blocks without an assistive device. The dissertation study reported

here only includes those individuals from the original dataset who used a wheelchair and the

study only investigates those issues that specifically impact the participation of wheelchair users.

The filtered data set, consisting of only those individuals who used a wheelchair, contained 302

participants (n=302.)

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using SPSS-PC for Windows Release 20.0. Upon receipt, the data set

was examined for missing data using procedures described by the instrument authors to address

missing data, as appropriate.

Descriptive analysis was performed on the participants’ demographic information. This

descriptive analysis focused on the characteristics that were identified as covariates of

participation through in-depth discussion between this author and her advisors (Table 2).

Table 2. Potential Covariates

 Wheelchair type

 Age

 Gender

 Race/ethnicity

 Marital status

 Education

 Personal and household income

 Housemates

 Years in present living arrangement

 Primary condition causing mobility impairment

 Time since onset of condition

 Other conditions in past 30 days

 Amount and type of help needed

 Transportation used

 Primary location

Three variables were derived from the PARTS/M: Extent, Satisfaction, and Importance.

Four variables were derived from the SF-36: Vitality, Social Function, General Mental Health ,

and Emotional Role Function. One variable, Perceived Control Over One’s Life, was derived

from the PIP and one variable, Perception of Reintegration to Social Activities, was derived from

the RNLI. The label for each of these variables came directly from the subscale name. Each

variable was calculated using the appropriate instrument’s scoring system.

Variables derived from the PARTS/M.

The PARTS/M subscales were the source of the variables extent of participation,

importance and satisfaction with participation. Standardized scores were calculated for extent,

importance and satisfaction.

Extent of Participation.

Extent of participation was determined using the PARTS/M items regarding the

frequency

of participation in each of the six domains of interest: active recreation, leisure activities,

vacationing, socializing, religious activities, and community activities. Some scales included

multiple items (such as active recreation and leisure activities) and some included only one item

(such as socializing and religious activities). For the active recreation scale, frequency scores for

the individual activities (swimming, playing golf, skiing, racing, bowling, camping, hiking

nature trails) were summed and used as the variable determining the standardized score. For the

leisure recreation scale, frequency scores for the individual activities (dining out, attending

movies, attending concerts, playing cards, playing board games, watching sports, reading) were

summed. Each of the frequency scales contained a single item. Scores were standardized to

address the differences in the number of items in each domain. Factor analysis determined that

extent of participation comprised a single factor. The frequency score in each domain was used

as the variable to determine the standardized score. The following equation was used to

determine the standardized scores.

Importance.

Factor analysis was used to compute the coefficients of a principal component score. For

each variable, missing values were replaced with the variable’s mean value. Each domain’s

importance score was calculated using the following equation.

Factor analysis determined that importance was comprised of two categories which are

named cerebral importance and dynamic importance.

Satisfaction with Participation.

Factor analysis was used to compute the coefficients of a principal component score. For
each variable, missing values were replaced with the variable’s mean value. Each domain’s

satisfaction score was calculated using the following equation.

Factor analysis determined that satisfaction was comprised of a single category.

Variable derived from the PIP.

Perceived control over one’s life was determined using the Part 1, Control subscale of the

PIP. Scoring consisted of a simple summation of the 10 items in the subscale with a possible

total score of 50.

Variable derived from the RNLI.

Perception of integration to social activities was calculated as the adjusted score on the

RNLI. The adjusted score of this assessment was calculated using the following equation:

Variables derived from the SF-36.

The scores for vitality, social function, general mental health, and emotional role function

were calculated according to the SF-36 scoring guidelines. It was first determined whether

enough data were present to calculate the score. If at least half of the items in a subscale were

present in the data set, that participant’s scores could be used and the missing values were

replaced with the mean score for that variable. Some of the item scores were then transformed

such that they all reflected an undesirable characteristic as a low score and a desirable

characteristic as a high score. For instance, the subscale of vitality contained four items and the

score of 2 items were reverse scored (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Sample of SF-36 subscale and item score

How much time during the past

4 weeks:

All of

the

time

Most of

the time

A good bit

of the time

Some of

the time

A little

of the
time

None of

the time

a. Did you feel full of pep?

e. Did you have a lot of energy?

g. Did you feel worn out?

i. Did you feel tired?

Figure 1. For each item, the response “all of the time” is scored 1, “most of the time” is scored 2,

“a good bit of the time” is scored 3, “some of the time” is scored 4, “a little of the time” is scored

5, and “none of the time” is scored 6. In this example, the scores for a. pep and e. energy were

inverted to be on the same scale as the other items. Similar instructions were provided for each

subscale of the SF-36.

Raw scores were calculated as the sum of the scores of the items in the subscale. Each raw

score was then transformed to a 0-100 scale using the following formula:

Once the variables were determined, I discussed the strategies that would be used to

analyze the data with my advisor. Extent and satisfaction were analyzed separately using similar

strategies that are listed below.

Extent of Participation

Research questions 1 and 2 involve determining the significant predictors of the extent of

participation in community-based discretionary activities by wheelchair users. In each of the

following steps extent of participation was the dependent variable. Ordinary Least Squares

regression was used in all analyses of the research questions.

1. Backward elimination regression analysis was used to determine the significant medical

and demographic covariates of extent of participation.

2. Dynamic importance and cerebral importance were included in a subsequent regression

that also included the significant medical and demographic covariates.

3. Non-significant variables were then removed one at a time, removing the least significant

variable at each step, until only significant variables remained.

4. In order to determine the role of each psychosocial factor in predicting the extent of

participation, each one was included in a regression analysis with the significant variables

identified in step 3.

5. In order to investigate covariation among the psychosocial factors, a regression analysis

was performed on all of the significant medical and demographic covariates, cerebral and

dynamic importance, and all of the psychosocial factors.

6. The non-significant variables were then removed from the model one at a time, removing

the least significant variable at each step, until only the significant predictors of the extent

of participation remained.

Satisfaction with Participation

Research question 3 involves determining the significant predictors of satisfaction with

participation in community-based discretionary activities by wheelchair users. In each of the

following steps satisfaction with participation was the dependent variable.

1. Backward elimination regression analysis was used to determine the significant medical

and demographic covariates of satisfaction with participation.

2. Dynamic importance and cerebral importance were included in a subsequent regression
that also included the significant medical and demographic covariates.
3. Non-significant variables were then removed one at a time, removing the least significant
variable at each step, until only significant variables remained.

4. In order to determine the role of each psychosocial factor in predicting satisfaction with

participation, each one was included in a regression analysis with the significant variables
identified in step 3.
5. In order to investigate covariation among the psychosocial factors, a regression analysis
was performed on all of the significant medical and demographic covariates, cerebral and
dynamic importance, and all of the psychosocial factors.
6. The non-significant variables were then removed from the model one at a time, removing

the least significant variable at each step, until only the significant predictors of

satisfaction with participation remained.

The final step was to integrate these two sets of regression analyses into one model of

participation in discretionary, community-based activities by people who use wheelchairs.

Results

Participants

Data from 302 participants were analyzed. The mean age of participants was 49.42 years

(SD 15.66; range 17- 83 years, skewness 0.033, kurtosis -.65) (Table 3). Of these participants,

44.7% were male and 55.3% were female; 88.1% were white, 9.9% were black or African

American, and the remaining 2% reported being from another race or ethnicity or selected the

response “other”. Ninety one percent of the sample had at least a high school education or GED

(Figures 2, 3, and 4). Regarding marital status, 42.7% of the participants were married or part of

an unmarried couple and 18.8% were separated, divorced, or widowed (Figure 5) and 17.9%

reported having children living at home (Table 4). Participants’ reported a wide range of incomes

with 44.4% reporting their annual income to be less than $25,000 (Figure 6).

The participants reported living in a variety of housing situations; 52.6% lived in a house

they owned, 13.9% reported living in a house owned by someone else, 2.3% reported renting a

house, 2.6% reported living in a multiple family dwelling, 18.5% in an apartment, 0.7% in a

dormitory, 0.7% in a transitional living facility, 1% in a hospital or nursing home, and 7.3%

responded “other” to the question (Table 4). One person selected the option “refused” on the

survey. The mean amount of time the participants reported living at their current location was

16.07 years (SD, 14.22; range <1 - >61 years, skewness 1.088, kurtosis .393) (Table 3).

Participants reported using both private and public transportation within their communities; 47%

owned a car or van or had independent means of transportation, 36.4% used public transportation

or friends for transportation, 13.6% depended on rides from family or friends when they were

available, 1% reported seldom traveling and having no reliable source of transportation, and 2%

reported that they did not know or they did not respond (Table 4).

Table 3. Continuous Variables: Age, years at present living situation, years since onset of the

disability.

Variable N Mean (SD) Range Skewness

Kurtosis

Age in years 302 49.42 (15.66) 17 – 83 0.033 -0.650

Years of present living

situation

289
16.07 (14.28)

< 1 to > 61 1.0888 0.3

Y
e
a
rs

s
in

c
e

o
n
se

t
o
f

d
is

a
b
il

it
y

Spinal Cord

Injury
89 11.27 (9.92) 0.71 – 41.16 1.335 1.0

Multiple Sclerosis 56 19 (12.69) 3.47 – 69.93 1.55 3.52

Cerebral Palsy 63 40.08 (13.06) 16.9 – 71.68 .259 -0.083

Polio 65 47.06 (18.68) 2.72 – 79.94 -0.922 0.453

Stroke 16 6.65 (3.85) 2.3 – 14. 48 0.956 0.067

Figure 2. Gender

Figure 3. Race

Figure 4. Education

Figure 5. Marital Status

Figure 6. Income

Table 4. Characteristics of Participants (N=302)

Characteristic Number (%)

Children Living at Home?

Yes 54 (17.9)

No 248 (82.1)

Wheelchair Type Used

Manual wheelchair only 148 (49)

Power wheelchair only 52 (17.2)

Scooter only 26 (8.6)

Manual and power wheelchair 63 (20.9)

Manual wheelchair and scooter 12 (4)

Power wheelchair and scooter 1 (0.3)

Primary Mobility Device Used in the

Community

Manual wheelchair 77 (25.5)

Power wheelchair 72 (23.8)

Scooter 22 (7.3)

Ambulation aid (cane, crutches, walker) 39 (12.9)

Multiple devices 92 (30.5)

Assistance Providers (includes reports of multiple providers)

Relatives 122 (40.4)

Friends 46 (15.2)

Persons hired by participant 68 (22.5)

Persons sent by an agency 66 (21.9)

Other 31 (10.3)

No assistance providers reported 65 (21.5)

Type of Residence

Owns Home 159 (52.6)

Lives in a home somebody else owns 42 (13.9)

House, rented 7 (2.3)

Multiple Family Dwelling 8 (2.6)

Apartment 56 (18.5)

Dorm 2 (0.7)

Transitional Facility 2 (0.7)

Hospital or Nursing Home

3 (1)

Other 22 (7.3)

No response 1 (0.3)

Transportation

Owns car or van or has independent means of

transportation

142 (47)

Uses public transportation or friends for

transportation

110 (36.4)

Depends on rides from friends/family when available 41 (13.6)

Seldom/never travel, no reliable source of

transportation

3 (1)

No response 5 (1.7)

Don’t know 1 (0.3)

All participants were wheelchair users; 49% reported using a manual wheelchair only,

17.2% reported using a power wheelchair only, and 8.6% reported using a scooter only (Table

4). While most wheelchair users use only one type of wheelchair, some use multiple devices for

a variety of reasons including differences in their ability to maneuver in different environments.

For example, sometimes people use power wheelchairs or scooters in the community where

spaces are larger and travel distances are longer especially if their endurance for pushing their

manual wheelchair is limited. They may use a manual wheelchair in their home because they

either are able to manage it sufficiently in that environment or the environment is too confined to

use a power wheelchair or scooter. Some people use multiple devices because their conditions

vary from day to day and even throughout the day. These individuals may use manual

wheelchairs when their coordination and strength are sufficient for propulsion and use powered

wheelchairs or scooters at other times. Of the 302 participants in this sample, 20.9% reported

using both a manual and power wheelchair, 4% reported using both a manual wheelchair and a

scooter, and 0.3% reported using both a power wheelchair and a scooter (Table 4). However,

participants’ reasons for using multiple devices were not included in the data set. Participants

were also asked to identify their primary means of mobility in the community with 25%

reporting that they primarily used a manual wheelchair in the community. Of the remaining

participants, 23.8% reported they primarily used a power wheelchair, 7.3% reported using a

scooter, 12.9% reported using primarily ambulation aids like canes, crutches, and walkers, and

30.5% reported using more than one device in the community (Table 4).

The participants presented with various diagnoses requiring the use of a wheelchair for

community mobility; 29.8% with spinal cord injury (SCI), 19.9% with multiple sclerosis (MS),

22.5% with cerebral palsy (CP), 21.9% with polio, and 6% with stroke (CVA) (Figure 7).

Participants reported the onset of their diagnosis as ranging from < 1 year to > 79 years (Table

3). These data demonstrate normality with the exception of years since onset of the diagnosis of

MS which is kurtotic (kurtosis is 3.52) due to the presence of one outlier. When this participant

is removed from the data set, the distribution is normal (skewness = 0.823, kurtosis = -0.075).

Figure 7. Primary Diagnosis Leading to Wheelchair Use

Note. SCI= Spinal Cord Injury. MS= Multiple Sclerosis. CP=

Cerebral Palsy

The data set does not differentiate between the time of onset of the disability and the time

when the participant began using a wheelchair. The time of onset of the disability is the reference

point for this study and ranges from < 1 year to > 79 years. Information regarding the time since

onset by disabling condition can be found in Table 3. These data are normally distributed.

In addition to their medical diagnoses, people with disabilities often have other

conditions that impact their ability to function. In this study, pain, spasticity, skin problems, and

depression were considered as factors that might influence participation in community-based,

discretionary activities. The incidence and frequency of these conditions are reported in Figures

8 through 12.

The conditions that may limit community participation are not diagnosis-specific. For

instance, pain may result directly from nerve damage associated with a certain diagnosis but, for

wheelchair users, it may also result from other factors such as remaining in a given seated

position for an extended period of time. People with any of the diagnoses identified in this

participant pool (SCI, MS, CP, polio, or stroke) may be unable to reposition themselves in their

wheelchairs without help so pain from poor positioning can be associated with any of these

diagnoses. As noted in Figure 8, 71.2% of the participants reported having pain. Of those who

reported the presence of pain, 41.9% reported that their pain was constant (Figure 9).

Spasticity is the presence of involuntary muscle contractions. Spasticity can be painful or

it can restrict movement leading to difficulty in movement and/or avoidance of participation.

Spasticity may also make positioning difficult. If a person is unable to sit appropriately in his or

her wheelchair or is unable to propel his or her wheelchair when spasticity is present, he or she

may avoid participation. Of the participants in this study, 51.3% reported experiencing spasticity

(Figure 8). Of those who reported the presence of spasticity, 31% reported that their spasticity

was constant (Figure 10).

Figure 8. Incidence of Other Conditions

Figure 9. Frequency of Pain (n=215)

Figure 10. Frequency of Spasticity (n=155)

Skin problems, such as ulcers, can develop when a person remains in a single position for

a long period of time. Impaired sensory perception may also prevent the wheelchair user from

knowing he or she is developing skin problems. Low muscle tone may cause excessive pressure

on the seating surface and lead to skin ulcers. Other causes of skin problems include sitting in

sub-optimal positions and sitting without appropriate cushions. People with active skin ulcers in

areas associated with sitting are instructed to stay out of the seated position to allow the ulcers to

heal so they may defer participation in activities that require sitting. Additionally, people with a

history of skin ulcers may be more prone to development of ulcers in the future due to changes in

the condition of their skin and other soft tissue at the ulcer site. These individuals may therefore

avoid discretionary participation reserving their limited sitting time for critical or mandatory

activities. As is reported in Figure 8, 34.8% of the participants in this study reported skin

problems. Of those who reported skin problems, 20% reported that this problem was constant

(Figure 11).

Figure 11. Frequency of Skin Problems (n=105)

People with depression often participate in discretionary activities with less frequency

and less vigor than those without symptoms of depression. It follows then that wheelchair users

with depression may also limit their participation in community-based discretionary activities. Of

the participants in this study, 43.4% reported that they had depression (Figure 8). Of those who

reported the presence of depression, 18.3% reported that the depression was constant (Figure 12).

Only 13 individuals reported no pain, spasticity, skin problems, or depression. Eighty-

four people (27.81%) reported one of these four conditions. It is important to note that these

conditions are not mutually exclusive. An additional 205 participants reported experiencing two

or more of these four conditions.

Figure 12. Frequency of Depression (n=131)

Most of the participants reported that they required assistance during their daily routines

with 23.2% using more than 30 hours of assistance per week, 4.6% using 21-30 hours of

assistance, 11.3% using 11-20 hours, 14.6% using 5-10 hours, 21.5% using less than 5 hours, and

21.5% using no assistance (Figure 13). Additionally, 2.6% of the participants did not report the

amount of assistance used, 0.3% responded “don’t know”, and 0.3% responded “NA”. Those

who did report using assistance identified their sources of help as follows: 40.4% used assistance

from relatives, 15.2% from friends, 22.5% from persons they hired, 21.9% from persons

provided by an agency, and 10.3% from other sources (Table 2). Additionally, 2% selected

“refused” and 0.7% responded “NA”.

Figure 13. Amount of Assistance Received Per Week

Access to appropriate transportation may also be associated with participation in

community-based activities. Many wheelchair users cannot easily move from their wheelchair to

a car seat so they use an accessible vehicle that allows them to remain in their wheelchairs when

being transported. For many, accessible vans are prohibitively expensive and, without a van or

access to accessible public transportation, community participation may be limited. As is

reported in Table 2, 47% of the study participants either own a vehicle or have independent

means of transportation while 36.4% use public transportation and 13.6% rely on rides from

family and friends when they are available.

Outcome and Explanatory Variables

The study variables were derived from subscales of four instruments: The Reintegration

to Normal Living Index (RNLI), The Personal Independence Profile (PIP), The Medical

Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36), and The Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M). The

variables included perception of reintegration to social activities, perceived control over one’s

life, vitality, general mental health, social function, emotional role function, extent of

participation, dynamic importance, cerebral importance, and satisfaction with participation.

Descriptive statistics for these variables can be found in Table 5. The variable identified as

perception of reintegration to social activities was calculated as the adjusted score on the RNLI.

With 292 cases, the mean score on the RNLI was 76.01 (SD 19.19; range 10 – 100, skew

ness

-1.134, kurtosis 1.41). Perceived control over one’s life was determined using the control

subscale of the PIP. With 258 cases, the mean score of this subscale was 36.83 (SD 8.09; range

13 – 50, skewness -0.421, kurtosis -0.275.

Table 5. Descriptive Statistics Regarding the Outcome and Explanatory Variables

Variable (source) N Mean (SD) Range Skewness Kurtosis

Perceived Reintegration to

Social Activities (RNLI)

292 76.01 (19.19) 10 – 100 -1.134 1.41

Perceived Control Over

One’s Life (PIP)

258 36.83 (8.09) 13 – 50 -0.421 -0.275

Vitality (SF-36) 295 51.66 (20.15) 0 – 93.33 -0.993 0.266

General Mental

Health

(SF-36)

298 72.47 (18.63) 4 – 100 -0.929 0.667

Social Function (SF-36) 292 65.92 (21.84) 10 – 90 -0.559 -0.635

Role Emotional

Function

(SF-36)

260 78.21 (36.4) 0 – 100 -1.331 0.13

Extent (PARTS/M) 207 -.1148 (3.31065) -7.36 –

.258 -.6

Dynamic Importance

(PARTS/M)

302

6.98 (2.4709)

4 – 16

.911 .570

Cerebral Importance

(PARTS/M)

302 3.9625 (1.44889) 2 – 8 .831 .5

Satisfaction (PARTS/M 302 0.1166 (3.33671) -6.79 – 7.34 -0.096 -0.463

Four variables were calculated as scores of subscales on the SF-36: vitality, social

function, general mental health, and emotional role function. Each of these subscales contains

the transformed score with a possible range of 0-100. A higher score on each of the scales

indicates a higher perception of this quality. In order to be scored, a participant must have

completed more than half of the items in that subscale. With 295 cases meeting criteria for

inclusion, the mean vitality score was 51.66 (SD 20.15; range 0 – 93.33, skewness -0.993,

kurtosis 0.266). With 298 cases meeting inclusion criteria, the mean general mental health score

was 72.47 (SD 18.63; range 4 -100, skewness -0.929, kurtosis 0.667). With 292 cases meeting

inclusion criteria, the mean social function score was 65.92 (SD 21.84; range 10 – 90, skewness –

0.559, kurtosis -0.635). With 260 cases meeting inclusion criteria, the mean emotional role

function score was 78.21 (SD 36.4; range 0 – 100, skewness -1.33, kurtosis 0.13). All of these

variables are normally distributed.

Three variables were derived from the PARTS/M: extent of participation in select

community-based activities, satisfaction with performance in select community-based activities,

and importance of participation in select community-based activities which was analyzed as two

factors: dynamic importance and cerebral importance. The selected community-based activities

used for determining these scores were Active Recreation, Leisure Activities, Vacationing,

Socializing, Religious Activity, and Community Activity. These domains were measured using

four scales (Table 6). On each scale, a higher score indicated a greater degree of participation. A

principal components factor analysis indicated that there was a single factor comprising the

extent of participation (Table 7). Because extent comprised subscales with an unequal number of

items, domain-based frequency scores were standardized. Table 8 contains the descriptive

statistics of the unstandardized and standardized extent scores for each domain of interest.

Extent

scores were calculated by summing the standardized scores of each domain of interest.

Table 6. Scoring Scales of Extent of Participation by Domain

Score

Domain (s) 1 2 3 4

Active Recreation

and

Leisure

Activities

Never 1 -2 times/month 1 -2 times/week

More than

twice/week

Taking Vacations
Never

Less than

once/year

Once or

twice/year

More than
twice/year

Socializing Less than

once/week
1 – 2 times/week 3 – 4 times/week

Daily or almost

daily

Religious and

Community
Activities

None 1 – 5

hours/week

More than 5

hours/week

(not used in

scale)

Table 7. Extent Factor Analysis Structure Matrix

Component

standardized leisure

activities frequency
.610

standardized vacation

frequency
.521

standardized active

recreation
.615

standardized socializing

frequency
.573

standardized

community activity

frequency

.616

standardized religious

activity frequency
.433

Extraction Method: Principal

Component Analysis. One

component extracted

Table 8. Descriptive Statistics Regarding Extent of Participation in Selected Community-based

Activities of the PARTS/M

Unstandardized Scores Standardized Scores
Variable N Mean

(SD)

Range Skew

ness

Kurtosis N Mean

(SD)
Range Skew

-ness

Kurtosis

Active

recreation

270 8.97

(1.48)

8-15 1.727 2.969 270 -.0023

(1.00295)

-.66 –

4.07

1.727 2.969

Leisure

activities

260 14.00

(2.9)

7-22 .097 -.202 260 .0013

(.99973)

-2.41-

2.76

.097 -.202

Vacationing 293 2.36

(.982)

1-4 .018 -1.065 293 -.0017

(.99963)

-1.38-

1.67

.018 -1.065

Socializing 295 2.84

(1.123)

1-4 -.313 -1.375 295 .0036

(1.00007)

-1.64-

1.03

-.313 -1.375

Religious

activities

269 1.64

(.585)

1-3 .271 -.684 269 .0053

(1.00013)

-1.09 –

2.32

.271 -.684

Community
activities

268 1.51 (.590 1-3 .673 -.505 268 .0020

(1.00013)

-.86-

2.53

.673 -.505

The importance of participation was measured in each domain of interest using the

following scale: 1 = very important, 2 = somewhat important, 3 = somewhat unimportant, and 4

= not important. Unlike the extent score, a lower score on this scale reflected greater importance.

Descriptive data regarding the importance of participation in the domains of interest can be

found in Table 9. Principal components factor analysis indicated that there were two factors in

importance (Table 10). The two domain groupings are based on qualities related to movement

required versus their community-mindedness. For this reason, two importance variables dynamic

importance and cerebral importance were named. Dynamic importance was calculated as the

sum of the importance scores of the following domains: active recreation, leisure activities,

vacations, and socialization. Cerebral importance was calculated as the sum of the importance

scores in the domains of religious activities and community activities. Descriptive statistics

regarding dynamic importance and cerebral importance scores can be found in Table 5.

Table 9. Descriptive Statistics Regarding Importance of Participation

Variable N Mean (SD) Range Skewness Kurtosis

Active recreation 302 2.22 (1.036) 1 – 4 .504 -.857

Leisure activities 302 1.58 (.787) 1 – 4 1.486 1.955

Vacationing 302 1.67 (.853) 1 – 4 1.335 1.172

Socializing 302 1.51 (.657) 1 – 4 1.186 1.136

Religious activities 302 1.78 (.948) 1 – 4 1.263 .632

Community activities 302 2.9 (.910) 1 – 4 .508 -.366

Table 10. Importance Factor Analysis Structure Matrix

Component

1 2

Importance – Leisure activities .788

Importance – Take a vacation .708

Importance – Socializing .690 .337

Importance – Active recreational

activities
.682

Importance – Religious activities .825

Importance – Community activities .323 .714

Note. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Promax

with Kaiser Normalization.

Importance Factor Analysis Component Correlation Matrix

Component 1 2

1 1.000 .253

2 .253 1.000

Note. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Promax

with Kaiser Normalization.

Satisfaction with participation was scored using the following scale: 1= very satisfied, 2

= satisfied, 3 = somewhat satisfied, 4 = dissatisfied. Therefore, a lower score reflected greater

satisfaction. Descriptive statistics regarding satisfaction with participation in the domains of

interest can be found in Table 9. Factor analysis determined that there was one factor in

satisfaction (Table 10).

Table 11. Descriptive Statistics Regarding Satisfaction with Participation

Variable N Mean (SD) Range Skewness Kurtosis

Active recreation 302 2.99 1 – 4 -.664 -.625

Leisure activities 302 2.40 1 – 4 .036 -.904

Vacationing 302 2.61 1 – 4 .140 -1.033

Socializing 302 2.30 1 – 4 .225 -1.042

Religious activities 302 2.19 1 – 4 .413 -.551

Community activities 302 2.41 1 – 4 .146 -.527

Table 12. Satisfaction Factor Analysis Component Matrix

Component

Satisfaction – Socializing .822

Satisfaction – Leisure activities .809

Satisfaction – Active recreational activities .740

Satisfaction – Vacationing .726

Satisfaction – Community activities .701

Satisfaction – Religious activities .545

Note. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. One component

extracted. The solution cannot be rotated.

The mean extent score was -.1148 (n = 207, SD 3.31065, range -7.36 – 7.94, skewness

.258, kurtosis -.684). The mean dynamic importance score was 6.98 (n = 302, SD 2.4709, range

4 – 16, skewness .911, kurtosis .570). The mean cerebral importance score was 3.9625 (n = 302,

SD 1.44889, range 2 – 8, skewness .831, kurtosis .588). The mean satisfaction score was 0.1166

(n = 302, SD 3.33671, range -6.79 – 7.34, skewness -0.096, kurtosis -0.463) (Table 5). These

variables were normally distributed.

Findings Regarding the Extent of Participation in Community-based, Discretionary

Activities by People who Use Wheelchairs

Research questions 1 and 2 concern the extent of participation. The first step in

determining the role of psychosocial function in predicting participation in community-based,

discretionary activities was to determine the significant medical and demographic covariates.

Backward elimination regression analysis was used to determine the significant medical and

demographic covariates of the extent of participation. Years in the present living situation and a

diagnosis of cerebral palsy as the condition leading to the need for a wheelchair were positively

related to the extent of participation. In addition, education to grades 1 through 8 or grade 12 or

GED were identified as predictors of non-participation at a significant level. A diagnosis of

stroke as the condition leading to the need for a wheelchair predicted non-participation at a

significant level (Table 13).

Table 13. Regression Analysis of Medical and Demographic Covariates of Extent of
Participation

Variable

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig
B

Standard

Error
Beta

Years in Present

Living

Arrangement

.058 .021 .250 2.772 .006

Grade 1 – 8 -4.390 2.162 -.160 -2.031 .044

Grade 12 or GED -1.899 .630 -.243 -3.014 .003

Primary

Condition-

3.584 .848 .376 4.224 .000

Primary

Condition- Stroke
-2.268 1.090 -.179 -2.081 .039

Note. R
2
= .259.

In addition to these medical and demographic covariates, it is likely that importance plays

a role in the extent to which a person participates in the activities of interest in this dissertation.

Therefore, a regression analysis was performed with the significant medical and demographic

covariates and the two importance variables. When dynamic importance and cerebral

importance were added to the regression model, they were found to be predictors of extent of

participation (Table 14). The only previously identified medical or demographic covariate that

remained significant was a diagnosis of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use.

Table 14. Regression Analysis of Covariates of Extent of Participation

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Years in Present
Living
Arrangement

.028 .016 .117 1.778 .077

Grade 1 – 8 -2.197 1.335 -.104 -1.646 .

101

Grade 12 or GED -.932 .507 -.120 -1.838 .068

Primary

Condition- CP

1.913 .547 .233 3.500 .001

Primary

Condition- Stroke
-1.666 .950 -.115 -1.753 .081

Dynamic

Importance*
-.381 .094 -270 -4.036 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.549 .141 -.251 -3.888 .000

Note. R
2
= .286. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with

extent.

The next step in determining the psychosocial predictors of participation was to remove

the variables that were not significant and to analyze the results. Each non-significant variable

was removed from the analysis one at a time until only significant variables remained. Non-

significant variables were removed such that the least significant was removed at each level of

the model. Table 15 shows the order by which the variables were removed as well as their

significance when they were removed. In the final model, the following variables remained: a

diagnosis of cerebral palsy, dynamic importance, and cerebral importance (Table 16). This

indicates that they are significant predictors of the extent of participation. A diagram representing

the model at this point can be found in Figure 14.

Table 15. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates of Extent of
Participation

Variable (in order of removal) Significance (at time of

removal from model)

Adjusted R
2

Grade 1 – 8 .101 .2

Grade 12 or GEC .111 .279

Years of living situation .133 .273

Stroke .110 .271

Table 16. Extent: Significant Covariate Predictors

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

1.699 .485 .214 3.504 .001

Dynamic

Importance*
-.395 .089 -.281 -4.428 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.564 .136 -.261 -4.132 .000

Note. R
2
= .265. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with

extent.

Figure 14. A Model Predicting the Extent of Participation by Wheelchair Users in Community-

based, Discretionary Activities.

The next step in determining the role of psychosocial factors in predicting the extent of

participation was to include each of the six psychosocial factors (social function, general mental

health, emotional role function, vitality, perceived control, and reintegration to social function)in

the model one at a time. Each psychosocial factor was entered individually to isolate the effects

of each factor. In each regression, each psychosocial factor also was shown to be a significant

predictor of extent. All of the medical and demographic covariates remained significant

predictors of extent (Tables 17 – 22).

Extent of Participation Cerebral Cognition

Dynamic Cognition

Cerebral Palsy

B=1.6

(0.485)

B=1.699
(0.485)
B=1.699
(0.485)

Table 17. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and

Social Function

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

1.002 .499 .126 2.008 .046

Dynamic

Importance*
-.362 .087 -.257 -4.182 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.579 .132 -.267 -4.393 .000

Social Function .036 .009 .249 4.005 .000

Note. R
2
= .286. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high
score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Table 18. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and General Mental Health

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

1.489 .478 .187 3.116 .002

Dynamic

Importance*
-.403 .087 -.287 -4.617 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.526 .134 -.243 -3.927 .000

General Mental

Health
.035 .010 .199 3.369 .001

Note. R
2
= .301. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Table 19. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Emotional Role Functioning

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

1.674 .505 .211 3.314 .001

Dynamic

Importance*
-.372 .092 -.266 -4.027 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.672 .147 -.300 -4.566 .000

Emotional Role

Functioning
.014 .006 .158 2.494 .014

Note. R
2
= .326. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Table 20. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Vitality

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

1.413 .499 .178 2.828 .005

Dynamic

Importance*
-.356 .091 -.253 -3.923 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.564 .136 -.261 -4.164 .000

Vitality .021 .010 .135 2.127 .035

Note. R
2
= .277. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Table 21. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and

Perceived Control

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

2.070 .514 .244 4.028 .000

Dynamic

Importance*
-.286 .090 -.200 -3.196 .002

Cerebral

Importance*
-.413 .141 -.183 -2.928 .004

Perceived Control .134 .024 .341 5.593 .000

Note. R
2
= .361. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Table 22. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perception of Reintegration to Social
Function
Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

1.636 .464 .204 3.527 .001

Dynamic

Importance*
-.327 .085 -.232 -3.849 .000

Cerebral

Importance*
-.483 .130 -.222 -3.705 .000

Perception of

Reintegration to
Social Function

5.712 1.032 .321 5.536 .000

Note. R
2
= .377. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

The next step in the analysis was to include all of the psychosocial factors and all of the

significant medical and demographic variables in a single regression model. This step was

necessary in order to account for any covariation among the psychosocial explanatory factors. In

this model, a diagnosis of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use, dynamic importance, and

cerebral importance remained significant. The only psychosocial factors that were found to be

significant predictors were perceived control and perception of reintegration to social function

(Table 23). The non-significant variables were then removed from the model one at a time;

removing the least significant variable at each step until only significant predictors remained in

the model. Table 24 identifies the order by which the variables were removed along with their

significance at the time of removal. The final model of the extent of participation by wheelchair

users in community-based discretionary activities includes the following significant predictors: a

diagnosis of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use, dynamic importance, cerebral importance,

perceived control, and perception of reintegration (Table 25, Figure 15).

Table 23. Extent: Regression Analysis of Covariates and All of the Psychosocial Factors

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

2.145 .568 .255 3.777 .000

Dynamic

Importance*
-.287 .097 -.203 -2.958 .004

Cerebral

Importance*
-.504 .155 -.220 -3.254 .001

General Mental

Health
-.002 .015 -.009 -.109 .913

Social Function .016 .014 .112 1.193 .235

Emotional Role

Function
.006 .007 .061 .780 .436

Vitality -.023 .014 -.149 -1.688 .094

Perceived Control .085 .037 .207 2.312 .022

Perception of
Reintegration to
Social Function

3.322 1.663 .178 1.997 .048

Note. R
2
= .390. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Table 24. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates of Extent of
Participation
Variable (in order of removal) Significance (at time of
removal from model)

Adjusted R
2

General Mental Health .913 .390

Emotional Role Functioning .425 .394

Vitality .180 .3

Social Function .105 .394

Table 25. Extent: Significant Predictors

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

2.013 .506 .238 3.975 .000

Dynamic

Importance*
-.276 .089 -.193 -3.117 .002

Cerebral

Importance*
-.425 .136 -.189 -3.054 .003

Perceived Control .086 .032 .218 2.720 .007

Perception of
Reintegration to
Social Function

3.634 1.436 .19 2.531 .012

Note. R
2
= .388. *The scales for Dynamic and Cerebral Importance are written such that a high

score indicates low importance therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation with
extent.

Figure 15. A Model Predicting the Extent of Participation by Wheelchair Users in Community-

based, Discretionary Activities.

B= 3.634

(1.436)

B= -.425

(0.136)

B= .086

(0.032)

B= -.276

(0.089)

B= 2.013

(0.506)

Extent of Participation

Perception of Reintegration to

Social Function
Perceived Control
Cerebral Importance
CP

Dynamic Importance

Findings Regarding Satisfaction with Participation in Community-based, Discretionary
Activities by People who Use Wheelchairs

Research question 3 concerns satisfaction with participation. The first step in determining

the role of the psychosocial factors in predicting satisfaction was to determine the significant

medical and demographic covariates. Backward elimination regression analysis was used to

determine the significant medical and demographic covariates of satisfaction with participation.

Participants diagnosed with cerebral palsy as the condition leading to wheelchair use and those

who reported greater participation were satisfied with their participation at a significant level.

Those with spasticity and those with depression were not satisfied with their participation at a

significant level (Table 26).

Table 26. Regression Analysis of Medical and Demographic Covariates of Satisfaction with
Participation
Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients

t Sig
B*

Standard
Error
Beta

Cerebral Palsy -1.847 .786 -.188 -2.350 .020

Spasticity -1.004 .502 .141 1.999 .048

Depression -1.641 .500 .238 3.279 .001

Extent of

Participation
-.372 .077 -.361 -4.861 .000

Note. R
2
= .259. The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value

indicates negative covariation.

In addition to these medical and demographic covariates, it was necessary to determine

whether importance played a role in the satisfaction with participation in the activities of interest

in this dissertation. Therefore, a regression analysis was performed with the significant medical

and demographic covariates and the two importance variables. When dynamic importance and

cerebral importance were added to the model, they were found not to be predictors of

satisfaction (Table 27). The only previously identified medical or demographic covariate that

remained significant was a diagnosis of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use.

Table 27. Regression Analysis of Covariates of Satisfaction with Participation

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta

CP -1.153 .560 -.141 -2.058 .041

Spasticity .831 .405 .121 2.051 .042

Depression 1.167 .420 .171 2.781 .006

Extent of
Participation

-.463 .072 -.449 -6.402 .000

Uses public

transportation or

relies on friends

-.831 .462 -.117 -1.800 .073

Dynamic

Importance
-.147 .094 -.101 -1.557 .

121

Cerebral

Importance
-.116 .143 -.052 -.812 .418

Note. R
2
= .302. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

The next step in determining the roles of the variables was to remove the variables that

were not significant and to analyze the resulting significance. Each non-significant variable was

removed from the analysis one at a time until only significant predictors remained. Non-

significant variables were removed such that the least significant was removed at each level of

the model. Table 28 shows the order in which the variables were removed as well as their

significance when they were removed. In the final model, the following variables remained:

cerebral palsy, depression, and extent of participation (Table 29). This indicates that they are

significant predictors of satisfaction with participation. A diagram representing the model at this

point can be found in Figure 16.

Table 28. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates of Satisfaction with
Participation
Variable (in order of removal) Significance (at time of
removal from model)
Adjusted R
2

Cerebral Importance .418 .302

Dynamic Importance .085 .303

Public Transportation or

Friends

.098 .296

Spasticity .053 .291

Table 29. Satisfaction: Significant Covariates

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta

CP -1.481 .520 -.181 -2.850 .005

Depression 1.313 .421 .193 3.117 .002

Extent of

Participation
-.378 .064 -.367 -5.870 .000

Note. R
2
= .265. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Figure 16. A Model Predicting Satisfaction with Participation in Community-based,

Discretionary Activities by Wheelchair Users.

Satisfaction with

Participation Depression

Extent

Cerebral Palsy
B= 1.481

(0.520)

B= 1.313

(0.421)

B= -0.378

(0.064)

The next step in determining the role of psychosocial factors in predicting satisfaction

with participation was to include each of the six psychosocial factors in the model one at a time.

Each psychosocial factor was entered individually to isolate the effects of each factor. General

mental health, social function, vitality, control, and perception of reintegration to social function

were significant in each of their respective models. In the models for vitality and the perception

of reintegration to social functioning, all of the covariates previously identified as significant

remained significant. In the models for general mental health, social function, and control,

depression was no longer found to be a significant predictor; only a diagnosis of cerebral palsy

leading wheelchair use and extent of participation remained significant. In the model that

included emotional role functioning, that psychosocial factor was not found to be a significant

predictor but all three of the previously identified covariates remained significant (Tables 30 –

35).

Table 30. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Social Function

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta

CP -1.038 .519 -.127 -2.001 .047

Depression .817 .431 .120 1.895 .060

Extent of

Participation
-.322 .064 -.312 -4.995 .000

Social Function -.037 .010 -.246 -3.652 .000

Note. R
2
= .322. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Table 31. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and General Mental Health

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

-1.594 .494 -.195 -3.228 .001

Depression .268 .453 .039 .593 .554

Extent of

Participation
-.320 .062 -.311 -5.145 .000

General Mental

Health
-.059 .012 -.325 -4.959 .000

Note. R
2
= .356. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Table 32. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Emotional Role Functioning

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta

CP -1.685 .533 -.213 -3.160 .002

Depression 1.046 .464 .156 2.253 .026

Extent of

Participation
-.367 .067 0.367 -5.484 .000

Emotional Role

Functioning
-.006 .006 -.064 -.947 .345

Note. R
2
= .302. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low
satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Table 33. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Vitality

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

-1.177 .519 -.144 -2.262 .024

Depression 1.010 .425 .148 2.376 .018

Extent of

Participation
-.341 .064 -.331 -5.303 .000

Vitality -.032 .010 -.202 -3.183 .002

Note. R
2
= .312. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Table 34. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perceived Control

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

-1.699 .517 -.198 -3.286 .001

Depression .666 .399 .099 1.668 .097

Extent of

Participation
-.153 .066 -.151 -2.305 .022

Perceived Control -.190 .025 -.477 -7.486 .000

Note. R
2
= .439. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Table 35. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and Perception of Reintegration to

Social Function
Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

-1.718 .484 -.211 -3.550 .000

Depression .852 .396 .126 2.151 .033

Extent of

Participation
-.220 .065 -.217 -3.396 .001

Perception of
Reintegration to
Social Function

-6.572 1.122 -.364 -5.857 .000

Note. R
2
= .390. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

The next step in the analysis was to include all of the psychosocial factors and all of the
significant medical and demographic variables in a single regression model. This step was

necessary to account for covariation among the explanatory predictors. In this model, a diagnosis

of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use and the extent of participation remained significant.

Depression was no longer a significant predictor in this model. The only psychosocial factor that

was found to be a significant predictor was perceived control (Table 36). The non-significant

variables were then removed from the model one at a time; removing the least significant

variable at each step until only significant predictors remained in the model. Table 37 identifies

the order by which the variables were removed along with their significance at the time of

removal. The final model of satisfaction with participation in community-based discretionary

activities by wheelchair users includes the following significant predictors: a diagnosis of

cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use, extent of participation, general mental health, and

perceived control (Table 38, Figure 17).

Table 36. Satisfaction: Regression Analysis of Covariates and All of the Psychosocial Factors

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

-1.868 .562 -.226 -3.323 .001

Depression .052 .477 .008 .110 .913

Extent of

Participation
-.154 .071 -.157 -2.185 .030

General Mental

Health
-.029 .015 -.162 -1.881 .062

Social Function .006 .013 .041 .451 .653

Emotional Role

Function
.009 .006 .104 1.433 .154

Vitality -.017 .013 -.114 -1.361 .176

Perceived Control -.151 .035 -.372 -4.312 .000

Perception of
Reintegration to
Social Function

-1.276 1.573 -.069 -.811 .419

Note. R
2
= .452. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Table 37. Order of Removal and Significance of Non-significant Covariates

Variable (in order of removal) Significance (at time of
removal from model)
Adjusted R
2

Depression .913 .452

Social Functioning .655 .456

Perception of Integration to

Social Function

.427 .459

Emotional Role Function .227 .460

Vitality .738 .457

Table 38. Satisfaction: Significant Predictors

Variable
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig
B*
Standard
Error
Beta
Primary
Condition- CP

-1.808 .500 -.211 -3.618 .000

Extent of

Participation
-.139 .066 -.137 -2.124 .035

Perceived Control -.170 .026 -.426 -6.476 .000

General Mental

Health
-.034 .011 -.191 -3.130 .002

Note. R
2
= .388. * The scale for satisfaction is written such that a high score indicates low

satisfaction. Therefore a negative value indicates positive covariation and a positive value
indicates negative covariation.

Figure 17. A Model Predicting Satisfaction with Participation in Community-based,
Discretionary Activities by Wheelchair Users.

When studying the role of psychosocial function in predicting participation in

community-based, discretionary activities, it was necessary to investigate the extent to which

people participated in community-based activities and their satisfaction with that participation. It

was also necessary to analyze the roles of medical and demographic covariates. The only

B= -0.034

(0.011)

Satisfaction with
Participation
Perceived Control
General Mental Health
CP
Extent of Participation

B= -1.808

(0.500)

B= -0.139

(0.066)

B= -.170

(0.026)

covariate in the final model is a diagnosis of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use. In addition

to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy, dynamic and cerebral importance, perceived control over one’s

time, and perception of reintegration to social function predicted the extent to which wheelchair

users participated in community-based, discretionary activities.

In addition to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy leading to wheelchair use, perceived control

over one’s time and an individual’s general mental health (nervousness, sadness, calmness, and

downheartedness) also predicted satisfaction. Perceived control over one’s time played a doubly

important role as it predicted both the extent of participation and satisfaction with participation.

Figure 18 illustrates the model of participation.

Figure 18. A Model of Participation in Community-based, Discretionary Activities.

Perceived Control
Perception of
Reintegration to Social
Function
Dynamic Importance
CP
Cerebral Importance
Perceived Control
CP
General Mental
Health
Extent of
Participation
Satisfaction with
Participation
B= -.425
(0.136)

B= .086

(0.032)
B= 3.634
(1.436)

B=2.013

(0.506)
B= -.276
(0.089)
B= -.170

(0.026)

B= -.034

(0.011)
B= -0.139
(0.066)
B= -1.808
(0.500)

Discussion

The purpose of this research was to determine the role of psychosocial functioning in

influencing participation in community-based, discretionary activities by people who use

wheelchairs. Two participation variables were studied: extent of participation and satisfaction

with participation. This research demonstrates that psychosocial functioning does predict

participation in community-based, discretionary activities. In the past, researchers used variables

related to the extent of participation without also studying satisfaction. For example, Harris et al.

(2010) used the amount of time the wheelchair user spent in his or her wheelchair as a proxy for

participation. They did not, however, study the activities that occurred while the participants

were in their wheelchairs in terms of the participant’s engagement. As a consequence, Harris and

colleagues’ study limited the ability of the researchers to fully describe participation. By

investigating both the extent of participation and satisfaction with participation this dissertation

studied participation more thoroughly.

Other researchers who have studied wheelchair users have focused primarily on physical

factors such as how far or fast a person propelled his or her wheelchair (Chow & Levy, 2011;

Dieruf et al., 2008). Still others focused on self-care, work, and other mandatory activities such

as a getting to a doctor’s appointment; on a mix of mandatory and discretionary activities; or on

broader groups of people including individuals who do not use a wheelchair (M. L. Lund et al.,

2007; Sonenblum et al., 2008). These research studies provide only a partial picture of

participation and neglect to show the role of psychosocial functioning in participation.

Two previous studies identified the need to study the role of psychosocial functioning in

predicting participation and were influential in designing the present dissertation. Chaves et al.

(2004) studied the relationship between the mobility device, the person’s impairments, and three

environments. Among other results, they reported that social attitudes and self-concept limited

the frequency with which participants left their homes. The results of Chaves et al.’s study did

not describe psychosocial functioning sufficiently and did not enable the authors to develop a

comprehensive model of participation.

Crawford et al. (2008) used the PARTS/M, RNLI, and SF-36 to study the relationship

between physical activity and participation in both mandatory and discretionary activities inside

and outside the home. Crawford et al.’s findings, while useful, are incomplete as they identified

the physical activity levels that predicted participation without also including the psychosocial

factors related to participation. Unlike Crawford et al., this dissertation investigated psychosocial

characteristics rather than physical activity levels that predicted participation. By identifying the

psychosocial factors that predict participation in discretionary, community-based activities by

adult wheelchair users, the knowledge base is expanded and suggests that future researchers

include these variables in their studies of this population. To date, comprehensive research such

as this does not exist for adult wheelchair users. King et al. (2003) developed a comprehensive

model of participation that includes physical and environmental factors as well as psychosocial

factors. However, King et al.’s model addresses children with disabilities. This dissertation

research reflects King et al.’s work but includes necessary adjustments to reflect the needs of

adults who use wheelchairs. Knowledge is expanded by focusing on discretionary rather than

mandatory activities and by focusing on community-based rather than home-based activities.

Previous research regarding the role of psychosocial functioning in disabled people’s

participation in various activities has found that self-consciousness and the attitudes of non-

disabled people were factors that influenced participation by disabled people (Card et al., 2006;

Fougeyrollas, Noreau, & Boschen, 2002; Rimmer et al., 2004). These studies and other

psychosocial research projects concerning people with disabilities differ from this dissertation’s

work because they do not differentiate wheelchair users from people with other mobility

impairments or disabilities that do not affect mobility (P. D. A. Gum, C. Snyder, & P. W.

Duncan, 2006; R. W. Motl & E. McAuley, 2010).

As previously noted, two participation variables were studied: extent of participation and

satisfaction with participation. Data analysis on the extent of participation and satisfaction with

participation were performed separately following the same series of steps. First, the significant

medical and demographic covariates were identified through discussions with this researcher’s

mentor and with experts in the field of physical rehabilitation. The list of factors was compared

with the items in the data base and it was determined that the data base contained sufficient

demographic and medical information to perform these analyses. Approximately 20

demographic and medical factors were investigated using regression analysis to determine which

of these factors were significant predictors of extent and satisfaction.

Because the importance of each activity studied was thought to be a determinant of

participation, the activity’s importance was then included in the regression analysis along with

the significant demographic and medical covariates. This was necessary to determine the role

that the importance of the activities played in predicting the extent of participation after

controlling for the covariates. It is interesting that certain demographic and medical covariates

were no longer significant predictors of participation when importance was included in the

model. The following variables were eliminated as predictors of the extent of participation when

importance was added to the model: years in the present living arrangement, education to grades

6-8 and 12 (or GED), and having a primary diagnosis of stroke. A diagnosis of cerebral palsy

was the only medical or demographic covariate that remained a positive predictor of the extent of

participation.

These preliminary analyses were helpful in examining the complicated relationships

among the various medical and demographic covariates. In addition, the results of these analyses

indicated that my assumptions were not supported. For example, through previous clinical work

and discussions with other rehabilitation professions, I assigned much greater importance to the

type of wheelchair a person used and the person’s living situation than was the case. Although

not specifically the purpose of this study, these findings are extremely important to share with

rehabilitation professionals who specialize in seating and mobility and may be indicative of

changes that might be made in prescribing therapies and equipment to wheelchair users. It may

be that, rather than the type of mobility device the wheelchair user has, it is actually whether the

device is the optimal or most appropriate device for the individual that impacts participation.

That variable however, was not included in the data base and as such could not be studied in this

dissertation.

It was surprising that the length of time a person was diagnosed with the condition

leading to their wheelchair use did not predict participation. This researcher expected that

people who recently began using their wheelchairs would participate to a lesser extent than those

who had used their wheelchairs for longer lengths of time because they needed time to acclimate

to their condition and new status as wheelchair users. Apparently, this was not the case. In this

study, length of time since the diagnosis resulting in wheelchair user did not predict either extent

of or satisfaction with participation.

The study data set included information about how much help participants required in

hours per week. It also identified the caregivers. Neither the amount of help nor the identity of

the caregiver predicted participation. Future studies should also account for the types of tasks for

which assistance is needed such as personal versus household care. It is plausible to think that

people who need assistance of a more personal nature, such as, for example, for dressing or

feeding, would have more difficulty participating in discretionary activities than those who need

help with less personal tasks like writing checks to pay bills or shopping for groceries.

Conversely, however, it is also plausible that people who use more assistance might conserve

energy for desired activities and therefore be more able to participate in discretionary activities.

Similarly broad arguments can be made regarding the people who provide assistance. It is

equally plausible that a person may be more active if his or her assistant is a relative or a stranger

dependent on the relationship they develop, the ease with which the wheelchair user can ask for

help, and the strength with which (s)he makes his/her needs known. In this dissertation, the

amount of assistance used and the source of the assistance were not found to be significant

predictors of participation. It may be however, if different questions were asked, the findings

might show that assistance actually does predict participation.

Interestingly, as noted above, the only medical or demographic covariate that predicted

either the extent of participation or satisfaction with participation was a diagnosis of cerebral

palsy leading to wheelchair use. Cerebral palsy predicted both a high frequency (extent) of

participation as well as high satisfaction with participation. It is not obvious why this diagnosis

would predict participation while other diagnoses leading to wheelchair use do not. However, in

a study in Sweden on dependence in daily activities and life satisfaction of people with cerebral

palsy, researchers found their participants reported high satisfaction with life in general even

when the participants needed progressively more assistance with daily living talks and mobility

(Andren & Grimby, 2004). Because they did not investigate participation in discretionary

activities, these findings cannot be generalized to this dissertation. Of the diagnoses leading to

wheelchair use included in this study, cerebral palsy is the only disability present at birth. It may

be that growing up with a disability or as a wheelchair user impacts participation but this is not

clear, especially since the length of time since the onset of the disabling condition was not found

to predict either extent or satisfaction.

In this study, the concept of importance was represented by two variables: cerebral

importance and dynamic importance because factor analysis of this variable revealed that

importance was comprised of two components. Cerebral importance is the label given to the

component comprised of importance related to socializing, religious activities, and community

activities. Dynamic importance is the label given to the component comprised of importance

related to leisure activities, taking a vacation, and active recreational activities. This study

demonstrated that both cerebral importance and dynamic importance are significant positive

predictors of the extent of participation. In order to understand the role of importance, it is

necessary to study the concept in greater detail. Future research needs to address the

characteristics that make an activity important to an individual, such as whether it is the activity

itself or the other people who also participate. It would also be necessary to determine the

reasons that people do not participate in activities they identify as important. There may be other

factors that influence a person’s participation in certain discretionary activities. This dissertation

study was not sensitive enough to determine, for example, whether a person who thought a given

activity was important or not is based on other factors like access to the activity’s location or

finances needed to participate.

This dissertation focused on a broad spectrum of psychosocial factors all of which impact

participation in discretionary activities: social functioning, general mental health, emotional role

functioning, vitality, perceived control over one’s time, and perception of reintegration to social

function. Once the significant demographic and medical covariates (including importance) were

identified, a separate series of regression analyses were performed on the extent of participation

and on satisfaction with participation for each of the psychosocial factors considered

individually. These analyses revealed that every psychosocial factor was a significant positive

predictor of both the extent of and satisfaction with participation with one exception. However,

emotional role functioning was not found to predict satisfaction with participation. It did,

however, positively predict extent of participation.

When all of the psychosocial factors were included in a regression model along with the

significant medical and demographic covariates, only perceived control and perception of

reintegration were found to predict the extent of and satisfaction with participation. As the

participants’ perceived control increased and as their perception of reintegration increased, there

was a corresponding increase in the extent of participation and in the participant’s satisfaction

with their participation. Since the majority of the community-based, discretionary activities

investigated in this study are social, it follows that people in this study who report they have

reintegrated to social function also participate more in such activities and are more satisfied with

their participation.

Although the remaining psychosocial factors did not predict participation when they were

included in the model as a group, they were shown to predict participation when they were

examined in the model individually. This indicates they could have an indirect effect on the

extent of participation and on satisfaction with participation. However, in order to determine this,

it would be necessary to study participation at an earlier time to see the effect of these potential

predictors over time.

Study Limitations

There are limitations to this study that need to be considered when assessing the value of

the results. The sample of this research was diverse with the exception of race/ethnicity in that

88.1% of the participants identified themselves as white whereas, according to US Census data

of 2000, 57.4% of the disabled population was white (US Census Bureau, 2009). There are a few

possible explanations for this. The US Census data include people with all disabilities not just

people who use wheelchairs so this may not be a comparable population. It is also possible that

people of color and of diverse ethnicities participate less in the organizations where recruitment

took place which included Independent Living Centers and national disability, diagnosis, and

condition support groups. In a study comparing participation of children with and without

disabilities in community-based activities, Bedell, et al. also report that 81% of their participants

were white, non-hispanic (Bedell et al., 2013). Bedell identified this as a limitation of their study

as well. It seems evident that better methods are needed to recruit participants characterized by

greater diversity in race and ethnicity. As such, the research findings have limited

generalizability. Cultural norms may influence not only the types of discretionary activities in

which people participate, they also may influence their views of disability and wheelchair use.

Cultural norms may also influence the extent to which people participate in various activities.

Although ethnicity did not predict participation in this study, it may be because of the limited

diversity in the study sample. .

The five medical conditions that led participants in this study to use wheelchairs were

spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, polio, and multiple sclerosis. I initially assigned greater

importance to the medical condition leading to wheelchair use as a predictor of participation and

thought that people with different diagnoses would participate to different extents but this turned

out not to be the case. Four of the five diagnoses were fairly evenly represented in the participant

pool (19.9%- 29.8%) but only 6% of the participants were diagnosed with stroke as the condition

leading to wheelchair use. It is not clear from the recruitment strategies why so few people who

had strokes were recruited or agreed to participate. While having had a stroke did not predict

participation in this study, so small a sample may not be representative of the population of

people who had strokes in the areas from which participants were recruited. Additional research

including more stroke survivors may reveal other important findings.

Using a Secondary Source for Data

There are many benefits to using a secondary data set, the first of which is that the data

already exist. In research, this translates into time and money saved. Data collection is time

consuming and costly. Using an existing data set shrinks the amount of time necessary to

complete a study. The data set used in this dissertation included the information needed to

answer the research questions and, as such, was an asset. This data set contains a wealth of

information and should be used to answer additional questions in the future.

Using an existing data set also has the potential to lead to problems because the

researcher may not have access to details of data collection and input that are necessary for full

analysis. Such was the case for this data set. The problems and resulting limitations are discussed

here. One example concerns how the participants reported their living situations. Participants

were asked “how many people do you live with?” Whether participants included themselves or

not in the reported number is not clear. One hundred and seventeen people indicated that they

lived with one person. Of those 117 people, 80 also reported that they were married. While being

married does not necessarily mean that every person lives with his or her spouse, it is likely that

most of the married participants do live with their spouse suggesting that when they responded

that they lived with one person, it was the spouse. The problem is that there was not an option for

participants to indicate that they lived with zero people which would be the appropriate answer

for people living alone. Instead the divorced, widowed, and never been married people also

likely responded that they lived with at least one person. This is important because people living

with a spouse or other housemates may be more likely to participate in discretionary activities

outside the home than those living alone. Without access to reliable data, it is not possible to

infer participation based on whether the participants live with at least one other person or not.

Future studies should take this into account.

Recommendations for Future Research and Practice

Investigating participation by people with disabilities is a complicated endeavor. Previous

research has investigated participation in various activities by various people including

mandatory and discretionary activities, activities that occur inside the home and in the

community, and by mixed groups of disabled people (Card et al., 2006; Chaves et al., 2004;

Crawford, Hollingsworth, Morgan, & Gray, 2008; Gum et al., 2006; Harris, Sprigle, Sonenblum,

& Maurer, 2010; Noreau et al., 2002; Rimmer et al., 2004). This dissertation is among the first to

describe a model of participation that focuses primarily on the effects of psychosocial

functioning of physically disabled people who use wheelchairs and the path diagram of this

model can be found on page 81. Developing this model was, in fact, the intent of this

dissertation. Much greater research will be needed in the future to fill this model out so that it

accounts for the plethora of psychosocial, physical, and environmental factors that influence

participation. Additionally, further research is needed to determine differences and similarities in

patterns of participation by various groups of people with disabilities as well as to determine

their satisfaction with their participation and the facilitators and barriers to participation. It is also

important to compare the findings in this dissertation to research broader populations including

people without disabilities and disabled people who do not use wheelchairs. However, this

dissertation research is cross-sectional in nature. As such, this research yields a limited view of

the role of psychosocial functioning in predicting in community-based, discretionary activities by

wheelchair users. As noted above, each one of the psychosocial factors studied positively

predicted participation when the factors were included in the regression model individually but

most were no longer predictive when analyzed together. In order to understand the relationships

between the psychosocial factors of interest longitudinal studies are needed. Longitudinal studies

are also needed to investigate the predictive value of the medical and demographic covariates

over time.

This research reveals that further investigation regarding wheelchair prescription is

needed. Whether the person used a power wheelchair, manual wheelchair, or scooter was found

not to predict participation in community-based, discretionary activities. The question that arises

from this finding is whether the study participants had the appropriate seating and mobility

devices. Future studies should investigate whether the appropriateness of the mobility device

correlates with participation.

In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, it may

be beneficial to change the focus of rehabilitation putting greater emphasis on participation in

community-based activities. Because this dissertation research demonstrates that psychosocial

functioning predicts such participation, it may be beneficial to develop inpatient programs that

focus on improving psychosocial functioning, especially general mental health and perceived

control. Such programs could include peer and/or group counseling and assertiveness training.

By addressing general mental health and perceived control, wheelchair users may be more apt to

participate in community-based, discretionary activities after they are discharged from their

rehabilitation hospitals. This research may also indicate that training programs for wheelchair

users should include peer learning. Working with role models who have similar physical

conditions may help people realize how they can increase their control over their own lives

leading to more participation and better satisfaction with their participation in discretionary

activities. Future research in program develop should study whether having novice wheelchair

users work with experienced wheelchair users is an efficient and effective program model.

It would also be beneficial to design follow-up, community-based treatment that allows

individuals to work on skills needed to access the community, to continue to address general

mental health, and to allow individuals to explore various activities that might be of interest. This

represents a major change in traditional practice and would require research to identify the

psychosocial factors and then to determine the best strategies to improve them. If it was

determined that an increased focus on psychosocial functioning in rehabilitation leads to

increased participation in community-based, discretionary activities, it follows that the curricula

of educational programs would need to be adjusted to address these altered focii.

Although this research did not investigate federal, state, or local policy related to

participation by people who use wheelchairs, there are potential implications for policy. The

need for this research was based in part on the principle of full and effective participation and

inclusion of people with disabilities in society by the United Nations Convention of the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities (United Nations General Assembly, 2006). The findings of this

dissertation dovetail with the principles of the Convention in two ways. Firstly, the findings of

this dissertation indicated that perceived control and the perception of reintegration predict

participation in community-based activities. More participation and leadership in the activities of

interest by people who use wheelchairs may increase their own perceived control and

reintegration and may also have a broader effect in that other people who use wheelchairs would

then have more role models of these behaviors.

These findings may have policy implications in that society needs to both be open to

participation and leadership by wheelchair users and make such opportunities available in an

effort to further increase such participation. The second way these findings can have an impact

on policy is to make people think about where they see or do not see people who use

wheelchairs. It may also cause readers to think about why people who use wheelchairs and others

with disabilities are not present more frequently and at various levels in all community-based

activities.

Although this dissertation does not investigate participation in work activities, this is

another area that may be related to this study. In our society, work activities are very important

in defining the individual. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with disabilities

are employed in the civilian labor force at a rate of 21.8% while the rate for people with no

disabilities is 70.1% (United States Department of Labor, 2012). There may be correlations or

causal relationships between employment and perceived control and reintegration. There may

also be correlations or causal relationships between employment, financial means, and

participation in discretionary activities.

Appendix A: UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Articles Relevant to this
Research

Article 9- Accessibility. This article addresses accessibility of the physical environment

as well as transportation, information, and communications. It requires that obstacles and barriers

to access be identified and eliminated.

Article 19- Living independently and being included in the community. This article

recognizes the need to live in the community and for people with disabilities to have choices

equal to others for full inclusion and participation in the community.

Article 20- Personal mobility. This article requires that effective measures be taken to

provide the greatest possible independence including affordable mobility aids and training in

their use. This article also instructs equipment producers to address all aspects of mobility.

Article 29- Participation in political and public life. This article recognizes that people

with disabilities have the right to effective and full participation in political and public life be

available to people with disabilities at local, regional, national, and international levels.

Article 30- Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure, and sport. This article

recognizes that all appropriate measures should be taken to ensure equal access to cultural,

recreational, and leisure activities.

Appendix B: Letter of Agreement

Gray, David graydb@wusm.wustl.edu via nyu.edu

1/16/12

to anita.perr, Gary

Greetings Anita and Hello Dr. Winkel,

I’m pleased that you are interested in the PARTS/M data. The PARTS/M had two versions – a

published version and one with several other activities. The additional activities were eliminated

because of reliability issues. We need to make certain that the data set I sent you is the published

version. Could you attach the version I sent you in a return email. Then I’ll know which data

dictionary to send to you.

The PARTS/M was administered at the same time as the FABS/M. Each survey respondent filled

out a third survey section that has demographics and several other surveys – SF 36, RN, Duke

Social Support Scale, PIP and many of the CDC BRFSS questions. We included these addition

‘standard’ tests to examine the PARTS/M and FABS/M for similarities and differences.

I mention these details to let you know the extent of the data set so that your selection of a topic

for your dissertation considers a variety of possibilities. Please see the attached article for some

details on how we developed the PARTS/M and FABS/M.

I have no problem with your use of the data set for your dissertation. The work you do on the

data set will be yours and yours alone. I would like to be included as an author on papers coming

from your work. But if I have no important intellectual contribution, then you do not need to

include me as an author.

I would like to be a reader on your committee and participate in your committee meeting(s) but I

will need to check the Washington University administration regarding any policy they have that

might prohibit my participation. I seriously doubt they have any such policy. I’ll check

tomorrow.

Cheers,

Dave

http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=mail&answer=1311182

Appendix C: The Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M)

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

Appendix D: The Personal Independence Profile (PIP)

Perceived Control Subscale of PIP using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1= no control to 5=

complete control.

1. Material comforts

2. Recreation

3. Close friends

4. Health and personal safety

5. Close relationship with significant other

6. Reading, listening to music, etc.

7. Socializing

8. Work in job or at home

9. Relationships with relatives

10. Learning, attending school, etc.

112

Appendix E: The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI)

The following list includes the statements contained in Return to Normal Living Index. The

index uses a visual analog scale with 1 indicating the lowest and 10 indicating the highest

agreement.

1. I move around my living quarters as I feel is necessary. (Wheelchairs, other equipment or

resources may be

used.)

2. I move around my community as I feel is necessary. (Wheelchairs, other equipment or

resources may be used.)

3. I am able to take trips out of town as I feel are necessary. (Wheelchairs, other equipment

or resources may be used.)

4. I am comfortable with how my self-care needs (dressing, feeding, toileting, bathing) are

met. (

Adaptive equipment, supervision and/or

assistance may be used.)

5. I spend most of my days occupied in a work activity that is necessary or important to me.

(Work activity could be paid employment, housework, volunteer work, school, etc.

Adaptive equipment, supervision and/or assistance may be used.)

6. I am able to participate in recreational activities (hobbies, crafts, sports, reading,

television, games, computers, etc.) as I want to. (Adaptive equipment, supervision and/or

assistance may be used.)

7. I participate in social activities with family, friends, and/or business acquaintances as is

necessary or desirable to me. (Adaptive equipment, supervision and/or assistance may be

used.)

113

8. I assume a role in my family which meets my needs and those of other family members.

(Family means people with whom you live and/or relatives with whom you don’t live but

see on a regular basis. Adaptive equipment, supervision and/or assistance may be used.)

9. In general, I am comfortable with my personal relationships.

10. In general, I am comfortable with myself when I am in the company of others.

11. I feel that I can deal with life events as they happen.

114

Appendix F: The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)

115

116

117

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THE EFFECT OF COMMUNITY CONNECTIVITY

ON WATER AND SANITATION SYSTEMS IN RURAL PANAMA

M. C. Moritz

A THESIS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

In Civil Engineering

MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
2016

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This thesis has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE in Civil Engineering.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Thesis Advisor: Dr. David Watkins

Committee Member: Dr. Mark Rouleau

Committee Member: Dr. Brian Barkdoll

Department Chair: Dr. David Hand

Contents

Preface

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Acknowledgements

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Abstract

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

1.1 Infrastructure Challenges ……………………………………………………………………………………. 7

1.2 Community-based Management Challenges ………………………………………………………….

1.3 Community Connectivity…………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

2. Existing Frameworks and Models ……………………………………………………………………………… 10

3. Panamanian Context ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4. Methodology and Hypotheses ………………………………………………………………………………….. 19

4.1 The Community Connectivity Analysis Tool …………………………………………………………. 19

4.2 Sistema de Información Sobre Agua y Saneamiento Rural (SIASAR) ……………………….. 22

4.3 Hypotheses and Analysis ………………………………………………………………………………….. 28

5. Results and Discussion …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30

5.1 Descriptive Statistics ………………………………………………………………………………………… 30

5.2 Regression Analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32

5.3 Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 36

5.4 Policy Proposals and Technical Recommendations ………………………………………………. 39

6. Future Work and Concluding Remarks

………………………………………………………………………. 40

7. References

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 41

8. Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Preface

Dr. Mark Rouleau aided in the preparation of section 5.1, titled Descriptive Statistics, and
section 5.2, titled Regression Analysis. This aid included suggestions for SPSS Data
coding, regression model input recommendations, help with independent variable
selection, and guidance on interpreting statistical results. Material from chapters 1 – 5 will
be submitted in the near future for publication in a journal.

Acknowledgements

I thank my advisor Dr. David Watkins and my committee members Dr. Brian Barkdoll and
Dr. Mark Rouleau for their guidance throughout this project and for all of their
recommendations both during my Peace Corps service and my time at Michigan
Technological University.

Dr. Kari Henquinet taught me to see past my own “lenses” and gave invaluable
perspectives on international research. I would have been ill-prepared for the challenges
of Peace Corps service and the task of completing a thesis without the instruction of Dr.
Blair Orr. My graduate writing group members Richard Ward and Pratik Umesh Joshi
were a great help with editing and revisions.

I thank Felix Holder, the Panamanian health ministry supervisor for Bocas del Toro and
Ñökribo, for his help providing surveys and training surveyors. Bocas del Toro and
Ñökribo regional leaders Zoe Fullem and Randall Schweigert along with regional
environmental health coordinator David Kierys provided critical assistance with data
gathering. This research would not have been possible without the participation of the
following Peace Corps volunteers who lived and worked in conditions of hardship to
improve the lives of their community members:

Allison Gokbudak
Sara Sweeney
Katy Mazer
Alexandra Litofsky
Richard Horrocks
Mary Condon

Oswaldo Galicia
Justin Rayson
Katherina Barguil
Aaron Greenquist
Dylan Osborne
Chelsea Rozanski

Kimberly Pearson
Nicole Ramos
Krystie Guy
Heidi Rausch
Roxana Gamble

I also want to thank my family. Without their unconditional love and support I would have
never had the courage to join the Peace Corps nor pursue my master’s degree.

Finally, I thank my office mate, classmate, travel companion, fellow volunteer, emergency
contact, voice of reason, and friend: Leigh Miller.

Abstract

The world has yet to realize universal access to water and sanitation. Various academic
and professional fields provide frameworks for understanding water and sanitation access,
but none directly consider the impact of community connectivity. Community connectivity
refers to the infrastructures linking rural communities with urban centers. These
infrastructures fall under the broad categories of transportation, energy, and
telecommunication. This paper examines 23 rural Panamanian communities and compares
connectivity measures with the functionality of the communities’ rural water and sanitation
systems (RWSS). Community connectivity was evaluated with the

Community

Connectivity Analysis Tool (CCAT), while the water and sanitation systems were
evaluated with the Sistema de Información Sobre Agua y Saneamiento Rural (Rural Water
and Sanitation Information System, SIASAR). Statistical analysis revealed that commutes
with more time spent in automobiles and on foot were linked with lower water system
functionality. Infrastructure projects can have many goals from expanding markets to
increasing access to education. By understanding what kinds of infrastructure make the
biggest impact on RWSS, state and local governments can make wiser investments to better
serve rural populations.

1. Introduction1
1.1 Infrastructure Challenges

Of the 663 million people worldwide who lack access to an improved water source, 80%
live in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF 2015). Although this means roughly one in every

people do not have water access, this number is down after numerous efforts by the United
Nations (UN) to spur international action. In the last 40 years, the UN has created the
International Drinking Water Decade (1981 – 1990), the International Decade for Action
(2005 – 2015), and the Millennium Development Goals (2000 – 2015) in an effort to
achieve universal water and sanitation access. In 2012 the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported meeting one of the Millennium
Development Goals by halving the portion of people without access to safe drinking water
(UNICEF 2012).

Since 1990, over 2.6 billion people have gained access to an improved water source (WHO
2015). Most of these people are first-time users connected to newly built systems. This
means that the challenge facing universal water access is shifting from building
infrastructure to maintaining it (Moriarty et al. 2013). The WHO/UNICEF Joint
Monitoring Programme (JMP) reported that 427 million people in sub-Saharan Africa
alone have gained access to an improved water source in the last 25 years (WHO/UNICEF
2015). But it is clear that these newly built systems face maintenance challenges. For
example, nearly 35% of all sub-Saharan rural water systems area are not functioning
(Harvey and Reed 2006).

Before the world can maintain sustainable RWSS, it must face sobering economic realities.
In rural Tasmania, local governments rely on the revenue generated by charging rural water
users a monthly fee at municipal rates. However, rural populations are smaller and simply
cannot generate the same revenue stream as their urban neighbors. In a recent study, twelve
local Tasmanian government representatives identified their rural location as a significant
hindrance in fulfilling their responsibility to meet regulatory requirements and provide safe
drinking water (Whelan and Willis 2007). When the cost of operations and maintenance
(O&M) must be paid by a small population the fee per user can be exorbitant. Researchers
in Uganda found the same problem and cited these high per-user costs as a likely cause of
O&M failure (Quin et al. 2011). Another economic reality is that many people without
access to water in rural areas are considered “poor”. Quantifying exactly how poor is
challenging because household incomes for the rural poor are complex, dynamic, and
notoriously hard to measure in monetary terms (Cohen and Sullivan 2010). The rural poor
are not completely without resources, but livestock and land are not liquid assets and cannot
be easily used to pay monthly water user fees.

1 Material contained in this chapter is in preparation for submission to a journal.

Routine monitoring, reporting, and evaluation (MRE) for urban systems is far easier than
for RWSS. A 2010 study from Colombia found that there was no water quality information
for nearly one third of nation’s population because rural areas are difficult to access (Wright
et al. 2014). Although incomplete, the data from this study indicate a disturbing disparity
between rural and urban systems where only 60% of rural systems passed the water quality
tests compared to 100% compliance for urban systems (Wright et al. 2014). This trend of
non-compliance was seen again in rural Sudan where results showed fecal coliform counts
far higher in rural and nomadic communities than in the peri-urban community (Musa et
al. 1999).

The lack of routine water quality testing is due in part to the physical isolation of rural
communities and the scarcity of testing facilities. When ice is unavailable to preserve the
water sample, the WHO recommends a transportation time of two hours or less between
the sample location and the testing facility. This leaves few options for rural areas that
lack the climate and/or electricity to make ice. The WHO also recommends one sample
per month for all piped drinking water systems and additional samples for systems that
serve populations greater than 5000. The Panamanian regions considered in this paper,
Bocas del Toro and Ñökribo, have no testing facilities whatsoever, and none of the service
providers in this study conduct monthly quality testing.

1.2 Community-based Management Challenges

In the 1980s, the community-based management (CBM) framework gained momentum in
the developing world for several reasons. Firstly, water users were unsatisfied with
government management of RWSS. Secondly, many non-government organizations
(NGOs) structured their projects so that community members would manage O&M of the
system after the NGO provided the initial capital investment and training. Additionally, a
Western idealization of communities in low-income countries fueled a belief that small
rural populations could manage their water systems independent of institutionalized
assistance. Researchers studying RWSS in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia noted that
“Rural water systems in high-income countries are not generally managed successfully by
communities, so why should there by an automatic expectation that they can be in low-
income countries?” (Harvey and Reed 2006, p. 367). Ideally, remote communities would
form water committees to collect user payments, inspect the system, test water quality, and
make repairs when necessary. However, the CBM framework had unrealistic expectations
for what can be achieved by community members volunteering their time informally
(Moriarty et al. 2013). Subsistence farming often involves time-consuming, back-breaking
labor. The added responsibility of managing a water system, even if that responsibility
falls to a committee, can be a heavy burden.

The CBM framework also assumes that the water committee will be properly trained to
carry out all financial and technical operations for the design life of the system (Harvey
and Reed 2006). As a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, the author facilitated robust training
programs for rural water committees. However, this knowledge is often lost or degraded

over time. Key leaders in the community may die, move to another town, or take on other
responsibilities. Communities with small populations (i.e. 300 people) may face leadership
burn-out when the same small group of people volunteers for committees and workdays.
Without access to digital media communities must rely on printed paper materials, which
have an alarmingly short lifespan in tropical climates. As discussed in the previous section,
the community will most likely be unable to generate sufficient funds to cover major
repairs even with the leadership of a well-trained water committee. Cost-efficient
construction methods, such as ferrocement storage tanks, can ease the financial burden.
But if the original water source dries up, becomes contaminated, or is outstripped by
population demands, most rural communities will not have sufficient funds to develop a
new or expanded system.

The global community has made substantial efforts to increase water and sanitation access.
However, many projects constructed RWSS in locations where regular maintenance is
economically unfeasible or routine water quality testing is physically impossible. CBM,
once touted as the solution for managing RWSS, has not been a panacea. The UN
recognizes the access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right (UN
2010). But if rural spaces are to be included in the pursuit of universal water and sanitation
access, it is important to examine community connectivity, the way goods, information, and
people move to and from these remote places.

1.3 Community Connectivity

The gap between urban and rural development is common across the globe. A study on
Chinese poverty reduction efforts in the 1980s found that geographically isolated regions
were less conducive to rapid poverty reduction programs and were essentially abandoned
by the state (Cohen and Sullivan 2010). These isolated rural regions may lack roads or
navigable rivers, or else travel along existing roads and rivers may be prohibitively
expensive for local communities. In such remote communities there may also be no
reliable electricity to charge a cell phone nor cell signal strong enough to justify the effort.
With regards to RWSS O&M in such spaces, “it is difficult to see any viable medium-term
solution other than self-supply, but self-supply that is recognized and supported by the state
and its agencies” (Moriarty et al. 2013, p. 337).

This state and/or agency support is only possible if rural areas are physically accessible, or
accessible via telecommunications. There are many kinds of connective infrastructure that
can be divided into the broad categories of transportation, telecommunication, and energy.
These types of infrastructure projects can be expensive, but states must be willing to invest
in rural infrastructure to close the gap between the urban and rural standards of living (Tang
et al. 2016). Rural infrastructure is unlikely to create direct economic returns (Shen et al.
2011), however, a more holistic approach takes into account the benefits of a healthier,
more productive population that can share resources more efficiently. Enhanced
connectivity has the power to reduce poverty, increase economic growth, create equitable
access to information, and even mitigate conflict and promote peace (Bhattacharyay 2012).

The costs of constructing RWSS should include the cost of the connective infrastructure
necessary for adequate O&M. This paper will show how all three types of connective
infrastructure influence RWSS functionality. Ideally, every rural water committee would
be able to take a water sample to a testing facility in under two hours. The water committee
would be able to call their local health ministry for support and, when the problem was too
extensive for a quick repair, the health ministry or other authority would be able to travel
to the rural community and address the issue. By understanding what kinds of connective
infrastructure make the biggest impact on the functionality of RWSS, state and local
governments can make wiser infrastructure investments.

2. Existing Frameworks and Models2

The concept of community connectivity intersects many formal academic and professional
disciplines. As a result, existing frameworks from economics, ecology, and sociology
brush against the concept of connectivity, but do not address it directly as it relates to water
and sanitation access. Similarly, a diverse array of professions, from urban planning to
transportation engineering, have developed methodologies for maximizing the efficiency
of connective systems, but again not with the explicit intention of improving RWSS
functionality. This is a critical gap in the global conversation on universal water and
sanitation access. When the UN recognized water access as a human right, it called upon
states and international organizations to scale up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible
and affordable drinking water and sanitation (UN 2010). This resolution acknowledges
both the need for institutional support and the responsibility of states to provide that
support. This human rights framework builds the case for developing connective
infrastructure, albeit indirectly.

The MDG were developed based on a human rights framework, however, the MDG metrics
for assessing access to water and sanitation are limited. A study from Cambodia and Viet
Nam noted that simply looking at water system ‘coverage’ does not capture a realistic
picture of safe domestic water provision (Guppy 2014). Other researchers have come to
the same conclusion by pointing out that water system coverage as reported by the
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme does not address the water quality or level of
service (Moriarty et al. 2013).

As discussed previously, CBM has proven to be an ineffective framework for RWSS
O&M. This shortcoming is due, in part, to the fact that CBM only indirectly considers
community connectivity. One aspect of CBM includes choosing an appropriate technology
that is in line with a community’s financial, technical, and management capabilities
(Bouabid and Louis 2015). This paper will argue that all these components of a
community’s capacity are directly linked to its level of connectivity. Another aspect of
CBM is the idea of community participation as a critical component to sustainability.

2 Material contained in this chapter is in preparation for submission to a journal.

Community participation empowers local stakeholders; however, it should also give
communities the space to decide not to be in charge of their own fee collection, water
testing, and infrastructure maintenance, especially if there is another option (Harvey and
Reed 2006).

The Demand-Responsive Approach (DRA) was designed so communities could demand
the kind of services they need and the appropriate NGO or state institution would respond
accordingly. The idea was to encourage communities to be proactive and foster a sense of
ownership of the RWSS. Meanwhile, the institutions would be forced to consider
stakeholder input when designing a solution. However, the DRA framework is also
defective, firstly because a sense of ownership does not necessarily translate to better O&M
(Harvey and Reed 2006), and secondly because it does not consider community
connectivity. In order to make a demand, the rural community needs to be able to contact
the appropriate organization. This is a tall order in locations without roads, cell signal, or
electricity. Similarly, the service-delivery framework asserts that rural water services
should be provided by clearly identified service providers operating under standards that
are enforced by a legitimate authority (Moriarty et al. 2013). Again, this framework
assumes that the authoritative body will have access to the community and fails to provide
a solution for isolated rural spaces – the spaces with the least access to water and sanitation.

The water poverty index (WPI) is another holistic framework aimed at understanding water
and sanitation access. The WPI framework takes into account the physical water supply,
the household access to the supply, the capacity for households to manage their water
access, and the environmental impact of a given system. Although these components paint
a more complete picture than a simple metric of “coverage”, the WPI fails to take into
account the isolation of the rural community. When the WPI was applied to a study in
Cambodia and Viet Nam, it was concluded that these WPI measure had relatively little
connection to how water was actually being used by respondents in the village (Guppy
2014). The term “water poverty” attempts to illuminate a closed-loop connection between
societal well-being and water access, where a lack of water access decreases human
productivity, impoverishing the society to a level at which it is unable to improve access
to water. However, it has been argued that water-induced poverty is different from
economic poverty (Komnenic et al. 2009). Komnenic et al. went on to state that “the WPI
does not assess the capacity to address water issues, i.e. it does not express the social
resources within the society to counter water scarcity” (Komnenic et al. 2009, p. 220). The
social resources within a community are closely related to the concept of community
connectivity.

The Water, Economy, Investment and Learning Assessment Indicator (WEILAI) is yet
another framework that builds on the methodology of the WPI and the basic needs
framework for poverty alleviation (Cohen and Sullivan 2010). Although it considers water
access from a household level instead of a community-wide level, the factors concerning
water resource management capacity only evaluate the presence of a water committee, the
household participation in water management, and the speaking abilities and education

levels of the head of the household. Again, the concept of community connectivity is
notably absent from this framework.

The capacity factor analysis model (CFA) attempts to quantify a community’s needs and
abilities in order to recommend appropriate water and sanitation interventions (Bouabid
and Louis 2015). The eight factors are listed and defined in Table 1. Of the frameworks
discussed, this framework most closely resembles the community connectivity studied in
this paper. The technical factor, for example, includes a metric regarding the supply chain
and the availability of services. In this paper, the supply chain is evaluated by quantifying
a round trip from the remote community to the nearest urban center in terms of time,
monetary cost, mode of transportation, and the effect of inclement weather. The energy
factor in the CFA and electricity access in this study are nearly identical, although the CFA
incorporates a measure of energy reliability while this study only quantifies what kinds of
electrical sources are available in a given community. The CFA framework aims to
measure a community’s capacity, while this study measures a rural community’s
connectedness to the nearest urban center. Stronger urban-rural links result in rural
communities more capable of managing a RWSS.

Table 1: Capacity Factors from Bouabid and Louis 2015, p. 337
Capacity Factor Definition
1 Service Quantity, Quality, Accessibility (distance form user)

2 Institutional Policies (laws, regulations), Programs (administration, jurisdiction), Processes (permits, performance)

3 Human Resources Professional, Skilled Labor, Unskilled Labor – Literate and Illiterate

4 Technical Operations, Maintenance, Adaption, Supply chain: Spare parts, Supplies, Services

5 Economic/Financial Private Sector %, Bonds Rating, User Fees, Budget, Asset Values

6 Energy Grid Electricity Access, Other electricity access, % of budget, reliability factor (annual hours / 8766)

7 Environmental/Natural Resources Annual Withdrawal % of (stock + recharge), Background quality

8 Social/Cultural Community, Stability, Castes/Clan/Ethnicity/Women Participation

Surprisingly, some of the most useful frameworks for understanding community
connectivity do not come from the social sciences. Recent research on human movement
behavior used network analysis to examine spatially distributed infrastructure (Wu et al.
2016). Wu et al. found that administrative regions are often based on cultural and
geographical environments. This division effects the construction of connective
infrastructure, but may not always be consistent with the actual human movements of the
population (Wu et al. 2016). The need for interregional and international collaboration
becomes clear when human movements are taken into consideration.

Social Network Analysis (SNA) provides useful insights into community connectivity.
SNA uses mathematical formulas to explain how individual units (i.e. cars or bits of

information) move through a network of edges and nodes. When used by civil and
construction engineers, the edges and nodes may symbolize roadways and intersections.
When used by social scientists, the nodes typically represent people and the edges represent
their interpersonal relationships. A recent study used SNA to improve transportation
planning in Mississippi by investigating which streets and intersections were most vital for
the effectiveness of the whole road network (El-adaway et al. 2016). Similarly, this paper
examines the different kinds of connections between rural communities and local centers
of commerce. Is reliable cell service more important to RWSS functionality than road
access? Is having inexpensive transportation more important than having rapid
transportation? Just as SNA can decrease the cost of transportation planning and provide
a more holistic approach to evaluating a population’s transportation needs, evaluating the
impact of community connectivity on RWSS O&M can help decrease the costs of future
connective infrastructure projects.

The human rights framework is fundamental in studying water and sanitation access for
two reasons: it establishes universal access as a human right and places the responsibility
for providing access on institutions as opposed to individuals. This chapter discussed
various means to achieve this end including community-based management, demand-
responsive approach, and the service-delivery model. These approaches, however, are
difficult to apply in rural settings because water committees are isolated from the services
and facilities found in urban centers such as banks, hardware stores, water quality testing
labs, and health department offices. The water poverty index (WPI) and the Water,
Economy, Investment and Learning Assessment Indicator (WEILAI) attempt to understand
how and why certain populations continue to lack access to water and sanitation, but neither
framework considers the isolation of rural communities. The difficulty of making a phone
call or purchasing a sack of cement are not addressed in the various WPI and WEILAI
indicators.

Capacity factor analysis, on the other hand, does consider some of these elements of rural
living by including measures of the local supply chain and access to reliable electricity.
Human movement behavior and social network analysis offer insights into how rural areas
interact with urban centers. This study seeks to build on these frameworks by measuring
rural community connectivity and showing the relationship between connectedness and
RWSS functionality.

3. Panamanian Context3

Panama is a narrow isthmus connecting North and South America. The Panama Canal,
which cuts through the provinces of Colón and Panamá, has served as a strategic shipping
lane since its completion in 1904. As a result, the Panama City-Colón metropolitan
corridor, which is located next to the canal, is home to more than half of the country’s
population (Guitierrez 2010). This highly developed region stands in stark contrast to the
less developed rural areas of Panama, especially the four comarcas, or indigenous

3 Material contained in this chapter is in preparation for submission to a journal.

provinces. These provinces, shown in Figure 1, are the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, the
Comarca Kuna-Yala, and the two distinct regions of the Comarca Embera-Wounaan.

Figure 1: Provinces and Comarcas of Panama. Author: Hanna5974, Wikipedia Commons,

Creative Commons, CC-BY-SA-3.0

A portion of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé is included in this study, and it is important to note
that this region of Panama has its own semi-autonomous government operating within the
larger national government. This comarca was formed in 1997 after considerable pressure
from indigenous groups concerned about natural resource exploitation and degradation of
their ancestral lands. The current boundaries of the comarca include land previously
belonging to the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas.

Figure 2 illustrates the Cordillera Central, a mountain range that runs through the center of
the country. The highest point, Volcán Barú, is located near the northern border of the
Chiriquí province and reaches an elevation of 11,395 ft (Smithsonian Institution 2013).
Until the late 1990s, this mountain range separated the Bocas del Toro province and the
Caribbean side of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé (called Ñökribo) from the rest of Panama.
Today these regions are connected by a single two-lane road, Route 10, shown in Figure 3.

Figure 2: Panama Topography. Author: Sadalmelik, Wikipedia Commons, Creative Commons,

CC-BY-SA-3.0

Figure 3: Major Routes in Western Panama. Source: Google Maps 2016

Partially as a result of this geographic isolation, Ñökribo and the province of Bocas del
Toro remain less densely populated than the more connected Pacific side of Panama. Other
large rural areas include the southern part of the Azuero Peninsula and the eastern portion
of the country near the Colombian border. The most densely populated areas are in the
Panama City-Colón metropolitan corridor and near the Pan-American Highway which runs
along the Pacific coast of the country.

While the national population of Panama has more than doubled in the last 40 years, the
rural population has grown much more slowly as shown in Figure 4. This shift in the
population distribution partially accounts for the improvement in access to water and
sanitation at the national level.

Figure 4: Panama Population Data. Data from “World Development Indicators” by The World
Bank Group.

Like many other countries, Panama’s rural population has historically lagged behind the
country’s urban population in terms of access to water and electricity, as shown in Figure
5 and Figure 6. The last 25 years have seen dramatic improvements in water and electricity
access in rural areas, but in order to reach universal access the country will have to invest
in connective infrastructure in extremely remote regions.

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

1970 1975 1980 1985

1990

1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

P
op

ul
at

Year

Rural Total

Figure 5: Access to Improved Water. Data from “World Development Indicators” by The World
Bank Group.

Access to electricity is an important component of community connectivity. Computers
and cell phones obviously require electricity, but in most rural communities this electricity
comes from either gas / diesel generators or solar power. Figure 6 shows the improvement
in electricity access in rural areas but also the persistent gap between urban and rural access.

Figure 6: Electricity Access Data. Data from “World Development Indicators” by The World Bank
Group.

The vast majority of energy produced in Panama comes from its 31 hydroelectric power
plants (Schneider 2015). The western half of the country has steep mountains with
numerous rivers which are easily accessible from the Pan-American Highway. Figure 7
shows the relatively small portion of power produced from oil and coal.

100

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

P
er

ce
nt

o
f P

op
ul

at
io

n
Year

Rural Urban

60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100

1990 2000 2010

P
er
ce
nt
o
f P
op
ul
at
io
n
Year
Rural Urban

Figure 7: Panamanian Energy Production in 2013. Data from “World Development Indicators” by
The World Bank Group.

The last ten years have seen an increase in the number of internet users and a sharp rise in
the number of mobile cellular subscriptions. Figure 8 compares the United States and
Panama in terms of number of internet users and cell subscriptions per 100 people. In
2015, the number of Panamanian cell subscriptions was approximately 150% the number
of U.S. cell subscriptions per 100 people. This is due, in part, to the geography of Panama
and the scarcity of cell towers. Cell users, especially rural cell users living in mountainous
areas, may use multiple service providers to take advantage of the nearest tower.

Figure 8: Internet and mobile cellular user data. Data from “World Development Indicators” by
The World Bank Group.

Hydroelectric
72%Coal

Oil
20%

0
20
40
60
80

100
120
140
160
180
200

1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

N
um

be
r o

f U
se

rs
/

S
ub

sc
rip

tio
ns

P
er

1
00

P
eo

pl
e

Year

U.S. Internet Users
Panama Internet Users
U.S. Mobile Cellular Subscriptions
Panama Mobile Cellular Subscriptions

As stated previously, the communities in this study are located in the Bocas del Toro
province and Ñökribo, the portion of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé located on the Caribbean
side of the Cordillera Central. It is important to note that these areas are especially rural
and undeveloped in comparison to the rest of Panama. The Cordillera Central kept these
areas geographically isolated from the rest of Panama until the construction of Highway
10 in the late 1990s. Falling within the boundaries of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, the
Ñökribo region faces the added challenge of political isolation from the larger Panamanian
national government. This study focuses on Bocas del Toro and Ñökribo because these
added factors of inaccessibility make managing RWSS especially challenging. The
country’s geography and energy production profile shed light on the difficulties of
providing electrical grid access to these rural areas. Additionally, the growing urban and
stagnant rural populations helps explain the lack of political will to address the gap between
the rural and urban standard of living. Panama is a democracy where the rural electorate
has been shrinking for the last 45 years.

4. Methodology and Hypotheses4

4.1 The Community Connectivity Analysis Tool

Connective infrastructures can be broadly categorized as relating to transportation,
telecommunication, and energy. Rural communities do not often interact with each other;
however, these communities have frequent exchanges of people, goods, money, and
information with urban centers. (Wu et al. 2016). For this reason, the Community
Connectivity Assessment Tool (CCAT), developed for this study, evaluates the round trip
from the community to the nearest center of commerce and also considers the community’s
energy and telecommunication infrastructure. Herein, a “center of commerce” refers to a
town large enough to have a hardware store that sells cement. The CCAT was not designed
to generate a single connectivity score. Instead, the different aspects of connectivity are
considered separately as they relate to water and sanitation system functionality.

The CCAT was applied in the field by U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. The first page of the
two-page survey, shown in Figure 9, asks for the volunteer’s name, the community name,
the province, and the date of the assessment. The next section collects information about
the accessibility of the community and the water system by using the water storage tank as
a reference point. Volunteers filled out how many minutes it takes to get from the storage
tank to the water source, the monetary cost of travel (if applicable), and the mode of
transportation used. Volunteers also rated the effect of inclement weather on each leg of
the journey. The same parameters were used to assess the journey from the storage tank to
the nearest hardware store. These fields evaluate the connective infrastructures related to
transportation.

4 Material contained in this chapter is in preparation for submission to a journal.

Figure 9: Page 1 of the CCAT

The next portion of the CCAT, shown in Figure 10, examines the community’s locality by
asking volunteers to count how many communities are within a 30, 60 and 90-minute walk
from the water storage tank. Volunteers provided basic water system information by
selecting the type of water source and the water storage tank material. The final sections
of the CCAT focus on the telecommunications and energy infrastructures by asking if an
infoplaza (a public internet access location) is present in the community, if phone cards are
sold in the community, and how far a person must walk from the water storage tank to find
cell service. Infoplaza fees generally range from $0.25 – $0.50 per 30 minutes of computer
time. Phone cards are also an important aspect of telecommunications because the vast
majority of Panamanians purchase small data, calling, or text packages as opposed to
signing a contract and paying a monthly fee. Service varies by cell provider, but generally
100 texts could be purchased for $1.00. Lastly, volunteers were asked to indicate the
number of homes with solar panels, generators, and wired electricity. These fields were
designed to establish the level of electricity access in the community.

Figure 10: Page 2 of CCAT

4.2 Sistema de Información Sobre Agua y Saneamiento Rural (SIASAR)

Sistema de Información Sobre Agua y Saneamiento Rural (Rural Water and Sanitation
Information System, SIASAR) is a joint initiative launched by the governments of Panama,
Honduras, and Nicaragua (SIASAR User Manual, 2012). As stated in the 2012 SIASAR
User Manual, the objective of this project is to create a tool to evaluate rural water and
sanitation systems in order to:

• Support various actors in planning and coordinating water and sanitation projects
• Monitor the coverage, quality, and sustainability of rural water and sanitation

services
• Record the performance of service providers
• Make rural water and sanitation data public for use by states, NGOs, and all other

interested parties

Since its inception in 2012, the SIASAR project has expanded to include data from the
Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru. Data are gathered by various actors
including community health extension workers, U.S. Peace Corps volunteers, community
leaders, health ministry officials, and other persons trained on the use of the SIASAR
survey. The survey can be completed either on paper or via the SIASAR mobile
application. In Panama, the results are uploaded onto the SIASAR website by staff from
the Ministerio de Salud (Health Ministry, MINSA).

The SIASAR survey evaluates the status of water and sanitation (watsan) in a given
community by examining four components: the community, the system, the service
provider, and the technical assistance available. Each of these four components receives a
classification of either A, B, C, or D, with A representing the highest level of functionality
and D representing the lowest. Table 2 defines each classification level.

Table 2: Classification system for watsan components

Classification
Component A B C D

Community

The community
has a healthy

environment and
adequate watsan

coverage

The watsan
coverage in the
community is
not complete

The community
has serious

deficiencies in
watsan

coverage
The community
has serious

environmental
problems and

very low watsan
coverage

System
The system

functions
correctly

The system has
deficiencies that

can be
addressed by

the service
provider

The system
has serious
deficiencies

that cannot be
addressed by

the service
provider

The system
does not
function

Service Provider

The service
provider is well
organized and

ensures
sustainability

The service
provider is

somewhat

organized

and
sustainability is

likely

The service
provider is not
well organized

and
sustainability is

unlikely

The service
provider is

inactive and the
systems is at
risk of failing

Technical
Assistance

The technical
assistance

provider works
appropriately and

has sufficient

resources

The technical
assistance

provider is not
fully supportive
and has scarce

resources
The technical
assistance

provider barely
fulfills its roles
and/or lacks
resources

The technical
assistance

provider is not
fulfilling its roles

and does not
have the

necessary
resources

Each individual component also has its own scoring system. On the SIASAR survey there
are 33 questions that feed into the 8 criterion for the community component. The hygiene
criteria score, for example, is determined by the answers to three questions regarding
handwashing, latrine usage, and grey water management. The community scoring system
is explained in Table 3. Note that only a score of 4, 3, or 1 is possible for the environment
and hygiene criterion.

Table 3: Community Scoring

Score
Community Criterion 4 3 2 1

Improved drinking water
coverage Greater than 80% 65-80% 50-65% Less than 50%

Improved sanitation
coverage Greater than 80% 65-80% 50‐65% Less than 50%

Sustainable water
coverage (SWC) Greater than 80% 60-80% 50‐60% Less than 50%

Sanitation coverage with
flush toilets Greater than 30% 20‐30% 10‐20% Less than 10%

Social care centers with
improved drinking water 100% 80‐100% 50‐80% Less than 50%

Social care center with
improved sanitation 100% 80‐100% 50‐80% Less than 50%

Environment Good Regular – Bad

Hygiene Good Regular – Bad

Importantly, the sustainable water coverage (SWC) criterion in Table 3 is calculated with
Equation 1 which includes weighting factors based on the service provider and system
classifications (shown in Table 4). For example, a service provider classification of “B”
would result in a weighting factor of 0.66. A system classification of “A” results in a
weighting factor of 1.00. These values are then used to calculate the SWC. In this way
the community component of the SIASAR survey is tied to the service provider and the
system components.

𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 =
� number of households connected to the system� ×�𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤�×(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑝𝑠𝑠𝑝𝑝𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑝𝑝𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 )

number of households
in the community

(1)

Table 4: SWC weighting factors

After calculating the scores from the eight community criterion, the scores are averaged to
determine the community classification by using the scale shown in Table 5.

Classification SWC Weighting Factor
A 1.00
B 0.66
C 0.33
D 0.00

Table 5: Calculation for community classification

A similar procedure is followed to determine the SIASAR classification for the service
provider and system components. The system component takes survey answers from 37
questions and again uses these responses to assess 8 criteria related to the water system.
Table 6 shows the scoring system for these indicators. The calculation of

the system

classification is a simple sum of the scores for each indicator, as shown in Table 7.

Table 6: Scoring for system component

Score
Criterion 4 3 2 1

Flow rate Supply ≥ 1.5 x Demand S ≥ 1.0 x D S ≥ 0.8 x D S < 0.8 x D

Water
catchment Good condition

Requires
maintenance

Requires
minor

improvements

Requires
reconstruction

Conduction
line Good condition

Requires
maintenance
Requires
minor
improvements
Requires
reconstruction

Storage
tank Good condition

Requires
maintenance
Requires
minor
improvements
Requires
reconstruction

Distribution
network Good condition

Requires
maintenance
Requires
minor
improvements
Requires
reconstruction

Storage
capacity Capacity ≥ 1.35 x Required C ≥ 1.0 x R C ≥ 0.8 x R C < 0.8 x R

Micro
watershed No deforestation

Little
deforestation
that does not

affect the
system

Some
deforestation

that has a
small effect on

the system

Severe
deforestation

that affects the
system

Residual
chlorine
(mg / L)

1.0 ≤ RC < 1.5 0.2 ≤ RC < 1.0 - RC < 0.2

Average Classification
3.5 – 4.0 A
2.5 – 3.49 B
1.5 – 2.49 C

< 1.49 D

Table 7: Calculation for system classification

Sum Classification
25 or more A

17 – 24 B
16 – 9 C

8 D

There are 39 survey questions to evaluate the quality of the service provider. In this
context, the term “service provider” refers to the organization responsible for the O&M of
the RWSS. For all 23 communities included in this study, the service provider is a water
committee consisting of 1–7 elected community leaders. This is typical of RWSS in
Panama, especially in the Bocas del Toro and Ñökribo areas. The scoring system for
service providers is shown in Table 8, and the classification calculation is shown in Table
9.

The technical assistance component is designed to capture information about supportive
institutions. This component is not tied to one community in particular, and classifications
of this component are not included on the SIASAR map at this time. Some of the
institutions under consideration include health ministry offices, water quality testing
facilities, and engineering firms with departments dedicated to RWSS support. Technical
assistance classifications are beyond the scope of this paper because these data are not tied
to a specific community, nor does the information have a geographic component. For
example, a single health department office may serve several hundred communities, and
the quality of technical assistance provided to each of these communities may not be equal.

Table 8: Scoring for service provider

Score
Criterion 4 3 2 1

Watsan committee
management:

score

given by the
number of criteria

with affirmative
responses

1. Committee is
legalized

Three criteria
fulfilled

Two criteria
fulfilled

One criteria
fulfilled or

none

2. All positions are
filled
3. Meets 4 times every
6 months
4. Tracks finances

User Fees: score
given by the

number of criteria
with affirmative

responses (these
criterion only apply

to gravity-fed or
electric pump

systems)

1. User fees
established

Three criteria
fulfilled
Two criteria
fulfilled
One criteria
fulfilled or
none

2. User fees cover
system costs
3. More than 80% of
users pay
4. Fee is determined
by consumption rates

Financial Strength:
score given by the
number of criteria

with affirmative
responses

1. Committee has a
bank account

Two criteria
fulfilled

One criterion
fulfilled

No criteria
fulfilled

2.Committee has
financial records
3. Revenues are
higher than costs

Operation and
Maintenance: score

given by the
number of criteria
with affirmative
responses

1. Funding exists for
the extent of the
design life

Two criteria
fulfilled
One criterion
fulfilled
No criteria
fulfilled

2. Preventative and
corrective
maintenance provided
3. System has a
designated operator /
plumber

Micro watershed
care

Good: community
maintains a clean

water source and has
a reforestation

program

Regular:
community is

actively
reforesting

and protecting
the water
source

Bad:
community is

not taking
measures to
protect the

water source
or the

catchment
device

Failed:
community is
doing nothing
to protect the
water source

Table 9: Calculation for service provider classification

Average Classification
3.5 – 4.0 A
2.5 – 3.49 B
1.5 – 2.49 C

< 1.49 D

4.3 Hypotheses and Analysis

The Bocas del Toro and Ñökribo areas fall under the same organizational region for Peace
Corps Panama. At a regional meeting on May 31, 2016, the premise for this research was
presented to a group of roughly 40 volunteers. Paper copies of both the CCAT and the
SIASAR survey were distributed with instructions to return the completed forms to the
regional leader’s house by June 30, 2016. At the end of the month, 17 volunteers had
completed both forms with information from 23 communities where they live and work.
The sample consists of 12 communities from the Bocas del Toro province and 11
communities from Ñökribo.

When examining community connectivity in southwestern Amazonia, a recent study found
that paved roads accelerated population growth via migration in previously isolated
communities (Perz et al. 2011). This study expects to find a similar correlation between
available transportation modes and RWSS functionality. Because roads significantly
reduce transportation time and mitigate the effects of inclement weather, this study
anticipates that communities with this kind of accessibility will have higher SIASAR
community, system, and service provider scores. Bus and truck transportation increases
the round trip costs in monetary terms; however, the savings in time and the ease of
transporting materials is expected to outweigh this monetary cost. Additionally, where
buses and trucks are not available, the only viable alternative is often boat transport, a
relatively expensive option. For this reason, communities with boat access are expected to
have lower RWSS functionality than communities with road access.

When studying rural and urban communities in western China, a study found that “urban
service points extensively collaborate with numerous rural service points, while rural
service points collaborate with only a few urban service points” (Wu et al. 2016, p. 6). The
study went on to show that rural communities do not often collaborate with other rural
communities. For this reason, this study does not expect that the neighborhood indicators
will have any significant correlation with the functionality of the RWSS.

In the author’s experience, spring water sources are much easier to maintain than surface
water sources (streams). This is because the catchment device for a stream can become
clogged with organic matter and is more susceptible to erosion along the banks and the
streambed. The author has also observed that ferrocement and plastic water storage tanks
are less expensive to maintain than concrete block tanks. RWSS with spring sources and

plastic or ferrocement tanks are therefore expected to score higher on the SIASAR survey
than RWSS with stream sources and concrete tanks.

The presence of an infoplaza, cell signal, phone cards, and reliable electricity all facilitate
telecommunications from the community. Electricity from generators or wired electricity
is considered more reliable than solar power because the pervasive rainy season offers little
direct sunlight. Higher scores in these categories will likely result in higher SIASAR
categorization.

Quantitative analysis was performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
24 (IBM 2015). The input method was backwards stepwise, meaning that all the
independent variables are initially included in the model. The software then removes an
independent variable if doing so improves the model. This process is repeated until
removing additional independent variables would weaken the model. Three separate
multiple linear regressions were performed. First the community component of the
SIASAR survey was the dependent variable. Then the service provider component and
finally the system component were made the dependent variables. The independent
variables included all the indicators from the CCAT survey and the two SIASAR scores
not serving as the dependent variable. This was done to try to capture as much of the
dependent variable’s variance as possible. Although the hypothesis of this study concerns
the effect of connective infrastructure on RWSS functionality, other variables likely
contribute. Regression analysis was chosen precisely because it can calculate the influence
of individual independent variables in the model. For example, the community score and
the service provider score were included as independent variables for the system score
because doing so captures more facets of the reality in which the system exists. The
adjusted R-squared value associated with each of the three models is reported in addition
to the R-squared value because the adjusted value takes into account the number of
independent variables included in the model to avoid overfitting.

5. Results and Discussion5
5.1 Descriptive Statistics

For the system component of the SIASAR survey, the average score was 23.13
(classification “B”). The average score for the service provider component was 2.06
(classification “C”) while the average community score was 2.18 (classification “C”). The
classifications for each community and each component are shown in Table 10.

Table 10: System, service provider, and community classification for each community

For the telecommunications indicators, only Kankintú has an infoplaza; however, 20 of the
communities have phone cards available for local purchase. In Ñökribo only four
communities have cell signal at the water storage tank, compared to nine communities in
Bocas del Toro. The energy indicators are reported in Table 11.

5 Material contained in this chapter is in preparation for submission to a journal.

Province Community
System

Classification

Service Provider

Classification
Community

Classification

Bocas Del Toro Punta Peña de Risco B C C
Bocas Del Toro Quebrada Pueblo B D C
Bocas Del Toro Barriada Guerra, La Soledad B C C
Bocas Del Toro Quebrada Pastor A C C
Bocas Del Toro Quebrada Pluma B C B
Bocas Del Toro Quebrada Cacao (System 1) B B C
Bocas Del Toro Quebrada Cacao (System 2) B B D
Bocas Del Toro Valle Junquito B B B
Bocas Del Toro Renacimiento B C C
Bocas Del Toro Quebrada Pita B C C
Bocas Del Toro La Gloria B C B
Bocas Del Toro Cañaza B C B
Ñökribo Barriada Trotman #1 A D D
Ñökribo Pumona B C C
Ñökribo Kankintú A C C
Ñökribo Calante B C C
Ñökribo Gualaca A D D
Ñökribo Kuite A C C
Ñökribo Drigari A C C
Ñökribo Cerro Ñeque A B A
Ñökribo Notente A D D
Ñökribo Odobate C C C
Ñökribo Playa Verde B D B

Table 11: Energy Source Indicator Responses

Number of Homes in the Community
Energy Source None Less than half More than half
Solar Panels 0 13 10
Domestic Generators 9 14 0
Wired Electricity 21 1 1

All 23 communities rely on solar panels to some extent for domestic energy. Generators
are less common and wired electricity is found only in Cañaza and La Gloria, both located
in Bocas del Toro. The neighborhood profiles for Bocas del Toro and Ñökribo were very
similar. The average number of neighboring communities within a 30, 60, and 90-minute
walk were two, three, and four respectively.

In Ñökribo, nine out of the eleven communities surveyed use a stream as a water source as
opposed to a spring. In Bocas del Toro this number was a little lower, with only six out of
twelve communities using a stream. The type of materials used for water system storage
tanks were similar in the two areas with seven communities in Ñökribo and six
communities in Bocas del Toro using concrete blocks. There were two plastic tanks (both
in Bocas del Toro) and five ferrocment tanks (three in Bocas del Toro and two in Ñökribo).
Each province had one community where the water system did not use a storage tank and
in one Bocas del Toro community the water system used both a ferrocement tank and a
plastic tank.

Regarding the transportation indicators, severe storms could make travel more expensive
or impossible in three communities in Ñökribo and four communities in Bocas del Toro.
The mode of transportation, round trip cost, and total travel time differed considerably for
the two regions. All 11 of the communities in Ñökribo have no truck or bus access and
require boat travel. These boat rides cost $10 to $24 and take two to six hours for a round
trip. In contrast, all 12 communities in Bocas del Toro have bus or truck access and none
require boat travel. The result is significantly higher travel times and travel costs for
communities in Ñökribo as shown in Table 12.

Table 12: Average travel times and cost by region

Average Time
Traveling on Foot

Average Total Travel
Time

Average Round
Trip Cost

Ñökribo 81 minutes 6.4 hours $ 18.36
Bocas del Toro 56 minutes 3.5 hours $ 3.51

5.2 Regression Analysis

Appendices A and B contain the CCAT responses and the SIASAR scores for all 23
communities. Appendices C and D show the exact formatting used to input the data into
SPSS 24 for multiple linear regression analysis. This regression analysis could be affected
by collinearity, as some independent variables are correlated. A complete cross-correlation
matrix is provided in Appendix E. As described in the methodology section, three models
were generated, one for each of the SIASAR scoring categories (system, service provider,
and community). Table 13 is the model summary for the system score.

Table 13: System Model Summary

Model R R

Square

Adjusted
R

Square

Std.
Error of

the
Estimate

11 0.785 0.616 0.436 2.623

In Model 11, 10 of the original 17 independent variables were removed by the backwards
stepwise method. The original 17 variables were discussed in the methodology section and
are also listed in Appendix C. An R-squared value of 0.616 indicates that 61.6% of the
variance in the dependent variable (the system score in this case) is captured by the model.
The adjusted R-squared value, 0.436, takes into consideration the number of independent
variables included in the model. Thus, taking into account the fact that this model has
seven independent variables, the model explains 43.6% of the variability in the system
score. When considering the standard error of the estimate it is important to recall that the
system scores could range from 8 point to 32 points.

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the system score is shown in Table 14. For this
study, the most important information is found in the significance column. Although this
study is interdisciplinary in nature, a value of 0.05 or less is generally accepted as
“significant” in most fields of study, and the same threshold is applied to these models.

Table 14: System Model ANOVA

Model Sum of Squares df
Mean

Square F Sig.

11
Regression 165.405 7 23.629 3.434 0.021

Residual 103.203 15 6.880
Total 268.609 22

Table 15 lists the seven independent variables included in the model along with their
respective unstandardized coefficients, standardized coefficients, and significance values.
All the variables met the 0.05 significance threshold except for “Water Source”, which has

a significance of 0.057. Recall that this variable refers to the use of either a stream or
spring for the water system. The unstandardized coefficients quantify the impact of a
variable in terms of the units used to define the variable. For example, the “Minutes on
Bus” variable, which refers to the number of minutes spent on a bus during the round trip,
has an unstandardized coefficient of -0.066. This indicates that for each additional minute
on a bus, the service provider score drops 0.066 points. This model then predicts that a
100-minute bus ride would decrease the system score by 6.60 points. Appendix D shows
a table explaining the binary coding used in SPSS for variables without explicit units. The
Bocas del Toro province, for example, was coded as “1” while Ñökribo was coded as “0”.
The system model in Table 15 shows an unstandardized coefficient of 16.695 for the
“Province” variable. This means that moving from “0” to “1” (Ñökribo to Bocas) increases
the predicted system score by 16.695 points.

Table 15: System Model Coefficients

Model

Unstandardized
Coefficients

Standardized
Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

(Constant) 16.953 3.322 5.103 0.000

Province 16.695 4.023 2.440 4.150 0.001
Minutes in Boat 0.058 0.017 2.023 3.492 0.003
Minutes on Bus -0.066 0.022 -0.877 -2.991 0.009

Minutes in Truck -0.038 0.015 -0.618 -2.502 0.024

Minutes on Foot -0.017 0.007 -0.480 -2.425 0.028

Generators -3.094 1.435 -0.442 -2.156 0.048

Water Source -2.921 1.419 -0.407 -2.058 0.057

The standardized coefficient Beta allows for comparison of the relative impact of the
independent variables. The Beta coefficient is not in terms of the units of the
independent variables and makes it possible to compare the impact of “Province” (which
has no units) to the impact of “Minutes on Bus” (which is reported in minutes). Table 15
shows that the “Province” variable is nearly three times more influential than the
“Minutes on Bus” variable.

A separate regression model was developed for the service provider component of the
SIASAR score, following the same backwards stepwise method. Table 16 summarizes the

model performance statistics. An adjusted R-squared value of 0.573 indicates that 57.3%
of the service provider score variance is captured by this model.

Table 16: Service Provider Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted
R
Square
Std.
Error of
the
Estimate

12 .830 0.689 0.573 0.38314

The significance value reported in Table 17 is well below the 0.05 threshold. Similarly, all
the independent variables included in the model have an associated significance below 0.05
as shown in Table 18.

Table 17: Service Provider Model ANOVA

Model Sum of Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
12

Regression 5.206 6 0.868 5.911 0.002

Residual 2.349 16 0.147

Total 7.555 22

Table 18: Service Provider Model Coefficients

Model
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
12

(Constant) -0.045 0.457 -0.099 0.923

Minutes in Truck -0.006 0.002 -0.610 -3.054 0.008

Impact of Weather
(1 – 4) 0.442 0.124 0.782 3.567 0.003

Round Trip Cost (USD) -0.057 0.015 -0.792 -3.901 0.001

Solar Panels 0.704 0.208 0.609 3.393 0.004

Storage Tank Material -0.928 0.265 -0.803 -3.508 0.003

Community Score 0.916 0.177 1.072 5.187 0.000

Finally, performance statistics for the regression model for the community component of
the SIASAR score are reported in Table 19. This model captured 76.7% of the variance
observed in the community score.

Table 19: Community Model Summary

Model R R Square
Adjusted
R
Square
Std.
Error of
the
Estimate

12 0.911 0.830 0.767 0.33117

Table 20 and 21 show that this model and its independent variables meet the 0.05
significance threshold.

Table 20: Community Model ANOVA

Model Sum of Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.

12
Regression 8.585 6 1.431 13.046 0.000

Residual 1.755 16 0.110
Total 10.340 22

Table 21: Community Model Coefficients

Model
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
12

(Constant) 0.843 0.334 2.521 0.023

Minutes in Truck 0.006 0.002 0.480 3.386 0.004

Impact of Weather
(1 – 4) -0.453 0.088 -0.685 -5.131 0.000

Round Trip Cost (USD) 0.055 0.011 0.653 4.980 0.000

Solar Panels -0.585 0.184 -0.432 -3.171 0.006

Storage Tank Material 1.004 0.172 0.742 5.836 0.000

Service Provider Score 0.684 0.132 0.585 5.187 0.000

5.3 Discussion

To aid in the discussion, the unstandardized coefficients and their associated variables are
reported in Equations 2, 3, and 4. The “Water Source” variable is not included in Equation
2 because it did not meet the significance threshold of 0.05. The constant value was also
not included in Equation 3 for the same reason.

System Score = 16.953 + 16.695 (Province) + 0.058 (Minutes in Boat)

– 0.066 (Minutes on Bus) – 0.038 (Minutes in Truck)
– 0.017 (Minutes on Foot) – 3.094 (Generators) (2)

Equation 2 shows that being located in the Bocas del Toro Province raises the system score.
This is in line with expectations. This model also shows that longer bus rides, truck rides,
and longer hikes all lower the system score, which all support the hypotheses of this study.
However, the model shows that each minute spent on a boat during the round trip raises
the system score by 0.058 points. Thus, a 100-minute boat ride is expected to raise the
system score by 5.8 points. How could this be?

The towns of Kankintú and Cerro Ñeque, both boat-access sites, have exceptional water
systems and are outliers in Ñökribo. In Kankintú, a Spanish missionary group has been
actively involved in the development of this remote jungle village for the past 40 years. At
6 hours and $24, this town has the longest and most expensive round-trip commute out of

all the communities included in this study. And yet, this site has a water system valued at
$800,000. Similarly, Cerro Ñeque has received international support from a German NGO.
In 2011 the town received a $600,000 water system. Cerro Ñeque had the highest system
score, earning 29 out of possible 32 points. Kankintú followed close behind at 27 points.

With only 23 communities included in this study, the results are limited by the small sample
size. Outliers like Cerro Ñeque and Kankintú would have much less influence on the model
if the data included responses from several hundred communities. Unfortunately, gathering
data from these remote places is difficult. The sample size was limited by the author’s
ability to visit the towns in person and by the number of Peace Corps Volunteers
participating in the study. The small sample size may also be the cause of the confounding
result regarding generators.

Service Provider Score = -0.006 (Minutes in Truck) + 0.442 (Impact of Weather)

-0.057 (Round Trip Cost) + 0.704 (Solar Panels)
-0.928 (Storage Tank Material) + 0.916 (Community Score) (3)

Equation 3 shows that longer truck rides, more expensive travel, and the use of concrete
water storage tanks all lower the service provider score. In this model, increasing the
community score also increases the service provider score. All of these outcomes were
expected and agree with the study hypotheses. It is reasonable that a higher community
score is associated with a higher service provider score, because in all 23 communities the
service provider was a democratically elected water committee composed of community
members. If a community is practicing good hygiene habits and understands the
importance of water and sanitation, it follows that their representatives would have the
same priorities.

The impact of the “Solar Panels” variable in Equation 3 indicates that having more homes
with solar panels increases the service provider score. Since all the communities relied on
solar power to some extent, having more solar panels indicates having greater overall
access to electricity. This does not necessarily agree or disagree with the hypothesis, since
this study expected to find that the presence of generators and wired electricity would raise
all SIASAR scores.

The impact of the “Weather” variable, on the other hand, directly contradicts the
hypothesis. This contradiction is likely due to the way the question was formatted on the
CCAT. Volunteers were asked to rate the effect inclement weather has on each leg the
round trip according to a scale shown in Table 22.

Table 22: Excerpt from the CCAT survey

Write the number corresponding
to the effect of inclement

weather

1. No effect
2. Increases time
3. Increases time and cost
4. Can make travel impossible

What this question fails to capture is the frequency of significant inclement weather events.
Basic rainfall data is limited, and in any case would likely not help clarify the matter
because the communities are all located in a relatively small geographic area and
experience similar weather. Volunteers were instructed to write the number corresponding
to the worst-case scenario, and results were calculated by using the highest “Impact of
Weather” score for a given community. This means that a community that experiences one
annual flood event that can make travel impossible appeared equal to a community that
experiences numerous annual flood events that can make travel impossible. Bridges and
paved roads significantly reduce the negative impacts of flood events and allow for year-
round travel. Future studies should still investigate the impact of weather, but should do
so in a more nuanced way.

The “Impact of Weather” variable appears again in the community score model, as shown
in Equation 4; however, this time a higher “Impact of Weather” value actually lowers the
community score. Although this variable may not accurately capture the reality of the
community’s accessibility, it does support the hypothesis in this model. As seen in
Equation 3, the community score appeared in the service provider model. It follows that
the service provider score would also appear in the community score model.

Community Score = 0.843 + 0.006 (Minutes in Truck) – 0.453 (Impact of Weather)

+0.055 (Round Trip Cost) – 0.585 (Solar Panels)
+ 1.004 (Storage Tank Material) + 0.684 (Service Provider Score) (4)

It is important to recall what exactly the community score is measuring. This part of the
SIASAR survey asked questions about the coverage of drinking water and sanitation in the
community. It also evaluated practices such as trash management, greywater management,
open defecation and handwashing. It included a section on domestic water treatment and
storage. These indicators, while important for evaluating the hygiene habits of a
community, were not directly considered in the hypotheses of this study. For example, the
author found no literature linking rural areas to better or worse trash management practices
than urban areas. The community score model is included in this study for the sake of
completely exploring the information captured in the SIASAR survey and analyzing it in
relation to connectivity factors.

It is also worth noting that neither the number of neighboring communities nor the presence
of cell signal were included in any of the three models. The literature predicted that nearby
communities would not play a significant role in the day-to-day life of their neighbors, but
the exclusion of the cell signal variable is surprising. This does not necessarily mean that
the presence of cell signal has no effect on RWSS functionality; rather, this particular study
may have failed to measure the effect conclusively. This applies to all variables excluded
from the final models.

5.4 Policy Proposals and Technical Recommendations

Equation 2 shows that increasing the amount of time spent traveling to and from an urban
center is detrimental to the functionality of RWSS. Equation 2 also demonstrates that
living in Bocas del Toro, a province with considerably more paved roads and bridges as
shown in Figure 3, predicts higher system RWSS functionality. Paved roads reduce travel
time and make a route less susceptible to the effects of inclement weather. Even well
maintained gravel roads would be a vast improvement over the single-track dirt footpaths
that link many rural communities to the rest of Panama. A straightforward policy proposal
is to invest in roads connecting rural areas to urban centers in a way that reduces the travel
time for the largest number of people. As stated previously, this infrastructure is unlikely
to generate direct economic returns (Shen et al. 2011), but studies like this one can begin
to build the case for the broader, more holistic societal benefits of rural infrastructure, such
as increasing access to water and sanitation.

Every year, there are fewer and fewer places on Earth left unlinked by roads. The
remoteness of these rural communities is part of their beauty, and the people living there
still have an intimate relationship with the land that is lost in an urban setting. Still,
isolation comes at a cost. This study examined the effects of community connectivity on
RWSS, but numerous other researchers have documented the effects of community
connectivity on personal health and access to health care (Jones et al. 2009, Stasser et al.
2016, The Lancet 2015). These three studies found that rural populations have higher rates
of mortality, disability, and chronic disease than their urban counterparts due in large part
to their lack of access to health care. Rural areas simply have not obtained the same
standard of living as urban areas. The challenge moving forward will be to connect rural
communities to the same public services enjoyed by urban populations, while still
maintaining the environmental, cultural, and agricultural integrity of these hinterlands.
This study indicates that a policy which favors investing in rural roadways will increase
RWSS functionality, but this proposal is put forth with caution. Projects which are
inconsiderate of the environmental and cultural impact of roadways may end up doing more
harm than good. A holistic design process is critical to minimize the potential damages
while maximizing the benefits of new transportation infrastructure.

From a technical viewpoint, the complete lack of water quality testing is a serious shortfall
in the functionality of these 23 RWSS. As stated previously, neither Bocas del Toro nor
Ñökribo have a testing facility within their borders. The closest lab is located in David, a

3 to 6-hour bus ride from the urban centers considered in this study. Opening lab facilities
on the Caribbean side of the mountains should be a top priority. In the meantime, however,
inexpensive testing solutions like the Coliscan Easygel© kit should be used to routinely
check for E. coli and coliforms. Although these kits do not detect all types of harmful
pathogens and are not as accurate as the testing performed in a lab, the information
available from the samples could help communities identify spikes in contamination levels
and monitor the effectiveness of chlorine treatments. Additionally, test kits could be
provided to measure chlorine levels in the system.

A further technical recommendation concerns the types of sources used for the water
systems in this study. The SIASAR surveys revealed that only 15 out of 23 communities
have adequate water during the dry season. Flowrates of potential sources should be
measured multiple times during both the dry and rainy seasons before developing a water
system. Flowrates of existing systems should also be monitored to detect waning
groundwater levels before complete system failure.

6. Future Work and Concluding Remarks

This study directly considers the definition of the term “rural” and attempts to quantify a
community’s connection with, or isolation from, the nearest urban center. This study is
likely the first to analyze the effects of community connectivity on RWSS functionality.
Examining connectivity factors shifts the general conversation on water and sanitation
access towards the more specific question of what barriers to universal access exist
specifically in rural areas. As discussed previously, 80% of the 663 million people
worldwide who lack access to an improved water source live in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF
2015). This study will hopefully be one of many to understand the water and sanitation
challenges specific to remote communities.

Future studies should investigate some variables not included in this study. Household
income and education levels, for example, were not captured by either the SIASAR or
CCAT surveys, but may have a significant effect on RWSS functionality. Future studies
should also include a larger sample size that is not limited by the presence of a specific aid
organization. All sites included in this study were accessible by U.S. Peace Corps
volunteers, and therefore the results exclude some of the more remote towns in the Bocas
del Toro and Ñökribo.

The world has not yet achieved universal access to water and sanitation, but significant
progress has been made in the last half century. A concentrated global effort helped
achieve the MDG for water access by encouraging states and NGOs to build new
infrastructure. The challenge has now shifted from constructing new systems to
maintaining existing infrastructure – a challenge that is especially difficult in rural areas.
When seeking solutions to increase access to water and sanitation, governments and
institutions should look beyond existing frameworks and consider the connectedness of the
underserved population. When governments seek to improve the standard of living in rural

areas, they should invest not only in connecting pipes to a tank, but also in connecting rural
communities to the institutions and services critical for maintaining RWSS functionality.

7. References

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8. Appendices6

Appendices A – E are found in the separate document titled “MC Moritz Thesis
Appendices”. Each tab in the workbook corresponds to one section. The tabs are
labeled as follows:

Appendix A – CCAT data
Appendix B – Calculated SIASAR data
Appendix C – Data formatted for SPSS
Appendix D – SPSS coding for non-scalar variables
Appendix E – Variable cross-correlations

6 The material contained in this chapter is in preparation for submission to a journal.

1. Introduction0F

1.1 Infrastructure Challenges
1.2 Community-based Management Challenges
1.3 Community Connectivity

2. Existing Frameworks and Models1F
3. Panamanian Context2F
4. Methodology and Hypotheses3F

4.1 The Community Connectivity Analysis Tool
4.2 Sistema de Información Sobre Agua y Saneamiento Rural (SIASAR)
4.3 Hypotheses and Analysis

5. Results and Discussion4F

5.1 Descriptive Statistics
5.2 Regression Analysis
5.3 Discussion
5.4 Policy Proposals and Technical Recommendations
6. Future Work and Concluding Remarks
7. References

8. Appendices5F

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SUSTAINABILITY OF DONOR‐FUNDED RURAL

DRINKING WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:

A Case Study of

Tajikistan

Nargis A. Artyushevskaya

A thesis
submitted in partial fulfill

men

t
of the requirements for the
Master of Science Degree
In Environmental Studies

State University of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Syracuse, New York
April 2014

Approved: Department of Environmental Studies

____________________________

______________________________
Richard Smardon, Major Professor Shannon Farrell, Chair
Examining Committee

____________________________ ______________________________
Valerie Luzadis, Department Chair S. Scott Shannon, Dean
The Graduate School

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I am sincerely thankful to my major professor, Dr. Richard Smardon, for patience and
all support provided throughout all stages of IRB submissions, survey administration, review
and finalization of thesis chapters. Professor Smardon, without your solid guidance this
research would never have happened. I would also like to thank my Steering Committee
members, Dr. David Sonnenfeld and Dr. Sharon Moran, for their valuable feedback provided
throughout the thesis developments, as well as at the research proposal stage. I am also
very grateful to my defense examiner, Dr. Natalie Koch, from the Department of Geography
at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, for cooperation and valuable feedback.

I am very thankful to Oxfam GB in Tajikistan for the indispensable support with the

administration of the survey, dissemination of the survey tools and collection of responses.
My sincere gratitude to Mr. Davide Costa and Mrs. Nazokat Isaeva for the productive
collaboration making this research possible. I am also in an eternal debt to the partnering
agency, NGO Subhi Tandurusti, for assistance with the administration and dissemination of
the survey and collection of responses. Zamir Sangov and Boir Shomudinov, I cannot find
enough words to express my gratitude.

I am sincerely grateful to each and every participant of the survey for active

participation and valuable information provided. Without your information the conclusions
reached in this research would not be complete and meaningful.

I am thankful to my family and friends, who supported and encouraged me during

this demanding and undoubtedly one of the most rewarding periods of my life.

Finally, I would like to express my gratefulness to the Fulbright Program and SUNY

ESF for the financial support and the incredible opportunity granted to me to pursue Master
of Science in Environmental Studies at SUNY ESF.

The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and should not
be interpreted as those of the State University of New York College of Environmental

Science and Forestry.

iii

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
1.1 BACKGROUND ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.4 JUSTIFICATION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.5 CONCEPTUAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS …………………………………………………………………………………. 5

CHAPTER 2: COUNTRY CONTEXT ………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
2.1 COUNTRY PROFILE …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
2.4 GENDER EQUITY AND WOMEN’S ROLES ……………………………………………………………………………….. 10
2.2 TAJIKISTAN’S WATER SECTOR …………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
2.3 DONOR COMMUNITY AND SECTOR PARTNERS ………………………………………………………………………. 17

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ………………………………………………………………………….. 19
3.1 FEMINIST POLITICAL ECOLOGY …………………………………………………………………………………………. 19
3.2 AGENCY AND POWER …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
3.3 PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
3.4 COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION …………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
3.5 WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION………………………………………………………………………………………………. 27
3.6 SUMMARY …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35

4.1.1 Research Question and Hypothesis ………………………………………………………………………. 35
4.1.2 Research Methods ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 36

4.2 META‐ANALYSIS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37
4.2.1 Dependent and Independent Variables ……………………………………………………………………. 37
4.2.2 Target Population and Units of Analysis ……………………………………………………………….. 38
4.2.3 Meta‐analysis procedure ……………………………………………………………………………………. 40

4.3 SURVEY ADMINISTRATION ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 41
4.3.1 Variables and Levels of Measurement ………………………………………………………………….. 41
4.3.2 Target Population and Units of Analysis ……………………………………………………………….. 42
4.3.3 Survey Design ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 43
4.3.4 Planned Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44
4.3.5 Validity and Reliability ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
4.3.6 Survey Error and Bias …………………………………………………………………………………………. 46

CHAPTER 5: RESULTS …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48
5.1 META‐ANALYSIS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48

5.1.1 Summarizing critical factors …………………………………………………………………………………… 48
5.1.3 Geographical and contextual disparities ………………………………………………………………….. 63
5.1.2 Narrative on meta‐analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………. 65

5.2 SURVEY RESULTS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 76
5.2.2 Project Sustainability and Community Participation ………………………………………………….. 80
5.2.3 Participatory Role of Women …………………………………………………………………………………. 85

CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………….. 96
6.1 FORMS OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION FOR PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY …………………………………………….. 96
6.2 PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION …………………………………………………………………………. 98
6.3 WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION AND PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY …………………………………………………………. 98
6.4 LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ……………………………………………………………………………….. 101
6.5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………………………………………………………….. 103

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 105
APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 113

Annex A. Matrix of Research Methods …………………………………………………………………………… 113
Annex B. Relationship between research questions, methods and hypothesis …………………….. 114
Annex C. Format of Literature Summary Matrix ……………………………………………………………… 115
Annex D. TajWSS agency membership list ……………………………………………………………………… 116
Annex E. Survey Tool in English and Russian …………………………………………………………………… 117
Annex F. Informed Consent forms in English and Russian …………………………………………………. 129
Annex G. Survey Recruitment Scripts in English and Russian …………………………………………….. 131
Annex H. Survey Pre‐test Recruitment Script ………………………………………………………………….. 132
Annex I. Survey Pre‐test Informed Consent …………………………………………………………………….. 133
Annex J. Survey Pre‐test Results ……………………………………………………………………………………. 134
Annex K. Survey Piloting Recruitment Script …………………………………………………………………… 135
Annex L. Survey Piloting Informed Consent …………………………………………………………………….. 136
Annex M. Literature Review Findings Tabulation …………………………………………………………….. 137
Annex N. Categorization of Literature Review Findings ……………………………………………………. 145
Annex O. Crosstab of survey results: General Information on Survey Participants ……………….. 151
Annex P. Survey results: agreement to country‐specific statements ………………………………….. 152

CURRICULUM VITAE …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 153

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Labor market status of

women

in Tajikistan (Chapter 2, p.11)

Table 2. Distribution of responsibilities among household members (Chapter 2, p.12)

Table 3. Planned statistical analysis of survey results in SPSS (Chapter 4, p.44)

Table 4. Meta‐analysis results: publication of studies by years (Chapter 5, p.48)

Table 5. Meta‐analysis results: technical factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.50)

Table 6. Meta‐analysis results: financial factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.52)

Table 7. Meta‐analysis results: institutional factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.53)

Table 8. Meta‐analysis results: community participation and women’s participation (Chapter 5, p.55)

Table 9. Meta‐analysis results: social factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.56)

Table 10. Meta‐analysis results: social factors ‐ community participation (Chapter 5, p.58)

Table 11. Meta‐analysis results: social factors – women’s participation (Chapter 5, p.60)

Table 12. Meta‐analysis results: descriptive statistics on typology of women’s participation (Chapter
5, p.61)

Table 13. Meta‐analysis results: descriptive statistics on geographical regions (Chapter 5, p.62)

Table 14. Meta‐analysis results: list of researched countries across studies (Chapter 5, p.63)

Table 15. Survey results: general information on the survey participants (Chapter 5, p.76)

Table 16. Survey results: gender and age of the survey participants (Chapter 5, p.76)

Table 17. Survey results: professional occupation and type of agency the survey participants
represent (Chapter 5, p.77)

Table 18. Survey results: years of experience of the survey participants (Chapter 5, p.78)

Table 19. Survey results: Cross‐tabulation of gender by type of agency and years of experience
(Chapter 5, p.79)

Table 20. Survey results: community participation (Chapter 5, p.79)

Table 21. Survey results: relevance of potential factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.80)

Table 22. Survey results: means report for GPA by gender, age, professional occupation and type of
agency (Chapter 5, p.81)

Table 23. Survey results: ANOVA for GPA by gender, age, professional occupation, type of agency
(Chapter 5, p.82)

Table 24. Survey results: effect size for GPA by gender, age, professional occupation, type of agency
and years of experience (Chapter 5, p.83)

Table 25. Survey results: years of operation for sustainable projects (Chapter 5, p.84)

Table 26. Survey results: male and female participation for project sustainability_1 (Chapter 5, p.85)

Table 27. Survey results: male and female participation for project sustainability_2 (Chapter 5, p.86)

Table 28. Survey results: women’s participation for project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.86)

Table 29. Survey results: male and female participation for project sustainability_3 (Chapter 5, p.87)

Table 30. Survey results: hypothesis testing for RQ3_ frequencies_1 (Chapter 5, p.88)

Table 31. Survey results: Hypothesis testing for RQ3 _ chi‐square_1 (Chapter 5, p.89)

Table 32. Survey results: hypothesis testing for RQ3_ frequencies_2 (Chapter 5, p.90)

Table 33. Survey results: Hypothesis testing for RQ3 _ chi‐square_2 (Chapter 5, p.90)

Table 34. Survey results: attributes of male and female participants (Chapter 5, p.91)

Table 35. Survey results: agreements to the country‐specific statements (Chapter 5, p.92)

Table 36. Survey results: frequencies of agreements/disagreements with country‐context
statements (Chapter 5, p.93)

vii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Geographical map of Tajikistan (Chapter 2, p.9)

Figure 2. Hydrological map of Tajikistan (Chapter 2, p.14)

Figure 3. Water consumption by sectors in Tajikistan (Chapter 2, p.15)

Figure 4. Projected water consumption in rural Tajikistan (Chapter 2, p.16)

Figure 5. Water and sanitation sector investments (Chapter 2, p.18)

Figure 6. Framework of Water Governance (Chapter 3, p.22)

Figure 7. Theoretical model of dependent and Independent variables (Chapter 4, p.38)

Figure 8. Meat‐analysis process (Chapter 4, p.40)

Figure 9. Meta‐analysis results: four typologies of project sustainability (Chapter 5, p.48)

Figure 10. Meta‐analysis results: years of publication (Chapter 5, p.49)

Figure 11. Meta‐analysis results: publication of studies by years (Chapter 5, p.49)

Figure 12. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of technical factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5,
p.51)

Figure 13. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of financial factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5,
p.52)

Figure 14. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of institutional factors of project sustainability (Chapter
5, p.54)

Figure 15. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of social factors of project sustainability (Chapter 5,
p.55)

Figure 16. Meta‐analysis results: social factors: typology of community participation (Chapter 5,
p.59)

Figure 17. Meta‐analysis results: distribution by typology of women’s participation (Chapter 5, p.61)

Figure 18. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of studies by geographical regions (Chapter 5, p.63)

Figure 19. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of studies on women’s participation across
geographical regions (Chapter 5, p.64)

Figure 20. Survey results: age distribution of the survey participants (Chapter 5, p.77)

Figure 21. Survey results: respondents’ opinions on years of operation for sustainable

projects

(Chapter 5, p.83)

Figure 22. Survey results: agreements/disagreements to statements by gender_1 (Chapter 5, p.93)

Figure 23. Survey results: agreements/disagreements to statements by gender_2 (Chapter 5, p.94)

viii

LIST OF ACRONYMS USED

AKF Aga Khan Foundation

ACTED International Non‐Governmental Organization (France)

CARITAS International Non‐Governmental Organization (Switzerland)

DFID Department for International Development (UK)

EC European Commission

EU European Union

GBAO Gorno‐Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast

GoT Government of Tajikistan

HDI Human Development Index

INGO International Non‐Governmental Organization

IRB Research Integrity and Protections

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

JMP Joint Monitoring Program

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MLRWR Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources

NGO Non‐Governmental Organization

OXFAM GB International Non‐Governmental Organization (Great Britain)

RDWS Rural Drinking Water Supply

REACT Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team

RT Republic of Tajikistan

SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

SUE KMK State Unitary Enterprise “Khojagii Manziliyu Kommunali”

TajWSS Tajikistan Water and Sanitation Sector

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WB World Bank

WHO World Health Organization

WUC Water Users Committee

Abstract

N. A. Artyushevskaya, The Role of Women in Sustainability of Donor‐funded Rural Drinking
Water Supply Projects in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Tajikistan, 154 pages, 36
tables, 23 figures and 16 annexes.

This study explores the relationship between women’s participation and sustainability of
community‐managed drinking water supply projects in developing countries and answers a
question ‐ Does women’s participation contribute to project sustainability? The findings of a
comprehensive meta‐analysis of all studies on sustainability of drinking water projects in
developing counties, published within the 2010‐2013 timeframe, are presented to generate
an overall picture of the factors responsible for project sustainability and the role of women
within the domain. The results of a survey conducted among the practitioners on rural
drinking water supply projects in a case study country (Tajikistan) then compliment the
literature meta‐analysis with a snapshot on the views of stakeholders on the role of
women’s participation for project sustainability. This study contributes to the growing global
body of literature on project sustainability in rural drinking water supply and produces
recommendations for better effectiveness of community‐managed water projects in
developing

countries.

Key Words: project sustainability, drinking water supply, rural water supply, women’s
participation, developing countries, community management.

N. A. Artyushevskaya
Candidate for the degree of Master of Science, April 2014
Richard Smardon, Ph.D., Major Professor
Department of Environmental Studies
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry,
Syracuse, New York

Signature of Major Professor:______________________________________________

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Water is central to life, key to the growth and development and the question of control and access

to water resources lies at the heart of water governance. In the present neoliberal economic era,

important water distribution decisions are made through market mechanisms in developed

countries, while water governance in the developing countries is generally characterized as

inefficient and underdeveloped. This translates into the delayed departure from the centralized

systems of management to decentralization and the lack of both governmental capacities to manage

the sector effectively, thus making the community‐management model as the only practical

alternative to the operation of water supply by a state. Meanwhile, the issues surrounding the

practiced community‐management models of drinking water supply projects in developing countries

are numerous and sustainability of such projects remains as one of the most critical issues.

The success rate of implementing drinking water projects in developing countries is quite low

and the critique surrounding the development initiatives being unsustainable remain significant

(Dunmade, 2002). As early as in 2000, a WHO/UNICEF (2000) assessment concludes that 70% of rural

water supplies in Africa remain non‐functional at any given time. The 10th Five‐Year Plan of Nepal

states that “many projects are completely non‐operational and many are partially operational”; the

National Water Assessment for Mozambique names sustainability as “the rural water sector’s

biggest problem and reports that only 21% of projects are operating as designed” (Barnes, 2009:15).

Furthermore, Moe and Rheingans (2006:53) say that the world is “littered with failed water and

sanitation projects”. Meanwhile, the efforts and resources needed to maintain existing

infrastructure are enormous. According to some estimates “the cost of maintaining existing services

totals an additional US$322 billion1 for water supply” or US$54 billion annual equivalent both for

water and sanitation maintenance (Hutton & Bartram, 2008).

1 The estimate was made in 2007 to calculate the total costs for the maintenance of existing infrastructure to meet MDGs
in 2015

The question of ‘How to make drinking water supply projects more sustainable?’ has been

occupying minds of scientists and practitioners within the past few decades, which is translated into

the development and application of various community‐managed program strategies and

approaches to project implementation. Yet, the debate on the effectiveness of the community‐

managed model still remains acute nowadays and lacks rigorous scientific evidence. The strategies

of ‘community management’ or ‘demand‐responsiveness’ in drinking water supply first emerged in

1990s, implying the imperative of community participation practices for project effectiveness and

sustainability, that subsequently was extended to encompass the strategies of women’s

empowerment and participation (Whittington, et al. 2009). A demand‐responsive approach implied

“that sustainable water systems at community level can be only achieved if people are provided with

the level of service they want and are able to pay for” (Moriarty, Butterworth, & van Koppen,

2004:49).

Despite some criticism of these approaches (Oakley, 1991; Kleemeier, 2000; Lockwood, 2003),

the demand‐responsive model still remains a common strategy for most rural drinking water

programs that are being currently implemented in developing countries (Harvey & Reed, 2006). It is

still believed that approaches to water and sanitation projects that strengthen collective action and

involve community participation can minimize the burden on women and children and the transition

to community‐managed systems “can lower considerably the money spent on water” (Allen, Julio, &

Hofmann, 2006:349).

Meanwhile, aspects of gender appear little in water governance discourses, though water in

contemporary history has been widely recognized as a gendered phenomenon. With prevailing

number of male engineers managing the sector, the discourse on the role of women’s participation

in the effective management and implementation of drinking water projects remains a part of the

ongoing discussion on sustainable operation of drinking water supply in rural areas of developing

countries.

1.2 Problem Statement

With just a few months remaining before the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDG) are concluded in 2015, the sustainability of invested donor resources becomes one of the

most important areas of concern as it gains more and more attention (WHO/UNICEF, 2012). The

importance of effectiveness in achieving the MDG water target ,e.g. halving the proportion of people

without sustainable access to safe drinking water supply and sanitation (MDG 7), has been

reiterated in most recent high‐level events, international commitments and global United Nations

(UN) reports. For example, the outcome document of the Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, reaffirmed the importance of the

accountability for international commitments made in the provision of sustainable safe drinking

water supply, appealing for ensuring sustainable water supply services (UN, 2012). Years earlier, the

United Nations Human Rights Council issued the resolution on “Human Right to Safe Drinking

Water” in which the sustainability of services on safe drinking water supply has been recognized as

an international human right (UN, 2011). Lately, the global UN report on the status of access to

drinking water supply reconfirmed the importance of sustaining the achievements made during the

decade in achieving this water goal (WHO/UNICEF, 2013).

Presently, as the global water target of the MDG 7 has been officially met prior to the deadline

in 2015. The greatest tasks for the next decades are to keep constructed water supply facilities

sustainably operational. It has been told that at any given time 30‐60% of existing rural water supply

systems are inoperative (Brikke & Bredero, 2003). Project sustainability “is often compromised by

lack of technical skills, equipment or spare parts for operation and maintenance, and lack of

sustainable financing mechanisms for recurrent costs” (UNICEF, WHO 2011:47). Without

consideration of social aspects and in‐depth analysis of current community‐managed practices, such

cannot be achieved. Furthermore, it has been argued that MDG on water was gender‐insensitive and

did not work to promote gender equity. Thus, for example, Antrobus (2006:42) argues that

“women’s subordination and exploitation represents a major barrier to the achievement of most of

the goals and targets.”

1.3 Research Questions

This research attempts to answer the question: Does women’s participation in donor‐funded drinking

water supply projects in developing countries contribute to project sustainability? The research

question is inspired by an interest to document the opinions of practitioners involved in

implementation of drinking water supply projects in a case study country (Tajikistan) on women’s

participation and project sustainability, as well as produce a comprehensive overview of available

studies in developing countries. The key research question is underpinned by the following sub‐

questions:

(i) What can be generalized about the impact of women’s participation on the project’s success?

(ii) Which forms and components of women’s participation are positively (or negatively)

associated with project sustainability?

(iii) Do practitioners on rural drinking water supply believe that women’s participation

positively

contributes to project sustainability?

1.4 Justification

While women’s involvement and participation is generally advisable for the effective

implementation of drinking water projects (Regmi & Fawcett 1999; Gross, van Wijk & Muckerjee,

2000), how women’s participation contributes to project sustainability remains unclear. Some

literature has been produced on aspects and constituents of project sustainability in the context of

community participation. Fewer country‐specific studies discuss exclusively the role of women in

effective project implementation and management (Bhandari, Grant, & Pokharel, 2005; Aladuwaka

& Momsen, 2010; Oluyemo, 2012). Nevertheless, available knowledge lacks a critical overview of

produced studies that generalize factors responsible for project success and particularly

the role of

women. Recently Hunter, Zmirou‐Navier, and Hart (2009) states that there “there should put more

effort into auditing whether interventions are sustainable” (p. 2021), while the “audit process should

include research into the nature and causes of failure” (p. 2624).

The present research is assumed to fill the existing gap with a comprehensive and rigorous

cross‐study analysis on the critical factors of project sustainability and the impact of women’s

participation. In addition, by discussing the opinions of practitioners on rural drinking water supply

in a case study country (Tajikistan), it is expected to elucidate the components of women’s

participation that are believed to contribute to project sustainability.

The results of this study are based on the three merits of “conceptual innovation,

methodological rigor and rich substantive contents” (Pzreworski & Salomon, 1998:1). They clarify

the role of women’s participation for project success and the importance of community‐

participation in general. The research findings contribute to the global body of literature on the

sustainability of rural water supply, as well as generate practical recommendations for the

implementation of sustainable donor‐funded drinking water supply projects in the developing

countries.

1.5 Conceptual terms and definitions

The section below summarizes definitions of frequently used terms discussed in the present

research.

Developing countries as classified by the World Bank (WB) are all low‐ and middle‐income

countries, defined mainly based on the gross national income (GNI) per capita (WB, 2014). According

to the WB classification the current list of low‐ and middle‐income states with developing economies

is comprised by 139 countries of Sub‐Saharan Africa, South Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Latin

America and the Caribbean, East Asia and Pacific regions and represent the majority of countries in

the world 2.

2 WB Country and Leading Groups: http://data.worldbank.org/about/country‐classifications/country‐and‐lending‐
groups#Low_income. Since the available studies on the sustainability of donor‐funded, community‐managed drinking
water projects are limited (as community‐managed model is practiced only in some developing countries and similar

Donor‐funded projects are projects implemented with (full or partial) financial support of

local or international donor agencies. These projects generally may also include some contribution

from local or state government, or local communities, however such are usually characterized by

financial assistance provided from the donor side, without which the implementation of the projects

would not be possible.

Rural drinking water supply projects include small and medium‐scale water systems,

constructed in rural areas with the purpose of providing access to clean drinking water. The

definition of drinking water supply projects is largely based on the UNICEF/WHO classification of

improved water supply (piped water, tube‐wells or boreholes, protected dug wells and springs, and

rainwater 3 ), defined as projects “protected from outside contamination, in particular from

contamination with fecal matter4.”

Project sustainability encompasses a wide range of components and constituents (see section

3.3). For the purpose of this study, project sustainability is operationalized as providing

uninterrupted access to drinking water supply to consumers during the whole designed

project

lifespan5 and/or beyond. Project sustainability, project success and project effectiveness are used

interchangeably and a water supply project is considered sustainable when it remains in operation

during the whole designed project lifetime or beyond. The failure of a project would imply the

opposite to the above, i.e. inability of the project to maintain its operations as initially designed and

remain in operation during the whole designed project lifetime and beyond.

Community implies a group of people living in the same place or having a particular

characteristic in common. Community participation envisages involvement of male and female

community members in the planning, construction, and/or operation and maintenance of rural

studies have been not conducted in every developing country), the actual list of developing countries with studies included
into the analysis is expected to get significantly shorter.
3 JMP Classification of types of improved/drinking water supply: http://www.wssinfo.org/definitions‐methods/watsan‐
categories/
4 JMP definition of improved drinking water projects: http://www.wssinfo.org/definitions‐methods/
5 The lifespan of the projects is defined individually depending on the engineering solution and country context, thus
cannot be defined/specified at this stage.

drinking water supply projects. Participation in projects can vary from short‐term (e.g. choosing site

for construction) to long‐term (maintenance of a system after the construction) and segregated into

two main categories, i.e. (a) before and during project construction, and (b) during project

maintenance upon completion of construction.

Community‐managed projects represent projects that are implemented (constructed) with

the direct participation of local community members and managed by the members of the local

community. Community‐management implies a bottom‐up approach, where community assumes

control (managerial, operational and maintenance responsibility). Community management has

been defined as a form of community participation, as management through democratically elected

representatives of community (Wood, 1994); and when beneficiaries of the service have

responsibility, authority and control over development of water services (McCommon, Warner, &

Yohalem, 1990).

Feminist political ecology is a study that “seeks to understand and interpret local experience

in the context of global processes of environmental and economic change… [and] deals with the

complex context in which gender interacts with class, race, culture and national identity to shape

our experience of and interests in the environment” (Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, and Wangari,

1996:5).

Gender is a social construction (rather than biological necessity), which divides up objects into

masculine and feminine categories. Gender identities the intersect with other aspects of social

stratification, as class, ethnicity, age, marital status or religious beliefs, and are not simply about

women or men (Ahmed and Zwarteveen, 2012).

Woman is an adult human female, as per the definition of Oxford Dictionary. For the purpose

of this study women imply female members of rural communities with constructed drinking water

supply projects. Adulthood refers to the legal adult age, which varies among different countries, but

normally set at 18 years of age.

Women’s participation implies different activities that envisage women’s involvement and

empowerment at different project stages, such as project planning and design, implementation,

operation and maintenance, and monitoring. Key typologies are categorizations of women’s

participation can be found similar to ‘community participation’ (see above ‘community

participation’).

Figure 1. Geographical map of Tajikistan. Source:
the Times of Central Asia (www.times.kg)

CHAPTER 2: COUNTRY CONTEXT

2.1 Country Profile

Tajikistan is a landlocked country, located in the

Central Asian region and borders with

Afghanistan in the south, China in the east,

Kyrgyzstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the

west (Figure 1). This developing country with the

total area of 142,600 km2, 93% of which is

covered with mountains, is home for 7.9 million

people 6 with over 70% living in rural areas

(UNDP 2012).

A former Soviet Union state, governed under the communist political structure, Tajikistan

emerged as one of the constituent republics of the USSR during the early Soviet period of national

delimitation (Heathershaw & Herzig, 2011). After the collapse of the Soviet Union and brutal civil

was in 1991‐92, a new state that formally gained independence continued to be subject to foreign

military intervention to interfere in domestic politics. Today, the young state with only twenty years

of independence still have much inheritance from the Soviet times, conditioned by old‐fashioned

governing practices, and social traditions, where men usually take dominant roles. The state’s

secularity affirms patriarchal character and is very much influenced by Islamic discourse and

significant attention to patriarchy in the history of this country suggests the relevance of ‘gendered

nature of statehood’ (Heathershaw & Herzig, 2011:13).

Furthermore, the recovery from the devastating civil war during 1992‐1997 still echoes with

an unstable political situation7 in the country that impedes economic development and social

wellbeing. One of the legacies of the prolonged civil war is a deteriorating water supply

6 IndexMundi Tajikistan Demographics Profile 2013: http://www.indexmundi.com/tajikistan/demographics_profile.html
7 Military operations have been unfolded in GBAO on 24 July 2012 (http://aidnews.org/tajikistan‐statement‐of‐the‐united‐
nations‐regional‐center‐for‐preventive‐diplomacy‐in‐central‐asia‐and‐the‐united‐nations‐in‐tajikistan‐on‐the‐situation‐in‐
khorog‐tajikistan/).

infrastructure, constructed during 1960‐1980s (Rakhimov, 2011). Poor maintenance of the existing

water supply infrastructure for the last 10‐15 years causes enormous water losses (60‐70%) due to

leakages in distribution networks (MLRWR, 2006; SUE KMK, 2011). Frequent natural disasters, such

as earthquakes, flash floods, and droughts seriously disrupt the development in socially important

service sectors, such as drinking water supply. Thus, for example, the biggest outbreak of typhoid

fever in 1995‐96 evolved as a result from a natural disaster (mudflow), caused deaths of over 6,000

people, which constituted more than 10% of the civil war victims (Carius, Feil, & Tänzler , 2003).

Furthermore, one of the most devastating natural emergencies, due to exceptionally cold weather in

winter 2008‐2009, developed into a compound crisis, which further damaged the degradrd water

supply infrastructure, estimated at US$ 850 million (REACT, 2008).

The present aggravated situation in the country creates numerous gendered issues for Tajik

men and women. As a result of intensive labor migration of male population from the majority of

rural areas to the neighboring Russia and Kazakhstan due to high unemployment, more than 60% of

households are now run by women (Krylova & Safarova, 2013). Meanwhile, this does not facilitate

the disconnection from long‐practiced patriarchal practices in the country. The remaining men

usually keep leading positions in local public bodies due to their privilege of having societal

connections, better knowledge of state law and local rules (Kasymova, 2005). Women, in turn, are

more responsible for wellbeing of their families as they have to care of children, cooking, and

housekeeping, plus water delivery as well. Many women collect water from irrigation canals that are

often contaminated by fertilizers and insecticides. Lack of access to water hinders women from

being involved in governing and political activities, which in turn impacts family income, children’s

education, and women’s social position (Krylova & Safarova, 2013).

2.4 Gender equity and women’s roles

The effects of the transition period triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent

civil war have been especially difficult for the female population of the country. More than 25,000

women were widowed as a consequence of war; women’s workload has intensified, and remains

high due to the transitioning economic situation in the country and seasonal migration among male

workers (ADB, 2006). The latest country gender assessment conducted in 2006 reports the

continuing vulnerability of women, compounded by exclusion of women from community‐decision

making, gender stereotypes, discrimination in the workplace, gender violence, lack of public interest

to invest in girls education (in rural areas), and higher risks for poor nutrition and maternal health.

This situation has further deteriorated with men’s migration to Russian and other neighboring

countries for seasonal jobs, as remittances remain as the most importance source of income for

many poor households. Tajikistan ranks first in the proportion of GDP earned by remittances as Tajik

GDP is the most dependent on remittances accounting for 47% of country’s GDP with an estimated

500,000 men migrating annually to the foreign labor market (Universal Newswires, 2014; WB, 2008).

This has serious demographic consequences, accounting for an increase of the divorce rate with only

22% of married women living with their spouses, and a significant surge in female‐headed

households of 17 percent, thus leaving women and children behind to carry the burden of survival

(Table 1).

Table 1. Labor market status of women in Tajikistan (aged 15+). Source: LSMS (2007), adapted from Shahriari
et. al. 2009, (LSMS, 2007:19)

Employed On job search
Married 15.

0.3%
Living together 22.4% 0.0%
Divorced 26.3% 0.4%
Separated 41.6% 1.3%
Widow 12.2% 0.3%
Single 16.7% 0.

Women 16.1% 0.4%
Men 31.7% 2.

Women and girls are often responsible for the burden of fetching water. The latest national

survey estimated that adult women in 72.7 percent of households bear the burden of fetching water

from public water points or unprotected water sources (LSMS, 2007). The same survey reports that

the burden of fetching water by female children expands to 8.2 percent of households with no

access to drinking water supplies (Table 2). According to some estimates in Tajikistan, women and

girls spend on average 4‐6 hours daily for water fetching, which in turn significantly impacts

availability of women for community activities and affects girl’s school attendance (Krylova &

Safarova, 2013).

Table 2. Distribution of responsibilities among household members. Source: LSMS (2007), adapted from
Shahriari et. al., 2009: 60.

Woman 72.7%
Man 10.0%
Female child (<15 yrs) 8.2% Male child (<15 yrs) 3.5% Shared burden 3.9% Pay somebody 1.1% Other 0.5%

The latest gender assessment conducted for the Swiss Development Agency (SDC) on drinking

water programs reports that, despite the general commitment of the government to gender equity

and role of women in ensuring equal rights and opportunities, the water sector reform policies still

remain gender insensitive due to limited recognition of gender issues and limited expertise on

mainstreaming gender issues and monitoring (Krylova & Safarova, 2013). The report provides the

following important findings:

 Women in rural areas are already involved in economic activities, nevertheless
they have limited control over assets and resources and their productive role is
largely underestimated;

 Labor migration creates a space for the emergence of women’s activism, but
still leads to an increase in drudgery of women and redistribution of traditional
roles;

 Structures established in the support of gender equity policies lack adequate
capacities and there is a need to pay attention to the quality of women’s
engagement (Krylova & Safarova, 2013: 8‐10).

Krylova and Safarova (2013) further argue that current efforts for promoting gender equity

principles through drinking water supply projects (practiced by many international NGOs, such as

CARITAS, OXFAM, AKF, etc), are frequently limited only to the participation of women in the

projects, which does not necessarily lead to their empowerment and decision‐making capacity. They

report, that the

… perspectives for transformation of gender roles are bleak if water and sanitation
interventions emphasize women’s participation… Women’s work increases as they

acquire more roles (productive and community role on the top of reproductive role),
while men’s roles and responsibilities are being bypassed (Krylova and Safarova,
2013: 15).

Although the assessment does not shed light on the role of participation of women for

effectiveness of drinking water supply projects, it suggests that community and women’s

empowerment should not be limited to the ‘instrumentalized participation’ in those projects, but

rather should be implemented through integrated participatory approaches.

2.2 Tajikistan’s water sector

Tajikistan has abundant water resources: thousands of rivers extending over 28,500 km (Figure 2);

glaciers and lakes occupying over 9% of the total territory; and underground resources estimated at

18.7 km3 of water flow per year (MLRWR, 2010). Named as a home of water resources for the region,

the country’s rich water reserves play an important role for the development of the region as a

whole (MLRWR, 2010:3). For example, 60% of the total water yield from Amudarya (the largest

Central Asian river) to the shrinking Aral Sea originates in Tajikistan (CAWater, 2012). However,

extensive irrigation practices and aridity of the region, as well as conflicting needs between

upstream and downstream countries, makes water one of the most precious resources in the

Central Asia (EU, 2010).

Both underground and surface water resources are used for drinking purposes in the country

(Bukhoriev, 2010). Actual water withdrawal of the country’s water resources amounts to only 17‐

20% of the total available water storage with the major portion supplied to the downstream

countries (MLRWR, 2010). The largest domestic water consumer of local water resources remains

agriculture (93.9%), with only 2.4% allocated for drinking water supply (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Hydrological map of Tajikistan. Source: MLRWR (2010)

Meanwhile, drinking water supply coverage remains the lowest in the region. The latest JMP

report indicates 92% for the total improved drinking water supply coverage, whereas in rural areas

this constitutes 57%, including only 34% for piped connections (WHO/UNICEF, 2013). The latest

national survey on the improved drinking water supply coverage indicates even less coverage –

48.6% of nationwide with only 43.4% of households in rural areas having access to household water

taps, concluding that around 60% of the existing water supply schemes are non‐functional (SUE

KMK, 2011). The same survey indicates that drinking water supply facilities in rural areas are

predominantly gravity operated, whereas 26.4% of rural water schemes are partially or fully

electricity dependent. Meanwhile, it has been projected that the national drinking water supply

consumption is going to increase almost three‐fold by 2025 due to unsustainable agriculture

practices, growing population, and continuous degradation of the existing water supply

infrastructure (Figure 4).

Current management mechanisms in the water sector in Tajikistan are known as complicated

and outdated (Bukhoriev, 2010). The actual management methods often include a mixture of the

approaches retained from the Soviet times with a flavor of more recent modern reforms. Inoyatov

(2011:7) argues that “de jure a number of provisions of soviet era are still in effect, de facto there

are other relations established, as well as other mechanisms operating within the sector”. Its

complexity is explained by the involvement of multiple actors and existing overlaps in sector

Agriculture

Drinking water
supply
Industry

Fishery

Other

Figure 3. Water consumption by sectors in Tajikistan. Source: MLRWR (2010)

Total

Drinking only

Other household
water needs

m
ln
m

regulation. Ziganshin (2007) counts more than a dozen regulators with limited linkages and

coordination established between the stakeholders (Ziganshin, 2007).

Figure 4. Projected water consumption in rural Tajikistan. Source: MLRWR (2010)

Nevertheless, with the primary responsibilities for the management of the rural drinking

water supply being distributed (until recently) among two state entities, so called ‘Khojagii Manzili

Kommunali’ (KMK) and ‘TojikObdekhot’ (TOD), and numerous community‐based type of

organizations or water users committees (WUCs); this arrangement has undergone additional

changes recently that is discussed in more detail below (Lloyd‐Williams, 2012). The state entities

were mainly distinguished by geographical distribution, with SUE KMK being responsible for semi‐

urban areas and small towns and TOD for selected rural areas. In January 2012, SUE KMK became

the main regulator of the drinking water supply, and thus is overseeing the duties previously

performed by the TOD8. The overall picture is obscured by the lack of a well‐defined

implementation

strategy. Lloyd‐Williams (2012:5) points out, that “this decision may lead to serious conflict of

interests […] where historically the provision of rural drinking water was coming under the remit of

TOD”. Furthermore, with more recent reforms at the end of 2013, the Ministry of Energy and Trade

8 Government of Tajikistan Resolution #679 (31 December, 2011)

was reformed into the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and now is considered the key

agency responsible for the policy side9, which does not exclude further reforms in the sector.

In the meantime, operation of small and medium‐scale water supply schemes by WUCs still

remains a general practice in the country, which lacks clarity regarding issues of ownership and

accountability (Lloyd‐Williams, 2012). This is particularly relevant to the donor‐funded schemes,

which are largely implemented based on the community‐management model. Despite the

availability of some legislative basis that should regulate the activities of WUCs, the distribution of

roles and responsibilities in management of the constructed schemes remains largely obscure.

Bukhoriev (2010:32) points out “when the external funding is over and the project is completed,

local communities lack sufficient resources and are unable to effectively manage the system”.

However, despite these institutional arrangements only 22% of rural drinking water schemes have

management structures in place, as the latest available national survey revealed (SUE KMK, 2011).

2.3 Donor Community and Sector Partners

Limited state budgets for water and sanitation make the role of donor investments very crucial for

sector financing. The national Water Sector Strategy (2006‐2015), for example, estimated in 2006

that the investments required for the rehabilitation of all water supply and sanitation facilities in the

country to achieve the MDG goals by 2015 were equivalent to over US$ 998 million (MLRWR, 2006),

whereas only US$ 33 million were ready to be allocated from the governmental budget and the rest

was expected to be externally financed (Rakhimov, 2011).

Meanwhile, the donors’ enthusiasm for financing rural water supply seems to wane gradually

too, as “donors are cautious when it comes to the rural water supply financing” (Bukhoriev,

2010:16). Lloyd‐Williams (2012:6) points out that “increasingly international non‐governmental

organizations (INGOs), such as Oxfam, are being asked to repair water systems constructed only five

years earlier”, which has had an adverse impact on the readiness of the international donors to

invest in rural drinking water supply (RDWS) projects. Donor assistance for the water sector seems

9 Asia Plus press release, dated on 11/19/2013: http://news.tj/ru/node/177401

to decline gradually, while the loans decreased since its peak in 2008 (Figure 5). Presently, not more

than a dozen international donor agencies stay active in the country’s water sector (TajWSS 2012).

Inv
est

me
nts

in
US

Box xx. Water and sanitation sector investments. Source: GoT/UNDP (2011). Figure 5. Water and sanitation sector investments. Source: SCISPM (2013:64)

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This section proposes a theoretical framework building on feminist theories and introducing

concepts of ‘power’ and ‘agency’ in water governance. It provides an overview of literature on

sustainability of drinking water supply in developing countries, introducing concepts and principles

of project sustainability and project approaches of community participation. It further provides a

comprehensive discussion on the theoretical knowledge and past research, providing a contentious

discourse on participation of women in rural drinking water projects. The summary section attempts

to integrate the discussed theories and concepts in a succinct analysis.

3.1 Feminist Political Ecology

An emerging field of scholarship in gender and water, generally embedded in a broader nature‐

society interaction, looks at the questions of “gender division in labor, ownership and control of

productive assets”, “roles, rights and norms that constitute the relations that men and

women have

to natural resources” (Sultana, 2009(a):427). The 1990s wave of women’s involvement in collective

issues of environmental character has brought women to the forefront of issues related to control

over environmental resources. Largely based on the feminist standpoint theory, implying that men

and women perceive and understand society differently (Hartsock, 1983), Nancy Hartsock argued

that “different kinds of women (varying by wealth, ethnicity, or age, for example) have very different

experiences of life on society, all the while sharing some things in common because of their gender”

(Babbie, 2013:39).

The feminist theory and research drawing attention to the oppression of women in many

societies, focused on the sex‐role differences of powers and agency and how those relate to the rest

of social organizations (Babbie, 2013). The sensitivity in variations of female experiences became a

main element of the third‐wave feminism in 1990s, which further contributed to the feminist theory

and an establishment of a new field of environmental scholarship – ‘feminist political ecology’. The

study of women’s activism in environmental arena encompassing gendered power relations and

gendered control over quality of environment has now become a legitimate area of research in

water management. Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, and Wangari (1996:5) define feminist political

ecology as a study that “seeks to understand and interpret local experience in the context of global

processes of environmental and economic change”. They further explain that the feminist political

ecology framework “deals with the complex context in which gender interacts with class, race,

culture and national identity to shape our experience of and interests in the environment”

(Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter & Wangari, 1996:5).

The new gendered discourse is constructed based on two fields of studies of ‘ecofeminism’

and ‘political ecology’. While the latter “treats gender as a critical variable in shaping resource access

and control, interacting with class, caste, race, cultural, and ethnicity”, ecofeminism posits a “close

relationship between women and nature based on a shared history of oppression by patriarchal

institutions” (Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, & Wangari, 1996:1‐2). As initially ecofeminism encouraged

“an examination of the ‘closeness’ of women and nature […] and the consequences of this”

(Hawkins, et al., 2011:238), the analysis has been further expanded as a result of socially constructed

gendered power relations in environment.

Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, and Wangari (1996) conceptualize the framework of feminist

political ecology in three broad themes of ‘gendered knowledge’, ‘gendered environmental rights

and responsibilities’ and ‘gendered environmental politics and grassroots activism’. All three themes

clearly provide an appropriate analytical framework in discussing participation of women in drinking

water project sustainability (Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, & Wangari, 1996:4‐14):

 Gendered knowledge “encompasses the creation, maintenance and protection
of healthy environments at home, at work and at regional ecosystems” (p.4);

 Gendered environmental rights and responsibilities attempts to answer a
question of “who controls and determines rights over resources, quality of
environment” (p.10) ;

 Gender environmental politics encompass issues of women’s activism in
environmental issues and “women’s involvement in collective action of
environmental change” (p.14), looking at the issues of social movement, local
political organizations and engagement in environmental, political and
socioeconomic struggles.

Furthermore, Sultana (2009(a):440) points out that the “conceptualization of gender as a

socio‐spatial‐ecological process enables greater clarity in understanding how gender‐nature

relations evolve in any given context” , as the issues of gender, cultural and social variables should

be understood through the lens of gendered power and agency (Sultana, 2009(a):440).

3.2 Agency and Power

Ahmed and Zwarteveen (2012:26) suggest that in order to understand gendered behavior in water,

we should attempt to understand human behavior, moving beyond simple mapping of gendered

responsibilities in answering the question of why men and women behave in certain ways and what

can change the existing practices and behaviour. They assert that the concept of agency is critical in

understanding water governance, and define agency as “the capacity, or power of people to act,

which recognises people’s room for maneuver without denying that this room is limited” (Ahmed &

Zwarteveen, 2012:31).

The concept of agency helps to understand forces that are beyond people’s influence and is

critical in understanding actors as gendered beings in gendered social relations. In social theory

agency is seen as a capacity or power to act, comprised of self‐consciousness, reflection, intention,

purpose and meaning (Rapport & Overing, 2000). Thus, agency, the ability of individuals to affect

their lives, can be shaped through the power of plural institutional settings, which can be exercised

both consciously and unconsciously (Kesby, 2005; Cleaver, 2012). As argued by Cleaver, agency is

seen as “the capability, or power, to be the originator of acts and comprises self‐consciousness,

reflection, intention, purpose and meaning”, as exercised in a social world in which “structure

shapes the opportunities and resources available to individuals” (Cleaver 2012: 42‐43). Furthermore,

Kabeer (2000) points out that exercising agency means not only ability to exercise choice, but is

about the real effects of the choices for well‐being. Thus, cultural dimensions, uneven exercise of

power and effect of agency on different people is the key in understanding why management of

water facilities is experienced differently across different communities.

The analytical framework proposed by Franks and Cleaver (2007) perhaps explains in the

simplest way that the constituents of water governance are linked to the concept of ‘agency’. This

framework consists of five key concepts: resources, actors, mechanisms, processes and outcomes.

The framework demonstrates, that resources ‐ the materials from which social structures and human

interactions are constructed, are drawn upon by different actors (state, institutions, groups,

individuals), constructing mechanisms of water governance, for organizing access to water; and

different outcomes or long‐term changes and trends received from those resources represent the

processes of water governance (Figure 6). In other words, in this framework, resources for water

governance are transferred into different outcomes, through specific mechanisms of access and a

series of processes of management and practice (Cleaver, 2012).

Figure 6. Framework of Water Governance (adapted from Franks and Cleaver, 2007 in Cleaver, 2012:36).

As mechanisms of access are gender‐sensitive and do not exist in a social vacuum, gendered

dimensions are important for the analysis of the framework. The gender‐differentiated outcomes

are explained by the variable gendered capacity to exercise agency in accessing these mechanisms

(Cleaver, 2012). Referring to the Giddens’ theory of structuration in understanding interactions

between social structure and human agency, the concept of agency becomes central to

Resources for water
governance

Mechanisms of
Water Governance

Gendered outcomes
(positive or
negative)

Ecosystem
Outcomes

Actors/agents

Processes of management and practice

understanding collective action, gendered participation and empowerment in answering questions

such as why some people (men or women) are better placed to shape public decision‐making.

Giddens argues that individuals are motivated by three levels of consciousness: the practical as habit

and routine of doing things in a certain way, unconscious as underlying psychological and emotional

motivators, and discursive, where “individual reflect upon and explain their actions” (Giddens,

1984:27).

Cleaver (2012:57) invites us to analyze the participatory initiatives, such as community‐

managed drinking water projects, through the dimensions of individual agency and the existing

societal and institutional rules of water governance, however she cautions that “the complex

dimensions of agency and the variable ways in which people are placed to exercise it mean that

generalized assumptions about the outcomes of water governance processes are unlikely to always

hold true”.

3.3 Project Sustainability

As “sustainability is in many ways the ultimate test of development efforts” (Hoque, Juncker, Sack,

Ali, & Aziz, 1996:431), so, too, the sustainability of drinking water supply projects may be said to be

the ultimate test of development assistance in providing access to drinking water. The issue of

project unsustainability is not novel and indeed, there have been a number of studies that attempt

to explain the principles of project sustainability. Interest in the issues of sustainability of water

supply schemes in developing countries has been growing due to the increasing number of degraded

water supply schemes, constructed with the financial support of donor agencies since the UN Water

Decade of 1981‐1990 (Briscoe and de Ferranti, 1988). As early as in 1988, Briscoe and de Ferranti

(1988) argued that one out of four water schemes constructed in the developing countries was non‐

functional. Tremendous effort was made during the decade and the conceptualization of access to

water within the basic human needs strategy, found little effectiveness of such projects, leading to

fundamental change of the fundraising roles of donors and governments (WB, 1990). The new role

implied creation of appropriate environments for communities to take part in the management of

water supply schemes that opened a new horizon for demand‐responsive, community‐managed

model of rural drinking water supply projects (Briscoe and de Ferranti, 1988).

The scholarly literature provides a variety of definitions on the sustainability of water services

or water projects. Bamberger and Cheema, for example, define project sustainability as the

“capacity of a project to continue to deliver its intended benefits over long term” (1990:34). Abrams

(1996:51) suggests that sustainability is “whether or not something continues to work over time”;

Carter et al. (1999:7) define sustainability as “whether water continues to be abstracted at the same

rate and quality as when the system was designed”. Hodgkin (1994:5) provides a narrower definition

of sustainability by arguing that a sustainable project is the one that “maintains or expands a flow of

benefits at a specified level for a long period after external funding has been withdrawn”. More

recent definitions frame sustainability as “the continued service of water supply projects over time

to serve their own purposes” (Admassu, Kumie, & Fantahun, 2003:223), whereas “water schemes

are sustainable when they meet performance requirements in the long run” (Binder, 2008:4).

Lockwood, Bakalean and Wakeman (2005:6) point out that across different definitions of project

sustainability, the fundamental aspect of sustainability of water projects in the developing countries

is “the ability to manage on its own without the aid of external support”. Esposto says:

Sustainability is defined as a long‐term duration without external support for the
project implemented. Achieving this is possible if consideration is given to the costs of
running and maintaining the project, and how the solution or technology proposed
will match with the local environment. The ultimate goal is to make the project and its
beneficiaries independent of the need for further external help (Esposto, 2009: 258)

Dimensions of sustainability can be broadly categorized into five major areas: (i) technical,

(ii) financial, (iii) institutional, (iv) social, and (v) environmental (WELL, 1998). Across different studies

the first three dimensions of sustainability are viewed as the most relevant to project

sustainability

for rural drinking water supply. Components that comprise sustainable water services as defined by

Carter et al. (1999) are termed as a sustainability chain. He argues that four essential components

form the chain that includes motivation, maintenance, cost recovery and continuing support, which

are closely interlinked. According to Carter, weaknesses in any one of them can lead to a failure of a

scheme in continuing the provision of drinking water supply services.

A substantive body of literature discusses the issues of sustainability of the ‘community‐

managed, demand‐responsive’ model of implementing water supply projects, however, just a few

studies explore rigorous methods of evaluating sustainability (Stirman, et al., 2012). Some argue that

there is little solid evidence on positive correlations between sustainability and community

participation (Prokopy, 2005; D. Whittington, et al., 2009). While early studies have demonstrated

positive effects from community contribution of cash for project capital costs (Rowland, 1978),

subsequent studies argued that participation in decision‐making processes have more positive

attributes to project success (Narayan, 1995; Sara & Katz, 1998). Nevertheless, some studies

precaution that the involvement of community members does not guarantee, by itself, project

success or sustainability (Kleemeier, 2000; Prokopy, 2005; Whittington, et al., 2009).

3.4 Community Participation

Community participation in drinking water supply projects became a common strategy with the

International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade in the 1990s, which drew attention of

large‐scale technocratic water systems to the construction of small‐scale and community‐based

solutions. This was a big paradigm shift, as participatory management became the policy mantra in

water projects and so and many methodologies and guidelines were developed promoting

participatory strategies in water projects (Cleaver, 1999). This new approach implied recognition of

agency of community members – users of drinking water schemes, as well as implied better design

for local needs and circumstances, limiting the role of government to regulating and enabling, rather

than directly providing water. Policy attention became focused on ways of including women in

planning, design and management of water projects, based on the spirit of equity and democracy,

shifting from technocratic to a more neoliberal policy climate in the 1990s (Wijk, 2001). The new

paradigm shift was also underpinned by the idea of making water projects more efficient and

sustainable and quickly became a part of a broader agency or water sector privatization (Zwarteveen

& Ahmed, 2012).

The approach of community participation as sometimes called a ‘demand‐responsive

approach’ to water project development and emerged as a concept after the UN Water Decade and

promoted greater participation of beneficiaries, including women, in project activities (WB, 1990). It

remains a common strategy for most donor‐funded project interventions in rural areas of

developing countries (Harvey & Reed, 2006). This approach suggests management at the lowest

appropriate level, where community participation is imperative. In other words, community

participation has become a prerequisite of the demand‐responsive model and has been considered

essential for the success or sustainability of drinking water supply projects in developing countries

(Narayan, 1995).

Participation involves different processes and may be comprised of various activities. Narayan

(1995) proposes levels of community participation segregated into seven groups, ranging from

information sharing to community control in decision‐making. Prokopy (2005) separates community

participation into three broad levels. The (i) low level includes different forms of contribution (labor,

cash, materials), (ii) the middle level assumes participants are involved in decision‐making, and (ii)

the upper level is achieved when communities undertake their own initiatives and are in full control

of the project. Schouten and Moriarty (2003) argue that achieving successful participation assumes

involvement in higher levels of decision‐making and should not be limited to the participation in

construction works. Admassu, Kumie, and Fantahun (2003:227) highlight that “community

participation in its various forms consisting mainly of labor, cash, service, kind and advice

contribution is crucial and decisive for developing and using water supply projects”.

Despite some encouraging examples, when participatory management of water resources was

effective, there have always been critiques and counterpoints. It has ben argued that “increasing the

number of women involved in participatory projects cannot […] be seen as a soft alternative to

specific attention to change gender inequality” (Mayoux, 1995:235). Approaches to the participatory

management of water resources tend to overlook the complexities of individual identities or agency

of individuals, and fail to categorize people in their taxonomic groups. Cleaver (2012:48) says that “it

is difficult to anticipate which aspects of people’s identities will be prominent in particular

mechanisms for water governance”. She points out that the tendency to assume that people

following similar practices will be equally placed to shape their practices is not the case in water

management. The decision‐making power and the ability to mobilize and allocate resources is

different for men and women, who perform similar tasks in the household (and community) and

have similar interests in the resource.

3.5 Women’s participation

Dominant water discourses continued to frame water problems in isolation from gender, and

attention to gender issues and gendered differentiations in governance is relatively recent

(Zwarteveen & Ahmed, 2012). Prior to the 1980s, the focus of global development effort has been

concentrated on strengthening the centralized, government‐run public sector. The sector,

dominated largely by male engineers is lacking the recognition of the importance of both male and

female participation in water projects, and thus women’s participation was often overlooked in

water policies of the 1960‐70 decade (Coles & Wallace, 2005). The importance of looking at water

problems through the lenses of gender is gaining ground, and the incorporation of gender

considerations became an integral part of water policies and project design relatively recently. For

example, gender‐differentiated needs are commonly recognized in UN policies and statements, as

“countries must ensure that policies and institutions for water supply and sanitation service delivery,

as well as for water resources management and development respond equally to the different

needs, and priorities, of men and women” (United Nations, 2005:18). Contemporary recognition of

women’s role(s) has been largely expressed in numerous women’s organizations established

predominantly due to the pressure from donor agencies over the last thirty years.

The marginalized role of women historically have been conditioned by little formal control

over water resources, as allocation of water (and land rights) often tend to favour men (Ahmed &

Zwarteveen, 2012). Thus, though women have important water responsibilities (collecting water,

watering cattle or managing water facilities), their lack of formal rights to water becomes a serious

obstacle to effective water management (Ahmed & Zwarteveen, 2012). Access to control and

management of water resources may be shaped by local cultural beliefs, when the latter influences

the individual willingness to abide by collective decisions and norms on resource use. For example,

in some villages of Zimbabwe, women’s non‐participation in local water committees was explained

by belief that local witch‐crafting shaped the women’s unwillingness to speak out (Dikito‐

Wachmeister, 2000). Makoni, Manase, and Ndamba (2004:1291) in studying patterns for domestic

water use in rural Zimbabwe conclude the different roles and incentives in water use of women and

men was demonstrated in how they ranked the benefits:

The apparent universal responsibility by women in water management at the
domestic level is pointer to water and sanitation practitioners that future programs
need to target women as one of the strategies for improving livelihoods and
sustainability of water resources management. The reality is that women has an
active role in management of water resources but surprisingly they have no much say
in public decision making for implementing water supply and sanitation programs.
(Makoni, Manase, and Ndamba, 2004:1294)

A first impetus to incorporating gender in water management was gained with the UN

announcing Decade for International Drinking Water and Sanitation in 1981, with the subsequent

international conferences acknowledging the role of women in water management, particularly in

household and community (Ahmed, 2005). In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and

Development produced a comprehensive action plan (Agenda 21) that explicitly emphasized the

need for women’s participation in water projects and dedicated a whole chapter to women titled

“Global Action for Women towards Sustainable and Equitable Development” (UN‐ECOSOC, 1992).

The same year, the Dublin Conference on Water and Sustainable Development developed four

principles (known as Dublin Principles) that became cornerstones of international water policy, and

included:

 Water development and management should be based on a participatory
approach, involving users, planners and policy makers at all levels;

 Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of
water (WMO, 2014).

Gender issues and particularly the importance of women’s participation started to gain

legitimacy and became explicitly discussed within major global water policy documents and at

international water meetings. It has been widely recognized that the provision of water and

maintenance of family well‐being relate closely to gender issues in many developing regions, such as

South Africa, where over 75 percent of the very poor households are headed by women

(Hermanowicz, 2008). The major global water conferences, such as World Water Forums or

Stockholm Water Week are devoted, for the first time in history, to special sessions on the issues of

gender and women in water. Likewise, many developing countries (with the guidance of donor

agencies), for example in South Asia and South Africa regions, have adopted gender aspects in

national water policy documents. However, the importance of participation of women in water

projects gained more visibility in water policies, primarily as an “underutilized resource”

(Zwarteveen & Ahmed, 2012). Such is now seen as a valuable resource, “an important ingredient of

social capital that could be mobilized to render (water) operations more effective and efficient”

(Molyneux, 2002:235).

Since the mid‐1990s, project strategies on lending a greater role to women or women’s

empowerment have become an important part of the ‘demand‐responsive, community‐managed

model’, and gender issues continue to be incorporated in water policies across different regions and

nations, with most of them including statements about gender (Ahmed & Zwarteveen, 2012). This

new gender‐sensitized water agendas look for new ways of managing water resources through

decentralized institutions of governance, such as community‐based organizations. Women, as the

representatives of marginalized groups of communities, get representative quotas in such

committees. The latter is made with an intention to improve water governance through better

democracy and equity mechanisms, as there is a dominant assumption that participation of women

in water resource management is empowering for them, and thus leads to gender‐equitable

outcomes (Cleaver, 2012). The tendency of incorporating gender perspectives into regional, national

and local water resource management strategies has been underpinned by evidence discussed in

emerging studies on the positive effect of women’s participation, that was generally seen as a step

towards equity and democracy. For example, Hoque, Juncker, Sack, Ali, and Aziz (1996:435) argued

that “women’s participation with the support from the community contributed towards the

sustained impact”, and “involvement of women with the support of men and the community

probably generate a positive attitude among the whole community towards improving water and

sanitation”.

Over the past decades, numerous gender analysis tools and strategies have been developed

to design and evaluate projects in an effort to improve project sustainability. One such example is

the SEAGA tools (Social‐Economic and Gender Analysis tools), developed by the United Nations Food

and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) in 1990s (Ahmed & Zwarteveen, 2012). Tools, like SEAGA

were designed to understand gender relations for better planning and management of projects. The

general strategies to involve and empower women in water delivery and management, that were

incorporated in many program strategies, have been clearly summarized by Duncker:

 Women should be more involved in planning and operations as part of a
strategy to build a more equitable society;

 Their involvement should be more than labour, and include access to resources,
decision‐making and management;

 Care should be taken not to overburden women and to automatically
perpetuate and reinforce the traditional roles of women; and

 Gender approach to development needs to be worked out (Duncker, 1998:37)

Gender analyses tools and strategies have attempted to show that women have a special

relation to water, as they have primary responsibility for domestic work (Ahmed & Zwarteveen,

2012). Along with other household work, such as cooking, washing and cleaning, women in poor

rural communities of developing countries remain primary responsible for water delivery. Evidence

suggest that women and girls spend seven hours per week in India; five hours a week in Nepal; and

two to five hours daily in Bangladesh for water fetching (Crow & Sultana, 2002; Ahmed &

Zwarteveen, 2012). Marobhe, Renman, and Jacks (2007:118) in their study of water supply in rural

Tanzania found that “women spend more energy and time in water collection activities than men”

and are obliged to walk a distance of 2 to more than 7 km to different water sources within a day.

This is reported to be a main reason of severe back problems for women who happen to be the main

water collectors in many communities (Howard & Bartram, 2003).

Nevertheless, mainstreaming gender in water resource management while

implementing

gender‐sensitive strategies remains a challenge. Achieving real gender equity in control and access

of water is extremely difficult due to cultural, religious or traditional considerations. Thus, in

practice, women mainstreaming is often limited to the question of number of participating women

or quotas, which does not de facto mean better gender equity or greater women’s participation in

the actual decision‐making processes (Ahmed & Zwarteveen, 2012). In other words, project

implementation tends to complete a certain checklist (e.g. invite more women, organize gender‐

sensitive training, etc), rather then striving to improve gender relations in water, which requires

enormous efforts (Mukhopadhyay, 2007; Walby, 2005). The recognition of gender issues on the

‘paper’ in policies and in the actual projects has been argued to remain disintegrated, as “gender

remains very much a side issue […] and is not yet seen as belonging to the core of water

management” (Ahmed & Zwarteveen, 2012:21). Thus, participation of women is sometimes argued

to be ‘reservation policy’ in many communities, limited to a number of women participating in a

project, taken as a ‘proxy presence’ (Arya, 2007:199). Arya argues, by taking a normative stance, that

instead women’s participation should “make them an integral part in the decision‐making process

and sense of belongingness to the development programs” (Arya, 2007: 199). Furthermore, barriers

associated with women’s participation in project implementation are often surrounded by socio‐

economic and cultural barriers as distinctly summarized by Murphy, McBean, and Farahbakhsh may

include (2009, pp 161‐62) (i) women may be prevented from using certain types of machinery, (ii)

women may not be able to leave their homes without their husbands, (iii) women may not be

permitted to get training without permissions of their husbands, (iv) women may have limited

access to funds, (v) women may not be regarded as equal to men in many cultures, and (vi) women

may be generally less educated than men as they are often removed from school at a young age.

Gender and women’s participation continue to be a side issue and Gender and Water Alliance

(GWA) reports that still “few policies to date adequately address gender issues” (GWA 2003:11). It

has been pointed out that “most water supply projects have drawn on women’s labour without

enhancing their technical and managerial skills” (Green, Joekes and Leach, 1998:265). Additionally,

some other evidence is added to the criticism of inappropriate women’s involvement. Thus for

example, Narayan (1995) in an analysis of 121 water supply projects found that only 17% achieved

high levels of women’s participation, which however did not imply that women were active

participants. Jones (2011:63) importantly points out that “women’s ability to participate is severely

reduced even when NGO or local government considers them as officially included”. According to

him this is created by participatory exclusions “because it is a job of men (and the committee) to

bring water ‘to the village’, but the task of women is to bring it ‘to the home’” (p.63). Kendie (1996),

in linking gender issues and utilization of water supply source with sustainability, argued that

instituting the utilization of water supply source has to do with the economic status of women, by

pointing out “poverty consigns women to long periods of work in activities or jobs that bring little

reward. This […] limits the extent of usage of the safe water facilities” (p.11).

Thus, women’s participation in drinking water projects became a highly contested issue, as the

literature provides a dual evidence base of positive effect of women’s participation, which however

does not necessarily lead to project improvements (Prokopy, 2004; Sultana, 2009). The fundamental

critiques of the participatory bottom‐up approaches and women’s participation sometimes termed

as tokenism (Prokopy, 2004; Sultana, 2009; Singh, 2006) as “the myths of communities as coherent

and cohesive bodies, the fundamental lack of resources and the often critical lack of knowledge

about the actual process and how to successfully facilitate” (Smith, 2008:353‐54).

3.6 Summary

In addressing the issues of gender and environment, the discourse of gendered power relations

come at the forefront of resource use as “inspired by an interest in environmental issues and an

understanding that these issues are gendered in complicated and important ways” (Hawkins, et al.,

2011:237). The field of feminist political ecology, power and agency provide a conceptual and

theoretical umbrella calling for understanding gendered rights and responsibilities, knowledge

production and politics, as well as gendered power dynamics in everyday lives (Hawkins, et al.,

2011:238). Inequalities in gender relations in managing drinking water supply schemes in rural areas

involves understanding of local power relations, and agency of individual actors.

Women’s participation in drinking water projects present an example of gendered inequalities

in water management, control and access, when the “participation in water projects holds the

promise of being meaningful only if it involves awareness about and commitment to reducing the

inequality of socially allocated roles and responsibilities for water” (Joshi & Zwarteveen, 2012:162).

Assessing participation of women via gendered power relations lens requires understanding of

gendered knowledge, gendered environmental rights and responsibilities, and gendered

environmental politics, as discussed by Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, and Wangari (1996).

Furthermore, the analysis of gender in local water governance should not be limited to

understanding women’s participation as a homogeneous phenomenon, thus, considerations of class,

race, culture and ethnicity are often desired.

Thus, the proposed theoretical framework of gender‐environmental relations and gendered

exercised power and agency, that are often shaped by plural institutions, have material and symbolic

effects on understanding “how environmental resources and responsibilities are managed and

distributed” and “how gendered power dynamics […] play out in the day‐to‐day lives of people”

(Hawkins, et al., 2011:237). The analytical framework of ‘resources, actors, mechanisms, processes

and outcome’, as discussed by Franks and Cleaver (2007) may facilitate the discussion of findings of

the present study, as well as future gendered discourse in environmental management. In the

meantime, while some evidence suggests that the participation of women tend to produce more

positive outcomes, the involvement of women in community water governance remains a challenge

and the discourse is surrounded by a magnitude of controversies. Thus, the link between

participation of women and sustainability of the projects of drinking water supply is not yet well‐

established in the existing research that demands seeking a greater understanding of the

phenomenon.

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY

4.1 Research Design

4.1.1 Research Question and Hypothesis

This descriptive and explanatory research aims at analyzing the effects of women’s participation to

the sustainability of community‐managed drinking water supply projects and explaining why

participation of women is considered to be associated with a success/sustainability of drinking water

projects. The key research question “Does women’s participation in donor‐funded drinking water

supply projects in developing countries contribute to the project sustainability?” is underpinned by

the following three research sub‐questions:

(i) What can be generalized on the impact of women’s participation to project success?

(ii) Which forms and components of women’s participation are positively (or negatively)
associated with project sustainability?

(iii) Do practitioners on rural drinking water supply believe that women’s participation positively

contributes to project sustainability?

Based on the deductive reasoning perspective of theoretical knowledge and past research on

participation of women in drinking water supply projects, it is hypothesized that participation of

women in projects positively contributes to project sustainability. Thus, each research sub‐question

is hypothesized by the following sub‐hypothesis:

(i) Participation of women positively contributes to project success, however this depends on

women’s agency and power;

(ii) Women’s participation in the post‐project construction phase (maintenance) has stronger

association with project sustainability than other forms of women’s participation;

(iii) Practitioners believe that women’s participation positively contributes to project

sustainability, but their opinions vary with respondents’ gender.

The latter is hypothesized based on the assumption that gender of the survey respondents

influences the opinions on the positive or negative impact of women’s participation to project

success, thus accepting an assumption that female respondents would tend to give more responses

in favor of women’s participation than male respondents.

4.1.2 Research Methods

The research methodology employs qualitative and quantitative methods of: i) meta‐analysis of

available studies on sustainability of drinking water projects in developing countries, and ii) online

surveys among practitioners on rural drinking water supply projects in a case study country (Annex A

– Matrix of Research Methods).

The first part is designed to conduct a meta‐analysis of available studies conducted within

the 2000‐2013 timeframe, on the sustainability of donor‐funded drinking water supply projects in

developing countries. The analysis of existing literature is designed to bring a contemporary

discussion on the critical components constituting sustainability of drinking water projects in

developing countries. It is planned to identify if any forms of women’s participation have been

argued across different studies for being critical to project success or sustainability. An overall

picture on the existing knowledge of the research topic will specifically contribute to answering the

research sub‐question (i) ‐ What can be generalized on the impact of women’s participation to

project success?; and the research sub‐question (ii) ‐ Which forms and components of women’s

participation are positively (or negatively) associated with project sustainability?

The second part of the research methodology is comprised of online survey among water

sector stakeholders of the case study country (Tajikistan). This survey is designed to provide a

snapshot on the contemporary opinions of practitioners on rural drinking water supply on the

research question. An institutional analysis on stakeholders from government, international

implementing agencies and donors is designed to answer sub‐question three ‐ Do practitioners on

rural drinking water supply believe that women’s participation positively contributes to project

sustainability? The survey is also assumed to partly contribute to research sub‐question two, in

relation to better understand the opinions of practitioners on forms of women’s participation that

are associated with project sustainability. The Annex B illustrates the links between the research

questions and their hypotheses, and the methods employed to answer the research questions.

4.2 Meta‐analysis

The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the available literature includes all studies on the

sustainability of drinking water projects in developing countries, published in scholarly journals

within the 2000‐2013 timeframe. This timeframe is designed for the purpose of generating

contemporary discussion on the research topic, as well as to contribute to the forthcoming analysis

of MDG water target achievements in 2015. The focus to scholarly literature and exclusion of

possible ‘grey’ literature studies on the sustainability of rural water supply is rationalized by the

intent to make the analysis more rigorous, thus building the findings of the analysis only based on

the robust data from peer reviewed articles. Furthermore, it worth mentioning that much of the

grey literature is created by donors and implementing agencies, which in turn are considered as one

of groups interested in avoiding the critiques on sustainable rural water supply operations funded by

donors, while academic community is believed to more unbiased. The process of conducting the

meta‐analysis was based on the approaches discussed in Popay et al. (2006) and includes various

techniques of literature synthesis, such as conceptual mapping, groupings and clustering (see below

Section 4.2.3).

4.2.1 Dependent and Independent Variables

The primary explanatory variables are women’s participation (independent variable) and project

sustainability (dependent variable). Referring to the existing literature on community participation

and water supply project sustainability, it has been hypothesized that the dependent variable on

project sustainability is a presumed effect of the independent variable of women’s participation

(Figure 7). The nominal definitions of the dependent and independent variables are formulated as

follows: (i) project sustainability as an effective and uninterrupted functionality of a project within

an entire designed project lifetime, (ii) women’s participation includes all forms of participation,

including community mobilization for construction, education and awareness campaigns, collection

of fees and maintenance, monitoring and data collection. These forms of women’s participation can

be further grouped into (a) participation in pre‐ and during project construction, and (b)

participation in post‐project operation.

Figure 7. Theoretical model of dependent and Independent variables

Projects are defined as donor‐funded and community‐managed rural drinking water supply

systems that include (i) any type of small to medium‐scale schemes, (ii) constructed in rural area, (iii)

with the financial (and technical support) from donor agencies, (iv) operated and maintained by the

members of local community, and (iv) used predominantly for drinking or as a primary source of

drinking water within the community. The operationalization of such small and medium‐scale

projects is based on the Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) classification of improved drinking water

projects10, which include (i) piped systems with treated surface water (from river, lake, etc.), (ii)

piped systems with subsurface water (boreholes with electric pumps), (iii) hand pumps, (iv)

rainwater harvesting schemes, (v) spring catchment projects, or any combination with other possible

variation of drinking water supply.

4.2.2 Target Population and Units of Analysis

The units of analysis are individual studies, identified through the literature search process as

meeting the criteria of (a) research thematic area, (b) selected timeframe, and (c) geographical

scope (all developing countries). The population of interest to which the results are to be

generalized to are all developing countries.

10 JMP classification of drinking water projects: http://www.wssinfo.org/definitions‐methods/watsan‐categories/

Women’s participation Project sustainability
+

Independent variable Dependent variable

Due to the limited research on the topic, no sampling methodology was employed in

selecting studies. Using multiple search methods in popular social science journal databases – JSTOR,

SCOPUS, as well as Google Scholar, all studies that discuss sustainability of rural drinking water

supply projects and comprise population of interest were included into the analysis. Different

combinations of word strings were applied twice: (i) first, applying a full word combination of

[Drinking water [And] project success [or] project sustainability [or] project effectiveness [or] project

failure [or] sustainable [And/or] developing country [or] developing countries]; and (ii) second

applying a shorter version of [Drinking [And] project success [or] sustainability [or] effectiveness [or]

failure]. . This was done to avoid excluding any scholarly articles that might potentially comprise a

population of interest.

The initial search of literature was focused in the English language, whoever additional

attempts were made to search for respective studies potentially published in the Russian language.

The latter was initiated to identify any possible scholarly publications in Russian language,

nevertheless, no studies were found that would discuss sustainability of donor‐funded drinking

water, particularly in the post‐soviet union countries. This is further discussed in the limitations

section (see Section 6.4).

After the primary screening of articles, the researcher pre‐selected 156 scholarly articles

comprising the potential population of interest. The key information from each article (e.g. title,

authors, year, country, key findings, etc.) was tabulated into the literature review matrix (Annex C –

Format of Literature Summary Matrix). Pre‐selected studies were carefully examined for their (i)

relevance to the topic, and (ii) applicability to the designed timeframe and (iii) developing country

context, with 39 different studies identified as meeting these criteria.

4.2.3 Meta‐analysis procedure

The meta‐analysis process is based on the approaches discussed in Popay et al. (2006) and includes

various techniques of literature synthesis, such as conceptual mapping, groupings and clustering.

Figure 8 illustrates a step‐by‐step process of literature synthesis process for meta‐analysis.

Figure 8. Meat‐analysis process (adapted from Popay et al, 2006)

39 papers on sustainability of drinking water projects in
developing countries

Step 1. Developing a preliminary synthesis

 Tabulation
 Groupings and clustering
 Thematic analysis

Step 2. Exploring relationships within and between

studies

 Conceptual mapping
 Visual representation of relationship

between study characteristics and
results

 Qualitative case descriptions

Step 3. Assessing the robustness of the synthesis

 Reflecting critically on the synthesis
process

Conclusions and recommendations

Relevant tools and techniques

Relevant tools and techniques
Relevant tools and techniques

BEGINNING
OF META‐ANALYSIS

END OF
META‐ANALYSIS

The key findings in relation to the key factors identified as critical for project sustainability in

the selected studies, that comprise the population of interest were tabulated, grouped and clustered

thematically. The findings identified across different studies as critical for project sustainability were

coded and analyzed for descriptive statistics using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social

Sciences (SPSS, version 21). The discussion of the meta‐analysis results is provided in the order of

supporting and opposing the research hypothesis, when the relationship between women’s

participation (independent variable) and project sustainability (dependent variable) were explored in

more detail.

4.3 Survey Administration

4.3.1 Variables and Levels of Measurement

The survey primarily attempts to define if respondents believe that participation of women

positively contributes to project success. As has been hypothesized that respondents would have

positive opinions on women’s participation, however their gender would strongly influence the

latter. Female respondents are assumed to have greater positive perception on women’s

participation as they contribute to project sustainability, than male respondents.

To test the second part of the hypothesis, the independent variable (gender) is

operationalized by a dichotomous level of measurement – male and female. The operational

definition of the dependent variable (women’s participation) is measured by five types of

participation in: (a) project planning and design, (b) community mobilization for construction, (c)

education and awareness campaigns before and during construction, (d) collection of fees from

community members for maintenance and repair, (e) organization of repairs or mobilization of

community members for repair, (f) regular monitoring and data collection, organized into

continuous level of measurement, based on a Likert five‐point scale. The levels of measurement for

the analysis of survey questions are presented in the Table 3, Section 4.3.4.

4.3.2 Target Population and Units of Analysis

The target population, to which the results of the survey attempt to generalize, constitute the

sample frame. Thus, no sampling technique was employed, as the whole population of interest was

included into the survey administration.

The units of analysis are individuals, the practitioners on rural drinking water supply in the

case study country (Tajikistan). These units of analysis further represent five major categories of (a)

international donor agencies, (b) international NGOs and local NGOs (implementing agencies), (c)

government agencies (policy and regulation), (d) community‐based organizations and (e) other types

of agencies (private sector, education institution, research agency, etc.). The email list of the survey

population was generated through the membership in the Tajikistan Water and Sanitation (TajWSS)

network that represents thirty different agencies involved in water projects (Annex D –TajWSS

membership list). The TajWSS network was established in 2009 with the support of international

donor agencies that presently count 52 members with experience in rural drinking water supply,

representing government, donor, implementing NGOs and the private sector. It should be

mentioned, that the researcher participated in the network with her previous experience on water

and sanitation in the country, however the exposure to the network was limited to several

participations at quarterly network meetings only during 2009‐2010. Nevertheless, considering this

fact, the researcher was not involved in the actual administration of the survey. Furthermore, the

composition of the network has been changed significantly, due to high rotation of specialists in the

country, within the water and sanitation sector. The membership list of the network is updated

regularly by the coordinating agencies and is intended to include all specialists and practitioners

involved in the implementation of drinking water supply projects in rural Tajikistan.

The rationale for the selection of Tajikistan as a case study country is conditioned by the

following key arguments:

(i) Tajikistan is a developing country with over twenty years of experience on donor‐funded
drinking water supply projects and issues of lack of sustainable projects;

(ii) The researcher’s past professional experience provides a substantive advantage for
administration due to established professional contacts;

(iii) The results of this case study might be applicable to the context of other Central Asian
countries, as well as other post‐socialist developing countries with similar social, economic and

cultural backgrounds;

(iv) Tajikistan is one of the least researched countries within the scholarly community and has
very limited published information. The study of this case study country will contribute to increasing

research knowledge for this country.

4.3.3 Survey Design

The survey tool and method was designed based on the techniques discussed in Dillman, Smyth, and

Christian (2009), Floyd (2009) and Vaske (2008). Mixed‐mode survey, comprised of electronic (email)

and paper (drop‐off) survey methods, was selected as the most appropriate, compared with

other

existing types of survey (mail, telephone, on‐site). The appropriateness of the selected method is

rationalized based on the (a) simplicity of the method, (b) availability of access to the updated email

list, and (c) practical considerations. The mixed‐mode method with email surveys were followed by

paper questionnaires disseminated among non‐respondents, and was designed to compensate the

weaknesses of each method. The latter was initiated to provide the non‐respondents who simply did

not have access to email to participate in the survey so to ensure a higher response rate.

The finalized survey questionnaire was comprised of 24 fixed‐scale, close‐ended and semi

close‐ended questions. The questions were designed based on the principles of writing good survey

questions as discussed in Vaske (2008), such as choosing simple words and phrases, avoiding bias

from unequal comparisons, using response categories that are mutually exclusive, as well as

ensuring sufficient white‐spacing and appropriate formatting. The seven‐page survey opened with a

brief introductory paragraph on the research topic and key definitions used in the questionnaire.

The finalized survey tool was disseminated among the practitioners on rural drinking water

supply projects in Tajikistan (Annex E – Survey Tool in English and Russian), along with informed

consent forms prepared in two languages (Annex F – Informed Consent forms in English and

Russian). The dissemination of email survey was administered by the partnering institution Oxfam

GB in Tajikistan (Annex G – Survey Recruitment Scripts in English and Russian), and paper survey by

the partnering NGO “Subhi Tandurusti”. The latter was undertaken via participation of the NGO

representatives at a stakeholder network meeting on February 12, 2014. Responses were collected

with the help of the partnering institutions, and coded in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences

(SPSS, version 21).

4.3.4 Planned Analysis

To respond to the research sub‐question (2) on the effective components of women’s participation,

the responses of the survey participants were compared for means, and the analyses of n‐way

ANOVA and effect size (analysis of association) was undertaken to establish if the relationship exists

between perception of respondents and demographic information.

To test the given hypothesis to the second part of the research sub‐question (3), the

hypothesis statement was rephrased in statistical form of null and alternative hypothesis,

formulated as follow:

H0: The respondents do not believe that women’s participation is important for project
sustainability and their opinions are not influenced by respondents’ gender

H1: The respondents believe that women’s participation is important for project
sustainability and their opinions vary with the respondents’ gender

For the level of significance, the p‐value of <0.05, was selected as the cut‐off acceptance of

result significance in test statistics. The results of the survey were coded in SPSS and analyzed using

frequencies and descriptive statistics, cross‐tabulations, analysis of variance (n‐way ANOVA) and chi‐

square (Table 3).

Table 3. Planned statistical analysis of survey results in SPSS

Purpose of Analysis Survey
questions

Type of SPSS
Analysis

Dependent and Independent
Variables

Demographics and background
information on survey
participants

1.2, 1.3, 1.4,
1.5, 1.6, 1.7

Frequencies
Cross‐tabulation

n/a

Perception of respondents on
years of operation for
sustainable projects

2.1 Frequencies
Cross‐tabulation

n/a

Perception of respondents on
community participation, and
factors that affect project
sustainability

3.1, 3.2 Frequencies
Cross‐tabulation
Means
n‐way ANOVA
and effect size

Gender, age, professional occupation,
type of agency, years of experience
(independent variables); and factors of
sustainability (dependent variable)

Perception of respondents on
women’s participation

3.3, 3.4, 4.3,
5.4, 5.5

Frequencies
Cross‐tabulation
Means
Chi‐square

Gender (independent variable);
perception on women’s participation
(dependent variable)

Additional analysis:
‐ attributes of men and women
‐ agreement/ disagreement to
country‐specific questions

4.2, 4.4

5.1 – 5.7

Frequencies
Mean

n/a

4.3.5 Validity and Reliability

To ensure measurement validity and reliability of the concepts and indicators presented in the

survey, certain measures were undertaken in consideration of survey content and construct. For the

construct and content validity the draft survey tool was reviewed by a mixed group of competent

professional experts and professors, as well as pretested among a group of ESF graduate students

with some skills on survey questions. The survey tool was disseminated along with an informed

consent form (Annex H – Survey Pre‐test Recruitment Script; Annex I – Survey Pre‐test Informed

Consent) in English language among an interested group of students via email. Responses to the

survey pre‐testing were collected via e‐mail personally by the investigator. Recommendations from

nine participants of survey pre‐testing were directed towards making the questions technically

correct and for improved design (Annex J – Survey Pre‐test Results).

Following pre‐testing, the survey tool was translated into Russian, and was disseminated in

two languages (Russian and English) for the survey piloting among the selected units of analysis, the

members of the TajWSS network (Annex K – Survey Piloting Recruitment Script; Annex L – Survey

Piloting Informed Consent). The participants for the piloting were selected with the help of

partnering institutions with the criteria that the participants (i) have 10‐25 years of experience in

rural water supply in the country, (ii) are willing and participate in the pretest, and (iii) represent a

group diversity in consideration of linguistic capacities (i.e. non‐English speaker vs. English‐speaker).

Six responses (completed questionnaires), collected from the piloting stage were followed by Skype

interviews to get detailed feedback and recommendations to improve measurement validity, ensure

that the concepts and response tasks are understandable, language is easy and appropriate, and the

respondents have similar understanding on the type of answers each survey question asks. In

addition to test for the measurement reliability or the consistency in the pattern of respondents’

answers, a test for international consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was applied for multiple item

indicator questions (Vaske, 2008).

4.3.6 Survey Error and Bias

The described survey procedure and instrument are designed in such a way, as to avoid all four

possible types of survey error: coverage, sampling, non‐response and measurement error. The

possibility of coverage and sampling errors is eliminated by the fact the whole population of interest

had a known, non‐zero chance of being included. As no ‘sampling procedure’ was applied, no one

from the population was excluded from participation in the survey census.

To minimize the chance of non‐response error or non‐response bias, which occur when

“people who do not respond are different from those who do respond in a way that is important to

the survey” (Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2009:17), it was ensured that the response rate is high

enough to be representative via:

(a) The invitation for participation was sent from the authoritative source (TajWSS
Secretariat);

(b) Reminder messages were sent two and one weeks prior to the initial deadline from the
authoritative source;

(c) The information sent to the potential respondents of the survey highlighted the
importance of the results to be used for the benefits of the respondents;

(d) It has been made sure that the selected survey mode was the most convenient for the
respondents and participation was easy;

(e) The layout of the survey was designed in such a way as to enhance visibility and minimize
respondent burden.

To minimize the potential risk of measurement error or bias, each respondent’s answers

were checked for accuracy. When required the partnering institution (NGO Subhi Tandurusti)

contacted the respondents to clarify the answers (for handwritten responses). As the measurement

error is “often the result of poor question wording or design” (Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2009:18),

it has been ensured that all aspects of questionnaire construction are effective and clearly

understandable for the survey respondents.

CHAPTER 5: RESULTS

5.1 Meta‐analysis

This section provides a comprehensive overview of the literature meta‐analysis process. All studies

that discuss factors responsible for the sustainability of community‐managed drinking water projects

in developing countries and published within the set timeframe (2000‐2013) were included into the

meta‐analysis of literature. In preparing the analysis, findings of all 39 identified studies were first

tabulated within the literature review matrix (Annex M – Literature Review Findings Tabulation). The

findings were grouped and clustered into the key typologies of project sustainability (technical,

financial, institutional and social), and the results were mapped spatially and temporally to identify

conceptual patterns. Then, the results were discussed in chronological order highlighting a wide

spectrum of factors that have been argued by different authors as critical for project

success.

Further discussion on the findings on meta‐analysis, as well critical reflections on the meta‐analysis

process is presented in Chapter 6 – Discussion and Conclusion.

5.1.1 Summarizing critical factors

The findings of the 39 selected studies, as discussed in the previous section were summarized in the

literature review matrix (Annex M) and further grouped into categories. Key typologies of factors

responsible for the sustainability of community‐managed water supply projects were identified and

grouped into four areas of sustainability following WELL’s dimensions of sustainability, as discussed

in Chapter 3 (WELL, 1998). Thus the findings on the project sustainability factors include (i) technical,

(ii) financial, (iii) institutional and (iv) social aspects (Annex N – Categorization of Literature Review

Findings).

Mapping the factors into a typology of project sustainability shows that most of the studies

(77%) suggest that the social aspects of sustainability are important for sustainable projects. A

combination of technical, financial and institutional factors has been defined across 15 studies (38%)

as critical for project success. Thus, though the literature findings confirm that sustainable project

approaches should incorporate principles of all four typologies of project sustainability. Social

sustainability, such as importance of community participation or women’s involvement are seen

across the studies as the most prevailing pre‐requisite for project success (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Meta‐analysis results: four typologies of project sustainability

The distribution of studies into three equal periods of the targeted timeframe of (i) 2000‐

2004, (ii) 2005‐2009 and (iii) 2010‐2013, shows that the publication of studies prevails during the

period of 2005‐2009. Over 50% of studies on sustainability of drinking water projects include

arguments for social factors of sustainability published during that period (Table 4). The histogram

presents the distribution of the study periods with the majority of studies falling into the period of

(2) of 2005‐2009 and the curve demonstrating the normality (Figure 10).

Table 4. Meta‐analysis results: publication of studies by years

Year of the study
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

2000‐2004 9 23.1 23.1 23.1

2005‐2009 20 51.3 51.3 74.4

2010‐2013 10 25.6 25.6 100.0

Total 39 100.0 100.0

38%

31%

77%

1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36

Technical

Financial

Institutional

Social

number of studies

Typologies of sustainability factors

Figure 10. Meta‐analysis results: years of publication

Meanwhile, the distribution of studies by year demonstrates that the salience of the topic peaked in

2004 and 2006, and more significantly in years of 2009 and 2010 (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Meta‐analysis results: publication of studies by years

This can be attributed to the fact that UN has recognized the right of every human being to

have access to sufficient water in 201011, which I assume contributed to the salience of the topic.

The preceding peaks in 2004 and 2006 of increased attention to the topic can be possibly be linked

to the announced UN International Decade for Action 2005‐2015 and to a series of international

11 Human Right to Water: https://www.un.org/en/globalissues/water/

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

nu
m
be

r o
f s
tu
di
es

Distribution of studies over years

conferences organized in the prior years12. In constructing the subsequent analysis, I discuss the key

factors identified across different studies in the order of (i) technical, (ii) financial, (iii) institutional

and (iv) social aspects of project sustainability.

Technical factors

The technical aspects of project sustainability identified across selected studies constitute the

narrowest spectrum of factors, grouped only in three major categories: (i) appropriate technological

choice, (ii) availability of technical skills, and (iii) availability of spare parts (Table 5). In total, only 15

studies (38%) highlighted the importance of technical aspects for project success and sustainability.

Table 5. Meta‐analysis results: technical factors of project sustainability
# Author(s) Country Appropriate

technological choice
(simple and low‐
tech)

Technical skills
(to construct,
repair and
maintain

Availability
of spare
parts

1 Kleemeier, 2000 Malawi ✓
2 Jakariya et al., 2003 Bangladesh ✓ ✓
3 Musonda, 2004 Zambia ✓
4 Magrath, 2006 Sierra Leone ✓ ✓

✓

5 Gleitsmann et al., 2007 Mali

✓

6 deWilde et al., 2008 Mexico ✓
7 Gine & Perez‐Foguet, 2008 Tanzania ✓ ✓
8 Esposto, 2009 Darfur

Iraq
✓

9 Smith, 2009 Pakistan ✓
10 Montgomery et al., 2009 Sub‐Saharan

Africa
✓

11 Whittington et al., 2009 Bolivia

Peru
Ghana

✓

12 Aladuwaka & Momsen, 2010 Sri Lanka ✓
13 Masduqi et al., 2010 Indonesia ✓ ✓
14 Massoud et al., 2010 Lebanon ✓
15 Opare, 2012 Ghana ✓
7/15 9/15 4/15

12 Water for Life: http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/eventsarchive_2010.shtml

Among 15 studies discussing technical aspects, the technical skills of communities to

construct, repair and maintain the projects of drinking water supply were denoted in 9 studies as

critical for project success. A correct choice of technological solution, basically implying simple and

low‐cost solutions, and availability of spare parts for community water projects were argued across

7 and 4 studies respectively, as imperative for project effectiveness (see Figure 12).

Figure 12. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of technical factors of project sustainability

Financial factors

The financial aspects of project sustainability were denoted as critical in 15 studies (similarly to

technical), where most of the studies recognized the importance of technical aspects

simultaneously. Identified factors were grouped into four categories of (i) post‐project support, (ii)

adequate water pricing, (iii) ability to pay, and (iv) co‐financing of capital costs (Table 6).

As seen from the Figure 13 adequate water tariffs that are affordable for communities but

also designed in such a way as to ensure full‐cost recovery of the project, along with the

community’s ability to pay for access to water have been specified across 10 studies as being of

critical importance for project sustainability. External post‐project support and community co‐

financing of capital costs are argued as critical for sustainability in 8 cases only.

0 2 4 6 8 10

Availability of spare parts

Appropriate technological choice

Technical skills to repair and maintain

Technical factors

Table 6. Meta‐analysis results: financial factors of project sustainability

# Author(s) Country External post‐
project (donors
or authorities)

Adequate water
tariffs
(affordable, full
cost‐recovery)

Community’s
ability to pay

Communit
y’s co‐
financing
of capital
costs

1 Kleemeier, 2000 Malawi ✓
2 Admassu et al., 2003 Ethiopia ✓
3 Musonda, 2004 Zambia ✓ ✓
4 Prokopy, 2005 India ✓
5 Haysom, 2006 Tanzania ✓
6 Acharya et al, 2007 Nepal ✓
7 Gine & Perez‐Foguet,

2008
Tanzania ✓

8 Prokopy et al., 2008 Peru ✓
9 Montgomery et al.,

2009
Sub‐Saharan
Africa

✓

10 Whittington et al., 2009

Bolivia
Peru
Ghana

✓

11 Aladuwaka & Momsen,
2010

Sri Lanka ✓

12 Armanios, 2010 Egypt ✓
13 Jiméneza & Pérez‐

Foguetb, 2010
Tanzania ✓

14 Masduqi et al., 2010 Indonesia ✓
15 Opare, 2012 Ghana ✓
5/15 7/15 3/15 1/15

Figure 13. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of financial factors of project sustainability

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

External post‐project support

Adequate water tariffs

Community’s ability to pay

Community’s co‐financing

Financial factors

Institutional factors

The institutional factors of project sustainability in drinking water supply have found to be the least

frequently discussed as critical. Only 12 studies (31%) have highlighted the role of institutional setup

as important for community‐managed projects. The key typology of institutional factors includes (i)

management capacity, (ii) exit strategy, (iii) government support, and (iv) partnerships and

coordination (Table 7).

The management capacity of local communities to manage the project, including the presence

of adequate and simple mechanisms for project management, after the project is constructed, has

been discussed most frequently across the whole spectrum of institutional factors. Over 58% of

studies (7 studies) that discuss institutional sustainability as important highlighted the need for

adequate mechanisms of community water management, that implied the appropriate set up of

committees and the management capacities of committee members (Figure 14).

Table 7. Meta‐analysis results: institutional factors of project sustainability
# Author(s) Country Management

capacity of
committees

Adequate exit
strategy/hand
over
mechanism

Government
oversight and
support

Coordinatio
n and
partnership

1 Kleemeier, 2000 Malawi ✓
2 Bhandari et al., 2005 Nepal ✓ ✓ ✓
3 Hoko & Hertle, 2006 Zimbabwe ✓
4 Haysom, 2006 Tanzania ✓
5 Gine & Perez‐

Foguet, 2008
Tanzania ✓

6 Busari, 2009

Swaziland ✓

7 Aladuwaka &
Momsen, 2010

Sri Lanka ✓

8 Jiméneza & Pérez‐
Foguetb, 2010

Tanzania ✓ ✓

9 Masduqi et al., 2010 Indonesia ✓
10 Massoud et al., 2010 Lebanon ✓
11 Padawangi, 2010 Pakistan ✓
12 Holm, 2012 Malawi ✓
7/12 2/12 3/12 3/12

In addition, close coordination of community members of the local water committees with

local authorities and external support agencies (3 studies), strengthened government’s role to

oversee community‐managed operation and provide adequate support (3 studies), as well as

presence of adequate exit strategy (2 studies) have been also argued as important for project

success.

It is worth noting that most of the studies that highlighted the importance of institutional

factors for sustainability of community‐managed drinking water projects were often argued in

combination with the earlier discussed technical and financial components of sustainable water

projects in most of the studies.

Figure 14. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of institutional factors of project sustainability

Social factors

Social sustainability pertaining to all socially related factors of community participation were

discussed in great detail within the majority of the sampled studies. A total of 30 studies or 77%

(n=39 studies) argued for a certain type of social factor that was critical for sustainability. This

includes 16 studies (41% of n=39) within which are arguments for different forms of community

participation, without specifying any particular role of men or women as critical for the project

success. Interestingly, the same number of studies (n = 16 studies) argued for a critical role of

women’s participation (Table 8), with two studies arguing for the importance of both.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Management capacity of committees

Adequate exit strategy/handover
mechanism

Government oversight and support

Coordination and partnership

Institutional factors

Table 8. Meta‐analysis results: community participation and women’s participation

Community participation in

study
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid
no 23 59.0 59.0 59.0
yes 16 41.0 41.0 100.0
Total 39 100.0 100.0

Women’s participation in

study
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid
no 23 59.0 59.0 59.0
yes 16 41.0 41.0 100.0
Total 39 100.0 100.0

Identified social factors were sorted into two major categories: (i) community participation,

and (ii) women’s participation. Some other factors – such as ‘sense of ownership’ and ‘group

homogeneity’, which were mentioned across just a few studies as important, but could not be

identified as pertaining exclusively to either of the two categories, and so were placed in a separate

category of ‘other’ (Table 9). Thus, the total number of studies that argued for the importance of

social factors of sustainability are divided almost into equal shares for women’s participation (16

studies) and community participation factors (16 studies), including 7 studies citing other social

forms of sustainability factors (Figure 15).

Figure 15. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of social factors of project sustainability

It is worth mentioning that women’s participation has been recognized across different

studies either in the form of presenting a case as a good example, where women’s participation was

0 5 10 15 20

Community’s participation

Women’s participation

Other
Social factors

successful, or an unfortunate example, where the participation of women was critical, but for

various reasons was not organized appropriately. Thus, despite the criticism of poorly implemented

approaches of women’s involvement into projects, the authors of those studies did not reject the

idea that the role of women in drinking water projects is important, but attempted to provide

underlying reasons for ineffective women’s participation strategies. The details on the criticism of

women’s participation will be discussed in the Chapter 6.

Table 9. Meta‐analysis results: social factors of project sustainability

# Author(s) Country Community
participation

Women’s
participation

Other

1 James et al., 2002 India ✓
2 Jakariya et al., 2003 Bangladesh ✓
3 Admassu et al., 2003 Ethiopia ✓ ✓
4 Doe & Khan, 2004 Ghana ✓ Sense of ownership
5 FonJong et al., 2004 Cameroon ✓ ✓
6 Musonda, 2004 Zambia ✓
7 O’Reilly, 2004 India ✓
8 Prokopy, 2004 India ✓
9 Prokopy, 2005 India ✓
10 Bhandari et al., 2005 Nepal ✓
11 Garande & Dagg, 2005 Chile ✓
12 Singh, 2006 India ✓
13 Magrath, 2006 Sierra Leone ✓
14 Cleaver & Toner, 2006 Tanzania Sense of ownership
15 Hoko & Hertle, 2006 Zimbabwe ✓
16 Acharya et al, 2007 Nepal ✓ Group homogeneity
17 Gleitsmann et al., 2007 Mali ✓
18 deWilde et al., 2008 Mexico ✓
19 Gine & Perez‐Foguet, 2008 Tanzania ✓ ✓ Inclusion of poor
20 Smith, 2009 Pakistan ✓
21 Montgomery et al., 2009 Sub‐Saharan

Africa
Community demand for
water

22 Prokopy, 2009 India ✓
23 Sultana, 2009 Bangladesh ✓ Group homogeneity
24 Whittington et al., 2009 Bolivia

Peru
Ghana
✓

25 Aladuwaka & Momsen,
2010

Sri Lanka ✓

26 Barnes & Ashbolt, 2010 Philippines ✓
27 Masduqi et al., 2010 Indonesia ✓
28 Padawangi, 2010 Pakistan ✓
29 Madrial et al., 2011 Costa Rica ✓ Sense of ownership
30 Holm, 2012 Malawi ✓
31 Opare, 2012 Ghana ✓
16/31 16/31 7/31

Further analysis focused on different forms of (i) community participation and (ii) women’s

participation that have been discussed across 30 studies as critical for project success. Thus, the

forms of community or women’s participation were categorized into six main categories, as

identified across the studies, which included participation in (i) decision‐making for planning and

project design, (ii) construction, (iii) community education and awareness campaigns, (iv) system

management and collection of fees for repair, (v) organization and performance of repairs, and (vi)

monitoring and data collection (Table 10). Unspecified or ambiguous types of participation have

been placed into a separate ‘unspecified/general’ category.

Two forms of community participation (a) participation in decision‐making for project

planning and design, and (b) participation in collection of fees for system repair

and maintenance

prevail (46%) among other forms of participation as the most critical for project sustainability (Figure

16). Community participation in the construction and repair of systems, as well as data collection

and monitoring have been mentioned in just a few studies as important (2 studies or 12%).

Meanwhile, community participation in general, denoting any form of community participation in

project planning, implementation and management have been argued as important across 9 studies

or 56% of the studies with social factors of sustainability as a highly positive impact.

Table 10. Meta‐analysis results: social factors ‐ community participation

# Author(s) Country Planning &
Design /
Decision‐
making

Construction Education
and
awareness

Collection of
fees for repair /
Management &
decision‐making

Organization
of repairs (inc.
performing
repairs)

Monitoring

and data
collection

Unspecified
/ general

1 Admassu et al., 2003 Ethiopia ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
2 Doe & Khan , 2004 Ghana ✓ ✓
3 FonJong et al., 2004 Cameroon ✓ ✓
4 Musonda, 2004 Zambia ✓
5 Prokopy, 2005 India ✓ ✓
6 Garande & Dagg, 2005 Chile ✓ ✓
7 Magrath, 2006 Sierra Leone ✓
8 Hoko & Hertle, 2006 Zimbabwe ✓ ✓
9 Gine & Perez‐Foguet, 2008 Tanzania ✓
10 Smith, 2009 Pakistan ✓
11 Prokopy, 2009 India ✓
12 Whittington et al., 2009 Bolivia, Peru, Ghana ✓
13 Barnes & Ashbolt, 2010 Philippines ✓
14 Masduqi et al., 2010 Indonesia ✓
15 Holm, 2012 Malawi ✓
16 Opare, 2012 Ghana ✓
6/16 1/16 2/16 6/16 1/16 1/16 9/16

Figure 16. Meta‐analysis results: social factors: typology of community participation

It is worth noting that several studies have argued that community cohesion and project

initiatives arising from within the communities are important for project success (Barnes & Ashbolt,

2010; Doe & Khan, 2004). While the latter refers to a community’s effort to initiate a project with or

without external support, the former implies strong and positive relationships among the

community members and a sense of common vision and belonging for all communities.

Women’s participation has been argued to be critical across 16 studies that discuss social

factors of sustainability as critical for project success. The key typologies of women’s participation

have been disaggregated into six forms, similarly for community participation (Table 11). Certain

forms of women’s participation have been argued as more important for project sustainability than

the other forms. For example, women’s participation in the decision‐making for project planning and

design (x=̅.26), and participation in collection of fees for repair (x ̅=.15) were found more critical

across studies, than the other forms of women’s participation (Table 12). Participation of female

community members during project construction, community education and awareness campaigns,

actual organization of repairs for system maintenance, as well as participation in data collection for

monitoring, have found less evidence of support across identified studies. Figure 17 illustrates

graphic distribution of forms of women’s participation indicating superior importance of the

mentioned two forms.

0 2 4 6 8 10

Planning & Design / Decision‐making
Construction

Education and awareness
Collection of fees for repair /…
Organization of repairs (inc.…

Monitoring and data collection
Unspecified / general

number of studies
Community participation in

Table 11. Meta‐analysis results: social factors – women’s participation

# Author(s) Country Planning &
Design /
Decision‐making

Construction Education and
awareness

Collection of
fees for repair /
Management &
decision‐making

Organization of
repairs (inc.
performing
repairs)

Monitoring
and data
collection
Unspecified
/ general

1 James et al., 2002 India ✓ ✓
2 Jakariya et al., 2003 Bangladesh ✓
3 Admassu et al., 2003 Ethiopia ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
4 FonJong et al., 2004 Cameroon ✓
5 O’Reilly, 2004 India ✓ ✓
6 Prokopy, 2004 India ✓ ✓
7 Bhandari et al., 2005 Nepal ✓
8 Singh, 2006 India ✓
9 Acharya et al., (2007) Nepal ✓
10 Gleitsmann et al., 2007 Mali ✓
11 Gine & Perez‐Foguet, 2008 Tanzania ✓
12 Sultana, 2009 Bangladesh ✓ ✓
13 Aladuwaka & Momsen, 2010 Sri Lanka ✓ ✓
14 Padawangi, 2010 Pakistan ✓
15 Madrial et al., 2011 Costa Rica ✓
10/15 1/15 1/15 6/15 1/15 1/15 5/15

Figure 17. Meta‐analysis results: distribution by typology of women’s participation

Interestingly, the discussion on the importance of women’s involvement in the selected

studies goes even beyond just simply identifying which forms of participation matter for project

success. For example, women’s agency and control over water access, as well as recognition of

women as key players in water management and support from male community members toward

women’s leadership have been argued, across several studies, as key for sustainable projects

(Aladuwaka & Momsen, 2010; Gine & Perez‐Foguet, 2008; O’Reilly, 2004; Prokopy, 2004).

Furthermore, several authors have argued that the composition of women’s water committee

groups also matters: while greater heterogeneity in women’s group for social, economic and even

Table 12. Meta‐analysis results: descriptive statistics on typology of women’s participation

Planning and
design

Construction Education and
awareness

Collection of
fees

Organization
of repairs

Monitoring

N
Valid 39 39 39 39 39 39

Missing 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mean .26 .03 .03 .15 .03 .03

Std. Deviation .442 .160 .160 .366 .160 .160

Variance .196 .026 .026 .134 .026 .026

Range 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Planning & Design / Decision‐making
Construction
Education and awareness
Collection of fees for repair /…
Organization of repairs (inc.…
Monitoring and data collection
Unspecified / general
number of studies
Women’s participation in

biological characteristics of its members does not necessarily produce positive impact for projects,

whereas the homogeneity in women’s groups have found to be positively correlated with successful

project development (Singh, 2006; Acharya et al., 2007; Sultana, 2009). Furthermore, some other

aspects of women’s participation, such as when participation of women is against social norms and

local community customs (O’Reilly, 2004; Prokopy, 2004). When the willingness to participate comes

from women and whereas women have sufficient training and commitment to manage projects

(Aladuwaka & Momsen, 2010; Madrial, Alpizar, & Schlute, 2011; Prokopy, 2004; Singh, 2006;

Sultana, 2009), as well as no geographical restrictions for women to practice participation (Sultana,

2009), all have been outlined across several studies as critical for women’s active involvement in

drinking water supply projects.

5.1.3 Geographical and contextual disparities

Studies on the sustainability of community‐managed drinking water supply projects are seen as the

most salient in the regions of Asia and Africa with 29 studies (86%) identified in 21 countries, and a

few more studies (9%) have been identified in North America and South America regions (Table 13).

Table 13. Meta‐analysis results: descriptive statistics on geographical regions

Geographical region
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Africa 17 43.6 43.6 43.6
Asia 17 43.6 43.6 87.2
South America 3 7.7 7.7 94.9
North America 2 5.1 5.1 100.0
Total 39 100.0 100.0

N Valid 39Missing 0
Mean 1.74
Median 2.00
Mode 1a

Std. Deviation .818
Variance .669
Range 3

Representing 26 countries overall, the issues of project sustainability in drinking water supply

can be argued as more frequently occurring in the countries of Africa (12 countries) and Asia (9),

than in North (2) and South America (3) (Figure 18).

Figure 18. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of studies by geographical regions

Table 14 lists all countries discussed in the sampled studies. Several countries stand out

among other countries, where the research topic has been studied more frequently, such as in India

(6 studies), Tanzania (4 studies) and Ghana (3 studies). For the rest of the countries, the topic on the

sustainability of rural water supply has only been studied once or twice. This latter point can be

explained by the earlier assumption that the whole thematic area on sustainability of donor‐funded

projects is a sensitive area, as well as the novel, and not researched in great detail.

Table 14. Meta‐analysis results: list of researched countries across studies
Africa Asia South America North America
Cameroon (1)   Bangladesh (2) Bolivia (1) Costa Rica (1)
Egypt (1) India (6) Chile (1) Mexico (1)
Ethiopia (1)   Indonesia (1) Peru (2)
Ghana (3) Iraq (1)
Malawi (2) Lebanon (1)
Mali (1) Nepal (2)
Sierra Leone (1)   Pakistan (2)
Sudan (1) Philippines (1)
Swaziland (1) Sri Lanka (1)
Tanzania (4)
Zambia (1)
Zimbabwe (1) 1
Sub‐Saharan Africa region (1)

12
9
3
2

43%

43%
7%
2%

Africa

Asia

South America

North America

Distribution of studies by regions

percent of studies number of countries

The geographical mapping on the discussion of women’s participation for sustainability of

drinking water projects further narrows down the list of countries. Thus, countries that recognize

the special role of women in water projects (either by presenting successful or unsuccessful case

examples) include the countries of India (4), Bangladesh (2), Nepal (2), Sri Lanka (1) and Pakistan (1),

as well as Ethiopia (1), Cameroon (1), Mali (1), Tanzania, and Costa Rica (1). Countries of South Asia

are the most researched regarding effectiveness of women’s participation, and so advise that

women’s participation is widely used as a project strategy in those countries (Figure 19).

Figure 19. Meta‐analysis results: distribution of studies on women’s participation
across geographical regions

5.1.2 Narrative on meta‐analysis

In one of the early studies in the 2000s, the evaluation of 17 drinking water projects in Malawi,

Kleemeier found that half of the assessed schemes performed poorly at the time of monitoring. She

found that a community’s capacity to manage the project and external agency support to the

management committees was crucial for the sustainability of constructed systems. She concluded

that “community groups turn out to be good at making the small repairs necessary to keep water

flowing, but poor at preventative maintenance and repairs”, thus if “external agency is weak, the

schemes will eventually perform poorly” (Kleemeier, 2000:941‐42).

Asia
67%

Africa
27%

North
America

A similar study conducted two years later in two villages of India supported Kleemeier’s

conclusion on the importance of community‐management, but also highlighted the role of women in

the installation of drinking water supply projects (James et al., 2002). They argued that projects

combined with the provision of earning opportunities for women enhance their potential for

decision‐making and thus contribute to the effectiveness of water projects:

Investment in rural water supply will then provide dual benefits: the social benefits of
an improved water supply and the economic benefits from the time saved. Further,
involving empowered and earning women in decision‐making of decentralized
community infrastructure projects can improve the effectiveness of community
infrastructure projects involving water distribution and management (James et al.,
2002: 216.)

Furthermore, an evaluation of 51,685 tubewells in Bangladesh supported the previous

findings by concluding that the key to project success was “a combination of close integration with

the community at all stages and appropriate technical solutions”, whereas the critical point is the

provision of training opportunities for female volunteers (Jakariya, et al., 2003:141‐45). Another

study of 2003 by Admassu, Kumie, & Fantahun on the evaluation of 114 water projects in rural

Ethiopia found that the assessed projects lacked sustainability due to (i) insufficient community

partnerships, (ii) lack of skills for financial management, and (iii) absence of gender sensitivity.

Though, in this study, gender sensitivity has been found to be critical for project success, the authors

do not assess this factor in detail. Although they mention that better coordination at all levels of

management and community participation is crucial for project sustainability, they point out that

community participation in water projects is not work for females.

Studies in 2004 further contributed to the discourse on the effectiveness of community‐

management model and women’s participation. Thus, Doe and Khan (2004) argued that community

participation in decision‐making, planning and service provision, as well as sense of ownership

among community members positively affect sustainability of constructed rural drinking water

projects, by pointing out that “community management is useful for community development but

one size does not fit all” (Doe & Khan, 2004:369). They found that the size of the communities where

projects are introduced matters and larger communities have less potential for project success.

Meanwhile, FonJong, Nebasina and Fonchingong in their case study of Cameroon rural water project

argued that “because women are faced more directly than men with the problem of water supply

and sanitation, they can be a substantial driving force behind the installation and maintenance of

facilities” (FonJong, Nebasina , & Fonchingong, 2004:438). They pointed put that while community

participation is a prerequisite of project success, involvement of women in project planning and

especially management is imperative for sustainability of the projects. Musonda (2004) in a study of

Zambia on the contrary did not find women’s participation as imperative for successful project

development and suggested that four factors were crucial for project sustainability: (a) effective

community organization, (b) communities have the ability to operate and maintain, (c) communities

are able to raise adequate user fees for purchasing spare parts, and (d) there is a strong backup

support at the district level to carry out major repairs.

The last two studies of 2004, both case studies of India, brought lots of controversy to the

topic of women’s participation and project effectiveness. O’Reilly (2004) argues that gendered

dynamics are complex and women’s lack of agency and power in certain spheres, such as inability to

contribute to implementation of program strategies does not make women’s participation

important for the long‐term sustainability of the project. She says that women’s participation is

“nothing but a great joke and it is a decorative item” and the project’s goal of “women’s

participation is nothing but to manage the financial aid from [the German bank] and a little bit of

show off” (O’Reilly, 2004:180). O’Reilly remarks that “women’s incorporation into development

projects, instead of being a straightforward process, has generated conflicts and paradoxes”, when

the underlying reason for that is that the strategy of women’s participation is not taken seriously

(O’Reilly, 2004:175). In the second study in India, Prokopy (2004:114) concludes that “women’s

participation does not lead to project improvements”. Prokopy argues that while overall community‐

participation has a positive effect to project sustainability, women’s participation has no relationship

with project success or sustainability. She further explains that the participation of women in water

committees is nominal or token, as “their seat is merely a reservation seat and they know nothing

about water project” and in most cases women’s husbands and sons attend the committee meetings

(Prokopy, 2004:109). As the underlying reasons of this ‘token participation’ of women Prokopy finds

the following:

 Issues pertaining village government are traditionally the responsibility of men.
Participation of women is against general custom;

 Men object to women’s involvement;
 Women’s hesitation and fear;
 Women are not interested;
 Women are not allowed to speak in front of elderly and women were not

consulted during planning and implementation stage (Prokopy, 2004:112).

Clearly, Prokopy’s comprehensive analysis on women’s role in water projects brings to the

discussion many flaws that exist in the process of women’s involvement. Lastly, the author adds that

though this analysis has treated women as a homogeneous group, and suggests that women should

be studied as heterogeneous societal groups via “the nexus between gender, class and caste”

(Prokopy, 2004:115).

In another study on India’s water projects, Prokopy found that community contribution to

capital costs and household involvement in decision‐making are significant contributors to the

project success by arguing that “the higher the percentage of households in a village contributing to

capital costs, the better for the project” (Prokopy, 2005:1817). In a case study of drinking water

project in Chile, Garande and Dagg (2005) found that failure to fully integrate community into the

processes of project planning and management was the key reason for project unsustainability. They

argued “if people actively participate in the project planning and implementation stages, then they

are more committed to the project’s success” and highlighted (i) comprehensive consultation with

community and transparency, (ii) high levels of community participation, (iii) ‘participation should be

inclusive and communicative’ among the critical factors of project success (Garande & Dagg,

2005:417‐420). Meanwhile, Bhandari, Grant, and Pokharel (2005) in a case study in Nepal found that

lack of involvement of women during the planning stages is one of the key reasons for unsuccessful

projects and argued that government supervision, adequate mechanisms for the handover of

constructed schemes, and coordination among local water committees and local government are all

essential for sustainable projects.

Another study from India criticized the ineffectiveness of women’s participation in drinking

water projects (Singh, 2006). Similarly to Prokopy’s arguments, Singh criticized that women’s

participation as being largely token and says:

the involvement of women by itself does not guarantee communities equitable
benefits from water‐related infrastructure and new distribution schemes. Social
differences among women along the lines of age, caste and religion may in fact
reinforce social and economic imbalances rather than transform them (Singh,
2006:74).

Singh suggests that “women’s leadership did not make any real difference with regard to the rate of

collection of use fees from water users” and “women’s membership is actually considered a proxy as

in reality their husbands or sons attended the meetings and made decisions” (Singh, 2006:70). Thus

he argued that women’s representation in decision‐making positions does not necessarily ensure

that all women’s interests will be safeguarded (Singh, 2006:70‐71). Singh suggests that when

applying project approaches of women’s participation, the considerations of heterogeneity among

women or admitting the existence of social and economical differences in women’s groups, arguably

will give a better understanding of “the factors that thwart women’s participation from being

meaningful and less token” (Singh, 2006:74).

Furthermore, the 2006 studies did not add much to the discourse of women’s participation,

but produced more or less similar conclusions. Cleaver and Toner, on community water governance,

in Tanzania found that “community management element of the project is perhaps the least

successful aspect” due to the lack of community ownership (Cleaver & Toner, 2006:213). Hoko and

Hertle in a case study of rural Zimbabwe concluded that for a project to be sustainable it should

incorporate ‘active community involvement’, ‘strengthened capacity of water committees’, ‘easiness

of operation of facility’, as well as ‘improved awareness of local communities on the project’ (Hoko

& Hertle, 2006:699). Meanwhile, Magrath (2006) in a Sierra Leone study argued that the capacity of

communities to maintain, poverty and lack of community cohesion, women’s workload and the

position in society, lack of tools and spare parts all are the key impediments to the successfulness of

the projects. Furthermore, Haysom in a study on rural Tanzania concluded that the “financial

management was the primary correlation of non‐functionality” (Haysom, 2006:1). She found that

only 45% of assessed water points were functioning, thus attributing this to ‘pricing based on

achieving full cost‐recovery’ and ‘simplicity in management structures’ are all crucial for project

sustainability, whereas she argued that the ongoing use of alternative sources can undermine cost

recovery (Haysom, 2006:1). Haysom challenged the orthodoxy surrounding concepts of community

ownership and participation by concluding that “there is a danger that participation in its current

orthodoxy is an inferior substitute for sound local government or ongoing support from the

implementing agency”, and invited re‐examination of the responsibilities of implementing agencies

and donors (Haysom, 2006:21).

The subsequent studies added to the discussion presented earlier by Singh (2006) on the

negative impact of heterogeneity of community management groups. Acharya, Yoshino, Jimba, and

Wakai in investigating how community development programs can empower rural women in rural

Nepal, found that “homogeneity in group formation could be a crucial factor in the success of many

community‐based organizations, whereas heterogeneity could jeopardize the success of the

program” (Acharya, Yoshino, Jimba, & Wakai, 2007:44). The authors claim that this argument

expands to all community‐based projects, not only for drinking water supply. According to them, any

kind of heterogeneity in the management of community‐based organizations can pose risk to project

sustainability and exemplify this by a bitter experience of mixing married women and unmarried

women in projects. They also suggest that “if community development programs lack dynamism, but

merely provide financial support, program efforts may weaken disadvantaged people by increasing

their dependencies on programs rather [than] empowering them” (Acharya, Yoshino, Jimba, &

Wakai, 2007:45). Another study in 2007 which assesses the drinking water projects in rural Mali

suggests that “the projects have for the most part neglected the concept of social learning and the

perspectives and knowledge of local stakeholders” (Gleitsmann, Kroma & Tammo, 2007:149) and

concludes that three factors played a critical role in project unsustainability: (a) lack of commitment

to maintain, (b) use of inappropriate technology and (c) a failure of involving the main providers of

water (women and herders) in project management. On the latter they state: “women and herders,

the main providers of household water and water for livestock respectively, were not found to be

involved in the official management of pumps”, which consequently led to project failure

(Gleitsmann, Kroma & Tammo, 2007:149).

The 2008 studies mostly highlight the importance of institutional and technical factors for

project sustainability. Thus, a study in rural Mexico found that technical functionality is consistently

difficult to sustain, and careful consideration of user convenience (especially among women) during

the planning stage significantly affects project success (deWilde, Milman, Flores, Salmeron, & Ray,

2008). A study from Tanzania determined seven key factors were responsible for the long‐term

functionality of water supply systems: (i) management at the lowest appropriate level, (ii)

communities owning and managing their water schemes, (iii) availability of spare parts and know‐

how, (iv) full cost recovery for operation and maintenance of the scheme, (v) the protection of water

sources, (vi) balancing between technology, service level and the capacity of the beneficiaries, and

(vii) the recognition of women as key players and the inclusion of the poor (Gine & Perez‐Foguet,

2008:335‐39). Though the authors recognize that gender and participation of women is important

for project sustainability, they limit their analysis to the assertion that the “consideration of gender

and poverty should be a prerequisite linked to project sustainability” (Gine & Perez‐Foguet,

2008:340) and do not provide any further details on the latter. Meanwhile, Prokopy, Thorsten,

Bakalian, and Wakeman (2008) in evaluating drinking water projects in 99 villages in Peru found that

post‐construction support is very critical for project sustainability and suggested that “projects can

be made more efficient by building post‐construction support into system design, as systems will

operate more continuously, break downs for shorter time, and can be fixed without bringing in

outsiders” (Prokopy, Thorsten, Bakalian, & Wakeman, 2008:295). A study from Pakistan criticized the

community‐participation approach as often passive and tokenistic and found that “local level

capacity constrains and critical lack of facilitator knowledge” (Smith, 2008:364) within the

community do not make the participatory approach meaningful.

A study from Darfur in Iraq supported the primacy of technical sustainability by suggesting

that the choice of technology should not be on “the most economical and/or efficient solution, but

to the one that emerges as having the best relationship with the local, social and cultural

framework” (Esposto, 2009:262). Meanwhile, a case study from Sub‐Saharan Africa in an attempt to

identify key universal sustainability factors affecting functionality of rural water supply, suggests that

(i) effective community demand, (ii) local financing and cost recovery, and (iii) dynamic operation

and maintenance are equally crucial for project sustainability (Montgomery, Bartram, & Elimelech,

2009:1017). Meanwhile, Whittington et al. (2009) in a study of projects in Bolivia, Peru and Ghana

argue that project success depends on two most critical factors: (i) access to spare parts, and (ii)

community participation, and suggest that the post‐construction support has some positive

associations with project sustainability too. Furthermore, Prokopy (2009) concludes that community

participation in India leads to sustainable projects by arguing that “the benefits of participation were

highest in the regions where more people participated” (Prokopy, 2009:492). Prokopy also argues

that wealth (higher asset levels), higher literacy rate, smaller household and village size (as a

measure of social cohesion) are the determinants for community participation in rural India. The last

two 2009 studies further contribute to the controversy of community‐management and women’s

participation. A case from rural Swaziland argues that while close coordination with community

members is a decisive factor for project success and neither community contribution and

participation, nor women’s presence in the local water committee did not save the assessed projects

from failure (Busari, 2009). Meanwhile, a study from rural Bangladesh reveals that women’s

participation “does not necessarily address power issues between men and women, and among

different women” (Sultana, 2009:349). Sultana points out that community participation and

particularly women’s participation strategy is problematic due to gendered exclusions that pertain in

many communities: while women’s participation may be formalized in a project, women can be

socially excluded from participation, for example because of discouragement of speaking in public,

or a specific place. Thus, Sultana suggests considering ‘agency of heterogeneous nature’ and

‘importance of geographical locations’ in implementing the participatory approach (Sultana

2009:346), and concludes that “public space and decision‐making in participatory development

projects in many places also exclude women largely due to notions of appropriate feminine

behaviour” (Sultana 2009:350).

Conversely to Sultana’s findings, Aladuwaka and Momsen (2010) found for projects in Sri

Lanka, that were initiated and managed by local women were very successful. They point out that it

is due to effective women’s leadership, that women’s empowerment contributed to “getting

increased respect from men in the community” (Aladuwaka & Momsen, 2010:45) and strengthened

women’s agency to make the decisions on behalf of the community. Thus, they conclude among the

key factors that contributed to the sustainability of the project, the (i) women’s participation and

leadership, (ii) women’s agency, power and skills, (iii) women’s solidarity and employment

opportunities. They also suggest that sense of ownership, knowledge of the technology, as well as

support of male population to women’s leadership also contributed to the project success. Similarly,

Padawangi in a case study of Pakistan concludes that along with ‘community participation’ and

‘women’s active involvement’, factors such as ‘support of community‐management model by the

government’, ‘community ownership and appreciation of the project’, ‘public sector provides

continuous monitoring and guidance’ equally contributed to project sustainability (Padawangi, 2010:

117‐18). He says that “the project was effective in promoting local participation and ownership,

particularly by women’s groups, and is therefore likely to have sustainable operation and

maintenance” (Padawangi, 2010:104).

The remaining 2010 studies discuss a mix of technical, institutional and social factors

responsible for project success, however none of them argues for the special role of women in

project sustainability. Armanios (2010), on projects in rural Egypt, approached the question of

project sustainability through a holistic view and proposed that a new dimension of sustainability be

‘engineering sustainability’. He argues that a combination of factors that previously connected the

ideas of economic and environmental sustainability should comprise engineering sustainability,

implying to sustain “the skills and learning processes for the user community to self‐maintain the

water supply system once the system is constructed” (Armanios, 2010:46). Barnes and Ashbolt

(2010) in exploring the link between planning and implementation of water projects in Phillipines,

argued that to reduce early project failure, that project planning processes should be improved. In

an attempt to identify preconditions to project sustainability, they suggest that the consideration of

the following five pre‐conditions are important in the Filipino context: (i) strong community

involvement, (ii) project initiation by users, (iii) commitment by beneficiaries, (iv) genuine need for

water, (v) trust and transparency between community members and development workers.

Jiméneza and Pérez‐Foguetb (2010) in evaluating water governance in rural Tanzania, challenged the

community‐management model and suggested that the responsibility for management should be

redefined by strengthening the role of local government. They concluded:

… sustainability is threatened by the limitations of community management funds, the difficult
relationship between water user entities and elected village representatives, the low
professionalism in the management of services, and the very limited role that decentralized
government plays with regard to monitoring, regulation, and technical support (Jiméneza and
Pérez‐Foguetb (2010:243)

Furthermore, a study from Indonesia produced nine variables as significant to project

sustainability when (i) selection of technology, (ii) water sources, (iii) investment cost, (iv) capability

of operator, (v) availability of spare parts, (vi) operation cost, (vii) technical operation, (viii)

community participation, and (ix) institutional management are appropriately designed and

implemented (Masduqi, Endah, Soedjono, & Hadi, 2010). Massoud, Al‐Abady, Jurdi, and Nuwayhid

(2010) in assessing the challenges of sustainable drinking water supply in Lebanon argued that

contamination of the source, poor maintenance operations, and aging of the networks are

significant factors responsible for project failures. They suggest that the integration of quality of

water supply management and educational programs ensures safety and sustainability of water

supplies.

The most recent studies did not produce any new arguments with regard to women’s roles.

Thus, Madrial, Alpizar, and Schlute in a case study of Costa Rica found that ‘high sense of ownership’

and ‘desire to assume the costs necessary to run the system properly’ are linked to high project

performance (Madrial, Alpizar, & Schlute, 2011:1672). They highlight that women’s position in a

society is important and suggest that “permanent and accessible training programs that include

young people and women are [also] key elements” (Madrial, Alpizar, & Schlute, 2011:1673). They

say:

the human capital (expertise, education, leadership, participation by women) of the members
of the water committees plays a key role because they are directly responsible for devising
and enforcing the different rules that affect performance of the organization (Madrial, Alpizar,
& Schlute, 2011:1670)

A study on Malawi revealed three factors critical for project success: (i) local identification of needs,

(ii) partnerships, and (iii) an exit strategy (Holm, 2012). Holm elaborates as the mentioned is critical:

[First,] identification of the need by the indigenous community providers ownership in the
project. [Second,] a partnership between key individuals in the indigenous community with
the donor provides for ambassadors on both sides of the project. [Finally,] an exit strategy by
the donors for the indigenous communities ensures local sustainability for the future (Holm,
2012:808)

Finally, the latest study on sustainability of community‐managed water projects, in a case study in

Ghana suggests that the choice of a certain technology for drinking water supply is critical as a

sustainability strategy (Opare, 2012). He suggests rainwater harvesting technology is an example of

sustainable water supply solutions for its (i) ‘affordability’, (ii) ‘ease of operations’, (iii) ‘user

ownership’ and (iv) ‘user management’, and asserts that the incorporation of these four variables

into any type community‐managed water supply projects would ensure project success (Opare,

2012:702).

5.2 Survey Results

This section discusses the results of the online survey, administered in February 2014 among 52 the

members of the TajWSS network in Tajikistan. In presenting the results, I first provide an overview

on the demographic/background information on the participants (gender, age, years of experience,

etc.) by analyzing descriptive statistics. Then, I discuss the opinions of the survey participants on the

role of community participation and women’s participation in the projects in relation to project

sustainability. By doing so, I analyze descriptive statistics attempting to answer the research sub‐

question (2) ‐ Which forms and components of women’s participation are positively (or negatively)

associated with project sustainability?; and sub‐question (3) – Do practitioners on rural drinking

water supply believe that women’s participation positively contributes to project sustainability? For

the second part of the latter, I perform hypothesis testing (chi‐square) to test if gender of

respondents influenced their opinions. Finally, additional information from the survey analysis is

presented, that will prove useful for the synthesis of results in the discussion section (Chapter 6 –

Discussion and Conclusion).

5.2.1 General information on Survey Participants
Overall, 49 out of 52 survey participants provided responses to the survey. Three responses have

been excluded from the analysis due to significant missing data. Thus, the responses presenting

opinions of 46 survey participants are presented in this section. The high response rate for the

survey (94%) eliminates the potential for coverage error and non‐response bias. Please see Table 15

with the summary statistics on the respondents’ background information.

The responses include 31 male (67%) and 15 female (33%) survey respondents (Table 16). The

age data shows that the majority of the survey participants are middle‐career and senior‐career

professionals (89%), with just 11% of respondents representing 0‐30 age group (Table 16).

Table 15. Survey results: general information on the survey participants

Statistics
Gender Age

Professional
occupation

Type of agency a
respondent works for

Years of
experience

Years of
Int’l

experien
ce

N Valid 46 44 46 46 46 46Missing 0 2 0 0 0 0
Mean ‐ 3.05 ‐ ‐ 2.28 ‐
Minimum 1 1 1 1 1 0
Maximum 2 5 6 7 5 1

Note on Coding:
1=male
2=female

1=0‐30
2=31‐40
3=41‐50
4=51‐60
5=60+

1=project
manager/team leader
2=engineer/technical
3=trainer/educator
4=monitoring/eval.

5=community mobilizer
6=other

1=international or local
donor agency

2= international /local NGO
3=governmental agency

4= community‐based org.
5= education institution

6= consulting or research
7= private sector

0=other

1=0‐5 years
2=6‐10 years
3=11‐20 years
4=21‐30 years
5=30+ years

0=no
1=yes

Table 16. Survey results: gender and age of the survey participants

Gender
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

male 31 67.4 67.4 67.4

female 15 32.6 32.6 100.0

Total 46 100.0 100.0

Age
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

0‐30 5 10.9 11.4 11.4

31‐40 10 21.7 22.7 34.1

41‐50 13 28.3 29.5 63.6

51‐60 10 21.7 22.7 86.4

60+ 6 13.0 13.6 100.0

Total 44 95.7 100.0

Missing 9 2 4.3

Total 46 100.0

Figure 20 illustrates the distribution of the survey participants by the main age categories:

30% of respondents fall into the 41‐50 years category, while 22% in each fall into the age categories

of 31‐40 and 51‐60 years13.

13 The official retiring age in Tajikistan is 58 for women and 63 for men. Source World Bank (WB):
http://wbl.worldbank.org/data/exploreeconomies/tajikistan/2011?topic=getting‐a‐job

Figure 20. Survey results: age distribution of the survey participants

The frequencies on the professional occupation illustrate that the dominant group of

respondents occupy managerial positions (50%) and are responsible for the management of the

water related projects (Table 17). Meanwhile, the dominant group for the type of agency the

respondents worked for at the time of the survey represents international and local donor and

implementing agencies (52%) (Table 17).

Table 17. Survey results: professional occupation and type of agency the survey participants represent

Professional occupation
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

project manager/team leader 23 50.0 50.0 50.0
engineer/technical worker 6 13.0 13.0 63.0
trainer/educator 4 8.7 8.7 71.7
monitoring/evaluation 4 8.7 8.7 80.4
community mobilizer 1 2.2 2.2 82.6
other 8 17.4 17.4 100.0
Total 46 100.0 100.0

Type of agency a respondent works for

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent

international or local donor
agency

9 19.6 19.6 19.6

international or local NGO 15 32.6 32.6 52.2
governmental agency 9 19.6 19.6 71.7
community‐based

organization

7 15.2 15.2 87.0

consulting or research
institution

4 8.7 8.7 95.7

private sector 2 4.3 4.3 100.0
Total 46 100.0 100.0

The frequency distribution for years of experience in rural drinking water supply project

demonstrates that the population represents a group of highly experienced professionals in drinking

water supply. Thus 72% of respondents indicated having over five years of experience, while only

28% with less than five years (Table 18). Meanwhile, few respondents have indicated having any

international experience (20%) and a vast majority having experience with drinking water supply

projects exclusively at the local level (see Table 18).

Table 18. Survey results: years of experience of the survey participants

Years of experience

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

0‐5 years 13 28.3 28.3 28.3
6‐10 years 14 30.4 30.4 58.7
11‐20 years 14 30.4 30.4 89.1
21‐30 years 3 6.5 6.5 95.7
30+ years 2 4.3 4.3 100.0
Total 46 100.0 100.0

The same demographics for the survey participants were cross‐tabulated to see if any

variability exists across the gender of respondents (Table 19). The cross‐tabulation shows that

females tend to occupy positions within governmental type of agencies least likely than in any other

type of agencies, while male respondents dominate in all categories of the listed categories of

agencies. In addition, female respondents tend to have less years of professional experience, than

male respondents, which can be attributed to the historical fact of the water sector being dominated

in general by male survey respondents (Table 19). For more information on survey participants

please see Annex O – Crosstab of survey results: General Information on Survey Participants.

Years of International experience

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

No 37 80.4 80.4 80.4
Yes 9 19.6 19.6 100.0
Total 46 100.0 100.0

Table 19. Survey results: Cross‐tabulation of gender by type of agency and years of experience

Type of agency a respondent works for
donor
agency

local
NGO

government
al agency

community‐
based

organization

consulting or
research
institution

private
sector

total

Gender male 8 9 8 3 2 1 31female 1 6 1 4 2 1 15
Total 9 15 9 7 4 2 46

Years of experience (n)

Total

0‐5 years 6‐10 years 11‐20 years 21‐30 years 30+ years

Gender
male 6 9 11 3 2 31
female 7 5 3 0 0 15

Total 13 14 14 3 2 46

5.2.2 Project Sustainability and Community Participation

Community participation in drinking water supply projects has been unanimously agreed, by all

survey participants, as imperative for project sustainability. None of 46 survey respondents indicated

that community participation is unimportant for project sustainability: while 20% indicated that

community participation is ‘important’, 80% of the respondents agreed that community

participation is ‘very important’ for project success (Table 20).

Table 20. Survey results: community participation

Importance of community involvement for sustainable projects
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent
very unimportant 0 0 0 0

unimportant 0 0 0 0

neutral 0 0 0 0

important 9 19.6 19.6 19.6
very important 37 80.4 80.4 100.0

Total 46 100.0 100.0

For nine predefined project sustainability factors, the respondents indicated three factors as

the most relevant for project success: (i) availability of community’s financial resources to maintain

projects (M=4.04), (ii) technical and institutional support of local authorities (M=4.22), and (iii)

training and knowledge of community members who maintain projects (M=4.15) (Table 22).

Community’s spare time, physical health, formal education, as well as post‐construction donor

support have been rated as ‘moderately relevant’ factors for project sustainability. Interestingly,

‘gender of community members’ who maintain projects was also found ‘moderately relevant’,

similar to the factor of ‘age of community members’ (Table 21).

Table 21. Survey results: relevance of potential factors of project sustainability

Factors

Mean N Std. Deviation

Technical and institutional support of local authorities 4.22 46 1.191
Training and knowledge of community members 4.15 46 1.414
Community’s financial resources to maintain projects 4.04 46 1.173
Physical health of community members who maintain projects 3.70 46 1.245
Community’s spare time to maintain projects 3.57 46 1.241
Post‐construction donor support and monitoring 3.30 46 1.590
Formal education of community’s members 3.24 46 1.214
Gender of community members who maintain projects 2.93 46 1.373
Age of community’s members who maintain projects 2.78 46 1.031

Note on coding: 1=least relevant, 2=less relevant, 3=moderately relevant, 4=relevant, 5=most relevant

To generate further analysis, the same nine predefined factors of project sustainability were

computed into ‘summated index’. In SPSS the summated index function allows one to compute

several variables into one new variable. For that, the means for the factors were summed into grand

point average scale (GPA) and a new variable label was added (GPAPRACT). By doing so, I am

interested if the respondents’ demographic/background information (gender, age, years of

experience, type of agencies the respondents work for) influenced the perception of the

respondents on the factors of sustainability, and if any strength of association can be identified. This

analysis demonstrates that the middle and senior career specialists of age 31‐50 gave higher GPA

score (M=3.74, M=3.62) to the listed factors of sustainability overall (Table 22b). Moreover, female

respondents graded the sustainability factors higher than male respondents (Table 22a). As for the

type of agencies the respondents represented, the first four categories of agencies (i.e. donor

agencies, local NGOs, governmental agencies and community‐based organizations) produced similar

GPA (M=3.40‐3.59) equivalent to ‘moderately relevant’ (Table 22d). Years of experience GPA

demonstrates an interesting case, with the mean tending to decrease with increasing years of

experience of the respondents (Table 22e). The latter allows assuming that the more experience the

respondents gained in implementing drinking water supply projects, the greater effort was taken to

assess the survey questions. In other words, respondents with more experience seem to be more

critical in considering the proposed project sustainability factors.

Table 22. Survey results: means report for GPA by gender, age, professional occupation and type of agency

a. Gender Mean N Std.

Deviation
b. Age Mean N Std.

Deviation
male 3.4982 31 .60510 0‐30 3.5333 5 .30832
female 3.6519 15 .48408 31‐40 3.7444 10 .27242
Total 3.5483 46 .56772 41‐50 3.6239 13 .51826
51‐60 3.4778 10 .52653
60+ 3.2037 6 1.12747
Total 3.5505 44 .57758

c. Professional occupation

Mean N Std. Deviation

project manager/team leader 3.5556 23 .60950
engineer/technical worker 3.1481 6 .63893
trainer/educator 3.6944 4 .24637
monitoring/evaluation 3.7778 4 .39545
community mobilizer 3.6667 1 .
other 3.6250 8 .57563
Total 3.5483 46 .56772

d. Type of agency a respondent works for

Mean N Std. Deviation

international or local donor agency 3.4074 9 .60858
international or local NGO 3.5778 15 .61607
governmental agency 3.5679 9 .56230
community‐based organization 3.5873 7 .32530
consulting or research institution 3.9722 4 .46592
private sector 2.8889 2 .78567
Total 3.5483 46 .56772

e. Years of experience

Mean N Std. Deviation

0‐5 years 3.7521 13 .35762
6‐10 years 3.6825 14 .54582
11‐20 years 3.4365 14 .58057
21‐30 years 3.4074 3 .39021
30+ years 2.2778 2 .39284
Total 3.5483 46 .56772
Note on coding: 1=least relevant, 2=less relevant, 3=moderately relevant, 4=relevant, 5=most relevant

The ANOVA tables and effect size14 statistics generated from the above data demonstrate

that the statistical difference is only between the means for ‘years of experience’ and summated

index on project sustainability factors15: F=4.255 and p< .05 (Table 23).

Table 23. Survey results: ANOVA for GPA by gender, age, professional occupation, type of agency
ANOVA Table

Sum of
Squares

df Mean
Square

F Sig.

GPAPRACT *

Gender

Between Groups (Combined) .239 1 .239 .736 .396
Within Groups 14.265 44 .324
Total 14.504 45

GPAPRACT *
Age

Between Groups

(Combined) 1.222 4 .306 .908 4.69
Linearity .693 1 .693 2.061 1.59
Deviation from
Linearity

.529 3 .176 .524 .668

Within Groups 13.122 39 .336
Total 14.345 43

GPAPRACT *
Professional
occupation

Between Groups

(Combined) 1.319 5 .264 .800 .556
Linearity .153 1 .153 .464 .500
Deviation from
Linearity

1.166 4 .292 .884 .482

Within Groups 13.185 40 .330
Total 14.504 45

GPAPRACT *
Type of
agency a
respondent
works for

Between Groups

(Combined) 1.794 5 .359 1.129 .361
Linearity .038 1 .038 .119 .732
Deviation from
Linearity

1.756 4 .439 1.382 .257

Within Groups 12.709 40 .318
Total 14.504 45

GPAPRACT *
Years of
experience

Between Groups

(Combined) 4.255 4 1.064 4.256 .006
Linearity 3.017 1 3.017 12.069 .001
Deviation from
Linearity

1.239 3 .413 1.652 .192

Within Groups 10.248 41 .250
Total 14.504 45

Note on coding: 1=least relevant, 2=less relevant, 3=moderately relevant, 4=relevant, 5=most relevant

The results on eta or the effect size, that provides a measure of association between

variables, suggests that only one variable ‐ ‘years of experience’ with eta of .542 has a ‘substantial’

influence on respondents’ reported grand point average, while the rest of the variables demonstrate

‘typical’ strength of relationship16 (Table 24).

14 Measures the strength of association between variables
15 Anova analysis says that the statistical difference of at least of one means exists
16 Eta: minimal relationship = .10, typical relationship = .243, substantial relationship = .371 (Source: Vaske, 2008: p.108)

Table 24. Survey results: effect size for GPA by gender, age, professional occupation, type of agency and years
of experience

Measures of Association (eta)
R R Squared Eta Eta Squared

GPAPRACT * Gender .128 .016

GPAPRACT * Age ‐.220 .048 .292 .085

GPAPRACT * Professional occupation .103 .011 .302 .091

GPAPRACT * Type of agency a respondent works for .051 .003 .352 .124

GPAPRACT * Years of experience ‐.456 .208 .542 .293

As for the years of sustainable project operation, the majority of the respondents (44%)

agreed that projects should operate for the ‘entire designed lifetime’, so as to be considered

sustainable (Figure 21). Others opted for the option of indicating years of operation: 17% for 0‐10

years of operation, 22% for 11‐20 years of operation, and 11% for 21‐30 years of operation (Table

22e). The cross‐tabulation of the same variable across gender shows that while the frequency of

female respondents tend to be almost equally distributed among all response categories, the

majority of the male respondents voted for the ‘entire lifespan’ category (Table 25).

Figure 21. Survey results: respondents’ opinions on years of operation for sustainable projects

Table 25. Survey results: years of operation for sustainable projects

Years of operation for sustainable projects
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid

0‐10 years 8 17.4 17.4 17.4

11‐20 years 10 21.7 21.7 39.1

21‐30 years 5 10.9 10.9 50.0

more than 30 years 3 6.5 6.5 56.5

for the entire lifespan 20 43.5 43.5 100.0

Total 46 100.0 100.0

5.2.3 Participatory Role of Women

Several survey questions have asked survey respondents, the practitioners of rural drinking water

supply projects in Tajikistan, to reveal the opinions on the perception of women’s role for project

sustainability and thus attempting to respond to research question (2) ‐ Which forms and

components of women’s participation are positively (or negatively) associated with project

sustainability? and to research question (3) – Do practitioners believe that women’s participation

positively contributes to project success?

First, to get a broader picture on the perceptions of survey participants on women’s

participation and project sustainability, survey questions were designed in such a way as to see if the

participatory role of women was seen in any way different from the participatory role of men in

drinking water supply projects (see Annex E – Survey tool). Thus, the survey participants were first

asked to measure the level of the importance of both male and female participation during and after

project implementation (construction) activities. The results show that in general both male and

female community participation during and after project implementation are perceived as important

for project sustainability, and were ranked quite similar (Table 26).

Gender * Years of operation for sustainable projects Crosstabulation
Years of operation for sustainable projects Total

0‐10 years 11‐20 years 21‐30 years more than 30
years

for the entire
lifespan

Gender
male 5 6 2 1 17 31

female 3 4 3 2 3 15

Total 8 10 5 3 20 46

Table 26. Survey results: male and female participation for project sustainability (1)

Statistics_ Importance of participation of
males during the

construction

females during the

construction

males in operation and

maintenance

females operation and

maintenance

N
Valid 46 46 46 46

Missing 0 0 0 0

Mean 4.80 4.54 4.78 4.76

Median 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

Mode 5 5 5 5

Std. Deviation .453 .585 .417 .524

Variance .205 .343 .174 .275

Minimum 3 3 4 3

Maximum 5 5 5 5

Note on Coding: 1 = very unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 = neither important nor unimportant, 4 = important, 5 = very important

A closer look indicates that male participation scores a slightly higher importance rank than

female participation: with women’s participation means of 4.54 and 4.76 (‘important’ to ‘very

important’) during and after project implementation, and men’s participation with the respective

means of 4.80 and 4.78 (‘important’ to ‘very important’) (Table 26). The latter has confirmed the

pervious results on the importance of overall community’s participation for project success (see

section 5.2.2) and that the respondents do not assign any significant differentiation in the

participatory role of men or women in the projects. This has also been strengthened by the fact that

none of the respondents believed that participation of either men or women was ‘unimportant’ for

project success.

A closer comparative analysis on frequencies shows that male participation is generally placed

at a higher importance rank than female participation for each type of participatory activities (Table

27). While men’s participation during the project construction scored 83% of responses as ‘very

important’, women’s participation was only 59% (Table 27). Furthermore, female participation after

the project completion scored 80% and male participation slightly less of 78% of ‘very important’

(Table 27). Thus, this shows that while participation of men is perceived as more important during

project construction, the participation of women is seen as more valuable in the phase of project

operation and maintenance (post‐construction).

Table 27. Survey results: male and female participation for project sustainability (2)

Importance of male and female participation during the construction of the project
Men Women
Frequency Percent Frequency Percent

neutral 1 2.2 2 4.3
important 7 15.2 17 37.0
very important 38 82.6 27 58.7
Total 46 100.0 46 100.0

Importance of male and female participation in the project operation and maintenance, once a project is

constructed
Men Women
Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
neutral 0 0 2 4.3

important 10 21.7 7 15.2
very important 36 78.3 37 80.4
Total 46 100.0 46 100.0

It is worth noting that although none of the respondents indicate that any (male or female)

participation is unimportant for project success, the presence of ‘neutral’ responses for women’s

participation from male survey respondents assumes that there is some sort of skepticism about the

effectiveness of women’s participation still exists (Table 28). To contribute further to the research

question (2), six pre‐defined types of project activities in which participation of women could be

beneficial were analyzed (Table 28). As can be seen from the Table 28, community mobilization for

construction (M=4.46), organization of education and awareness campaigns (M=4.13) and collection

of fees for repair (M=4.20) have scored higher mean values than other types of community activities.

Table 28. Survey results: women’s participation for project sustainability

Statistics
planning

and design
community
mobilization

for
construction

education
and

awareness
campaigns

Collection of
fees for

maintenance
and repair

organizatio
n of repairs

regular
monitoring
and data
collection

N Valid 46 46 46 46 46 46Missing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mean 4.04 4.46 4.13 4.20 3.98 3.96
Std. Deviation .729 .622 .957 .749 .802 .893
Variance .531 .387 .916 .561 .644 .798
Note on Coding: 1 = very unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 = neither important nor unimportant, 4 = important, 5 = very important

The comparison of the means for these project activities both for male and female

participation shows that women’s participation in two post‐project activities, i.e. ‘education and

awareness campaigns before and during construction’ (M=4.13) and ‘collection of fees of project

maintenance and repair’ (M=4.20) have been found as more important for project sustainability,

compared to similar for male participation, i.e. M=4.00 and M=4.15 respectively (Table 29). As for

the rest of the activities, the participation of men is considered as slightly more important than

participation of women.

Table 29. Survey results: male and female participation for project sustainability (3)

Type of project activity Male
participation
(mean)

Female
participation
(mean)

Planning and design 4.41 4.04
Community mobilization for construction 4.63 4.46
Education and awareness campaigns before and during construction 4.00 4.13
Collection of fees for maintenance and repair 4.15 4.20
Organization of repairs or mobilization of community members for repair 4.37 3.98
Regular monitoring and data collection 3.78 3.96
Note on Coding: 1 = very unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 = neither important nor unimportant, 4 = important, 5 = very important

Hypothesis testing

To respond to the second part of the research sub‐question 3 (Do practitioners believe that women’s

participation positively contributes to project sustainability?), the chi‐square analysis was performed

through cross‐tabulation. That the hypothesis to the research sub‐question has been restated into a

statistical form:

H0: Respondents do not believe that women’s participation is important for project
sustainability and their opinions are not influenced by respondents’ gender

H1: Respondents believe that women’s participation is important for project
sustainability and their opinions vary across gender

First, the responses to two survey sub‐questions (3.3b17 and 3.4b18) were used to test the

hypothesis. For that, the five‐level response categories for both questions were recoded into

dichotomous response categories (0=neutral/unimportant and 1=important or very important). The

frequency statistics from the cross‐tabulation on the dependent variable (importance of women

participation) and independent variable (gender) are presented in Table 30.

Table 30. Survey results: hypothesis testing for RQ3_ frequencies (1)

Crosstab_importance of women’s participation by gender
Gender Total

male female

Q3.3b: Importance of participation of
female community members during
the construction of the project for
project sustainability

neutral/

unimportant

Count 2 0 2

% within Gender 6.5% 0.0%

4.3%

Important/
very important

Count 29 15 44

% within Gender 93.5% 100.0%

95.7%

Total Count 31 15 46% within Gender 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Q. 3.4b: Importance of participation of
female community members in the
project operation and maintenance,
once the project is constructed

neutral/unimporta
nt

Count 2 0 2
% within Gender 6.5% 0.0% 4.3%

important
Count 29 15 44

% within Gender 93.5% 100.0% 95.7%

Total Count 31 15 46% within Gender 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

For both of the survey questions, 95.7% of respondents (n=44) believed that women’s

participation is important for project sustainability, while the remaining 4.3% of the respondents

(n=2) reported women’s participation as neutral/unimportant for project sustainability. To test if the

responses of the male and female respondents were influenced by gender, the chi‐square statistics

is presented in Table 31. The high probability level of .314 (p>.05) associated with Pearson X2 (1.012)

indicates that it is unlikely that two variables are dependent on the population, implying that there is

no statistical relationship between the gender of respondents and the perception of the

17 For a project to be sustainable how important is participation community members (female) in activities
during the construction of the project?
18 For a project to be sustainable, how important is the participation of community members (female) in the
project operation and maintenance, once the project is constructed?

respondents on importance of women’s participation for project sustainability during and after

project implementation (Table 31). The Likelihood Ratio (LR) confirms the latter with the high

probability value of p>.05. Thus, I report a fail‐to‐reject the null Hypothesis (Ho): There is no

statistical difference between the perception of male and female respondents on the importance of

women’s participation for project sustainability.

Table 31. Survey results: Hypothesis testing for RQ3 _ chi‐square (1)

Chi‐Square Tests
Q 3.3b Value

df Asymp. Sig. (2‐sided)
Pearson Chi‐Square 1.012a 1 .314
Continuity Correctionb .055 1 .814
Likelihood Ratio 1.622 1 .203
Fisher’s Exact Test

Linear‐by‐Linear Association .990 1 .320

N of Valid Cases 46

Q 3.4b Value df

Asymp. Sig.
(2‐sided)

Pearson Chi‐Square 1.012a 1 .314
Continuity Correctionb .055 1 .814
Likelihood Ratio 1.622 1 .203
Fisher’s Exact Test
Linear‐by‐Linear Association .990 1 .320
N of Valid Cases 46
a. 2 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .65.
b. Computed only for a 2×2 table

For triangulation purposes the same hypotheses has been tested on the additional survey sub‐

questions (statements 5.419 and 5.520 ). The Table 32 shows case frequencies, indicting the

percentage of disagreement with each statement by gender. The chi‐square analysis on the data

shown in the Table 32, provides the same results: the high probability level (p>.05) associated with

Pearson X2 (3.277 and 1.553) indicates that it is unlikely that two variables are dependent on the

19 Participation of women during the project construction does not contribute to the project

success and

sustainability
20 Participation of women in the project operation and maintenance (post‐construction phase)

does not

contribute to the project success and sustainability

population, thus it is confirmed that the respondents were consistent on their responses and the

Null Hypothesis is fail‐to‐reject (see Table 33).

Table 32. Survey results: hypothesis testing for RQ3_ frequencies (2)

Crosstab
Gender Total

male female

Q.5.4 Participation of women
during the project construction
does not contribute to

the project

sustainability

disagree Count 28 12 40% within Gender 96.6% 80.0%

90.9%

agree Count 1

3 4

% within Gender 3.4% 20.0%

9.1%

Total Count 29

15 44
% within Gender 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Gender

Totalmale female

Q.5.5 Participation

of women in the

project operation and maintenance
does not contribute to the project
sustainability

disagree Count 28 15 43% within Gender 90.3% 100.0%

93.5%

agree Count 3

0 3

% within Gender 9.7% 0.0%

6.5%

Total Count 31

15 46
% within Gender 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Table 33. Survey results: Hypothesis testing for RQ3 _ chi‐square (2)

Chi‐Square Tests
Q.5.4 Value df Asymp. Sig. (2‐sided)
Pearson Chi‐Square 3.277a 1 .070
Continuity Correctionb 1.580 1 .209
Likelihood Ratio 3.096 1 .078
Fisher’s Exact Test
Linear‐by‐Linear Association 3.203 1 .074
N of Valid Cases 44
a. 2 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.36.
b. Computed only for 2×2 table

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2‐sided)
Pearson Chi‐Square 1.553a 1 .213
Continuity Correctionb .371 1 .542
Likelihood Ratio 2.468 1 .116
Fisher’s Exact Test
Linear‐by‐Linear Association 1.519 1 .218
N of Valid Cases 46
a. 2 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .98.
b. Computed only for a 2×2 table

These findings also compliment the findings to Research Question 2 (Which forms of women’s

participation are positively associated with project sustainability?). Data presented in Table 32

demonstrates that 90.9% of respondents disagree that ‘participation of women during the project

construction does not contribute to the project success’, while 93.5% disagree that ‘participation of

women in the project operation and maintenance does not contribute to the project success’. This

confirms the previous finding that the form of women’s participation related to post‐project

construction activities (project maintenance) is seen as more valuable than women’s

participation in

before and during construction.

5.2.4 Additional analysis
Additional analysis has been explored to reveal the opinions of practitioners on the specific country‐

context statements on women’s participation and the importance of various attributes of men and

women in relation to project sustainability. Thus, results show that most of the male and female

attributes are assigned at a generally same level, except for ‘religion’ attribute, which resulted in the

least means both for male and female respondents (equivalent to ‘unimportant’) (Table 34).

Table 34. Survey results: attributes of male and female participants

Attribute Men (mean) Female (mean)

Age 3.41 .350
Marital status 3.09 3.28
Physical health 3.65 3.72
Religion 2.83 2.63
Employment status 3.13 3.13
Reputation/ trust of
community

4.41 4.43

Knowledge/skills 4.39 4.39

Note on Coding: 1 = very unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 = neither important
nor unimportant, 4 = important, 5 = very important

Two attributes, ‘reputation’ and ‘knowledge and skills’ of both male and female community

members who manage projects, stand out from the rest and are believed to have a greater

relevance to project success (M=4.41 and 4.43; M=4.39 and 4.39).

Meanwhile, the opinions of practitioners on the surveyed country‐specific statements

demonstrate some variation. The statistics on the means for the seven statements show that

respondents tend to disagree more with the assumption that ‘women in Tajikistan have equal rights

to participate’ (st.dev = .482), ‘women are given more opportunities to participate’ (st.dev = .505),

‘women are capable of implementing role of project operation’ (st.dev = .387), that ‘women’s

participation in project is symbolic’ (st dev = .315) (Table 35). Furthermore, the opinions of male and

female respondents to the country‐specific statements in general seem to follow the same trend of

peaks and downs (in percentages) with no significant differences between male and female

responses (Figure 22).

Table 35. Survey results: agreements to the country‐specific statements

Statement N Mean
response

Std.
Deviation

5.1 Women in Tajikistan presently have equal rights (to men) to
participate in the implementation and maintenance of projects

46 .65 .482

5.2 It is important for the sustainability of the project that women have
equal rights (to men) to participate in projects

46 .95 .206

5.3 Women are given more opportunities (by donors, implementing
agencies and/or local authorities) to participate in projects

46 .48 .505

5.4 Participation of women during the project construction does not
contribute to the project sustainability

44 .09 .291

5.5 Participation of women in the project operation and maintenance
does not contribute to the project sustainability

46 .07 .250

5.6 Women are capable of implementing the role of

project operation

and maintenance

effectively

45 .82 .387

5.7 Women’s participation in projects is symbolic and

have no positive

effects on project success and sustainability

46 .11 .315

Note on coding: 1=agree, 0=disagree

Meanwhile, while most of the male (97%) and female (93%) respondents agree that it is

important for the sustainability of the project that ‘women have equal rights to men to participate’

(Q.5.2), 32% of male and 40% of female responses indicated that ‘women in Tajikistan presently do

not have equal rights to men to participate’ (Q.5.1). Meanwhile, 52% of male and 40% of female

respondents believe that ‘women are given more opportunities by donors and implementing

agencies to participate’ (Q.5.3) (Table 36).

Figure 22. Survey results: agreements/disagreements to statements by gender (1)

Table 36. Survey results: frequencies of agreements/disagreements with country‐context statements
Statements Gender Total

male female

5.1 Women in Tajikistan presently have

equal rights (to

men) to participate in the implementation and
maintenance

of projects

disagree 1032.3%
6

40.0%
16

43.8%

agree
21

67.7%
9

60.0%
30

65.2%

5.2 It is important for the sustainability of

the project that

women have equal rights (to men) to

participate in

projects

disagree 13.2%
1

6.7%
2

4.3%

agree
30

96.8%
14

93.3%
44

95.7%

5.3 Women are given more opportunities (by

donors,

implementing agencies and/or local authorities) to
participate in projects

disagree 1548.4%
9

60.0%
24

52.2%

agree
16

51.6%
6

40.0%
22

47.8%

5.4 Participation of women during the project construction
does not contribute to the project sustainability

disagree 2896.6%
12

80.0%
40

90.9%

agree
1

3.4%
3

20.0%
4

9.1%

5.5 Participation of women in the project operation and
maintenance does not contribute to the project
sustainability

disagree 2890.3%
15

100.0%
43

93.5%

agree
3

9.7%
0

0.0%
3

6.5%

5.6 Women are capable of implementing the role of
project operation and maintenance effectively

disagree 620.0%
2

13.3%
8

17.8%

agree
24

80.0%
13

86.7%
37

82.2%

5.7 Women’s participation in projects is symbolic and have
no positive effects on project success and sustainability

disagree 2683.9%
15

100.0%
41

89.1%

agree 516.1%
0

0.0%
5

10.9%

0
20
40
60
80

100

ag
re
e

di
ag
re
e

ag
re
e
di
ag
re
e
ag
re
e
di
ag
re
e
ag
re
e
di
ag
re
e
ag
re
e
di
ag
re
e
ag
re
e
di
ag
re
e
ag
re
e

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7

Pe
rc
en

ta
ge

Statements

men

women

Furthermore, 16% of male respondents believe that ‘participation of women is symbolic’

and has no positive impact on project success (Q.5.7), while 20% of male respondents disagree that

‘women are capable of implementing the role of project operation and maintenance effectively’

(Q.5.6). Interestingly, 13% of female responses also disagreed with the latter statement, which

suggests that there is some sort of disagreement exists among female respondents too. Even more

surprising is 20% of female respondents agreeing with the statement that the ‘participation of

women during project construction does not contribute to project success’ (Q.5.4), while only 3% of

men agreed to the same statement (Table 36). This eliminated the assumption that female

responses could be biased towards the supporting a greater role of women for project sustainability,

and some sort of skepticism or disagreement does exist among women too. Please see Figure 23 for

the overall distribution of responses among male and female survey participants and Annex P for

more information on country‐specific statements.

Figure 23. Survey results: agreements/disagreements to statements by gender (2)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

diagree

diagree
diagree
diagree
diagree
diagree
diagree

5.
1

5.
2

5.
3

5.
4

5.
5

5.
6

5.
7

Percentage

St
at
em

en
ts

women
men

CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This section integrates the findings of the meta‐analysis of the studies on drinking water supply

project sustainability in developing countries with the results of the online survey among the group

of drinking water practitioners in the case study country of Tajikistan. In constructing the discussion,

I first provide a synthesis of the findings to answer the research sub‐question (2) ‐ Which forms and

components of women’s participation are positively (or negatively) associated with project

sustainability? Then, the results of the online survey are discussed in greater detail to answer the

research sub‐question (3) Do practitioners believe that women’s participation positively contributes

to project sustainability? Finally, the research sub‐question (1) What can be generalized on the

impact of women’s participation to the project success? and the key research question ‐ Does

women’s participation in donor‐funded drinking water supply projects in developing countries

contribute to project sustainability?, are discussed linking to the established theory and literature

review discussed earlier. The limitations of the research findings and a critical reflection on the

methodology employed are also discussed. The last section of this chapter summarizes the key

conclusions of this study and puts forward a set of practical recommendations for the realization of

sustainable water supply projects in developing countries.

6.1 Forms of women’s participation for project sustainability

The components of women’s participation that have been argued across different studies on the

sustainability of drinking water supply projects in developing countries are numerous and diverse. It

has been found through the meta‐analysis of 39 studies, that 15 studies (39%) discuss women’s

participation as linked to project success. Those studies prevailingly argued for two types of

women’s participation as critical for project sustainability. Namely, (a) participation of women in

decision‐making activities at the stage of project planning and design (n=10 or 26%), and (b)

women’s participation in management of constructed systems, that includes decision‐making

activities at the stage of project maintenance, such as collection of fees for repairs (n=6 or 15%). The

results of the online survey with the practitioners on rural drinking water supply projects from the

case study country indicated that women’s participation is considered more valuable compared to

men’s participation in two types of project activities: (a) education and awareness campaigns before

and during construction (M=1.13), and (b) collection of fees for project maintenance and repair

(M=1.20) (see p. 84, Section 5.2. Survey Results)

The findings of the meta‐analysis and the online survey support each other. While the online

survey findings are more specific with regard to type of participation (i.e. collection of fees and

education and awareness campaigns), the results on the meta‐analysis point out to the same types

of women’s participation, but in broader terms (i.e. participation in planning and design, and

management/collection of fees). Findings suggest that participation of women in both stages of

project implementation, i.e. before and after project construction is valuable and can contribute to

project success. Namely, involving women in decision‐making activities at the stage of project

planning and design, particularly by using their potential for community education and awareness

campaigns, can contribute to sustainable projects. Next, involving women in the decision‐making

activities after the completion of the project, such as collection of fees for the project maintenance

and repair is also important for project success.

It is important to mention, that the findings of the online survey and the meta‐analysis did

not indicate that women’s participation could be counterproductive for the success of such projects.

Thus, the participants of the survey did not believe that the participation of women was

unimportant for project success. Similarly, the studies of the meta‐analysis that assessed women’s

participation and project sustainability did not discuss women’s participation as an inherently

negative strategy. However, it is worth mentioning that the meta‐analysis results support some

criticism that women’s participation in sustainable drinking water supply projects is a contested

issue, and thus several studies21 discuss pitfalls which might occur when women’s participation is

ineffective, problematic and nominal. If women’s participation is not taken seriously or when

21 N=6 or 40% out of 15 that discuss women’s participation as a strategy for project success

women lack agency and power within a community (O’Reilly, 2004), women’s participation can be

nominal and token (Prokopy, 2004; Singh, 2006) and even problematic for the successful

implementation of drinking water projects (Sultana, 2009). Nevertheless, this criticism does not

contradict the general belief that participation of all community stakeholders, including women is

essential for successful implementation of drinking water projects.

6.2 Perceptions of women’s participation

The opinions of the practitioners on rural drinking water supply projects from the case study country

indicate that women’s participation is unanimously seen as positively contributing to project

sustainability. Thus, overall 96% (n=46) of the survey participants perceived women’s participation

as important for project success both at the stage of project planning and implementation and

project operation and maintenance, whereas insignificant 4.3% (n=2) of the respondents took a

neutral stand on this (see also p. 83, Section 5.2. Survey Results). Neutral opinions on women’s

participation were expressed only by male respondents. However, gender of the respondents was

not found to be a significant predictor on the perception of respondents on ‘important role of

women’s participation to project success’. Thus both male and female participants of the survey did

not differ statistically in their views on the positive role of women’s involvement.

Respondents perceived that the attributes of women as the participants of projects do not

differ from the attributes of male community members with regard to project sustainability. Thus,

(a) reputation and trust of community, as well as (b) knowledge and skills to manage projects were

found to be the most critical qualities for both male and female community members involved in the

implementation of drinking water supply projects.

6.3 Women’s participation and project sustainability

Participation of female community members is perceived by the practitioners on rural drinking

water supply projects positively and viewed as one of the potential contributive elements for

successful projects. Stakeholders welcome women’s involvement, as they do men’s involvement.

Women’s participation are found to be particularly valuable in some specific project areas (i.e.

community awareness, collection of fees). However, women’s participation is not seen by

stakeholders, involved in implementation, as a miracle formula for successful projects. Indeed,

participation of both male and female community members is viewed as a prerequisite for

community‐managed projects and should be an imperative foundation for such projects. The

success of the projects depends more on the personal qualities of both men and women, rather

then on their gendered distinction. This conclusion is supported by the arguments made in studies

on the importance of coherent community participation, when both men and women are involved

actively in project implementation (Admassu, Kumie, & Fantahun, 2003; Doe & Khan, 2004; FonJong,

Nebasina, & Fonchingong, 2004; Prokopy, 2005; Garande & Dagg, 2005; Hoko & Hertle, 2006; Smith,

2008; Whittington, et al., 2009).

Why then has women’s participation come into the discourse in the first place as a success

strategy for sustainable water projects? The fact that women and girls in poor rural community

settings of developing countries carry a special role of ‘water‐fetchers’ cannot be ignored. Here,

feminist theory comes into place, arguing that women historically were found to be closer to nature

and water resources, and thus women’s family traditions and customs are strongly connected to the

importance of having access to fresh water. Furthermore, the feminist scholarship potentially

contributed to the promotion of women’s rights in relation to access and control of water in 1990s

(Rocheleau, Thomas‐Slayter, and Wangari, 1996). Whether it is sufficient to say that women are

more capable than men for the role of water providers, or that women are the only responsible

party for the sustainability of water projects is subject to debate. The fact that women’s

participation has been contested since the beginning of 2000s supports the argument that women’s

participation should not be viewed as a panacea for solving sustainability problems of community‐

managed drinking water projects.

What successful water projects share is equal and effective participation of men and women

in all stages of project implementation: during the project planning and construction and at the

100

stage of project maintenance. Furthermore, women and men should not be viewed as two separate

groups within a community. Heterogeneity within a community does exist due to various

differentiations based on social, economic and cultural aspects. As similarly argued in the earlier

studies by Acharya, Yoshino, Jimba, and Wakai (2007), Singh (2006), and Sultana (2009), the

heterogeneity within women’s groups is closely linked to aspects of agency or capacity to act. The

theoretical discourse of ‘power’ and ‘agency’ suggests that men and women with sufficient power to

act (and manage drinking water projects) are capable of performing (the role of water providers)

effectively. Indeed, as argued by Cleaver (2012) and Ahmed and Zwarteveen (2012), we should move

beyond the simple mapping of gendered responsibilities in water governance, and build on the

concept of ‘agency’ that helps to understand capacity or power relations within communities.

Furthermore, as has been argued by Franks and Cleaver (2007), the framework of water governance

is built on the concept of agency, where available resources and mechanisms managed by different

actors shape the processes of water management and in turn produce gendered outcomes. In other

words, the effective management of water resources should not be focused on ‘gendered’

phenomenons, where either men or women are seen as the only capable of effectively managing

water resources, but the resources of power and agency within communities should be seen as a

key to project success.

Community‐participation has established strong roots as an effective strategy for the

implementation of community‐managed drinking water projects. Indeed, implementation of

community‐managed projects without participation of community members sounds illogical, thus

the strategy has established strong evidence in the literature. However, attempts to decouple

community participation into the participation of either men or women and view it as a gendered

phenomenon, can be argued as a reductionist approach, limited to account for complexities of

human agency.

Meanwhile, despite the overall argument of this research that both male and female

representatives of local communities, who have sufficient and adequate power and agency to

101

manage drinking water supply projects, should be effectively involved, several specific forms of

community participation still deserve gendered consideration. As the results suggest, several

decision‐making project activities, such as (a) organization of community awareness campaigns and

(b) collection of fees for project repair and maintenance can be found as more effectively

implemented when women’s involvement is dominant, thus producing more valuable and

productive results. These findings are consistent with several prior studies suggesting that the

involvement of women in decision‐making activities during project construction and maintenance is

crucial for project success, especially within the communities where male traditionally dominate in

decision‐making (e.g. James et al., 2002, Admassu, Kumie, and Fantahun, 2003, O’Reilly, 2004,

Gleitsmann, Kroma, and Tammo, 2007, Aladuwaka and Momsen, 2010). Furthermore, issues such as

corruption, unemployment, alcoholism are more common among the male population of many rural

areas in developing countries, including Tajikistan. This explains this finding of believing why women

should be more involved in managing monetary resources for project maintenance, thus leading to

more productive results and producing greater potential for project sustainability. Certainly, this

cannot be claimed to happen equally in rural communities of developing countries, and thus the

societal and cultural complexities have to be taken into account. However, the need to involve more

women in decision‐making cannot be ignored due to the historical fact of discrimination of women

and exclusion from decision‐making in many poor rural areas of developing countries.

6.4 Limitations and future research

This research project has included a comprehensive meta‐analysis of global literature on the

sustainability of drinking water projects, and a survey of views of the practitioners involved in rural

drinking water projects in the case study country. This research contributes to the building of novel

theories on project sustainability in the rural drinking water sector, and is the first research at such

that attempts to conduct a review of all studies assessing sustainability of rural drinking water

102

projects. However, the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research need to be

considered:

(i) The available studies on the sustainability of rural drinking water projects in developing

countries are limited in number, and those predominantly employ only qualitative research

methods. Thus, this meta‐analysis is limited to 39 studies and is based primarily on the consideration

of qualitative findings, which makes a quantitative meta‐analysis on this topic infeasible. This

suggests that more studies on the sustainability of drinking water projects should be conducted in

the future, so as to produce quantitative research evidence. Furthermore, the selection method for

identification of potential studies was mainly focused on publications available in press in English

language, thus, the possibility of similar studies available in other languages cannot be excluded.

This partially may explain the fact of no identified studies in developing countries of post‐Soviet

space (though some attempts have been made). Meanwhile, an assumption should be admitted that

the studies on this topic are least researched or least published for post‐Soviet countries, which is

potentially due to unpopularity of community‐management model in rural water governance.

(ii) The opinions of the practitioners on rural drinking water supply projects are limited only

to a small group of people (46 survey respondents) and one case study country (Tajikistan) due to

practical considerations of this research (availability of time and money). Thus, the opinions of the

practitioners involved in rural drinking water supply in other developing countries will contribute to

the discussion with novel arguments, and thus it suggests that further attempts must be made to

collect such information. Furthermore, while the presented results of the survey represent just a

snapshot from the case study country, it does not present universal opinions and thus further

research is necessary.

(iii) Finally, longitudinal field studies that would attempt to investigate in‐depth impacts of

women’s and men’s participation as heterogeneous groups of communities, evaluating power

relations within communities and aspects of agency, will provide a more comprehensive analysis and

deeper insights to the discussion in the domain of sustainable drinking water supply projects.

103

6.5 Conclusions and Recommendations

This study has attempted to answer the key research question ‐ Does women’s participation in

donor‐funded drinking water supply projects in developing countries contribute to project

sustainability? While, the findings of this study provide evidence that the response to the key

research question is positive and participation of women in drinking water projects does contribute

to project success, they also suggest that the involvement of both male and female members of

community is imperative for the implementation of community‐managed projects.

This study concludes that the considerations of community involvement should not be based

on the ‘reductionist’ approach, limiting understanding of project sustainability problem only to

gendered phenomenon, but instead both women and men should be provided equal opportunities,

resources and mechanisms to participate in such projects. Furthermore, it concludes that neither

women nor men should be viewed as homogeneous groups, and thus social, economic and cultural

heterogeneity and the differentiations in exercising power and agency within a community should

be taken into consideration.

Furthermore, this study suggests that while the involvement of community members should

not be exclusive only to male or female community members, there are certain types of project

activities, where involvement of men or women respectively is seen as more valuable. In particular,

involvement of women during and after project implementation is seen as more effective at the

stages of (i) organization of community awareness campaigns and (ii) collection of fees for repair and

maintenance.

Based on the findings of this study and the conclusions reached, the following three practical

recommendations are suggested for the consideration to stakeholders involved in the

implementation of community‐managed projects in developing countries. First, community

participation is imperative and active involvement of local community members in all stages of

project implementation (planning, construction and maintenance) should be viewed as a

104

prerequisite for successful implementation of community‐managed rural drinking water supply

projects. Second, opportunities for participation in project activities should be provided equally to

both men and women, however involvement of those members of local communities who exercise

sufficient agency or power to act in managing drinking water projects can prove to contribute more

significantly to project sustainability. Finally, specific project activities, such as collection of fees and

community awareness campaigns, can be more performed more productively with the involvement

of female community members. Community members should be provided with greater and more

prolonged training opportunities to increase their potential for community‐management in rural

water supply. Thus, for example, while women could improve their skills on financial management

for system maintenance, male community members could continuously improve their skills for

system repair. This can be organized through the establishment of community training centers,

which could provide training and certification services on a long‐term basis.

105

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113

Appendices

Annex A. Matrix of Research Methods

Research Question: Does women’s participation in donor‐funded drinking water supply projects in developing countries contribute to the project
sustainability?
Research sub‐questions: (i) What can be generalized on the impact of women’s participation to the project success? (ii) Which forms and components
of women’s participation are positively (or negatively) associated with project sustainability? (iii) Do practitioners on rural drinking water supply believe
that women’s participation positively contributes to project sustainability?

Objective:
To provide comprehensive literature review of
available knowledge on the role and impacts of
women’s participation in rural drinking water
supply projects in developing countries.

Methods and Sources:
‐ Literature review of peer‐
reviewed scholarly articles

Analysis:
‐ Meta‐analysis of literature review

‐ Tabulation of survey results and
qualitative (and quantitative)
analysis to identify patterns in the
data

Time/Site:
Jun’13‐Mar’14 (Syracuse)
Mar’13‐Apr’14 (Syracuse)

Sub‐objective 1:
To understand the key (positive/negative)
impacts of women’s participation in drinking
water supply project
design/implementation/maintenance

Methods and Sources:
‐ Literature review of peer‐
reviewed scholarly articles

Analysis:
‐ Meta‐analysis of literature review

Site/Time:
Same as above

Sub‐objective 2:
To segregate major forms of women’s
participation into positive or negative impacts

Methods and Sources:
‐ Literature review of peer‐
reviewed scholarly articles
‐ Online Surveys with participants
from case study country
(Tajikistan)

Analysis:
‐ Meta‐analysis of literature review
‐ Tabulation of survey results and
qualitative (/quantitative) analysis

Site/Time:
Same as above

Sub‐objective 3:
To understand the contemporary perception of
women’s participation strategies as a
contributing factor to project success or failure

Methods and Sources:
‐ Online Surveys

Analysis:
‐ Meta‐analysis of literature review
‐ Tabulation of survey results

Site/Time:
Same as above

114

Annex B. Relationship between research questions, methods and hypothesis

Main research question:
Does women’s participation in donor‐
funded drinking water supply projects in
developing countries contribute to project
sustainability?

Research sub‐question 1:
What can be generalized on the impact of
women’s participation to the project
success?

Research sub‐question 2:
Which forms and components of women’s
participation are positively (or negatively)
associated with project sustainability?

Research sub‐question 3:
Do practitioners on rural drinking water
supply believe that women’s participation
positively contributes to project
sustainability?

Sub‐hypotheses 1:
Participation of women positively contributes to the
project success, however this depends on women’s
agency and power

Sub‐hypotheses 2:
Women’s participation in the post‐project
construction phase (maintenance) has stronger
association with project sustainability than other
forms of women’s participation

Sub‐hypotheses 3:
Practitioners believe that women’s participation
positively contributes to project sustainability, but
their opinions vary with respondents’ gender

Main hypotheses:
Participation of women positively contributes to the
project sustainability

Method 1: Meta‐
analysis of existing

studies

Method 2: Surveys
among practitioners

115

Annex C. Format of Literature Summary Matrix

# Year Author Geogra
phical
focus

Title of
publication

Title of the
journal

Focuse
s on
rural
popula
tion

Assesses
Project
Sustainab
ility/effec
tiveness

Assesses
drinking
water
projects

discusses
women’s
participat
ion

Research
Question/
Objective(s)

Project
Description

Methods Results Conclusion

1 2007 Acharya
S.,
Yoshino
E., Jimba
M.,
Wakai S

Nepal Empowerin
g rural
women
through a
community
developme
nt
approach in
Nepal

Community
Developme
nt Journal
Vol 42 No 1
(pp 34‐46)

Yes Yes No Yes Investigates
how community
development
programs can
empower rural
women in
developing
countries.
Assesses the
impact of
community
development
program
(School and
Community
Health Project
funded by JICA)
in a remote hill
district of
Nepal, focusing
on two
programs: 1)
literature and 2)
credit and
group savings.
Raises the
question of how
effective the
community
development
activities are in
meeting project
objectives.

Started in 1992
to improve
overall living
conditions of
the people
through health,
economic, and
educational
improvements.
The project
targeted
women due to
high urban‐rural
male migration

Qualitative
and
quantitative
data analysis:
participatory
approaches
(focus and
general group
discussions),
time‐lines,
ethno‐
history, in‐
depth
interview,
case studies)
and
household
surveys.
Quantitative:
a longitudinal
evaluation to
assess the
impact of the
project
(compared to
benchmark
data).

Functional literacy
program is a good
start, which has
revealed its
dynamism with
practical
extensions in a
post‐literacy
period; Group
savings and credit
programs provide
the driving force
to help illiterate
rural women start
small‐scale
economic
activities that are
effective in
absorbing the
female workforce
in these
communities
(p.34).
Literacy program
increased the
female literacy
rate and
significantly
reduced gender
gap in literacy
(p.43).

Found that
homogeneity in
group formation
could be a crucial
factor in the
success of many
community‐based
organizations,
whereas
heterogeneity
could jeopardize
the success of the
program as was
exemplified in the
bitter experience
of mixing married
women and
unmarried
women in the
common savings
groups in three
communities
(p.44).
If community
development
programs lack
dynamism, but
merely provide
financial support,
program efforts
may weaken
disadvantaged
people by
increasing their
dependency on
the programs
rather …

116

Annex D. TajWSS agency membership list

Network of Stakeholder Organizations on Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation

# Name of member organization

1 Presidential Apparatus, Government of Tajikistan (GoT)
2 Ministry of Land Reclamation (Melioration) and Water Resources (MoLRWR) of the RT
3 TajikSelkhozVodoprovodStroy (Tojik Ob Dehot) – subordinate agency of MoLRWR
4 Committee on Environmental Protection of GoT
5 Main Department on Geology of GoT
6 Main Department for Supervision over Safety in Industry and Mining of GoT
7 Ministry of Health of the RT_SES Department
8 Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT)
9 State Agency for Construction and Architecture of the GoT (SACA)
10 Agency for standardization, metrology, certification and trade inspection of the GoT

(Tajikstandart)
11 State Unitary Enterprise “Khojagii Manziliyu Kommunali” of GoT (Housing Services)
12 Ministry of Finance of the RT
13 Ministry of Justice of the RT
14 Ministry of Agriculture of the RT
15 Academy of Sciences of the RT
16 “Educational & training center on reform of housing & utilities services” of State Unitary

Enterprise “Khojagii Manziliyu Kommunali” of GoT
17 Dept of population & territories defense of the Committee of emergency situations &

civil defense of the RT
18 Ministry of Foreign Affairs
19
20

Institute of Professional Retraining of Government Officials
Tajik Technical University

21 Majlisi Millii / Majlisi Namoyandagon (Parliament)
22 Khukumat of Rudaki District
23 Khukumat of Muminabad District
24 Plast Service, Pipe supply, mounting and construction, Trainings and workshops
25 Tajikistan Association of Contractors
26 Dev‐net‐consult
27 Yovoun Electrochemical Plant
28 Republican Youth Public Organization

“The younger generation of Tajikistan”
29 Consumers Union of RT
30 Drinking Water Federation, Muminabad

117

Annex E. Survey Tool in English and Russian

Survey Questionnaire
Women’s Participation in Rural Drinking Water Supply Projects in Tajikistan

This research aims at defining if participation of women in donor‐funded community‐managed rural drinking
water supply projects in Tajikistan has any impacts to the project success and sustainability. Your participation
in this survey is very important and answers provided to the questions listed below will help to respond the
research question.
Please answer the questions simply by clicking on the right box and leaving comments in the shaded area. You
can fill out form manually by printing out and sending back the scanned version to the provided e‐mail address.

Before you start the survey, please confirm your consent to participate in the survey Yes No

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 First name (only):

1.2 Gender: Male Female

1.3 Age:

1.4 Type of professional occupation:

Project manager/team leader Monitoring/evaluation

Engineer/ technical worker Community mobilizer

Trainer/educator Other, specify

1.5 Type of Agency you presently work for:
                                                International or local donor agency                   Governmental agency
                                                International or local non‐governmental            Community‐based organization
                                                Consulting or research institution                      Educational institution or university
                                                Private sector                                                          Other, specify

1.6 How many years of experience have you had in drinking water projects:
0 (no experience) 0‐5 years 6‐10 years 11‐20 years 21‐30 years >30 years

1.7 Did you have any international experience in implementing drinking water supply projects?
                  Yes                   No

Comments (number of years, duty station, etc):

For the purpose of this study a project is defined as a donor‐funded and community‐managed rural drinking water supply
project that include: (i) any type of small‐ to medium‐scale water schemes, (ii) constructed in rural area, (iii) with the
financial (and technical) support from donor agencies, (iv) operated and maintained by members of local community, (v)
used predominantly for drinking or as a primary source of drinking water within the community.
In practice, such projects can be (i) piped systems with treated surface water (from river, lake, etc), (ii) piped systems with
subsurface water (boreholes with electric pumps), (iii) handpumps, (iv) rainwater harvesting schemes, (v) spring catchment
projects, or any combination of these schemes with other possible variations of drinking water supply projects.
Project sustainability is defined as effective and uninterrupted functionality of a project within the entire designed
timeframe.

118

PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY

2.1 For a project to be sustainable how long should it operate once constructed?
0‐10 years 11‐20 years 21‐30 years >30 years for the entire designed lifespan

Comments:

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

3.1 For a project to be sustainable, how important is community involvement?

Very important Important Neither important nor unimportant Unimportant Very unimportant

3.2 Please rate the relevance of the following factors to the success and sustainability of the project. Rate from 1 to 5,
when 1=most relevant and 5=least relevant. Please leave blank if you believe that any of the suggested is irrelevant;
provide comments where necessary.

Rating Comments
a. Enough spare time of community members
to maintain the project

b. Enough money of community members to
maintain the project

c. Gender of community members who
maintain the project

d. Age of community members who maintain
the project

e. Physical health of community members who
maintain the project

f. Technical and institutional support of local
authorities to the community

g. Post‐construction donor support and
monitoring

h. Training and knowledge of community
members to maintain

i. Formal education (school and/or university)

j. Other, specify

119

3.3 For a project to be sustainable how important is participation community members (male and female) in activities
during the construction of the project (participation in decision‐making, contribution with labour or money for
construction, etc)?
Very

important
Important Neither important

nor unimportant
Unimportant Very

unimportant
Men

Women

3.4 For a project to be sustainable, how important is the participation of community members (male and female) in the
project operation and maintenance, once the project is constructed?
Very

important
Important Neither important

nor unimportant
Unimportant Very

unimportant
Men

Women

3.5 Please leave any comments related to the questions 3.1‐3.4 here:

GENDER DIFFERENCES
4.1 For a project to be sustainable, please rate the importance of involving male community members in the following
activities. You may select up to three as “very important”; select “neither important nor unimportant” if you think it is not
applicable in this context.

Very
important

Important Neither
important

nor
unimportant

Unimportant Very
unimportant

a. Project planning and design

b. Community mobilization for construction

c. Education and awareness campaigns before
and during construction

d. Collection of fees from community members
for maintenance and repair

e. Organization of repairs or mobilization of
community members for repair

f. Regular monitoring and data collection

g. Other, specify

120

4.2 Please rate the importance of the following variables of men for the sustainability of the project. Please select “neither
important nor unimportant”, if you think it is not applicable in this context or does not have any difference to the project
sustainability.

Very

important
Important Neither

important nor
unimportant

Unimportant Very
unimporta

a. Age

b. Marital status

c. Physical health

d. Religion

e. Employment status

f. Reputation/ trust of community

g. Knowledge/ skills

h. Other, specify

4.3 For a project to be sustainable, please rate the importance of involving female community members in the following
activities. You may select up to three as “very important”; select “neither important nor unimportant” if you think it is not
applicable in this context .

Very
important

Important Neither
important nor
unimportant

Unimportant Very
unimportant

a. Project planning and design

b. Community mobilization for construction

c. Education and awareness campaigns before
and during construction

d. Collection of fees from community members
for maintenance and repair

e. Organization of repairs or mobilization of
community members for repair

f. Regular monitoring and data collection

g. Other, specify

121

4.4 Please rate the following variables of women as important/unimportant for the project sustainability. Please select
“neither important nor unimportant”, if you think it is not applicable in this context or does not have any difference to the
project sustainability.
Very

important
Important Neither

important
nor

unimportant
Unimportant Very
unimportant
a. Age

b. Marital status

c. Physical health

d. Religion

e. Employment status

f. Reputation/ trust of community

g. Knowledge/ skills

h. Other, specify

4.5 Please leave any comments related to the questions 4.1‐4.4 here:

WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION
5.1 Women in Tajikistan presently have equal rights (to male community members) to participate in the implementation
and maintenance of community‐managed drinking water projects
                                           Agree                          Disagree              Don’t know


5.2 It is important for the sustainability of the project that women have equal rights (to male community members) to
participate in the project implementation and maintenance
                                           Agree                          Disagree              Don’t know

5.3 Women are given more opportunities (by donors, implementing agencies and/or local authorities) to

participate in the

project implementation and maintenance (e.g. because they believe that it positively effects success and

sustainability of

the project)

Agree Disagree Don’t know

5.4 Participation of women during the project construction does not contribute to the project success and sustainability

                                           Agree                          Disagree              Don’t know


5.5 Participation of women in the project operation and maintenance (post‐construction phase) does not

contribute to the

project success and sustainability
Agree Disagree Don’t know

5.6 Women are capable of implementing the role of project operation and maintenance effectively

Agree Disagree Don’t know

122

5.7 Women’s participation in the project is very symbolic and does not have any positive effects on the project success and
sustainability
                                           Agree                          Disagree              Don’t know

5.8 Please leave any comments related to the questions 5.1‐5.7 here:

OTHER

6.1 If you responded to question 5.3 as “agree” and think that women are given more opportunities to manage the
project, please rate from 1‐5 the below reasons, where 1=most relevant and 5=least relevant. Please leave blank if you
believe that any of the suggested is irrelevant; provide comments where necessary.

Rate Comments
a. Strong encouragement of
implementing/ donor agencies

b. Strong encouragement of local
authorities

c. Community prefer to see women
operating the project

d. Lack of male members of community
(e.g. labour migration)

e. Other, specify

7. Please leave any other general comments with regard to this questionnaire:

Thank you for your participation! Please return the completed questionnaire to Nargis Artyushevskaya at

nartyush@syr.edu

123

Вопросник
Об участии женщин (представителей местного населения) в Проектах Сельского

Питьевого Водоснабжения в Таджикистане
Данное исследование направлено на выявление важности участия женщин‐представителей местных
общин в устойчивости проектов сельского питьевого водоснабжения, финансируемых донорами в
Таджикистане. Ваше участие в данном опросе является очень важным и любая предоставленная Вами
информация будет принята во внимание при проведении анализа данных.
Пожалуйста ответьте на нижеследующие вопросы просто кликнув на нужный затемненный
квадрат и оставив комментарий в затемненной строке. Вы также можете заполнить вопросник в
ручную. Для этого распечатайте, заполните форму и отправьте отсканированный вариант на
указанный адрес электронной почты.

Согласны ли Вы участвовать в данном опросе? Да Нет

ИНФОРМАЦИЯ ОБ УЧАСТНИКЕ

1.2 Имя (без фамилии):

1.6 Ваш пол: Мужской Женский

1.7 Возраст:

1.8 Род профессиональной деятельности:

Менеджер проекта/руководитель Специалист по мониторингу и оценке

Инженер/ технический работник Мобилизатор общин

Тренер по обучающим семинарам Другое (уточните):

1.9 Тип организации, в которой Вы работаете:
               Донорская организация (международная или местная)                          Государственное учреждение
               Неправительственная организация (международная или местная)       Общественная организация
               Консалтинговое или исследовательское агентство                                    Университет или учебное
               Частный сектор                                                                                                     Другое (уточните):

1.6 Сколько лет опыта работы с проектами по питьевому водоснабжению Вы имеете?
0 (нет опыта) 1‐5 лет 6‐10 лет 11‐20 лет 21‐30 лет более 30 лет

Система питьевого водоснабжения, созданная при поддержке донорских организаций и переданная на
содержание представителям местного населения (представителям общины), в данном вопроснике
именуется «проект». Данный проект представляет собой следующее: (i) любую систему питьевого
водоснабжения средних и малых масштабов, (ii) построенную в сельской местности, (iii) при финансовой
(и технической) поддержке со стороны донорских организаций, (iv) находящуюся в управлении и на
содержании у местного населения, (v) используемую преимущественно в целях обеспечения
потребностей местного населения в питьевой воде.
На практике такими проектами могут быть (i) водопроводная система с механизмами обеззараживания
воды из поверхностных источников (река, озеро и др), (ii) водопроводная система с механизмами
обеззараживания воды из подземных источников (напр., скважина с электро‐ насосом), (iii) ручной насос
(водокачка), (iv) система сбора дождевой воды, (v) родниковая (каптажная) система, или любая
возможная комбинация из вышеперечисленного.
Устойчивость проекта значит эффективная и безостановочная работа системы водоснабжения в течении

124

1.7 Был ли у Вас опыт работы по проектам питьевого водоснабжения в других странах?
     Да                       Нет

Комментарии (количество лет, страна и т.д.):

УСТОЙЧИВОСТЬ ПРОЕКТА
2.1 Сколько лет должна функционировать система водоснабжения для того, чтобы называться устойчивой
    0‐10 лет             11‐20  лет            21‐30 лет     более 30 лет
    в течении всего срока эксплуатации, запланированного при проектировании

Комментарии:

УЧАСТИЕ ОБЩИН

3.1 Важно ли участие общин (представителей местного населения) для обеспечения устойчивости проекта?

Очень важно Важно Не имеет отношения Не важно Совсем не важно

3.2 Пожалуйста определите степень важности перечисленных факторов для обеспечения устойчивости
проекта. Оцените от 1 до 5, где 1 = «очень важно» и 5 = «наименее важно» (нажмите на серое поле в строке
«оценка» и выберите соответствующую оценку). Оставьте поле пустым, если Вы считаете что‐то из
перечисленного не имеет никакого отношения в данном контексте; прокомментируйте в строке
комментарии.

Оценка Комментарии
a. Наличие достаточного времени у местного
населения для содержания проекта

b. Наличие достаточных финансовых средств
у местного населения для содержания
проекта

c. Половые различия представителей
общины, непосредственно отвечающих за
содержание системы

d. Возраст представителей общины,
непосредственно отвечающих за содержание
системы

e. Состояние здоровье представителей
общины, непосредственно отвечающих за
содержание проекта

f. Техническая и/или учредительная
поддержка со стороны местных властей

g. Помощь со стороны донорских
организаций после окончания проекта
(завершения строительства)

h. Знания и навыки представителей общины,
непосредственно отвечающих за содержание
системы

i. Наличие среднего (и/или высшего)
образования среди представителей общины,
непосредственно отвечающих за содержание
системы

j. Другое (уточните):

125

3.3 Насколько важно участие местного населения (мужского и женского) в процессе строительства системы
водоснабжения для обеспечения устойчивости проекта (напр., участие в принятии решений, вклада деньгами
или трудом, и т.д.)?

Очень
важно

Важно Не имеет
отношения

Не важно Совсем не
важно

Мужчины

Женщины

3.4 Насколько важно участие местного населения (мужского и женского) в содержании системы
водоснабжения после завершения строительства для обеспечения устойчивости проекта?

Очень
важно

Важно Не имеет
отношения

Не важно Совсем не
важно
Мужчины

Женщины

3.5 Оставьте любые комментарии относительно вопросов 3.1‐3.4 здесь:

ГЕНДЕРНЫЕ РАЗЛИЧИЯ
4.1 Определите степень важности участия мужчин‐представителей местного населения в перечисленных
видах проектной деятельности. Вы можете отметить не более трех перечисленных видов деятельности
как «очень важно»; выберите «не имеет отношения», если Вы считаете, что что‐либо из перечисленного
является неуместным в данном контексте.

Очень
важно

Важно Не имеет
отношения

Не важно Совсем не
важно

h. Планирование проекта

i. Мобилизация общин для
участия в строительстве
системы

j. Проведение обучения
местного населения до и во
время строительства

k. Сбор средств с местного
населения для содержания и
ремонта системы

l. Организация ремонта или
мобилизация общины для
проведения ремонта

m. Проведения мониторинга и
сбор данных

n. Другое (уточните):

126

4.2 Определите, насколько следующие критерии мужчин‐представителей местного населения,
непосредственно участвующих в содержании системы, важны для устойчивости проекта. Пожалуйста,
выберите «не имеет отношения», если Вы считаете, что что‐то из перечисленного не влияет на
исход/устойчивость проекта.

Очень

важно
Важно Не имеет

отношения
Не важно Совсем не

важно
i. Возраст

j. Семейное положение

k. Состояние здоровья

l. Религия и
вероисповедание

m. Трудовая деятельность

n. Репутация/ доверие
местного населения

o. Знания и навыки

o. Другое (уточните):

4.3 Определите степень важности участия женщин‐представителей местного населения в перечисленных
видах проектной деятельности. Вы можете отметить не более трех перечисленных видов деятельности
как «очень важно»; выберите «не имеет отношения», если Вы считаете, что что‐либо из перечисленного
является неуместным в данном контексте.

Очень
важно
Важно    Не имеет
отношения
Не важно        Совсем не
важно

a. Планирование проекта и
составление дизайна системы

b. Мобилизация общин для участия в
строительстве системы

c. Проведение обучения местного
населения до и во время
строительства

d. Сбор средств с местного
населения для содержания и
ремонта системы

e. Организация ремонта или
мобилизация общины для
проведения ремонта

f. Проведения мониторинга и сбор
данных

127

g. Другое (уточните):

4.4 Определите, насколько следующие критерии женщин‐представителей местного населения,
непосредственно участвующих в содержании системы, важны для устойчивости проекта. Пожалуйста,
выберите «не имеет отношения», если Вы считаете, что что‐то из перечисленного не влияет на
исход/устойчивость проекта.

Очень

важно
Важно    Не имеет
отношения
Не важно        Совсем не

важно
a. Возраст

b. Семейное положение

c. Состояние здоровья

d. Религия и
вероисповедание

e. Трудовая деятельность

f. Репутация/ доверие
местного населения

g. Знания и навыки

h. Другое (уточните):

4.5 Оставьте любые комментарии относительно вопросов 4.1‐4.4 здесь:

УЧАСТИЕ ЖЕНЩИН
5.1 В Таджикистане женщины – представители местного населения имеют возможности участвовать в
процессах выполнения проекта и содержания системы после ее строительства наравне с мужской частью
населения
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю


5.2 Женщины должны иметь одинаковые возможности наравне с мужчинами участвовать в выполнении
проекта и содержании системы, что является необходимым для устойчивости проекта
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю

5.3 Женщинам ‐ представителям местного населения предоставляется больше возможностей (со стороны
донорских и исполняющих организаций и/или местных властей) для участия в осуществлении и содержании
проектов из‐за убеждения, что это положительно влияет на успех и устойчивость проекта
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю

5.4 Участие женщин ‐ представителей местного населения во время строительства проекта не способствует
успешному выполнению или устойчивости проекта
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю

128

5.5 Участие женщин ‐ представителей местного населения в процессе содержании системы (после завершения
строительства) не способствует успешному выполнению или устойчивости проекта
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю

5.6 Женщины ‐ представители местного населения способны эффективно исполнять роль ответственных за
работу и содержание системы в общинах
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю


5.7 Участие женщин ‐ представителей местного населения в проектах питьевого водоснабжения является
только символическим и не оказывает никакого положительного влияния на успех и устойчивость проекта
                            Согласен (‐на)                           Не согласен (‐на)              Не знаю

5.8 Оставьте любые комментарии относительно вопросов 5.1‐5.7 здесь:

ДРУГОЕ
6.1 Если Вы ответили на вышеупомянутое утверждение 5.3 как «согласны» и считаете, что женщинам
(представителям местного населения) предоставляется больше возможностей  участвовать в содержании
системы, оцените следующие возможные причины этого  по шкале от 1 до 5, где 1 = «имеет большое
отношение» и 5 = «имеет наименьшее отношение».
Оставьте пустым какие‐либо из перечисленных причин, если считаете что они совершенно неуместны в
данной ситуации; прокомментируйте в строке комментарии.

Оценка Комментарии
a. Сильное поощрение со стороны
исполнительных и/или донорских
организаций

b. Сильное поощрение со стороны
местных властей

c. Общины предпочитают видеть
женщин (представителей местного
населения) ответственными за
содержание системы

d. Отсутствие/нехватка мужской части
населения (например, в связи с
трудовой миграцией)

e. Другое (уточните):

7. Оставьте любые комментарии относительно вопросника здесь:

Спасибо большое за Ваше участие! Пожалуйста, вышлите заполненный вопросник
на адрес электронной почты Наргис Артушевской nartyush@syr.edu

129

Annex F. Informed Consent forms in English and Russian

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

SURVEY ON UNDERSTANDING PERSCEPTIONS OF STAKEHOLDERS
on the role of women in sustainability of constructed drinking water projects in Tajikistan

The purpose of this form is to provide a clear explanation of the nature of this research. If you are
entirely satisfied with this explanation and freely choose to participate in the study, please complete
the attached survey questionnaire. If you have any concerns or questions please direct them to the
Student Researcher at the contact details provided below.

This study is a research project on the “Role of Women in Sustainability of Donor‐funded Drinking
Water Supply Projects in Developing Countries: Case Study of Tajikistan”, undertaken by Nargis
Artyushevskaya, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of MS Program in Environmental Studies,
College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York (SUNY ESF).
The research aims at providing a comprehensive analysis on the possible impacts of different forms
of women’s involvement and participation in rural drinking water supply project activities to the
project effectiveness and success/ sustainability. The researcher plans to analyze the available base
of literature on the topic, as well as collect the opinions of experts, involved directly or indirectly in
financing, implementation and monitoring of drinking water supply projects in rural Tajikistan.

The participation in this survey is voluntary and you may decide to withdraw from the participation
at the survey at any moment without penalty. If you decide to participate in the survey you have a
right to leave your name anonymous. The estimated time answering the survey questions is 10‐15
minutes. The information collected via this survey will be kept confidential and the identity of
individual responses will not be revealed in the best of investigator ability, unless stated otherwise
by the Participant.

I have received a copy of this consent form and I understand the nature of the research project. I
declare that I am 18 years of age or older and I voluntarily agree to take part in the survey without
expecting any compensation.

_____________________________________ _______________
Signature Date

___________________________________________________________________________
Name, position, organization (please leave anonymous, if decided)

Nargis Artyushevskaya Dr. Richard Smardon
Student Researcher Principle Investigator
MS Candidate, Environmental Studies Professor, Environmental Studies
SUNY ESF SUNY ESF
nartyush@syr.edu rsmardon@esf.edu
(1) 315‐600‐0081 (1) 315‐470‐6576

130

ОФИЦИАЛЬНОЕ СОГЛАСИЕ
НА УЧАСТИЕ В ОПРОСЕ

О роли женщин в устойчивости проектов по питьевому водоснабжению в развивающихся
странах

Данный документ предоставляет краткую информацию о данном исследовании. В случае, если
Вы удовлетворены данной информацией и готовы принять участие в данном опросе, Вам
необходимо подписать данный документ (ниже), свидетельствующий о Вашем согласии. Если
у Вас есть какие‐либо вопросы или комментарии, пожалуйста направьте их на адрес
электронной почты Научного Работника, указанный ниже.

Данное исследование на тему «Роль Женщин в Устойчивости Проектов Питьевого
Водоснабжения в Развивающихся Странах: Пример Таджикистана», проводится Наргис
Артушевской, в рамках учебной программы Степени Магистра по Окружающей Среде,
Колледж Наук по Окружающей Среде и Лесоводства, Государственного Университета штата
Нью‐Йорк.

Исследование направлено на проведение подробного анализа о возможном влиянии участия
женщин (представителей общин) в проектах питьевого водоснабжения на успешное
выполнение и устойчивость проекта. Планируется, что данное исследование предоставит
полный анализ существующей литературы на данную тему, а также соберет мнения экспертов,
принимающих непосредственное или косвенное участие в финансировании, реализации и
мониторинге проектов питьевого водоснабжения в сельской местности Таджикистана.

Ваше участие в данном опросе основано полностью на добровольной и конфиденциальной
основе, и Вы можете прекратить участие в любой момент без каких‐либо штрафных санкций.
Если Вы примете решение участвовать, у Вас есть право не указывать Ваше имя. Заполнение
вопросника займет 10‐15 минут. Информация, собранная путем проведения данного опроса,
является конфиденциальной и любая идентификационная информация Участника не будет
разглашена, за исключением случаев, когда сам Участник пожелает обратное.

Я получил (сохранил) копию данного документа и понимаю цели данного исследования.
Данным я подтверждаю, что мне 18 или более лет и я выражаю согласие принять участие в
данном опросе, не ожидая взамен какого‐либо вознаграждения.
_____________________________________ _______________
Подпись Дата
___________________________________________________________________________
Имя, должность, организация (не указывайте, в случае если желаете оставаться анонимным)

Наргис Артушевская Профессор Ричард Смардон
Студент – Научный Работник Эксперт
Кандидат Наук по Окружающей Среде Профессор, Отдел Окружающей Среды
Колледж Наук по Окружающей Среде   Колледж Наук по Окружающей Среде
и Лесоводства,   и Лесоводства,
Гос. Университета штата Нью‐Йорк Гос. Университета штата Нью‐Йорк
nartyush@syr.edu rsmardon@esf.edu
(1) 315‐600‐0081 (1) 315‐470‐657

131

Annex G. Survey Recruitment Scripts in English and Russian

Recruitment script

Letter to the Survey Participants from TAJWSS (Partnering Agency)

Dear TAJWSS Partners,
You are kindly invited to participate in the survey for the research on the “Role of Women in
Sustainability of Donor‐funded Drinking Water Supply Projects in Developing Countries: Case Study
of Tajikistan”.

This research is undertaken by Mrs. Nargis Artyushevskaya, MS Candidate in Environmental Studies,
College of Environmental Science and Forestry of the State University of New York (SUNY ESF). Her
research aims at analyzing the role of female community members participation in rural community‐
managed drinking water supply projects to the sustainability of the projects. This research is a logical
continuation of her previous study on the Sustainability of Drinking Water Supply projects in
Tajikistan (2012), which you actively contributed to.

Nargis would be very thankful if you could spend your 10‐15 minutes to complete the attached
questionnaire. Your participation is very important and responses will remain confidential.

Please find enclosed the Informed Consent Form with additional information on the research. You
are kindly requested to send the completed questionnaire with the consent form back to Nargis
Artyushevskaya at (nartyush@syr.edu) before ___________ [deadline].

Текст обращения в участникам
Письмо к участникам  опроса, партнерам ТАДВСС

Уважаемые партнеры ТАДВСС,
Вы приглашены принять участие в опросе по исследованию «Роль женщин для устойчивости
проектов питьевого водоснабжения финансируемые донорами в развивающихся странах:
пример Таджикистана».

Данное исследование проводится Наргис Артушевской, Кандидатом Наук в сфере
Окружающей Среды, Колледжа Окружающей Среды и Лесоводства, Государственного
Университета штата Нью‐Йорк. Ее исследование направлено на проведение анализа о роли
участия женщин, представительниц местных общин, в сельских проектах по питьевому
водоснабжению и их устойчивость. Данное исследование является логическим
продолжением предыдущего исследования об Устойчивости Проектов по Питьевому
Водоснабжению в Таджикистане, в котором вы приняли активное участие.

Наргис будет очень признательна если бы Вы смогли уделить 10‐15 минут своего времени на
заполнение приложенного вопросника. Ваше участие очень важно для данного исследования
и вся информация будет оставаться конфиденциальной.

Пожалуйста найдите в приложении документ Официального Соглашения с дополнительной
информацией об исследовании. Мы убедительно просим Вас выслать заполненный вопросник
с согласием на участие на электронный адрес Наргис Артушевской (nstyush@syr.edu) до
_____________ (срока).

132

Annex H. Survey Pre‐test Recruitment Script

Dear ____________________________________________ (name of participant),

You are kindly invited to participate in the pre‐testing of the survey questionnaire on the “Women’s
participation in the sustainability of drinking water supply projects”. This questionnaire is designed
to collect the opinions of specialists in the case study country (Tajikistan) on the role of women’s
participation for the sustainability of the projects. The present format of the questionnaire (doc,
pdf) is chosen strategically to adjust to the convenience of the survey participants, due to potential
problems with limited access to internet. Please find attached the informed consent form with more
details on this research.

With this invitation for the pre‐testing, you are kindly asked to (i) read and sign the informed
consent form, and (ii) answer the questions in the attached questionnaire. In addition, please feel
free to provide any general feedbacks with regard to this questionnaire with particular consideration
of the following:
1. Are questions clear and readable? Do you think any particular question(s) should be rephrased?
2. Does the chosen ranking design for the questions seem to be appropriate?
3. Do you have any additional questions you think should be included into this questionnaire?
4. How much time did you spend to complete the questionnaire?
5. Does the background information provided on the first page of the questionnaire is clear and
sufficient?
I will highly appreciate if you could return the completed questionnaire and the informed consent
form within the next three days (if possible).

Your feedback is very important for the pre‐testing of the survey tool. Let me know if you have any
questions.
Kind regards, Nargis

Nargis Artyushevskaya
MS Candidate, Environmental Studies
SUNY ESF
nartyush@syr.edu
(1) 315‐600‐0081

133

Annex I. Survey Pre‐test Informed Consent

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

PRE‐TESTING OF THE SURVEY TOOL

on the role of women in sustainability of constructed drinking water projects in developing countries

The purpose of this form is to provide a clear explanation of the nature of this research. Once you
are entirely satisfied with this explanation and freely choose to participate in the pre‐testing of the
survey tool, you may indicate your willingness to participate by signing below. If you have any
concerns or questions please direct them to the Student Researcher or the Principle Investigator at
the contact details provided below.

This study is a research project on the “Role of Women in Sustainability of Donor‐funded Drinking
Water Supply Projects in Developing Countries: Case Study of Tajikistan” undertaken by Nargis
Artyushevskaya, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of MS Program in Environmental Studies,
College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York (SUNY ESF).
The research aims at providing a comprehensive analysis on the possible impacts of different forms
of women’s involvement and participation in rural drinking water supply project activities to the
project effectiveness and success/ sustainability. The researcher plans to analyze the available base
of literature on the topic, as well as collect the opinions of experts, involved directly or indirectly in
financing, implementation and monitoring of drinking water supply projects in rural Tajikistan.

The participation in the survey pre‐testing is voluntary and you may decide to withdraw from the
participation at any moment without penalty. If you decide to participate in the pre‐testing you have
a right to leave your name anonymous. The information collected through the pre‐testing of the
survey tools will be kept confidential and the identity of individual responses will not be revealed in
the best of investigator ability, unless stated otherwise by the Participant.

I have received a copy of this consent form and I understand the nature of the research project. I
declare that I am 18 years of age or older and I voluntarily agree to take part in the pre‐testing of
the survey tool without expecting any compensation.

_____________________________________ _______________
Signature Date
___________________________________________________________________________
Name, position, organization (please leave anonymous, if decided)

Nargis Artyushevskaya Dr. Richard Smardon
Student Researcher Principle Investigator
MS Candidate, Environmental Studies Professor, Environmental Studies
SUNY ESF SUNY ESF
nartyush@syr.edu rsmardon@esf.edu
(1) 315‐600‐0081 (1) 315‐470‐657

134

Annex J. Survey Pre‐test Results

# Type of Comment Recommendations/ Suggestions
1 Terms and Definitions  Include short summary definition on key terms, such as

“project sustainability”, “sustainability”
 Extend on the general information concerning the

research project to provide more background to the
respondent

2 Working and Language  Rephrase wordings such as “tokenism”
 Reformulate some of the questions for respondents to

understand easier
3 Ranking scale and format  The ranking scale on “importance” has been revised

 Use larger fonts/make bold some parts of the
questionnaire to attract greater attention of a
respondent

 Improve the format so that it is convenient for any
respondent to check the answers, i.e. make boxes for
option answers clickable

 Add “I don’t know” to the questions with “true/false”
answer type of questions

 Consider minimizing the number of open‐ended
“comment” sections and consider having only one
space fort the comments at the end of a section

 Put questions and answer options in different color for
a respondent to better distinct from question and
answer sections

4 Other  Include one more category in the General Section on
the type of agency being represented by a respondent,
i.e. “educational institution/ university”

 Include one more option in the General Section on
experience, i.e. 0‐5 years of experience

 May need to include some more information on the
instructions of completing the questionnaire

 Delete the last section requesting contact information
of a respondent

The overall time reported by the respondents of the pre‐testing stage was 15‐20 min for the
completion of the survey. However, some respondents said that it should take less time if
the actual participants of the survey are familiar with the language/context.

It has also noticed by the respondents that some questions may tend to prompt a
respondent to agree with the statement rather than disagree. Thus the formulation of such
questions has been revisited and improve to improve the understanding of the questions.

135

Annex K. Survey Piloting Recruitment Script

Dear ___________________________________________ (name of the participant),

You are kindly invited to participate in the piloting of the survey questionnaire on the “Women’s
participation in the sustainability of drinking water supply projects”. This questionnaire is designed
to collect the opinions of specialists in the case study country (Tajikistan) on the role of women’s
participation for the sustainability of the projects. Please find attached the informed consent form
with more details on this research.

With this invitation for the piloting, you are kindly asked to (i) read and sign the informed consent
form, and (ii) answer the questions in the attached questionnaire. Please feel free to provide any
general feedbacks with regard to this questionnaire and any particular suggestions to improve the
tool.

I will highly appreciate if you could return the completed questionnaire and the informed consent
form by _________ (date).

Your feedback is very important for the piloting of the survey tool. Let me know if you have any
questions.

Kind regards, Nargis

MS Candidate in Environmental Studies
College of Environmental Science and Forestry
State University of New York
Mob: 1 (315) 600 0081
E‐mail: nartyush@syr.edu

136

Annex L. Survey Piloting Informed Consent

INFORMED CONSENT FORM
PILOTING OF THE SURVEY TOOL

on the role of women in sustainability of constructed drinking water projects in developing countries

The purpose of this form is to provide a clear explanation of the nature of this research. Once you
are entirely satisfied with this explanation and freely choose to participate in the piloting of the
survey tool, you may indicate your willingness to participate by signing below. If you have any
concerns or questions please direct them to the Student Researcher at the contact details provided
below.

The participation in the survey piloting is voluntary and you may decide to withdraw from the
participation at any moment without penalty. If you decide to participate in the piloting you have a
right to leave your name anonymous. The information collected through the piloting of the survey
tools will be kept confidential and the identity of individual responses will not be revealed in the
best of investigator ability, unless stated otherwise by the Participant.

_____________________________________ _______________
Signature Date
___________________________________________________________________________
Name, position, organization (please leave anonymous, if decided)

Nargis Artyushevskaya Dr. Richard Smardon
Student Researcher Principle Investigator
MS Candidate, Environmental Studies Professor, Environmental Studies
SUNY ESF SUNY ESF
nartyush@syr.edu rsmardon@esf.edu
(1) 315‐600‐0081 (1) 315‐470‐657

137

Annex M. Literature Review Findings Tabulation

# Year Author(s) Country Projects Assessed/ methods Major findings/ factors of success Major findings/factors of
failure

1 2000 Kleemeier Malawi The Impact of Participation on
Sustainability: An Analysis of
the Malawi Rural Piped Scheme
Program

Case study of 17 schemes
Qualitative (field
observations)

‐ External agency support for
community management
committees
‐ Better management and repair
capacity

2 2002 James,
Verhagen, van
Wijk,
Nanavaty,
Parikh, & Bhatt

India Transforming time into money
using water: A participatory
study of economics and gender
in rural India

Case study of two villages

Qualitative (field
observations, interviews)

‐ Provision of earning opportunities
for women
‐ Involvement of empowered
women in decision‐making

3 2003 Jakariya,
Chowdhury,
Hossain,
Rahman,
Sarker, Khan, &
Rahman

Bangladesh Sustainable community‐based
safe water options to
Mitigate the Bangladesh arsenic
catastrophe – An
Experience from two upazilas22

Qualitative and
quantitative (testing of
51,685 tube wells)

‐ Close integration with the
community;
‐ Appropriate technical solutions
‐ Training of female village
volunteers

4 2003 Admassu,
Kumie, &
Fantahun

Ethiopia Household study among 768
households in 11 randomly
selected associations in North
Gondar using a pre‐tested
structured questionnaire, focus
group discussions and 114
physical site observations in
Dec 2001‐Jan 2002

Quantitative (surveys)
Qualitative (focus groups,
field observations

‐ Modest water service fee
‐ Moderate distance from water
points
‐ Community involvement in all
stages of water development
‐ Adequate skill and capacity to
maintain water sources
‐ Gender sensitivity

‐ Insufficient community
partnership with
management

‐ Lack of adequate skills of
financial management

‐ Absence of gender
sensitivity

5 2004 Doe & Khan Ghana The boundaries and limits of
community‐management:
lessons from the water sector
in Ghana

Qualitative (literature
review)

‐ (Small) size of village population
(community cohesion)
‐ Community participation in
decision‐making, planning and
service provision

22 the districts of Bangladesh are divided into sub‐districts called Upazila

138

‐ Sense of ownership
6 2004 FonJong,

Nebasina &
Fonchingong

Cameroon Rethinking the contribution of
indigenous management in
small‐scale water provision
among selected rural
communities in Cameroon
Case study

Qualitative (literature
review, interviews)

‐

Community participation

‐ Involvement of women in project
planning
‐ Involvement of women in project
management

7 2004 Musonda Zambia Issues regarding sustainability
of rural water supply in Zambia

Case Study
Qualitative (24
interviews)

‐ effective community organization
‐ communities have the ability to
operate and maintain
‐ communities are able to raise
adequate user fees for purchasing
spare parts
‐ there is a strong backup support
at the district level to carry out
major repairs

8 2004 O’Reilly India Developing Contradictions:
Women’s Participation as a Site
of Struggle Within an Indian
NGO

Case study
Qualitative (interviews,
observations, document
review)

‐Women’s participation
not taken seriously
‐ Women’s participation as
a “decorative item”
‐ Lack of women’s agency
and power

9 2004 Prokopy India Women’s participation in rural
water supply projects in India:
is it moving beyond tokenism
and does it matter?

Qualitative (focus groups,
interviews) and

quantitative (household
surveys)

45 villages

‐ Community participation is
generally positive
‐ Participation of women is not
against general custom
‐ Men support women’s
involvement
‐ Women are interested and do
not hesitate to participate
‐ Women has agency and allowed
to speak out
‐ Women are consulted on the
project

‐ Participation of women
as nominal or token
‐ Participation of women
as a reservation policy

10 2005 Prokopy India The relationship between
participation and project

Quantitative (regression
model) and qualitative

‐ Community contribution into
capital costs

139

outcomes: Evidence from rural
water supply projects in India

(interviews) ‐ Household involvement in
decision‐making

11 2005 Bhandari,
Grant &
Pokharel

Nepal Sustainable community water:
Managing supply systems in the
mid‐hills of Nepal

Qualitative (interviews)
and quantitative
(household survey)

‐

Involvement of women in project
planning

‐ Government supervision,
adequate mechanisms for the
handover of constructed schemes,
and coordination among local
water committees and local
government

‐ Lack of involvement of
women during the
planning stages

12 2005 Garande &
Dagg

Chile Public Participation and
Effective Water Governance at
the Local Level: A Case Study
from a small under‐developed
area in Chile

Case study
Qualitative

‐ Community participation in
planning and management
‐ Participation should be inclusive
and communicative

‐ Lack of comprehensive
consultation with
community
‐ Low level of participation
of community
‐ Lack of transparency

13 2006 Singh India Women’s Participation in Local
Water Governance:
Understanding Institutional
Contradictions

Qualitative (observations,
interviews, focus groups)

22 villages in 5 districts

‐ Homogeneity in women’s groups
for participation

‐ Heterogeneity in
women’s groups for
participation
‐ Women’s participation is
passive and tokenistic

14 2006 Magrath

Sierra
Leone

Towards Sustainable Water‐
Supply Solutions in Rural Sierra
Leone A Pragmatic Approach,
Using Comparisons with
Mozambique

Quantitative (surveys) ‐ Low‐tech technology
‐ Post‐project support
‐ Availability of tools and spare
parts
‐ Community capacity building
‐ Health education

‐ Lack of community
cohesion
‐ Women’s workload and
position in society

15 2006 Cleaver &
Toner

Tanzania The Evolution of Community
Water Governance in Uchira,
Tanzania: the implications for
equity of access, sustainability
and effectiveness
Case study

Qualitative (field
observations, interviews,
document review)

‐ Sense of community ownership

16 2006 Hoko & Hertle Zimbabwe An evaluation of the
sustainability of a rural water
rehabilitation project in

Case Study
Qualitative (field
observations, interviews)

‐ Active community involvement
‐ Strengthened capacity of water
committees

140

Zimbabwe Easiness of operation of facility
‐ Improved awareness of local
communities on the project

17 2006 Haysom Tanzania A study of the factors affecting
sustainability of rural water
supplies in Tanzania

Qualitative and
Quantitative
38 villages in 6 regions

‐ Pricing based on achieving full
cost‐recovery
‐ Simplicity in

management
structures

‐ Ongoing use of
alternative sources is
found to undermine cost
recovery

18 2007 Acharya,
Yoshino, Jimba,
& Wakai

Nepal Case study of community
development program School
and Community Health Project
launched in 1992 in 15 villages
(45,000 people) to improve the
overall living conditions of
people through health,
economic and educational
improvements and targeted
women.
Qualitative and quantitative
techniques of data analysis
through benchmark data
analysis

Qualitative
Quantitative

‐ Homogeneity in community
management groups

‐ Project dynamism
‐ Outside support and people’s

initiative

‐ Heterogeneity in
community management
groups

‐ Lack dynamism and mere
financial support

19 2007 Gleitsmann,
Kroma &
Tammo

Mali Analysis of a rural water supply
project in three communities in
Mali: Participation and
Sustainability

Case study of three
villages
Qualitative (focus groups,
key informant interviews)
and quantitative
(household surveys)

‐ Lack of commitment to
maintain
‐ Inappropriate technology
‐ Women (and herders)
not involved in
management

20 2008 deWilde,
Milman, Flores,
Salmeron &
Ray

Mexico An Integrated Method for
Evaluating Community‐based
Safe Water Programs and an
application in rural Mexico
31 study communities

Qualitative (field
observations, interviews,
document review)

‐ User convenience (esp. among
women)

21 2008 Gine & Perez‐
Foguet

Tanzania Sustainability assessment of
national rural water supply
program in Tanzania

Qualitative (literature
review, interviews,
meeting, field
observations)

‐ Management at the lowest
appropriate level
‐ Communities owning and
managing their water schemes

141

‐ Availability of spare parts and
knowhow
‐ Full cost recovery for operation
and maintenance of the scheme
‐ The protection of water sources
‐ Balancing between technology,
service level and the capacity of
the beneficiaries
‐ The recognition of women as key
players and the inclusion of the
poor

22 2008 Prokopy,
Thorsten,
Bakalian &
Wakeman

Peru Evaluating the Role of post‐
construction Support
in Sustaining Drinking Water
Projects Evidence from Peru

Case study: two programs
Quantitative (household
survey, system operator
survey) and qualitative
(focus groups)

‐ Post construction support
(technical, educational,
managerial, financial assistance
externally received)

23 2008 Smith Pakistan A critical appreciation of the
“bottom‐up” approach to
sustainable water
management: embracing
complexity rather than
desirability

Case study
Qualitative

‐ Community participation
passive and tokenistic
‐ local level capacity
constrains
‐ critical lack of facilitator
knowledge

24 2009 Busari

Swaziland Water, sanitation and
sustainability: lessons from a
community‐project
Case Study

Qualitative (field work
observations, interviews,
document review)

‐ Close coordination of all
stakeholders in planning,
packaging and implementing the
project

25 2009 Esposto Darfur
Iraq

The sustainability of applied
technologies for water supply in
developing countries
Case studies

Qualitative ‐ Choice of technology (locally
oriented)

26 2009 Montgomery,
Bartram &
Elimelech

Sub‐
Saharan

Africa

Increasing Functional
Sustainability of Water and
Sanitation Supplies in Rural
Sub‐Saharan Africa

Case Study
Qualitative

‐ effective community demand
‐ local financing and cost recovery
‐ dynamic operation and
maintetance

27 2009 Prokopy India Determinants and Benefits of
Household Level Participation

Qualitative (focus groups,
interviews) and

‐ Higher levels of overall
community participation in a

142

in Rural Drinking Water Projects
in India

quantitative (household
surveys)

45 villages

project

28 2009 Sultana Bangladesh Community and participation in
water resources management:
gendering and naturing
development debates from
Bangladesh

Case study
Qualitative (observations,
focus groups, interviews)

‐ Social and geographical
restrictions of women to
practice participation
(women’s exclusions in
participation)
‐ Heterogeneity in
participation groups

29 2009 Whittington,
Davis, Prokopy,
Komives,
Thorsten,
Lukacs,
Bakalian &
Wakeman

Bolivia
Peru
Ghana

How well is the demand‐driven,
community management
model for rural water supply
systems doing? Evidence from
Bolivia, Peru and Ghana

Case studies
Qualitative (interviews,
focus groups)

‐ Access to spare parts
‐ Community participation
‐ Post‐construction support (?)

30 2010 Aladuwaka &
Momsen

Sri Lanka A case study of Wanaraniya
water project in Sri Lanka
covering 283 households (964
families)

Qualitative methods
(interviews, focus groups,
field observations)

‐ Community participation
‐ Women’s commitment to (hard

work)
‐ Partnership with others

(government bodies, NGOs)
‐ Women’s participation and

leadership in project planning
and design

‐ Women’s agency and control
over water (power of
disconnecting water)

‐ Women’s solidarity
‐ Employment opportunities of

women
‐ Support of males to women’s

leadership
‐ Sense of ownership
‐ Knowing technology and how

143

to fix breakdowns
‐ Affordability of fixing

breakdowns
31 2010 Armanios Egypt Sustainable Development as a

Community of Practice: Insights
from Rural Water Projects in
Egypt

23 water projects

Qualitative (field
observations, interviews)

‐ Lack of economic
sustainability (debts and
economic burdens to
future generation)

32 2010 Barnes &
Ashbolt

Philippines Planning for Sustainable Water
and Sanitation Projects in Rural
Developing Communities
Case study of Philippines

Qualitative (field
observations, interviews)

‐ Community involvement in
project planning and development
workers as facilitators
‐ Commitment of beneficiaries to
the project
‐ Project initiation arising from
within a community
‐ Genuine need for water
‐ Integrity and transparency
between community and
development workers

33 2010 Jiméneza &
Pérez‐Foguetb

Tanzania Challenges for Water
Governance in Rural Water
Supply: Lessons Learned from
Tanzania

Qualitative (field
observation, interviews,
case studies)

‐ Strengthening role of local
government

‐ Limitations in community
funds
‐ Low professionalism in
the management of
services
‐ Limited role of
decentralized government
with regard to monitoring,
regulation and technical
support

34 2010 Masduqi,
Endah,
Soedjono &
Hadi

Indonesia Structural equation modeling
for assessing of the
sustainability of rural water
supply systems

Qualitative (interviews,
field observation)
Structural Equation
Modelling

‐ selection of technology
‐ water sources
‐ investment cost
‐ capability of operator
‐ availability of spare parts
‐ operation cost

144

‐ technical operation
‐ community participation
‐ institutional management

35 2010 Massoud, Al‐
Abady, Jurdi &
Nuwayhid

Lebanon The Challenges of Sustainable
Access to Safe Drinking Water
in Rural Areas of Developing
Countries: Case of Zawtar El‐
Charkieh, Southern Lebanon

Case study
Qualitative

‐ Integration of quality of water
supply management and
educational programs

‐ contamination of the
source
‐ poor maintenance
operations
‐ aging of the networks

36 2010 Padawangi Pakistan Community‐Driven
Development as Drivers of
Change: Water Supply and
Sanitation Projects in Rural
Punjab, Pakistan

Qualitative (interviews)
and quantitative
(regression analysis)

78 projects

‐ community participation
‐ women’s active involvement
‐ support of community‐
management model by the
government
‐ community owenrship and
appreciation of the project
‐ public sector provides continuous
monitoring and guidance

37 2011 Madrial,
Alpizar &
Schlute

Costa Rica Determinants of Performance
of Community‐Based Drinking
Water Organizations

Four case study
Qualitative

‐ High sense of ownership
‐ Human capital (expertise,
education, leadership,
participation by women)
‐ Training programs that include
young people and women

38 2012 Holm Malawi Recent History Provides
Sustainable African Water
Quality Project Insight

Case study
Qualitative (field
observations)

‐ Identification of needs
‐ Partnerships with community
‐ ‐ An exit strategy

39 2012 Opare Ghana Rainwater harvesting: an option
for sustainable rural water
supply in Ghana

Case study (two
communities)
Qualitative

‐ affordability
‐ ease of operations
‐ user ownership
‐ user management

145

Annex N. Categorization of Literature Review Findings

# Author(s) Country Typology of project sustainability factors
Technical Financial Institutional Social Other

1 Kleemeier,
2000

Malawi Repair capacity External agency post‐
project support

Management
capacity

2 James et al.,
2002

India Empowerment of women: provision
of earning opportunities
Involvement women in decision‐
making

3 Jakariya et al.,
2003

Bangladesh Appropriate technical
solutions

Close integration with community
Training of female village volunteers

4 Admassu et
al., 2003

Ethiopia Adequate skills and
capacity to maintain
water source

Modest water service
fee

Community involvement in all stages
of water project
Gender sensitivity

Moderate distance
from water points

5 Doe & Khan ,
2004

Ghana Community participation in decision‐
making
Sense of ownership
(Small) size of village population
(community cohesion)

6 FonJong et al.,
2004

Cameroon Community participation
Involvement of women in project
planning and management

7 Musonda,
2004

Zambia Ability to operate and
maintain

Communities are able
to raise adequate user
fees for purchasing
spare parts
Strong backup support
at the district level to
carry out major repairs

Effective community organization

8 O’Reilly, 2004 India Women’s participation perceived
seriously and is not a decorative item
Women’s agency and power

9 Prokopy, 2004 India Community participation
Participation of women is not against

146

general custom
Men support women’s involvement
Women are interested and do not
hesitate to participate
Women has agency and allowed to
speak out
Women are consulted on the project

10 Prokopy, 2005 India Community
contribution into
capital costs

Household involvement in decision‐
making

11 Bhandari et
al., 2005

Nepal Government
supervision
Adequate
mechanisms for the
handover of
constructed schemes
Coordination among
local water
committees and local
government

Involvement of women in project
planning

12 Garande &
Dagg, 2005

Chile Transparency Community participation in planning
and management
Community participation inclusive
and communicative

13 Singh, 2006 India Homogeneity in women’s groups for
participation
Women’s participation is active

14 Magrath,
2006

Sierra
Leone

Low‐tech technology
Availability of tools
and spare parts
Community’s capacity
in construction

Community cohesion
Women’s and societal position
affects negatively

15 Cleaver &
Toner, 2006

Tanzania Sense of community ownership

16 Hoko &
Hertle, 2006

Zimbabwe Strengthened
capacity of water

Active community involvement
Improved community awareness

147

committees about the project
17 Haysom, 2006 Tanzania Full cost‐recovery tariff Simplicity in the

management
structures

Ongoing use of
alternative sources can
undermine cost
recovery

18 Acharya et al,
2007

Nepal Outside support Homogeneity in community
management groups
People’s initiative

Project dynamism

19 Gleitsmann et
al., 2007

Mali Appropriate
technology

Commitment to maintain
Women (and herders) are involved
in management

20 deWilde et al.,
2008

Mexico User convenience (esp. among
women)

21 Gine & Perez‐
Foguet, 2008

Tanzania Availability of spare
parts and knowhow

Full cost recovery for
operation and
maintenance

Management at the
lowest appropriate
level

Communities ownership and
management of water schemes
Recognition of women as key players
and the inclusion of the poor

Protection of water
sources
Balancing between
technology, service
level and the capacity
of the beneficiaries

22 Prokopy et al.,
2008

Peru Technical external
post‐construction
assistance

Financial external post‐
construction support
assistance

Managerial and
educational post‐
construction support
from outside

23 Smith, 2009 Pakistan Sufficient knowledge
to manage

Active (and not tokenistic)
community participation
Local level capacity constrains

24 Busari, 2009

Swaziland Close coordination of
all stakeholders in
planning, packaging
and implementing
the project

25 Esposto, 2009 Darfur
Iraq

Choice of technology
(locally oriented)

26 Montgomery
et al., 2009

Sub‐
Saharan

Local financing and
cost recovery

Dynamic operation
and maintetance

Effective community demand

148

Africa
27 Prokopy, 2009 India Higher levels of overall community

participation in a project
28 Sultana, 2009 Bangladesh No social and geographical

restrictions of women to practice
participation (women’s inclusion in
participation)
Homogeneity in participation groups

29 Whittington
et al., 2009

Bolivia
Peru
Ghana

Access to spare parts Post‐construction
support

Community participation

30 Aladuwaka &
Momsen,
2010

Sri Lanka Knowing technology
and how to fix
breakdowns

Affordability of fixing
breakdowns

Partnership with
others (government
bodies, NGOs)

Community participation
Women’s commitment to projects
(hardwork)
Women’s participation and
leadership in project planning and
design
Women’s agency and control over
water (power of disconnecting
water)
Women’s solidarity
Employment opportunities of
women
Support of males to women’s
leadership
Sense of ownership

31 Armanios,
2010

Egypt Financial sustainability
(no debts and
economic burdens to
future generation)

32 Barnes &
Ashbolt, 2010

Philippines Community involvement in project
planning and
Commitment of beneficiaries to the
project
Project initiation arising from within

Genuine need for water
Integrity and
Transparency between
community and
development workers

149

a community Development workers
should act as
facilitators

33 Jiméneza &
Pérez‐
Foguetb, 2010

Tanzania Sufficient community
funds

Strong role of local
government
Professionalism in
the management of
services

Limited role of
decentralized
government with
regard to monitoring,
regulation and
technical support

34 Masduqi et
al., 2010

Indonesia Technology choice and
adequate technical
operation
Availability of spare
parts

Sufficient investment
costs
Adequate operational
costs

Capability of
operators
Institutional
management

Community participation Water source

35 Massoud et
al., 2010

Lebanon Adequate
maintenance
operations

Qualitative water
supply management
and educational
programs

Prevent contamination
of water sources

36 Padawangi,
2010

Pakistan Support of
community‐
management model
by the government
Community
owenrship and
appreciation of the
project
Public sector
provides continuous
monitoring and
guidance

Community participation
Women’s active involvement

37 Madrial et al.,
2011

Costa Rica High sense of ownership
Human capital (expertise, education,
leadership, participation by women)
Training programs that include
young people and women

150

38 Holm, 2012 Malawi Proper exist strategy
(for handover)

Partnerships with community

Accurate identification
of needs

39 Opare, 2012 Ghana Ease of operations Project affordability User ownership
User management

151

Annex O. Crosstab of survey results: General Information on Survey Participants

Case Processing Summary
Cases

Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent

Gender * Age 44 95.7% 2 4.3% 46 100.0%
Gender * Type of agency a
respondent works for

46 100.0% 0 0.0% 46 100.0%

Gender * Years of experience 46 100.0% 0 0.0% 46 100.0%
Gender * Professional
occupation

46 100.0% 0 0.0% 46 100.0%

Gender * Age Crosstabulation

Count
Age Total

0‐30 31‐40 41‐50 51‐60 60+

Gender male 2 7 10 7 4 30female 3 3 3 3 2 14
Total 5 10 13 10 6 44

Gender * Type of agency a respondent works for Crosstabulation

Count
Type of agency a respondent works for

internation
al or local
donor
agency

internatio
nal or

local NGO

government
al agency
community‐
based
organization
consulting or
research
institution
private
sector
total
Gender male 8 9 8 3 2 1 31female 1 6 1 4 2 1 15
Total 9 15 9 7 4 2 46

Gender * Years of experience Crosstabulation

Count
Years of experience Total

0‐5 years 6‐10 years 11‐20 years 21‐30 years 30+ years

Gender male 6 9 11 3 2 31female 7 5 3 0 0 15
Total 13 14 14 3 2 46

Gender * Professional occupation Crosstabulation

Count
Professional occupation Total

project
manager/tea
m leader

engineer/te
chnical
worker

trainer/edu
cator

monitoring/
evaluation

community
mobilizer

other

Gender male 15 6 1 2 1 6 31female 8 0 3 2 0 2 15
Total 23 6 4 4 1 8 46

152

Annex P. Survey results: agreement to country‐specific statements

Statistics

5.1 Women in

Tajikistan

presently have

equal rights (to

men) to

participate in the
implementation
and maintenance
of projects

5.2 It is

important for the

sustainability of
the project that
women have
equal rights (to
men) to
participate in
projects

5.3 Women are

given more

opportunities (by

donors,
implementing

agencies and/or

local authorities)

to participate in

projects

5.4 Participation

of women during

the project
construction
does not
contribute to the
project
sustainability

5.5 Participation

of women in the
project operation
and maintenance
does not
contribute to the
project
sustainability

5.6 Women are

capable of

implementing
the role of
project operation
and maintenance
effectively

5.7 Women’s

participation in

projects is

symbolic and

have no positive

effects on project

success and
sustainability

N
Valid 46 46 46 44 46 45 46

Missing 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Mean .65 .96 .48 .09 .07 .82 .11

Median 1.00 1.00 .00 .00 .00 1.00 .00

Mode 1 1 0 0 0 1 0

Std. Deviation .482 .206 .505 .291 .250 .387 .315

Variance .232 .043 .255 .085 .062 .149 .099

Minimum 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Maximum 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

153

CURRICULUM VITAE

NARGIS A. ARTYUSHEVSKAYA

11/8 Fedina, apt 65, Dushanbe, Tajikistan (734043)
Phone: (315) 600‐0081, nartushevskaya@hotmail.com; nartyush@syr.edu

Linkedin: http://lnkd.in/qEMYGK

SUMMARY
 Ten years of professional experience in the area of water and sanitation, hygiene education, emergency

response.
 Fulbright Exchange Student: Candidate of Master of Science in Environmental Studies, College of

Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York (SUNY ESF).
 Graduated from the University of Oxford, Master of Science in Water Science, Policy and Management.

Possesses Bachelor degree in Management and Associate Degree in Computer Sciences.

Education and qualifications

State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry 2012 – 2014
Syracuse, NYS, U.S.A.
MS candidate in Environmental Studies

Oxford University, School of Geography and Environment 2011 – 2012
Oxford, U.K.
MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management

Tajik State University of Nosiri Khusrav 2002 – 2007
Kurgan Tyube, Tajikistan
Management in Economics
Diploma of Economist (equivalent to Bachelor degree)

Tajik State Polytechnic College 1999 – 2002
Kurgan Tyube, Tajikistan
Computer‐based processing and system control
Diploma of junior computer engineer

Professional Experience
United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Tajikistan 2003 – 2011

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project Officer (April 2008 – September 2011)
 Collection and critical analysis of program implementation data and further processing into Situation

Analysis Reports (SitReps), project progress reports and end‐of‐year evaluation reports.
 Coordination of project activities via technical cooperation and close coordination with project partners.

Organization of flow of supplies and services to the project sites.
 Development of annual project plans and budget design in consultation with government partners.
 Preparation of project proposals to donors, fundraising concept notes and Program Review Papers.
 Coordination of Water and Sanitation Emergency Response Activities via technical cooperation with sector

154

agencies. Preparation of Contingency Plans, rapid emergency response activities, sector updates and
Appeals to Donors.

 Contribution to the development of country program documents, such as Country Program Action Plan
(CPAP), Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and Assessment of Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).

 Provision of technical inputs to the development of national standards for sanitation and water supply in
schools in consultation with international experts and local government authorities.

 Organization of field donor visits to the project sites; field monitoring of project activities, ensuring timely
and successful implementation of project activities.

WASH/ Education Project Assistant (February 2003 – April 2008)
 Assisting Project Officer in data collection and analysis, monitoring and maintaining program records and

archiving.
 Assisting in preparation of progress reports via obtaining timely updates from project partners,

government counterparts and service providers. Data processing and translation into appropriate format.
 Monitoring of project activities in the field in coordination with local government authorities and project

stakeholders. Ensuring timely field reports on the project progress.
 Ensuring smooth and effective flow of communication with project stakeholders via drafting and

translation of official letters.
 Assisting in coordination of Water and Sanitation Emergency Response Sector via drafting of meeting

agendas and notes, ensuring timely flow of communication between sector partners and organization of
emergency response activities to the affected project sites.

Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), Tajikistan 2000 – 2003

Water and Sanitation Program Assistant (Feb 2001 – Feb 2003)
 Assisting Program Manager in overseeing project activities via collection, processing and analysis of data

from the field.
 Development and maintenance of project databases.
 Contribution to the progress reports and project updates in preparation to donor visits, annual reviews.

Technical assistance with organization of donor visits.
 Organization of program coordination meetings, review of notes and dissemination of meeting updates.
 Field monitoring of project activities and preparation of timely updates.
 Drafting official letters, translation of program related documents.
 Maintaining filing system and archiving of program related documents.

Program Volunteer (Dec 2000 – Feb 2001)
 Assisting in data collection, analysis and translation of program related materials.
 Provision of clerical assistance with organization of meetings, logistics and follow‐up.
 Assisting in maintaining of program filing and archive systems.

Training and Conferences

Water Security, Risk and Society Conference, Oxford, U.K. 2012
WASH in schools on‐line course, Emory University/ UNICEF 2011
Education in Emergency Training, Geneva, Switzerland 2010
International Conference on “Water for Life”, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2010
International Conference on Inclusive Education 2008

155

UNICEF Emergency Awareness Training, Geneva, Switzerland 2008
UNICEF Regional Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training

Montreux, Switzerland 2007
UNICEF Mine Action and Small Arms Workshop, Geneva, Switzerland 2006
Second World Water Forum, Mexico 2006
International Round Table on Girls’ Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2005

Oxford, UK
Water Quality Monitoring Training, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2004
National Children’s Water Forum, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2003

Publications
 Sustainability of Donor‐funded drinking water supply schemes in Tajikistan 2012
Contributed to:
 Repositioning UNICEF WASH in school strategy 2010
 Tajikistan Rapid Emergency Assessment, WASH Cluster 2009
 Tajikistan Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in schools survey 2008
 National Rapid Water Quality Assessment Survey in Tajikistan 2006

Awards and Scholarships

 Huber Technology Fund
 George Peter’s Bursary (Wolfson College, Oxford University)
 Fulbright Foreign Exchange Student Scholarship

LANGUAGES
English, Russian, Tajik

THE SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITY-BASED WATER SUPPLY
ORGANIZATIONS (CWOs):
A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF RURAL COLOMBIA

A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science

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UMI Number: 1568338

ABSTRACT

The sustainability of Community-based Water supply Organizations (CWOs):
A case study analysis of rural Colombia
By Andreina Pulido-Rozo

The world has met the target of halving the number of people without access to
improved-drinking water
1
. However, the focus in rural areas (where 83% of the people
without access to improved-drinking water live)
2
has been on the construction of
infrastructure, rather than on the strengthening of existing local institutions to create a
long-term sustainable solution. This research aims to understand what are the necessary
characteristics that CWOs, the main rural water supplier institutions around the world,
must have to offer safe water continuously and in the long term. The results indicate that
to offer such conditions, internal and external characteristic need to coexist. Those
characteristics will emerge from case studies analysis in rural and peri-urban areas in
Colombia, through interviews, surveys, document reviews, observation exercises, and a
comparison with the literature. Internal characteristics include proper infrastructure
conditions, user satisfaction, best management practices, social capital, be a development
catalyzer, and environmental awareness. External characteristics include easy access to
subsidies, efficient communication channels with authorities, continuous training, and
environmental legislation/education. This study concludes that enforcing these
characteristics will strengthen the existing institutions and can provide a sustainable
solution for rural water supply issues.

Key words: financial sustainability, community-based water supply organizations,
management, water tariffs, subsidies, rural Colombia, costs, break-even point.

1
UN, March 6th, 2012 (“World meets goal of boosting access to clean water but lags on better sanitation – UN”, 2012)
2
Rural Water, The World Bank, Retrieved from http://water.worldbank.org/topics/water -supply/rural-water

iii

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Asaf Zohar for his valuable comments and for
helping me fund my studies, as well as Dr. Tom Whillans for his great knowledge
contribution in water management in Latin America. I gratefully acknowledge the advice
provided by Dr. Albert Berry, Dr. Raúl Ponce-Hernández, and Paula Peláez. I am
especially thankful with the CINARA institute of Universidad del Valle, Colombia and
Dr. Cecilia Roa who made this research possible through their expertise in CWOs in rural
Colombia and Latin America and their funding.
This research wouldn’t have been possible without the remarkable citizens of the
CWOs in rural areas of Cali and Pereira, Colombia (AQUACOL and FACORIS), who
through volunteer work are trying to make their communities better every day; or without
the very generous benefactors to the School of Graduate Studies at Trent University, who
made my trip to rural Colombia possible.
Several people played an important supportive role in this research: my dear and
always supportive parents, Myriam Rozo and Luis Enrique Pulido; my sisters Maria
Claudia Pulido-Rozo and Maria Carolina Pulido-Rozo; my brother-in-law Juan Carlos
Diaz; my cousin and friend Sandra Rozo Villarraga; my dear M.A. Sustainability Studies
colleagues who I now know as friends for life, especially Diana, Jenn, Sara, Yosra and
Gord; my friends in Colombia and my beloved and supportive husband Francis Gillis.

Dedication

To you, for reaffirming my strong believe that we all can contribute through our
daily work to solve the issues of inequality that affect millions of people in this world,
and that finance and sustainable development play an important role towards that goal,
for dreaming, laughing and even crying with me, because without you none of this would
have been possible. Infinite thanks to a wonderful man, with an inspiring perspective of
life, to you my love Francis Gillis.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ii
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. iii
Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… v
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… vii
List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….viii
List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ix
Glossary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. x
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Chapter 1 – Literature Review ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
1.1. Global Context ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
1.1.1 Rural water policies need to strengthen rural institutions ……………………………………… 6
1.1.2. Sustainability of current rural water suppliers……………………………………………………. 7
1.1.3. Rural and urban disparity ………………………………………………………………………………. 8
1.1.4. Global definition of CWO ……………………………………………………………………………… 9
1.1.5. Role of CWOs in the world ………………………………………………………………………….. 10
1.1.6. Contributions and challenges of the CWO approach …………………………………………. 11
1.2. Local Context: Colombia …………………………………………………………………………………… 12
1.2.1. Potable water in the Colombian context …………………………………………………………. 12
1.2.2. CWOs in Colombia ……………………………………………………………………………………. 24
Chapter 2 – Research Rationale ……………………………………………………………………………………. 35
2.1. Research Context …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
2.2. Research Questions ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 40
2.3. Research Problem …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42
2.4. Research Objectives …………………………………………………………………………………………. 48
Chapter 3 – Research Methods ……………………………………………………………………………………… 50
3.1. Why Colombia as a case study location? ………………………………………………………………. 53
3.2. Design ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 54
3.3. Procedure ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
3.4. Participants …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
3.5. Data collection ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 71

Chapter 4 – Research Findings ……………………………………………………………………………………… 77
1. Characteristics of a sustainable rural water supply system according to CWOs ……………… 83
2. Problems faced by CWO and their effects on the sustainability of water supply to their
communities ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 107
2.a. External threats …………………………………………………………………………………………… 110
2.b. Internal weaknesses …………………………………………………………………………………….. 124
2.c. Internal and external threats ………………………………………………………………………….. 134
3. A success story: Tribunas Córcega, a sustainable rural water supplier ………………………… 138
Chapter 5 – Analysis and Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………. 146
Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 153
I. Internal conditions for sustainability ………………………………………………………………….. 159
II. External conditions for sustainability ……………………………………………………………….. 172
Reflections on the literature’s perspective of a sustainable rural water service…………………. 177
Reflections on case studies perspective of a sustainable rural water service…………………….. 183
Chapter 6 – Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………… 188
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 210
Appendices …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 217
Appendix 1 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 217
Appendix 2 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 218
Appendix 3 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 219
Appendix 4 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 225
Appendix 5 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 226
Global Context …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 226
1. Potable water supply issues in the world ……………………………………………………………. 226
2. CWOs in the World ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 234
Appendix 6 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 240
Appendix 7 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 241
Appendix 8 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 246

vii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Estimated proportion of population using improved drinking water sources in rural
Colombia …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
Figure 2: Hierarchy of Committees for Social Development and Control ……………………………… 22
Figure 3: Vulnerabilities of CWOs identified by ACCRC project ………………………………………….. 43
Figure 4: Vicious cycle of small-scale CWOs ……………………………………………………………………. 46
Figure 5: Specific objectives of the larger project “Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural
Colombia: the role of water governance” ………………………………………………………………………. 52
Figure 6: Sites map …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 60
Figure 7: Characteristics of a sustainable rural water supply system according to CWOs ……….. 84
Figure 8: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 assuming all water suppliers have state subsidies 89
Figure 9: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 ………………………………………………………………….. 89
Figure 10: Hierarchy of CWO’s management in practice* ……………………………………………….. 105
Figure 11: Summary of problems identified by CWOs that affect their sustainability …………… 108
Figure 12: Education Level ………………………………………………………………………………………… 121
Figure 13: Basic conditions for the existence of a sustainable water supply system in rural
Colombia ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 155
Figure 14: Merger process about sustainability characteristics and problems found in literature
and case studies………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 157
Figure 15: Internal conditions necessary for the existence of a sustainable water supply system
in rural Colombia …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 159
Figure 16: External characteristics for a sustainable water supply system in rural Colombia (field
work + literature) …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 173
Figure 17: Major water suppliers in rural Colombia ……………………………………………………….. 189
Figure 18: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 assuming all water suppliers have state subsidies
and recognize all their operating costs and expenses …………………………………………………….. 198
Figure 19: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 in the absence of subsidies ………………………… 199
Figure 20: The number of percentage points by which the use of improved drinking water in
rural areas lags behind that in urban areas, worldwide, 1990 and 2008 (WHO/UNICEF, 2011) 233

viii

List of Tables

Table 1: Actors and roles in the Colombian Water Services sector ……………………………………… 21
Table 2: Selection criteria for case studies ……………………………………………………………………… 59
Table 3: Valle del Cauca socioeconomic indicators 2013 …………………………………………………… 61
Table 4: Risaralda socioeconomic indicators…………………………………………………………………… 62
Table 5: Data collection summary ………………………………………………………………………………… 72
Table 6: Detailed information about data collected …………………………………………………………. 72
Table 7: Preliminary survey about CWOs’ needs ……………………………………………………………… 79
Table 8: Characteristics of sustainability according to CWOs in rural Colombia …………………….. 86
Table 9: Problems faced by CWOs ………………………………………………………………………………. 109
Table 10: Identified threats from State subsidies …………………………………………………………… 111
Table 11: Concentration of population per socio-economic or income level ………………………. 112
Table 12: Percentage of CWOs’ hidden costs over total costs and expenses ………………………. 125
Table 13: Annual hidden costs and expenses ………………………………………………………………… 126
Table 14: Comparative chart of current vs. official water tariff calculation in Golondrinas CWO
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 127
Table 15: Break-even point after recognizing all operating costs and expenses ………………….. 129
Table 16: Selection criteria for success story ………………………………………………………………… 138
Table 17: Break-even point after recognizing all operating costs and expenses ………………….. 196

List of Abbreviations

ACCRC: Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Colombia
ARP: Administradora de Riesgos y Pensiones (Insurance companies for professional risks)
CRA: Regulatory Commission for Water and Sanitation (Comision de Regulacion de Agua)
CWO: Community-based Water supply Organizations
FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
IDB: Inter-American Development Bank
IDRC: International Development Research Center (Canada)
JMP: Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation – UN
MDG: Millennium Development Goals
SSPD: Superintendence of Public Utility Services (Superintendencia de Servicios Publicos
Domiciliarios)
SUI: Water Information System (Sistema Único de Información in Spanish)
WHO: World Health Organization

Glossary

 Social capital: “is the ease with which community members act collectively” “which
can generate positive externalities but not necessarily so” (Labonne & Chase, 2011 p.
349). It can be measured through the level of community participation in both formal
(with the state), and informal (with community and non-community members)
institutions that support community-members’ common goals (Labonne & Chase,
2011).
 Peri-urban: “The term “peri-urban area”, cannot be easily defined or delimited
through unambiguous criteria. It is a name given to the grey area which is neither
entirely urban nor purely rural in the traditional sense; it is at most the partly
urbanized rural area. Whatever definition may be given to it, it cannot eliminate some
degree of arbitrariness” (FAO)
3
.
 Socio-economic stratification or Estrato: Colombian State policy tool to divide the
population according to the quality of the property they own or live in. This tool
allows the State to charge utilities and create policies according to the income levels
of the population. It is ranged from 1 being the poorest properties to 6 being the
highest quality buildings. It also includes three differentiated socio-economic levels
for public and private companies owning a property: official, special, and
commercial.
 Efficiency: To accomplish a goal without taking into account the time or resources
needed to do it. “Efficiency’ is held to be the relationship between output in terms of

3
D.L. Iaquinta and A.W. Drescher, (2000). Defining the peri-urban: rural-urban linkages and institutional
connections. FAO. Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x8050t/x8050t02.htm

goods, services and other results, and the resources used to produce them. To increase
efficiency means to increase the outputs of an activity with a given input, or to reduce
the input for a given output. The reference scale is the cost of inputs vs. the value of
outputs” (Müller et al., 2006, p. 11).
 Efficient: To accomplish a goal with the least amount of resources possible (time,
money, people, etc.).
 Efficiency vs. effectiveness: “’Efficiency’ is taken to describe the relationship
between inputs and outputs, whereas ‘effectiveness’ is used to describe the
relationship between outputs and the intended results of the organisation (Brudney
and Morgan 1988; Dalton and Dalton 1988; Metcalfe and Richards 1990; Glynn et al.
1991; Rosen 1993; Naschold 1994; Dowding 1995). Here, effectiveness is used as a
term that refers to goal attainment, while efficiency is used as a term referring to the
cost incurred in this effort (Haman and Freeman 1977:llO)” (as cited in Müller et al.,
2006, p. 11).
 Economies of scale: “The advantages resulting from a large, as opposed to a small,
scale of operation in an organization. They include lower unit costs, greater
purchasing power by buying in bulk, opportunities for training and so on” (The
Routledge Dictionary of Business Management, 2004, p. 49).
 Water tariff: usually a monthly or bimonthly fee charged to water users by the
utilities service supplier for the use of water service in their homes. Read more about
water tariffs in Colombia at Chapter 4, characteristic of sustainability 1.
 Social enterprises: “social-purpose businesses (that is, mission-focused practices
involving business practice, business revenues, or both)”(Dart, 2004, p. 414). “There

xii

is no precise and consistent usage of the term social enterprise. Definitions and
descriptions range a great deal and are themselves worthy of protracted deliberation.
Broadly, most descriptions of social enterprise build from a premise of frame-
breaking and innovation in the social sector (Emerson and Twersky, 1996;
Leadbeater, 1997; Grenier, 2002). Most are significantly influenced by business
thinking and by a primary focus on results and outcomes for client groups and
communities. Most would frame social-enterprise activities as jointly prosocially and
financially motivated in a manner that Emerson and Twersky (1996) describe as
‘double bottom line.’ The broad characterization of social enterprise is frequently
elaborated.” (as cited in Dart, 2004, p. 413).

Introduction

As I reached the top of that green mountain, surrounded by coffee crops and a tropical
smell, the beauty of the landscape captivated me. While indulging in one of the few
success stories of rural water provision as part of my study, I realized how little I knew
about small community life in rural Colombia, and if even in spite of my 28 years
growing up, studying and working in the country I was still ignorant to this, I could only
fathom how little everybody else knew. Reality is relative to the eyes of the viewer, but
can vary if the viewer becomes a listener and understands other people’s perspective, at
least for once. This viewer became a listener and would like to tell the story she heard.
My trip to the field in rural Colombia was not as I had expected. Where I
expected to provide help, I was helped, and where I expected to teach, I was trained on
the true meaning of community. I was overwhelmed by these strangers’ generosity and
hospitality, by how much they wanted to share their experience with the world. However,
my mind had so many unanswered questions about what Colombia could do as a country
to provide the minimum conditions to supply potable water for all.
While water may have become recognized worldwide as a human right in 1992,
this wasn’t the case for everyone. In Colombia, the rural-urban disparity in access to
water is one of the largest in the world, even though as a country it is ranked sixth highest

in the world for water resources. With average annual rainfall of 1,800 milliliters
4
–
double the world average – making up about 720 thousand watersheds and about 10
rivers with permanent flow, it is difficult to understand why 43% of its rural population
still does not have access to potable water at home (DANE, 2010).
This research will describe the characteristics of what should constitute a
sustainable water supply system in rural Colombia based on a comparison between the
perspectives of several rural water suppliers and the literature on sustainable rural water
systems. Additionally, as requested by these rural organizations, this research will pay
special attention to the role of better management skills in the sustainability of such rural
water systems.
The legislation and political, cultural, physical, environmental and socio-
economic conditions under which a sustainable rural water system should exist are a key
component of the sustainability of a water system in rural areas. However, this discourse
has been widely discussed in the literature (Budds & Mcgranahan, 2003; Jiménez
Fernández de Palencia & Pérez-Foguet, 2010; Krause, 2007; Mansuri & Rao, 2003) and
is not the intent of this research to explore it further. The aim of this research is to clarify
the goals rather than the means; that is, understand what a sustainable rural water system
would look like independent of the policies, legislation, cultural, geographic,
environmental or socio-economic scenarios that would allow its existence. The writer
believes that the formulation of policies and legislation for rural access to potable water

4
Retrieved from National University of Colombia, UN Newspaper, 50% of the water in Colombia is of poor
quality (Feb 12, 2011): http://www.unperiodico.unal.edu.co/en/dper/article/el-50-del-agua-en-colombia-
es-de-mala-calidad.html

http://www.unperiodico.unal.edu.co/en/dper/article/el-50-del-agua-en-colombia-es-de-mala-calidad.html

would be highly benefited by having a clear picture of what to pursue according to what
locals and the literature believe constitutes a sustainable alternative to rural water
systems.
This research included interviews with CWO staff, and collected information
from their organizations to compare it with other public-private water suppliers in the
area and the literature in order to understand the role of CWOs in the sustainability of
rural water systems. The research did not include interviews with authorities or
community members due to financial constraints.
Indeed, the literature recognizes the important role of CWOs in the rural water
supply sector and illustrates their strengths and challenges; however, it does not verify
these concepts with practical case studies. The literature is divided into case study
analysis and theory. Case study literature tends to focus on the particularities of the case,
without addressing the bigger picture of how those findings could help other rural water
suppliers. In contrast, when the literature is theoretically based it may not apply the
theory to practical real life problems. This research will use both perspectives to have a
holistic definition of the characteristics of a sustainable water supply system in rural
Colombia.
This research aims to inform policy makers and community leaders seeking to
improve rural access to potable water, rural water organizations who wish to know more
about the strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses and threats of the community
participation model implemented in rural Colombia, and any other sector players or

researchers interested in a business perspective of small rural water suppliers and their
sustainability.

Chapter 1 – Literature Review

1.1. Global Context
5

Despite the global efforts to eradicate potable water scarcity, rural areas continue to lag
behind urban areas in the overall improvements. According to World Bank statistics (The
World Bank, 2014), at least 768 million people worldwide lack access to improved water
sources, and by the end of 2011, 83% of that population without access to an improved
drinking-water source lived in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF, 2013). In a global effort to
seek solutions to these issues, world nations endorsed for the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG) in 2000. One of MDG Goals (7c) states the water target of reducing by half
the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and adequate
sanitation by 2015 (MDG, 2000).
In 2012 the UN announced that the world had met early the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to
safe water (“World meets goal”, 2012). However, there is a great debate even within the
UN itself of whether the goal was satisfactorily met or not (Onda, LoBuglio & Bartram,
2012; Goff & Crow, 2014; Dar & Khan, 2011; Fehling, Nelson, & Venkatapuram, 2013).
In the strict definition of improved drinking water and based on 1990 statistics, the goal
was met, but many parties, including the UN agree that even people who have access to

5
See the complete literature review about the Global Context in Appendix 5.

water supply services often use unsafe water and have poor water provision (The World
Bank, 2014; Onda et al., 2012; Goff & Crow, 2014).
6

1.1.1 Rural water policies need to strengthen rural institutions

The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation is the official
United Nations program in charge of monitoring progress towards the MDG related to
drinking water and sanitation (MDG 7, Target 7c), and it agrees that the formulation of
water policies to reduce the worldwide population without access to potable water has
room for improvement, especially in rural areas (The World Bank, 2014). According to
this programme, rural water policies have to focus on
i. Improving utilities’ performance to ensure continuous service and lower
levels of leakage, which affect both the quality and quantity of water available
to end-users
ii. On the utilities’ revenue and its financial sustainability
iii. Social and financial considerations should also be addressed in the design,
planning and implementation of water policies and facilities to keep the
services affordable for the poorest
iv. JMP says that tariff
7
policies and strategic financial planning involving
governments, service providers, end-users, and donors are considered key to
ensure sustainable water services for all (The World Bank, 2014).

6
See the complete literature review about the Global Context in Appendix 5.
7
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary

Unfortunately, the global water policy for the rural water systems sector has
focused on the construction of new infrastructure, rather than the strengthening of the
institutions to manage existing infrastructure, local maintenance and repairs services,
community engagement and in general create a sustainable solution for the long term (as
suggested by the JMP above). The result is an unsustainable solution where “water
supply systems continue to fall out of service as fast as new ones are constructed”
(Venkataswamy, 2011, p. 2).
8

In areas without access to drinking water, technical or geographical problems are
rarely the reason for the lack of this service. “To a large extent, these are socially and
politically induced challenges, defined by the established water governance” (Jiménez
Fernández de Palencia & Pérez-Foguet, 2010, p. 37). Contrary to the current practice,
which relies on building new infrastructures and new technologies to address the issue of
access to drinking water, addressing operational and management issues can be a more
efficient
9
alternative. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF
Well-run utility supplies which have human capital in the form of trained staff,
and financial capital to invest in upgrading technology and new infrastructure, are
potentially highly resilient to climate change. Many supplies are not resilient in
practice because their resilience is reduced by factors such as excessive leakage or
intermittent supply. In order to become climate resilient, utility operational
performance needs to be addressed (WHO/UNICEF, 2011, p. 49).
1.1.2. Sustainability of current rural water suppliers

Regarding the sustainability of rural water services, the WHO/UNICEF (2011) estimates
that, unfortunately, the worst effects of climate change will continue to have more

8
See the complete literature review about the Global Context in Appendix 5.
9
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

consequences on small unprepared communities with inadequate operation and
maintenance practices that usually lead to system failures and contamination. Their
forecast indicates that by 2020, the majority of rural populations (an estimated 57%) “will
collect their drinking water from community sources such as boreholes, tubewells,
protected springs and protected wells”. However, only boreholes and tubewells will be
resilient to most climate changes. The operation and maintenance of many of those
sources rely on community management, which is associated with high rates of failure
and contamination, therefore “climate change will increase stresses on community
management”. Under that scenario, even technologies which appear to be resilient on a
technical level may fail to deliver sustainable drinking water supplies if community
management does not work properly (WHO/UNICEF, 2011, p.53). This illustrates the
importance of strengthening community management and rural water institution for the
sustainability of rural water systems.
1.1.3. Rural and urban disparity

Despite the fact that rural-urban disparities in access to drinking water have decreased
worldwide, many countries in Africa, Asia and America continue to have large gaps
between rural and urban areas. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, there are 25 countries
in which the percentage point gap between use of improved drinking water in
urban and rural areas is more than 25%. In seven countries – Congo, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Niger, Sierra Leone and Somalia – it is
more than 50% (WHO/UNICEF, 2011, p. 22).
In Asia, America, and other regions of Africa urban-rural disparities are less
noticeable but there are several countries in which the percentage point gap is also more
than 25%. In Latin America these countries include Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua,

Paraguay and Peru, and in Asia they include Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan.
Other regions around the world with such disparities include Morocco, Papua New
Guinea and Iraq (WHO/UNICEF, 2011).
Although rural coverage considerably lags behind urban coverage worldwide, aid
funding for basic water systems targeted for rural populations, declined from 27% to 16%
of total ODA (Official Development Assistance) for drinking water and sanitation from
2003 to 2008 (in absolute terms, the amount remained stable) (WHO, 2010b;
WHO/UNICEF, 2011). These kinds of policies translate into even larger disparities
between rural and urban water coverage.
For better or for worse, small-scale water systems are the predominant water
source that are providing water for millions of people in rural areas around the world, and
helping them succeed means working towards a quicker solution rather than reinventing
new costly development projects for access to potable water.
1.1.4. Global definition of CWO

For the purpose of this research, small-scale water systems that are fully managed and
operated, and at times built, by their own users and community members will be called
Community-based Water supply Organizations
10
or CWOs. CWOs are dedicated to
collect, treat, store, and distribute drinking-water from source to consumer. They are not
called Community-driven Water supply Organizations, despite the fact that they follow

10
See other names and complete definition of CWOs in Appendix 5, section 2.1.

the Community Driven Development CDD model
11
of being in control of the water
system’s funds. This is because CDDs imply local autonomy and absence of cooperation
with the State, while CWOs include cooperation with the State. This researcher considers
that cooperation between the State and CWOs is needed for a rural water system to work.
Therefore they will be called Community-based rather Community-driven Water supply
Organizations.
1.1.5. Role of CWOs in the world

11
For more information about the World Bank’s CDD concept see appendix 5, subtitle 1.2. “Is a bottom-up
approach a better solution for rural potable water?”
12
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary

important contributions to success were information accessible to the households,
training in operations and maintenance, control over funds, and good quality
construction. It is important to note the study also showed that the approach did not work
consistently well among all the communities (Sun et al., 2010).
1.1.6. Contributions and challenges of the CWO approach
13

According to the literature, the value-added contribution of Community-based Water
supply Organizations varies from community participation in decision-making, social
control and CWOs accountability to the community, to efficient
14
management of water
basins, sense of ownership, among others (Novy & Leuboldt, 2005; Smits, Tamayo,
Ibarra, Rojas, Benavidez & Bey, 2012).
Important factors contributing to the success of community-based approaches to
drinking water supply in rural areas are (Sun et al., 2010, p.3):
1) Involvement of the communities in design, construction, evaluation, operation
and maintenance, becoming water projects for the long term; 2) Household
contributions to water projects in the form of cash and labor; 3) Social capital
15

and local leadership; 4) Provisions to ensure women’s participation.
However, there is little quantitative and qualitative evidence that demonstrates
these value contributions or success aspects enhance the performance or level of service
of rural water providers (Smits et al., 2012, p. 11). The success of community

13
A literature review on the main contributions and challenges of the CWO model to rural water systems
can be found in Appendix 5, Subtitle 2.3 “Contributions of the CWO approach” and Subtitle 2.4 “Global
challenges of CWOs”.
14
See definition of efficient in the Glossary
15
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary

participation seems to depend highly on the leadership of the CWO and the influence of
its delegates in the community.
There is ample debate about whether CWOs are a better solution for rural areas
than alternative management models based on economies of scale
16
. Many argue pro and
against this lower cost solution for access to water in rural areas and its implications in
terms of water quality and service frequency (See literature debate in Appendix 5,
Subtitle 2.3. Contributions of the CWO approach, Beating economies of scale).
In conclusion, while global access to potable water has improved over the recent
decades especially in urban areas, rural areas generally have been left behind, meaning
that if further enhancements are to be made, a larger effort in strengthening rural water
institutions needs to happen.

1.2. Local Context: Colombia
1.2.1. Potable water in the Colombian context

Colombia is a vivid example of the global trend of rural-urban disparity in access to
potable water and the types of improvements needed to overcome such a challenge. As in
the rest of Latin America, privatization has been an active approach from Colombian
authorities since the 1990s towards bringing access to water to its population. A study
conducted by the World Bank, Fedesarrollo and Fundesarrollo identified that although

16
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

privatization has been an excellent solution for urban areas, it has had negative effects on
the cost of and access to water in rural areas (Barrera-Osorio, Olivera, & Ospino, 2009).
Indeed, the main findings of such study show that water privatization brought (Barrera-
Osorio et al., 2009):
i. improvements in the quality of water and increase in the frequency of the service
in privatized urban municipalities;
ii. positive effects against health problems such as diarrhoea in children living in
urban areas and improvement in health issues, like children’s weight and height in
both urban and rural areas;
iii. a negative effect on price of water; and
iv. strong negative effects on access to water in rural areas. One of the main
conclusions of this study is that privatization works better in urban than in rural
areas in Colombia.
This section describes the context of access to drinking water in rural areas in
Colombia. It starts by describing (1) the current situation of rural water suppliers (public,
private or CWOs indistinctively) in Colombia, and (2) the history of water services in
rural Colombia and the legal framework it has created.

1.2.1.1. Current situation of rural water services in Colombia
In Colombia, as the seventh most unequal country in the world
17
, one of the main sources
of inequality is access to potable water, where coverage in urban areas is 96% while in
rural areas it is only 57% (Colombia National Department of Statistics DANE, 2010).
Despite this fact, Colombia has shown progress in rural water coverage over the last three
decades, going from 12% coverage in 1985
18
to 57% in 2010.
According to the JMP measure of access to improved drinking water, rural
Colombia has improved from 69% in 1990 to 74% in 2012 (see red line in Figure 1), but
is still significantly behind the urban population estimate of constant 97% access to
improved drinking water from 1990 to 2012 (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2014).

17
In terms of Gini coefficient of income. The World Bank, Dec. 17th 2012: Breaking with history: Why Colombia needs a more
progressive tax system, article by Lars Christian Moller, Colombia Reports. Retrieved from
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2012/12/17/why-colombia-needs-a-more-progressive-tax-system
18
(Fernandez, 2004, p.16)

Figure 1: Estimated proportion of population using improved drinking water sources in rural Colombia
Source: WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2014 (April).

In general, water quality offered in Colombia is deficient. A study released by the
Colombian Ombudsman Office in 2005 indicated that 82% of the small town (municipal)
governments distribute water that does not meet the quality standards required by
Colombian law. The greatest risks to health from these water supplies are the potential
for microbial contamination and outbreaks of infectious disease, such as acute diarrhoeal
illness (Rojas, Zamora, Tamayo, & García, 2011, p.11). In addition, the current water
tariff
19
structure seems to decrease the purchasing power of the poor. The Colombian
poor spend 8% of their total income in water service, while in Guatemala such percentage
represents 2.5%, in Peru 4% and in Mexico 6% (Cadavid, 2008, p. 2).
1.2.1.2. History of water services in rural Colombia and legal framework
Since the mid-1950s and until 1987 water supply services in Colombia were centralized
(managed by the State) (Rojas et al., 2011). In 1987 the Colombian State decentralized
water services by giving the responsibility of water supply services to municipal
governments (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009; Rojas et al., 2011). In 1991 Colombia decided
to go further in the decentralization process through two structural reforms:
 Constitution of 1991 (article 365 to 370) consolidated the role of municipalities as
responsible entities for water supply services, allowed private sector and organized
communities’ participation in water supply services, and established the basis for
cross-subsidies (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009; Krause, 2007; Rojas et al., 2011).
 Public Utilities Law No. 142 of 1994 provided more specific details about the new
system. This law brought important and necessary changes to the new utilities sector,

19
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary

such as (a) creating national regulatory agencies (the Superintendence of Public
Utility Services -SSPD and the Regulatory Commission for Water and Sanitation –
CRA) intended to regulate water tariffs and competition; (b) introduction to the
Characteristic of water tariffs that cover operating costs; (c) promotion of PSP
(Private Sector Participation) as water suppliers; (d) the recognition of community
organizations as formal water suppliers; (e) the Characteristic of equity, solidarity and
cross-subsidies between socio-economic groups (Krause, 2007; Rojas et al., 2011).
Under the new Constitution, the State was responsible only for the regulation,
control and monitoring of water services, and would only provide the service due to
social vulnerability or sovereignty reasons (Colombian Political Constitution, art. 365,
1991). One of the main achievements for rural water services of the Public Utilities Law
was the regulation of cross-subsidies. Previously, Law 142 of 1994 subsidies were
implicit and designated by political motives, whereas, currently, an explicit system of
cross-subsidies exists to finance the lower income population (lower socio-economic
stratification
20
) through contributions from people of higher income (higher socio-
economic stratification) in addition to state subsidies (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009). The
new cross-subsidies system was financially viable and reflected water provision operating
costs in water tariffs that were subsidized only for those individuals of lower income. The
new regulatory framework had national scope and regulated both public and private
companies (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009).

20
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

The Colombian Constitution reform in 1991 and Law 142 of 1994 were
pioneering efforts in Latin America in encouraging small-scale rural water suppliers to be
formal water providers under the law (Dardenne, 2006). However, this constitutes a great
concern for both the Colombian government and several analysts (Fernandez, 2004;
Krause, 2007) because it allows the atomisation of water suppliers in the country. Up
until 2014, the Water Information System (SUI) reported that there were 2,430 water
suppliers registered in the system
21
, but an estimate of the total registered and non-
registered water suppliers in the country indicates there are more than 12,000 (Rojas et
al., 2011), meaning that no more than 20% of the total estimated water suppliers act as
formal players. Still, the advanced decentralization effort to empower local communities
to provide the service is remarkable.
Indeed, for some authors like Rojas et al. (2011), the decentralization process per
se did not much improve the situation of CWOs in rural areas, given that the law did not
dictate any special regulations to obligate local governments to invest and provide
training or technical assistance to the already existing rural providers. Investment in
infrastructure, training or technical assistance was left to the political will of every local
government. The positive impact of decentralization in rural areas only happened due to
the individual conviction of local government that believed that by helping their rural
water supply system it would benefit their municipality.
There seems to be a direct correlation between financial capacity, municipality
size and the probability of providing support to CWOs. In smaller municipalities that

21
Report retrieved from: http://www.sui.gov.co/ “empresas registradas”

http://www.sui.gov.co/

receive less resources from the central government, support for rural water suppliers is
more deficient (Rojas et al., 2011).
According to an interim report of the research project ACCRC
22
there are not
enough regulations or support mechanisms specifically intended to control or benefit
Community-based Water supply Organizations, although they are predominant in the
poorest and most remote areas of the country, and this is despite the fact that bringing
water access to those areas is a government priority (under the MDG). Apart from the
regulatory requirement of water tariff calculation according to the Regulatory
Commission for Water and Sanitation (CRA) methodology for suppliers with less than
2,500 connections / points of service, the only other regulation in place for CWOs is to
report operational and financial information to the Water Information System (SUI) and
to register as a water supplier in the Superintendence of Public Utility Services (SSPD).
For Cecilia Roa (Coordinator of the ACCRC project), reporting information to the SUI
and registering in the SSPD has become a marginalization factor in rural communities
because of their limited capacity to comply with requirements. An illustration of this is
the low rate of water suppliers’ registration found at the SUI information system
mentioned above, which accounted for no more than 20% of the estimated 12,000 total
water suppliers existent in the country.
Under Law 142 of 1994, two new regulatory entities were created: the Regulatory
Commission for Water and Sanitation (CRA), which is responsible for planning and

22
ACCRC – Adaptation to climate change in rural Colombia: The role of water governance, Interim report
July 15 2012 to January 15, 2013. Coordinated by: Maria Cecilia Roa. IDRC grant number: 106344-001

securing the quality and coverage of public services, and the Superintendence of Public
Utility Services (SSPD), which controls the performance of the sector and is responsible
for protecting water users (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009).
Since all these regulations took place, privatization in Colombia has lost
popularity and has encountered significant political opposition
23
. In 2002, an annual
survey conducted in 17 Latin American countries (Latinobarometro) showed that 61% of
Latin-Americans “disagreed with the statement that privatizations have been beneficial to
the country”. In Colombia, 65% disagreed with privatization (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009,
p. 649).
Sector funding
Despite the participation of the private sector in water provision, local governments are
the predominant water suppliers in Colombia and in most cases are responsible for
financing long-term investments (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009). What is more, in terms of
sector funding, it is the central government which provides the largest investment overall
(Rojas et al., 2011).
The most recent and significant change in the water sector was the
implementation of the Departmental Water Plans (PDA), a national policy formulated in
2007 (Rojas et al., 2011). PDAs, intended to improve water coverage in urban areas,
require municipalities to make a contribution to a Departmental fund, which has reduced
the available resources for rural areas, and has been interpreted as a step back in the

23
More about water privatization in the world in Appendix 5, subtitle 2.3. “Contributions of the CWO
approach”, Beating economies of scale.

decentralization process (Rojas et al., 2011). As expected, in the last 4 years, the PDAs
have executed only 20% of the water projects planned for rural areas, in effect
maintaining the gap between rural and urban areas (Jacabrales, 2011).
Current actors
As a summary of the previous section, Table 1 illustrates how the Water Services sector
is distributed in Colombia.
Role National Department Municipality
Policy making Ministry of Environment
and Sustainable
Development:
 Strategic WS service
policy
 Allocation of national
funds
 Environmental policy and
regulation
Autonomous Regional
Body (CAR):
 Environmental policy
Mayor / Municipal
council:
 Urban planning
 WS investment priorities
 Ownership of assets
 Allocation of district
funds for investments
and of user subsidies
Regulation Regulatory Commission for
Water and Sanitation
(CRA):
 Definition of norms
 Water tariff regulation
Autonomous Regional
Body (CAR):
 Enforcing environmental
policies
Mayor:
 Socio-economic
stratification
Control Superintendence of Public
Utility Services (SSPD):
 Controlling and
sanctioning norms
 Protect water users
Autonomous Regional
Body (CAR):
 Environmental control
District health authority:
 Health-related control of
drinking water quality
Service
delivery
– Departmental
administration:
 Technical assistance;
Departmental enterprise:
 Service delivery
(exception)
District administration or
District enterprise or
Private enterprise or
CWO
 Service delivery (rule)
Source: based on Fernandez, 2004, modified by Krause, 2007 and by the author in 2014.
Table 1: Actors and roles in the Colombian Water Services sector
Legal mechanisms for community participation
The existent regulation to promote community participation is highly progressive, but
confusing and unspecific enough to allow community participation models within water
supply organizations to adopt different internal hierarchies that vary from one to another.

Currently, Law 142 of 1994 in its articles 62 to 66 dictates some details about a legal
framework for community participation where water users take part in the decision-
making processes regarding public utilities. The core vehicles for user participation are
the Committees for Social Development and Control (CDCSs). These Committees can
only have local water (or other utilities) users as members; members only have to present
their last utilities bill to participate. Such Committees are compounded by (i) user
members (population/1,000 = No. of members), (ii) Board of Directors, (iii) Spokesman.
This relationship is described graphically in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Hierarchy of Committees for Social Development and Control
In practice, and due to the unclear legislation about CWOs hierarchy, Figure 2 is a
template for community participation models in rural water systems like the ones under
research. This structure works as the base for what CWOs call Board of Directors or the
voice of the community in the water system (they do not use the name “committees” for

social development and control), at times with or without a spokesman, with or without a
president, and with different village representation in every Board.
As translated from Law 142 of 1994, art. 66 by Krause (2007, p. 117)
“Spokesmen are not remunerated and they and their family members are not allowed to
be employees or maintain a contractual relationship neither with the service provider they
monitor nor with the national regulatory agencies.” There is not much specification about
the Board of Directors functions and the interaction of the whole Committee is based on
the spokesman’s communication with the local water supplier and the authorities.
Unfortunately, the Law is not much more specific than this and as a consequence
the empirical application of this progressive legislation is still low. According to
Maldonado/Vargas Forero (2001) (as cited in Krause, 2007), by the year 2000 there were
active CDCSs in only 40% of the Colombian districts. Authors like Buitrago Restrepo
(2001) and Consumidores de Colombia (2005) (as cited in Krause, 2007) refer to the
barriers to create CDCSs such as:
(i) many users and local leaders do not know about their right to form a CDCS
and (ii) the creation is a quite complicated and bureaucratic act. Recently the
SSPD improved efforts to provide information (e.g. brochures and manuals) and
has proactively encouraged the formation of CDCSs through workshops.
According to SSPD, by 2005 there existed 632 CDCSs covering water sector
services (Krause, 2007, p.117).

1.2.2. CWOs in Colombia
1.2.2.1. Definition
Community-based Water supply Organizations in Colombia
Similar to other rural areas world, Colombia’s primary water service delivery model in its
rural areas are CWOs. Since the late 1960s rural communities have taken responsibility
for their water provision services (Rojas et al., 2011). According to the Colombian
Ministry of the Environment, Housing and Development (MAVDT), around 27% of the
population (12 million people)
24
has access to water thanks to CWOs. Although it has
been the default approach for many decades, only in 1994 were community-based service
providers legally recognized and regulated within the sector’s institutional framework.
This framework now dictates that municipalities are responsible for ensuring service
delivery, but community-based (or municipal, private or mixed) service providers are
responsible for the actual operation and maintenance of systems and the administration of
services (Smits et al., 2012).
Unfortunately, apart from the framework and recognition of existence, there is not
enough specific regulation for this very particular type of water supply organizations.
Many CWOs are too small, do not have the right infrastructure and are not financially
viable to fulfil the minimum requirements to be part of the national system of water
suppliers. Therefore, they are not eligible for State assistance or subsidies. Instead, the
State has considered publicly or privately-owned large corporations to be a more

24
Rural Sanitary Inventory, Colombian Ministry of Environment, Housing and Development (MAVDT) and
The World Bank, 2006 Inventario Sanitario Rural de Occidente. Retrieved from
http://www.minvivienda.gov.co/Agua/Publicaciones/Paginas/Resultados-inventario.aspx

efficient
25
way to distribute water in rural Colombia. In addition, these corporations have
enhanced water quality and coverage much faster than the State alone ever did, although
mainly in urban areas.
Numbers are still uncertain given that many CWOs are not part of the national
system of water suppliers, but the last estimate of the Ministry of the Environment,
Housing and Development (MAVDT) reports that there were 11,552 CWOs in Colombia
(2006) while other sources point to 12,000 or more CWOs (Rojas et al., 2011). CWOs in
rural and peri-urban
26
Colombia serve only a small number of users each (Krause, 2007).
According to Krause, “the major concerns to this respect are that (i) organisational
economies of scale
27
are lost, driving up costs of service and compromising quality of
service and that (ii) it is practically infeasible for the two national agencies CRA and
SSPD to regulate the large number of small providers” (Krause, 2007, p. 124). In
summary, when it comes to rural communities in Colombia, CWOs are the predominant
solution to water provision, which would otherwise be waiting for the government to
provide the service.
1.2.2.2. Indicators and characteristics of a sustainable rural water system in Colombia
What is a sustainable rural water supply system for the Colombian
context according to the literature?
To explain the problem embedded in water supply systems for rural areas in Colombia,
we first need to understand what has been said about the characteristics of an efficient
drinking water supply system for rural Colombia. According to the conceptual framework

25
See definition of efficient in the Glossary
26
See definition of peri-urban in the Glossary
27
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

developed by CINARA institute and the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) about
the sustainability of water services in rural Colombia (Smits, Tamayo, Ibarra, & Rojas,
2012) and a large body of literature, the optimal drinking water supply system would
include four main aspects that would ensure its sustainability (Fonseca & Bold, 2002;
Kariuki & Schwartz, 2005; Tadeo, 2006; van Dijk, 2008; Blanco, 2008; WHO, 2010;
Madrigal, Alpízar, & Schlüter, 2010; Rojas et al. 2011; De France, 2012; Smits et al.,
2012; Sun et al., 2010):
A sustainable water supply service in rural Colombia would:
1. Provide equitable access to high quality water that improves with time, with
enough frequency to fulfill the community basic needs, ideally without shortages;
2. Be financially sustainable, meaning self-sufficient to pay for their operation,
maintenance, repairs and investment in infrastructure, as well as water tariffs at
affordable prices for users;
3. Use appropriate technologies and have technical knowledge;
4. Achieve high governance performance standards: Where there is enough
community engagement from the design face to the decision-making and
operation of the system, so that it generates a sense of ownership, ultimately
benefiting the water system’s operation.
Based on these four aspects, tentative indicators to measure the sustainability of a
rural water supply system can be expressed in five main components of sustainability:
infrastructure condition, user satisfaction, financial health (Madrigal et al., 2010), and
value added to the community.

Infrastructure Condition
 Percentage of self-sufficiency in maintenance and repairs services (Kubzansky,
Cooper, & Barbary, 2011) = Maintenance and repairs operated by CWOs staff /
total maintenance and repairs operated in the community water system.
 Water source protection / vulnerability
 Water quality
 Technical knowledge and appropriate technologies
User Satisfaction
 Utilisation rates (in Kenyan case studies spreads from 5 to 50 per cent)
(Kubzansky et al., 2011)
 Continuity of water service
 Water quantity satisfaction
 Absence of illness caused by drinking tap water
 Perception of work done by CWO
Financial Health
 Operating margin (In Kenyan case studies Operating margins showed huge
variance, from -122 to +42 per cent) (Kubzansky et al., 2011)
 Break even (including covering capital expenditure): e.g. the CWO could break
even if it sold 3,350 20-litre cans a month. (Kubzansky et al., 2011, p. 113)
Value added to the community
 Participatory budgeting (Novy & Leubolt, 2005)

 Community engagement: sense of ownership (Mansuri & Rao, 2013)
 Cheaper than other alternatives: like sachet water, trucked-in water (Kubzansky et
al., 2011), fuel to boil water (De Carvalho, Graf, Kayser, & Vousvouras, 2011)
If these conditions are not met, there is great risk of low sustainability for CWOs,
but compliance with them is no guarantee of sustainability, as factors in the different
stages of the water system life cycle can have an impact as well. This research will use
these five aspects of sustainability and its indicators as the definition framework of a
sustainable rural water supply service.
As shown above, extensive literature supports the valuable contribution of the
predominant CWO approach to a potentially sustainable water system for rural
Colombia; many even categorize it as a more sustainable alternative than the private or
public interventions in terms of community engagement and low costs. In the end, CWOs
have been effective in providing water to communities that otherwise would not have
access to drinking water. However, there are serious concerns that have to be considered
before suggesting any radical solutions, problems as serious as the water quality they
provide, the frequency of the service, their governance and many other aspects. All in all,
CWOs can provide the platform to understand what is the fastest solution for rural access
to potable water and based on their challenges help define enhancement policies that lead
to a sustainable rural water supply system in Colombia.

1.2.2.3. Current situation of CWOs in Colombia
Unfortunately, there are several challenges in water quality, quantity and customer
service in the service provision of CWOs that explain why the Colombian government
and external entities look for support mechanisms. As previously mentioned, rural water
quality is highly deficient. The greatest risks to health from these polluted water sources
are the potential for microbial contamination and outbreaks of infectious disease, such as
acute diarrhoeal illness (Rojas, p.11, 2011).
Similar to conclusions drawn from studies in Ecuador, CWOs in Colombia lack
inter-institutional cooperation in the areas of collaboration and sharing of ideas,
experiences, and even financial resources and human talents (Kaia, 2004; Smits et al.,
2012), negatively impacting the sustainable management of the natural resource as a
whole.
The good performance of CWOs is highly dependent on the leadership skills of its
managers. Madrigal highlights that the value contribution of CWOs to their communities
is not an intrinsic characteristic but depends on the CWO’s demand-driven approach,
coupled with local accountability, working rules for tariff collection and infrastructure
maintenance, and appropriate support from the government, (Madrigal et al., 2010) all
conditions dependent on the leader of the organization.
When analyzing CWOs under Stuart Hart’s “Sustainable Value Framework”, they
could be creating “Sustainable Value” in terms of serving the unmet needs of the poor
(i.e., the Base of the Pyramid) and engaging stakeholders, but according to this model

they lack of clear strategies to prevent pollution and develop new technologies or
infrastructure (Hart, 2010).
Absence of training
As mentioned by The World Bank and authors such as Katz and Sara (1997) (as cited in
Mansuri & Rao, 2013) and Rojas et. al (2011), technical assistance and training is an
important component in the sustainability of rural water supply systems. In Colombia, the
legislation makes the SSPD responsible for providing local governments with the
necessary technical support, technology, training, orientation and any other necessary
diffusion elements for the promotion of community participation with the creation of
local regulation and control organisms (Law 142 of 1994, article 65, 3). However, the
legislation does not go any further than this. There are no existing specifications with
respect to who is responsible for providing operational training, technological update,
managerial training or any other type of training for water suppliers, especially for rural
water suppliers which are more vulnerable in terms of information access.
Limited access to State subsidies
The Colombian subsidy scheme based on cross-subsidies, where subsidies are not
directly received by users but delivered indirectly through tariff reduction, has been
successful in benefiting the poor, as it is progressive, egalitarian and efficient structure.
Subsidies were regulated by Law 142 of 1994 based on the Characteristic of “economic
efficiency
28
, financial viability, solidarity and contribution.” To reflect economic

28
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

efficiency and financial viability, water tariffs would have to reflect the real operating
costs. In addition, to incorporate the Characteristics of solidarity and contribution, water
tariffs should be subsidized for low-income users through high-income users’
contribution with a higher tariff. The State would compensate places were the proportion
of low-income people and high-income people generated additional subsidies
requirements (Law 142 of 1994)
29
.
However, incorrect assessments of the actual poor individuals in Colombia and
those who should be receiving the subsidy are making the model financially
unsustainable. Many users who in reality do not need the subsidy are receiving it today
due to a wrong socio-economic stratification
30
system and vice versa (Melendez, 2008).
Simultaneously, many municipalities still do not have access to subsidies. The
evidence suggest that the Funds of Solidarity and Income Redistribution are not fully
operating in every municipality (Domínguez & Uribe, 2005). According to Dominguez &
Uribe, the available evidence shows that municipal governments have transferred only
18% of the resources that should have been transferred to the water supply enterprises
(Domínguez & Uribe, 2005, p. 44). The literature is divided as to why subsidies are not
widely available, some argue that the absence of accounting knowledge could be a reason
due to the complicated accounting information required to apply for subsidies (Krause,
2007). Other argue that political interests are giving priority to other projects and are not
allocating the resources towards potable water (Rojas et al., 2011, p. 73).Whatever the

29
To see more about water tariff calculation formula read Krause, p. 131, 2007
30
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

case may be, subsidies do not seem to be widely available in Colombia, especially where
they are most needed, in rural areas. Under this scenario, it is worth asking what support
mechanism has the Colombian State provided to change this reality, help CWOs
overcome their challenges and become more sustainable?
Support mechanisms
Studies have shown the existence of a great variety of support strategies for rural water
suppliers in Colombia. A recent study carried out by the IRC, (Rojas et al.,2011) showed
that out of a sample of two states and two national level entities in Colombia, there were
nine different support strategies for rural areas. However, they face different limitations
that restrict the success of these strategies, such as the lack of enough staff to implement
the strategies, high staff turnover, scarce interaction with support entities, and low State
presence in rural areas, among others. A recurrent limitation in almost all the strategies
identified in this study is the lack of financial resources to continue with strategies and
that local governments prioritize resources for urban projects (Rojas et al., 2011, p. 105;
Urrea & Cárdenas, 2011).
An IDB study (Smits et al., 2012) gave the lowest rate in performance to the
technical and operational management of CWOs, specifically in topics like micro
metering, watershed management activities and water source protection. The same study
indicated that the lack of feedback is another area where external entities could help
CWOs become more sustainable.
Along these lines, Escobar (2010) describes the attempts in Latin American
countries like Ecuador and Bolivia of a post-development era, where the co-existence

among diverse cultural groups under conditions of equality seeks to break away from the
centuries-old imposition of a single cultural vision. If the water regulation authorities in
Colombia adopted a post-development perspective such as this, it would avoid applying
the same rules to large and small water suppliers were diversity can provide new forms of
development customized for rural areas.
The current instruments in Colombian legislation for water management,
including planning, economic and administrative instruments were designed without
considering its relationship with others, and the Ministry of the Environment, Housing
and Development (MAVDT) does not give clear guidance on how they should interact
(Blanco, 2008).
In summary, the literature shows there are efforts towards helping CWOs in
Colombia be more sustainable and address their challenges; however those efforts are not
sufficient and there is great room for improvement, especially regarding strategies to
reduce the financial and monitoring vulnerabilities of rural CWOs.
GAPS IN THE LITERATURE
 The literature does not include environmental sustainability or responsibility as a
separate component of a sustainable rural water supply system. Further research
needs to be done in the environmental benefits emergent from CWO approach.

 There is plenty of literature criticizing the different approaches to rural water supply
services in Colombia, but there are no specific recommendations on a more
sustainable model, especially for rural areas, and how to implement it.

 The literature talks about how technical, operational and managerial training is
needed to ensure the sustainability of any solution for rural potable water supply.
However, it does not give any more specifications about what they mean with
technical, operational or managerial training. Through the upcoming case study
analysis, participants will reveal their specific needs to understand according to their
context what their needs in terms of knowledge are and prove if this overall picture of
training needs is true or if it is actually more oriented to a certain discipline or if it
goes even further.

Based on this theoretical framework, this research will compare theory versus
case studies evidence and analysis in an attempt to identify a definition of what is a
sustainable rural water supply service. In chapter 4 (Research Findings) this study
explores the CWOs’ understanding of their own sustainability and compares it with the
four components of sustainability described above. Such analysis will enhance the
understanding of a sustainable rural water supply service in rural Colombia and can
clarify the real threats and strengths of the CWO model based on experience, and what
can be done to provide a better service.

Chapter 2 – Research Rationale
2.1. Research Context
Global context
The World Economic Forum identified the water supply crises among the top three out of
ten of the most impactful global risks (World Economic Forum, 2014). According to
World Bank statistics (Venkataswamy, 2011), at least 768 million people lack access to
safe drinking water globally.
Even under these averse global conditions and in advance of its target date, the
world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion
of people without access to improved water according to UNICEF/WHO (“World meets
goal”, 2012) – from 1990 to 2012 (Fehling et al., 2013). However, the focus continues to
be on building new infrastructures rather than on strengthening the organizations that
currently maintain them (Venkataswamy, 2010).
Currently community-driven water supply organizations are the most common
and dominant model for implementing water supply projects in rural areas in developing
countries (Sun et al, 2010; Isham and Kahkonen, 2002; Mansuri & Rao, 2013; Kariuki
and Schwartz, 2005; Kariuki, Collignon, Taisne, Valfrey, 2003, p.53; van Dijk, 2008). In
brief definition, these organizations consist of small rural water systems fully managed
and operated, and at times built, by their own users and community members, dedicated
to collect, treat, store and distribute drinking-water from source to consumer (De France,
2012; WHO/UNICEF, 2013).

According to the World Bank (Mansuri & Rao, 2003) the approach taken by
these community-based organizations tends to promote a number of critical strengths and
advantages: (i) enhances sustainability – which for the World Bank means organizations
that are “more responsive to the needs of the poor, better targeting of poverty programs,
more responsive government and better delivery of public goods and services, better
maintained community assets, and a more informed and involved citizenry that is capable
of undertaking self-initiated development activity”-; in their view the community-based
approach also (ii) improves efficiency and effectiveness
31
; (iii) allows poverty reduction
efforts to be taken to scale; (iv) makes development more inclusive; (v) empowers poor
people, build social capital
32
and strengthens governance; and (vi) complements market
and public sector activities (Mansuri & Rao, 2003, p. 2). Unfortunately, the World Bank
also recognizes that this model faces several external and internal challenges that range
from poor water quality, inappropriate infrastructure, poor investment and financial
management, among others, that threaten the sustainability of the water service they
provide.
But what do we mean with sustainability?
According to the conceptual framework developed by CINARA institute and the IDB
about the sustainability of water services in rural Colombia (Smits et al., 2012) and a
great body of literature, a safe water supply system for rural areas should include five
main aspects to ensure its sustainability (Fonseca & Bold, 2002; Kariuki & Schwartz,

31
See definition of efficiency vs. effectiveness in the Glossary
32
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary

2005; Tadeo, 2006; van Dijk, 2008; Blanco, 2008; WHO, 2010; Madrigal et al., 2010;
Rojas et al. 2011; De France, 2012; Smits et al., 2012; Sun et al., 2010):
A sustainable water supply service in rural Colombia should
1. Provide equitable access to high quality water that improves with time, with
enough frequency to fulfill the community basic needs, ideally without shortages;
2. Be financially sustainable, meaning self-sufficient to pay for their operation,
maintenance, repairs and investment in infrastructure, as well as water tariffs
33
at
affordable prices for users;
3. Use appropriate technologies and have technical knowledge;
4. Always take care of the environment and the water sources;
5. Achieve high governance performance standards: Where there is enough
community engagement from the design face to the decision-making and
operation of the system, so that it generates a sense of ownership, ultimately
benefiting the water system’s operation.
Based on those five aspects, tentative indicators to measure the sustainability of a
rural water supply system can be summarized in four main components of sustainability:
infrastructure condition, user satisfaction, financial health (Madrigal et al., 2010) and
value added to the community (Isham and Kahkonen, 2002; Sun et al., 2010).
This research aims to understand sustainability from the perspective of rural water
organizations (CWOs) and compare their perspective with these five main aspects and

33
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary

four indicators defined by the literature, to obtain a more holistic definition of what
characteristics or conditions are required to ensure sustainable rural water systems in
Colombia.
Research Partnership
This research was undertaken in partnership with the larger Research Project “Adaptation
to Climate Change in Rural Colombia: the role of water governance” – ACCRC, currently
in progress. This research is sponsored by several national and international organizations
including the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC), and
CINARA Institute (part of Del Valle University, Colombia), among others.
This project seeks to promote adaptation to climate change that can prevent
adverse effects in rural Colombia by facilitating access to and the creation of information
and knowledge
34
of water sources and water management. During the development of
their Objective No. 3
35
about indicators for the national information system, the project
identified four types of vulnerabilities in the seven rural organizations under study
(Project Interim Report July 15, 2013):
 Vulnerability of their water source: a result of low precipitation and water
scarcity in dry season, deforestation and illicit crops in the land, turbidity in wet
season, among others (see more in Figure 3);

34
See appendix 6 to see the main goal and the six specific goals of the ACCRC project.
35
Partner project Objective 3: To strengthen institutional capacity of community water organizations to address vulnerabilities,
particularly institutional (accounting capabilities, access to subsidies, access to concessions) and ideological (capacity to argue and
defend community economies)

 Technical vulnerability: susceptible to excessive leakage, illegal pipe
connections, distribution problems due to long networks or low number of
connections per km of pipe, concession problems due to population growth and
increased demand, among others (see more in Figure 3);
 Institutional vulnerability: issues related to water tariffs, limited access to State
subsidies, infrastructure ownership, among others (see more in Figure 3);
 Organizational vulnerability: problems with identification of operating costs,
dependence on volunteer work, insufficient revenue, documentation, continuity,
among others (see more in Figure 3).
The latter two were mostly identified by the CWOs themselves as significant
vulnerabilities. Indeed, during the development of the ACCRC project, these community
water organizations insisted that the scope of this project needed to address the lack of
research on institutional and organizational problems.
When the communities described institutional vulnerability, they referred to
external vulnerabilities inherent in the system, such as water tariff estimation according
to the current legislation, access to subsidies, legal issues, and ownership of
infrastructure, among others.
When talking about organizational vulnerability, they referred to internal
organizational and management problems in areas such as limited knowledge of cost
structure, dependence on volunteer work, insufficient revenue, changing board members,
lack of management skills, lack of internal documentation, and non-documented

knowledge (knowledge held by individual voluntary leaders or technicians), among
others.
Given that the ACCRC project was already conducting research on the first two
vulnerabilities, the identification of these new unattended institutional and organizational
vulnerabilities encouraged the development of this research. Therefore this research pays
special attention to the identification of internal (organizational) and external
(institutional) conditions that can strengthen these existing local institutions to create a
long-term sustainable solution to provide potable water in rural areas in Colombia.
Although this research will make emphases on the institutional and organizational
vulnerabilities of CWOs, they cannot be isolated from their environmental, social, as well
as other components of a sustainable rural water supply system. Thus, this research will
also refer to them based on what was found in the case studies and a comparison with the
literature.
2.2. Research Questions

Before going to the field, a survey was made with the potential CWO participants where
they would describe what they identified as their problem, what was their need referred
as institutional and organizational vulnerabilities by the ACCRC. Their responses (see
chapter 4) denoted how several short-term administrative problems were prevalent among
their complaints, and gave guidelines about specific topics which they considered
deserved further research. Their need for research referred to three main topics, that in
order of importance and most frequently mentioned, are: 1) administrative problems, 2)
technical problems, and 3) community engagement problems.

Based on the challenges described above, the predominance of CWOs as rural
water suppliers, and the assumption in the literature that a community-based approach
can be a more sustainable solution for access to water in rural areas, the following
research question were formulated:
What characteristics or conditions constitute a sustainable rural water supply
service in the Colombian context?
Other secondary and more specific questions emerged from this major question based on
the CWOs’ need for research, such as:
1. What aspects threaten the sustainability of Community-based Water supply
Organizations?
2. What is the role of management and financial knowledge in the sustainability of a
rural water system in Colombia?
If the ACCRC research project had identified organizational and institutional
vulnerabilities that could be addressed through managerial and financial best practices,
and the participant CWOs had also expressed the need for research in those fields, should
this study explore how important is the role of management and financial knowledge in
the sustainability of a rural water supplier like CWOs? If the characteristics or conditions
that constitute a sustainable rural water supply service in Colombia were identified, was
there anybody that fulfilled those conditions? Was there a success story? Based on this, a
third secondary question was formulated:
3. What are the success factors of a success story in sustainable rural water systems
in Colombia?

Tribunas Córcega seemed to be a success story, but their case study needed to be
compared to the characteristics of sustainability that the research would identify.

2.3. Research Problem
Technology by itself is not sustainable (Rojas, 2011, p. 15)
Adaptation to climate change in Colombia is a priority and access to relevant information
is a fast adaptation strategy that helps rural water provision be sustainable. During 2010
and 2011, it rained five to six times more than usual in Colombia, according to Ricardo
Lozano, director of IDEAM (Delcas, 2011) due to the La Niña phenomenon, a cyclical
weather system that responds to lower temperatures of the Pacific Ocean. More than
three-quarters of the country was flooded, leaving millions of victims in its wake. The
ACCRC project is a response to that urgent call for adaptation, and their approach
focuses on increasing access to information. However, in July 2013 they realized that
access to information on technical and water sources was necessary but not sufficient to
respond to that call.
The ACCRC project identified two other sources of information vulnerability:
Institutional and Organizational. If addressed, these vulnerabilities could help rural areas
adapt to climate change faster, enhancing their efforts to be sustainable. The list of
identified vulnerabilities was as follows (Figure 3):

Figure 3: Vulnerabilities of CWOs identified by ACCRC project
Source: ACCRC project interim report to IDRC, July, 2013.
In this regard, the literature agrees on the lack of management knowledge these
organizations can have, not only in rural Colombia, but around the world. Analysts
(Rojas, Zamora, Tamayo, García, 2011; Mukherji, 2013) and development agencies have
come to understand that technology for access to potable water alone is neither sufficient
nor sustainable.
The JMP-UN, World Bank and other multilateral agencies reiterate in multiple
reports how the global water policy for the rural water systems sector has been too
focused on the construction of infrastructure, rather than on the strengthening of the

institutions to manage such infrastructure and create a sustainable solution for the long
term. The result is an unsustainable solution where “water supply systems continue to fall
out of service as fast as new ones are constructed” (Venkataswamy, 2011, p. 2).
Authors such as Madrigal, Rojas and others warn about the need to address the
poor management and financial performance of CWOs, and question how they are left to
deal with their water systems without much support or training on technical or
managerial skills (Madrigal et al, 2010; Rojas, Zamora, Tamayo, & García, 2011, p. 16).
Local context
In rural Colombia, current efforts to provide drinking water, both private and non-for-
profit, face several problems which threaten their sustainability: 1) for the private
suppliers common problems are small populations in remote areas that require large
investments with low return, and 2) in the case of non-for-profits like CWOs, common
problems are bad water quality, quantity, poor infrastructure, low service frequency, bad
water management, deficient administration, among others. The situation generates a
complex vicious cycle that is explained below (Figure 4).
1) Private or public options are financially unviable: The predominant drinking water
suppliers in rural Colombia are Community-based Water Supply Organizations (CWOs),
a non-for-profit option predominant in many parts of the developing world. They are an
alternative to the challenges of high-cost water provision in remote areas that prevents
private companies and the Colombian State from intervening. A large investment is
required to include remote rural areas in the water grid, and if those areas have low
population there would hardly be an investment payback, making intervention financially

unviable and unattractive. CWOs are the current alternative to providing water, through
small infrastructures and low operating costs that do not depend so much on economies
of scale
36
and are accountable to the community.
2) Non-for-profit small-scale CWOs are not always sustainable either: Unfortunately,
many CWOs in Colombia are trapped in a vicious cycle (Figure 4). Although there is
good legislation in place, it is hard for the smallest and poorest CWOs to have access to
state subsidies or any other kind of government assistance. The fewer the users and the
lower their income is, the harder it is for CWOs to cover their operating costs via water
tariffs. Without money to operate, it becomes unthinkable for these facilities to put
money aside for ongoing or future maintenance, repairs and investments in infrastructure,
which leads to poor infrastructure, low water quality and deficient service frequency. In
Colombia, any water system has to comply to certain basic parameters in infrastructure,
water quality and others, to be considered part of the national system, and therefore, be in
need of technical support and subsidies for the lowest-income populations. But CWOs
are frequently too small and do not have money or resources to fulfil the minimum
requirements and therefore they cannot receive subsidies, leaving them without means to
provide a better service and thus creating a vicious cycle.

36
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

Figure 4: Vicious cycle of small-scale CWOs
Source: based on preliminary literature review, law 142 of 1994, and research findings.

The probable sources of this problem has been identified as a knowledge gap and
an underestimation from the legislation of the radical differences between large and small
scale models (Rojas et al., 2011; Blanco, 2008; Tadeo, 2006; Dominguez & Uribe, 2005).
A gap in management, technical, political and legal knowledge of how the water supply
sector operates, and a misunderstanding from the State about what kind of small scale
organizations CWOs are and the reality of their conditions.
According to many community leaders, State regulations exceed the comply
capacity of the community water providers, while the government and some literature
suggests the requirements are fairly simple and basic (Dardenne, 2006). This suggests
there is a knowledge gap, not because requirements are unnecessary but because they are
not accompanied by training on how to comply with them. If according to the Ministry of
Small-rural-town users get poorer
without State subsidies
Less money to cover operating costs
Less money to invest in infrastructure,
maintenance
Increasingly reduced water quality,
water supply
Deteriorating infrastructure
Rural suppliers become less and less
eligible to apply for subsidies
Rural water suppliers are left out of the
national system of water suppliers and
don’t receive technical support or
subsidies
Leads to dependence on volunteer work
and reduced maintenance to reduce costs
OR
Pontential increase of user tariffs to
address deficit

the Environment, Housing and Development (MAVDT)
37
61.9% of CWOs employees
only have primary school education and only 6.5% have some type of technical
certificate degree, it is difficult to understand why authorities are asking for information
disclosure requirements without extensive training. Training has to be offered for rural
communities to comply with any regulation in terms of information disclosure, or they
will not be able to comply. According to the same Ministry report, only 21% of the
CWOs had received plumbing training and only 10.5% had received management
training, showing the need for more training to close this knowledge gap.
Although CWOs have formal and legal support, the level of compliance with the
legal and industry requirements is very low, leaving them out of State benefits like
subsidies and technical support. According to the Colombian Ministry of the
Environment, by 2005, 74% of CWOs did not comply with all legal requirements.
Evidence indicates that the most difficult legal aspects to meet include: reporting of
information to the Unified Information System (SUI), the sampling frequency of water
quality that providers should carry out, the application of tariff regulation, and cross-
subsidization offered to low-income users.
An apparent problem seems to be the lack of management knowledge and other
relevant training that would allow them to operate their organizations and maintain them
in the long term. They seem to need management skills and some of them have expressed

37
Rural Sanitary Inventory, Colombian Ministry of Environment, Housing and Development (MAVDT) and
The World Bank, 2006 Inventario Sanitario Rural de Occidente.
http://www.minvivienda.gov.co/Agua/Publicaciones/Paginas/Resultados-inventario.aspx

that need themselves in the development of the research project on adaptation to climate
change and the role of water governance: ACCRC.
This research explores these and other problems faced by these predominant rural
water organizations based on (1) the communities’ description of such problems; (2)
other problems identified during field work, and (3) a comparison of the problems faced
by CWOs described in the literature. This research is an attempt to identify the sources of
the problem, which can help break the vicious cycle like the one in Figure 4. Moreover,
to understand the research problem in a holistic way, this research also identifies the
characteristics of a sustainable water supply system for rural areas based also on: (1) the
communities’ perception of sustainability or a rural water system; (2) other benefits
observed during field work and, (3) a comparison of the characteristics of rural water
systems’ sustainability described in the literature.

2.4. Research Objectives

The main objectives behind this research are:
1. Conduct action research to benefit communities: In addition to contributing to
the existing literature, this research expects to properly define the problems
embedded in rural water supply services as they are seen by the community, and
to develop practical solutions that attend to the issues at hand.
2. Understand the perception of CWOs about what constitute their strengths,
opportunities, weaknesses and threats to have a better understanding of what

conditions need to exist in order to move towards a sustainable rural water
supply system in rural areas.
3. Compare the perception of sustainable water supply systems as they are seen
at CWOs operating in the field in Colombia versus how they are described in
the literature: The objective behind this is to come up with conclusions based on
both perspectives of sustainability.

Chapter 3 – Research Methods

The following chapter explains why Colombia and why certain communities were
selected for this research, how it was designed, how information was collected and what
was the consequent procedure and analysis that leaded to the conclusions. This research
uses a case study approach and was conducted in five CWOs located in the departments
38

of Valle del Cauca and Risaralda. The participating CWOs Golondrinas, Tribunas
Córcega, Acuabuitrera, La Sirena and Acuasur. These organizations are under the
jurisdiction of the following organizations:
AQUACOL is an association of 33 CWOs in the region of river Cauca, founded
in 2001 and dedicated to enhance water supply and sanitation services and support
its members in infrastructural, legal, technical or administrative aspects and
improve the communication among its CWO members.
39

FACORIS is an association of 44 CWOs in the Risaralda region, founded in
2002, and dedicated to achieve economies of scale
40
in the water supply and

38
Colombia is divided into 32 departments and one capital district (Bogota), departments are subdivided
into municipalities and municipalities are subdivided into corregimientos. Each department has a local
government with a governor elected for a four-year period. Each municipality is headed by a Mayor and
each corregimiento by an elected corregidor.
39
Some information has been translated from the research project website: Adaptation to Climate
Change in Rural Colombia: The role of water governance
www.landfood.ubc.ca/swc/projects/ACCCR/index.html
40
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

sanitation services, improve its members’ capacity to have access to local,
national and international resources that can improve their services.
41

CINARA is a transdisciplinary research institution dedicated to sustainable
development research in environmental management, with emphasis in water
management. It is an institution of the University Del Valle, Colombia.
42

Other CWOs were part of this research during the data collection stage, and will
be occasionally mentioned throughout the text. These other CWOs are Asocascajal,
Acuanariño, Villa del Rosario, CWOs part of the AQUACOL association, among other
CWOs around Cali that participated in focus groups at CINARA institute.
All CWOs who cooperated in this research are either part of AQUACOL or
FACORIS and were already working in the research project “Adapting to climate change
in rural Colombia: The role of water governance”. Their role in the large ACCRC project
is to cooperate in the development of the six (6) specific objectives of the project
43
. This
research has a smaller scope and refers to the unexplored objective No. 3 of the ACCRC
project, referring to strengthening the “institutional capacity of community water
organizations to address vulnerabilities, particularly institutional (accounting capabilities,
access to subsidies, access to concessions) and ideological (capacity to argue and defend

41
Some information has been translated from the research project website: Adaptation to Climate
Change in Rural Colombia: The role of water governance
www.landfood.ubc.ca/swc/projects/ACCCR/index.html
42
Some information has been translated from the research project website: Adaptation to Climate
Change in Rural Colombia: The role of water governance
www.landfood.ubc.ca/swc/projects/ACCCR/index.html
43
See the ACCRC six specific objectives in appendix 6

community economies)” (See appendix 6). The participation of this research in the
overall goal of the ACCRC project is better illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Specific objectives of the larger project “Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Colombia: the role of
water governance”
Finally, these communities manage what is considered as large drinking water
systems for rural areas in developing countries (WHO/UNICEF, 2011). They include:
intakes, storage facilities, treatment plant, pumping stations, conveyance and distribution
systems.

3.1. Why Colombia as a case study location?
The selection of Colombia as a case study location was based on the predominance of
CWOs as rural providers of water. The rural population in Colombia in 2012 was
estimated to be 11,656,291
44
and CWOs are estimated to provide water services to 12
million Colombians
45
. From this data, the importance of the role of CWOs in rural water
supply is evident, as they provide water to almost 100% of rural areas in this country.
(Because CWOs also operate in some low-income urban areas, the number of people
served is greater than the rural population estimate given above.)
An additional advantage of focusing on Colombia is its unique legal framework in
Latin America
46
that recognizes the existence of community-based water supply
organizations as formal water suppliers in the water service sector. Although it is not very
specific and has room for improvement, the legal framework is a starting point to regulate
these local efforts to provide water in remote rural areas. Such legal framework also
works based on cross-subsidies which have been seen as a sustainable measure to
redistribute income. The Colombia example could provide an alternative model for other
emerging countries trying to provide water in rural areas as efficiently
47
as possible.

44
The World Bank, 2012, rural population per country. Retrieved from:
http://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/SP.RUR.TOTL
45
Rural Sanitary Inventory, Colombian Ministry of Environment, Housing and Development (MAVDT) and
The World Bank, 2006 Inventario Sanitario Rural de Occidente.
http://www.minvivienda.gov.co/Agua/Publicaciones/Paginas/Resultados-inventario.aspx
46
ACCRC – Adaptation to climate change in rural Colombia: The role of water governance, Interim report
July 15 2012 to January 15, 2013. Coordinated by: Maria Cecilia Roa. IDRC grant number: 106344-001
47
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

3.2. Design
48

This case study analysis is based on qualitative and quantitative approach, also called
mixed method research (Creswell, 2009). This mixed methods approach was chosen
because it provides a more holistic understanding of complex issues such as the term
sustainability for rural water systems. As stated by Creswell
The problems addressed by social and health science researchers are complex, and
the use of either quantitative or qualitative approaches by themselves is
inadequate to address this complexity. […Using both quantitative and qualitative
research] provides an expanded understanding of research problems (Creswell,
2009, p. 203)
Quantitative research methods are used because prior to field work it was known
that some CWOs had expressed to have several financial and administrative problems
that other CWOs had been able to overcome. It is also used to corroborate social and
environmental sustainability indicators existent in the literature. The quantitative data
collected for the financial situation included: financial statements, underestimated costs,
current water tariffs
49
calculations, Board of Directors minutes and other management
data such as budgets. The quantitative data collected for social responsibility indicators
included: population per socio-economic stratification
50
in every site; total low-income
population per site; percentage of self-sufficiency in maintenance and repair services
(Kubzansky et al., 2011); community and staff educational level; and CWO total staff.
The collection of this quantitative data would provide a better understanding of their real
financial situation, allowing for the testing of indicators used in the literature on these

48
Format taken from (Eysenck, 2004)
49
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary
50
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

five case studies. Such data would help me build theories about the possible reasons for
such financial problems and to test the theory.
In the other hand, qualitative research methods would provide information and
analysis about the social, environmental, community, and other emerging aspects related
to the sustainability of CWOs. A qualitative research approach was chosen for these
aspects due to the complexity of measuring social and environmental sustainability in
numbers. Also, qualitative data is often less influenced than quantitative data analysis by
the biases and theoretical assumptions of the investigator (Eysenck, 2004). The
qualitative data collected was: semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions,
focus groups with open questions, and observations exercises with open discussions.
3.3. Procedure
The data analysis, theory creation and discussion used an inductive methodology for the
analysis of qualitative and quantitative data (Creswell, 2009, p. 63) where i) information
was gathered (e.g. interviews, observations), ii) participants were asked open-ended
questions, iii) themes and categories were drawn from the data, iv) broad patterns,
generalizations, or theories emergent from those themes or categories were identified,
and v) theories were formulated based on such past experiences and the literature.
Field work [i) and ii) above]
The CWOs staff were contacted through the project sponsor’s coordinator Dr. Cecilia
Roa, who has worked with them during the project “Adaptation to Climate Change in
Rural Colombia: the role of water governance” and in previous research projects. The
participant CWO staff members were advised that this researcher was coming to provide

help with cost structure and with related organizational and systematic problems they
could be facing. For this reason, organizational and financial information is more
predominant in their answers than environmental and technical information.

All participants signed a consent form in Spanish were they were informed of the
potential risks and benefits emergent from participating in this research. Potential risks
included financial information disclosure, personal opinions that could be related to
political controversy, personal security and career. They had the right to withdraw at any
point of the research before the final report to the IDRC was published in December
2013. Potential benefits included disseminating their opinion about the CWOs right to
receive subsidies and governmental protection on international publications. Details
about the field work process, including the interview questions can be found in section
3.5. of this Chapter. Survey questionnaires and focus group methodology are described in
Appendix 4 and 8 respectively.

Participants received a comparison between current and official water tariffs at
the end of the field work that was expected to help them apply for subsidies; they also
received a summary of the property rights on their water systems. They will also receive
a copy of the final report by the end of the ACCRC project and other information (such
as academic journals and articles) emergent from this research project written in Spanish
(as requested by them).

Data analysis [iii) and iv) above]
This process started by using a Matrix approach to organize the data (Creswell, 2009, p.
219) and compare almost all quantitative and qualitative data (see matrix Appendix 1).
The vertical axis lists the emergent topics and the horizontal axis illustrates what a
specific CWO interview subject responded on the topic. In addition, the responses are
color coded to indicate the data collection method (interview, survey, financial statement,
etc.).
Once all themes where identified in the matrix, a Data Transformation approach
was used to identify patterns, generalizations, or theories emergent from those themes
(Creswell, 2009, p. 218). Theme identification was based on the frequency issues were
repeated by interviewees, and the importance they gave to a particular topic in interviews,
observation exercises and focus groups. The importance factor referred to how a theme
would potentially threaten the short-term or long-term existence of the CWO. More
specifically, it referred to whether a given theme would positively or negatively affect the
CWO’s sustainability, as defined by 1) water quality, 2) financial sustainability, 3)
technical knowledge, 4) environmental issues, and/or 5) self-governance and community
engagement (see description of a sustainable water supply service in rural Colombia, in
Chapter 2, section 2.1. But what do we mean with sustainability?).
As stated in Creswell’s book (as cited in Creswell, 2009), Patton (1986, p. 278)
said that the rationale behind this thematic analysis approach is that, “The theory emerges
from the data; it is not imposed on the data”. In this regard, participant CWOs were not
communicated any model or indicator that could influence their perception of

sustainability of a rural water system. Instead, open questions were formulated and
further questions were asked depending on the answers they provided.
Literature review a posteriori [v) above]
In order to understand how the literature situated the emerging topics from the data
analysis, a posteriori literature review took place after field work and data analysis. As
suggested by Creswell (2009, p. 43) this mixed methods literature review goes from the
general to the specific, and contains sections about the literature related to the general
context such as potable water access in the world, global policies towards access to
potable water, and Colombian access to potable water; it also contains studies related to
the specific local context, such as access to water in rural areas in Colombia and other
localized issues related to access to water.
3.4. Participants
Recruitment of CWOs
Initially, the ACCRC project selected seven sites out of 14 for the selection of indicators
and monitoring of water availability by working in collaboration with AQUACOL and
FACORIS, two associations of small rural water providers.

The ACCRC research team identified a list of criteria to help the two water
associations choose the pilot sites of the project. The list of criteria included: relatively
easy and safe access; issues faced by the communities related to water scarcity and
equity; capacity to conduct research activities; interest and commitment of the
community to participate.

For this research, a selection decision factor was to identify a variety of possible
sustainability success stories and problematic case studies that could provide a wide
perspective of CWO sustainability. A second decision factor was the availability of
information. The potential sites included were already participants in the ACCRC project.
Sites that met the above requirements also had to meet at least two of the following
selection criteria (two YES): access to subsidies, availability of social and environmental
responsibility data, availability of financial statements, and perceived need for this type
of research (Table 2).
Information
availability
criteria
Access to
Subsidies
Social and
environmental
responsibility data
available
Financial
statements
available
Need for this
research
Tribunas
Córcega
YES YES YES
NO, but willing to
participate
Acuabuitrera NO YES YES YES
Acuasur NO YES YES YES
La Sirena NO YES With restrictions YES
Golondrinas NO YES YES YES
Asocascajal NO With restrictions With restrictions YES
Table 2: Selection criteria for case studies

Sites under study
51

Figure 6: Sites map
Cuenca = watershed, R = River.

51
Some information has been translated from the research project website: Adaptation to Climate
Change in Rural Colombia: The role of water governance
www.landfood.ubc.ca/swc/projects/ACCCR/index.html

Valle del Cauca context
This Colombian department created in 1910 is located in the West region of the country,
between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes (Rojas et al., 2011). In social terms, most of the
department’s poverty exists in rural areas (see other indicators in Table 3). The main
economic activity of the department is services, followed by manufacturing, and in third
place agriculture (main product is sugar cane, largest crops in the country) and livestock
(Rojas et al., 2011).
Indicator by 2013 Valle del Cauca
Capital city Cali
Municipalities 42
Area (Km2) 22,140
Population 4,520,166
Urban 3,944,168
Rural 575,998
Participation in National GDP 10,0%
Poverty index 38.8%
Urban 35.7%
Rural 58.9%
Unemployment rate by 2012 12.9%
Table 3: Valle del Cauca socioeconomic indicators 2013
Source: National Planning Department (DNP-DDT-DIFP), National
statistics 2013, and National Department of Statistics DANE, Feb, 2014.
Risaralda context
This Colombian department created in 1907 is located in the Western central region of
the country, between Antioquia and Valle del Cauca, both poles of economic
development in the country. In social terms, most of the department’s poverty exists in
rural areas (see other indicators in Table 4). The main economic activity of the
department is agriculture and livestock, being coffee the main crop, followed by mining,

http://www.dnp.gov.co/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=t6js7srd5cg%3D&tabid=1544

http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/boletines/ech/ml_depto/Boletin_dep_13

and manufacturing (main activity is coffee products). (Source: DANE, 2012; Ministry of
Trade and DANE, 2013).
Indicator by 2013 Risaralda
Capital city Pereira
Municipalities 14
Area (Km2) 4,140
Population 946,632
Urban 734,333
Rural 206,942
Participation in National GDP 1,4%
Poverty index (NBI) 17.5%
Urban 13.1%
Rural 32.1%
Unemployment rate by 2012 12.8%
Table 4: Risaralda socioeconomic indicators
Source: National Planning Department (DNP-DDT-DIFP), National
statistics 2013, and National Department of Statistics DANE, Feb, 2014.

Tribunas Córcega

Interviewees
Name Oscar Gómez Adriana Velez Natalia Gonzalez
Job title Manager Treasurer
Administrative
manager
Educational level /
Occupation
Lawyer
Certificate in
administration
Certificate in
administration
Gender Male Female Female

CWO located in Tribunas Córcega corregimiento, traditionally a coffee region, their
water source is Barbas River watershed and has 2,127 users up to December 2012 serving
a population of around 11.000 people.
Tribunas Córcega is considered a success story among Community Water
Organizations (CWOs) in rural Colombia. It not only provides an excellent service in
water supply but also in sanitation and has created other business lines such as waste

http://www.dane.gov.co/files/icer/2012/ICER_Risaralda_2012

http://www.mincit.gov.co/descargar.php?id=57427

https://www.dnp.gov.co/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=yvnKM-SqwOk%3D&tabid=1765

http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/boletines/ech/ml_depto/Boletin_dep_13

collection and management and maintenance of septic systems in the community. It is
also a meeting point for the community where they discuss other issues not related to
water and sanitation, helping them to create community engagement.
Currently Tribunas Córcega supplies water services to an area as big as Pereira
city but with a smaller number of users (every 100 meters of distribution, Pereira’s water
system supplies water to 50 or more users, while Tribunas supplies water to a maximum
of ten users). Tribunas is a non-for-profit organization.
It is the only CWO under study that is receiving State subsidies and successfully
applies water tariffs according to the current legislation of subsidies and contributions. A
current goal for this CWO is to obtain Quality Management System certification, which
no other CWO has achieved so far. Precipitation and water flow in the watershed has
been monitored since July 2011 with the collaboration of University Del Valle
researchers and Evaristo Garcia Foundation. Precipitation of 3,071mm per year is one of
the highest among other CWO watersheds located in the same altitude.
One of the challenges for Tribunas is to transform terrains in the watershed into
natural reserves, currently used for cattle and planted forest. This would decrease
landslides and water turbidity, and ground water retention would increase during the dry
season. Tribunas has successfully negotiated the purchase of some watershed lands but
this is an ongoing process.

Golondrinas

Interviewees
Name Oliverio Suarez Daciely Gómez Adriana
Job title
Former President of
Board of Directors
Treasurer Office Secretary
Educational level /
Occupation
Primary school
Certified
Environmental
Technician in
mining
High school
Gender Male Female Female

Source: survey conducted to 224 community members of Golondrinas, by ACCRC
project.

CWO located in Golondrinas corregimiento, their water source is the Chocho River
watershed and has 499 users up to December 2012 serving a population of around 3,500
people. 95% of their users are classified at the lowest end of socioeconomic and income
level (See Table 11 on Chapter 4, section 2.a.1).
One of the main challenges for Golondrinas has been the deforestation and
pollution of their watershed because the watershed terrain is located in private property.
The CWO has made improvements to this situation by isolating water source areas and
Complete
primary
school
29%
Incomplete
primary
school
10%
Complete
Secondary
school
47%
Incomplete
Secondary
school
1%
Post-
secondary
school
4%
No studies
0%
NA
9%
Educational level of
Golondrinas’ community

building bridges to reduce cattle passage. However this situation continues to be a source
of conflict that the community has had to face and strengthen its water management
capacity to access water in a high demand scenario. By converting those watershed
terrains into natural reserve CINARA and Golondrinas argue that landslides and water
turbidity would decrease, and ground water retention would increase during the dry
season. Another self-identified challenged is finding good successors to the current
committed and volunteer members who have worked for the CWO for many years.

Golondrinas monitors precipitation and water flow in the watershed since July
2011 with the collaboration of University Del Valle researchers and Evaristo Garcia
Foundation. Precipitation is 1,179mm per year, one of the lowest among other CWO
watersheds located in similar altitudes. Cattle’s grazing is a predominant use of the land
(41.7%) which allows landslides through deforestation. The population increase and
absence of clear sustainable policies for watershed management are the main reasons for
the zone’s detriment, which reflects in the water quality and quantity.

Acuabuitrera

Interviewees
Name Claudia Villamarín
Job title Manager
Educational level /
Occupation
Bachelors in Business
Administration

Gender Female

CWO located in La Buitrera corregimiento, close to Cali city, their water source is
Melendez River watershed and has 1,623 users up to December 2012.

Some of the main challenges are the implementation of water tariffs according to the
current legislation and access to State subsidies; expand the water system to fulfill the
requirements of its growing population, and promote environmental education among
their population. Acuabuitrera has successfully recovered some watershed areas from
private property, transforming them into natural reserves; however this is an ongoing
process that has to continue.

La Sirena

Interviewees
Name Jose Noé Garcia Anyela Torres
Job title
President of Board of
Directors
Administrative and
financial assistant
Educational level /
Occupation
High school –
certificate candidate
High School
Gender Male Female

Source: survey conducted to 570 community members of La Sirena, by ACCRC project.

CWO located in La Sirena village in La Buitrera corregimiento, very close to Cali city,
their water source is Melendez River watershed and has 901 users up to December 2012
Complete
primary school
26%
Incomplete
primary
school
1%
Complete
Secondary
school
42%
Incomplete
Secondary
school
3%
Post-secondary
school
6%
No studies
1%
NA
21%
Educational level of La Sirena’s
community

serving a population of around 6,000 people. Is very close to the major city of Cali and
99% of their users are classified at the lowest end of socioeconomic and income level.

La Sirena monitors precipitation and water flow in the watershed since August
2011 with the collaboration of CINARA researchers and Evaristo Garcia Foundation.
Precipitation is 1,508mm per year, is one of the lowest among other CWOs watersheds
located in similar altitudes.

Most of the watershed areas are natural forest with less than 30% of cattle grazing
land use. However the red and inclined soil of these watersheds promotes landslides and
water turbidity. La Sirena has created strategies to decrease these risks through
infrastructural changes in the water intake and reforestation. Some of the main self-
identified challenges are the need for water storage capacity expansion, higher water
distribution efficiency
52
, and water leaks decrease.

La Sirena CWO is also one of the five Community Learning Centers in Valle del
Cauca department, has a small library and several services available for the community in
its headquarters. These centers were created to share experiences among CWOs to learn
from each other.

52
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

Acuasur

Interviewees
Name Edgar Vivas Henry Popo
Job title Manager
Secretary Board
member
Educational level /
Occupation
NA NA
Gender Male Male

Source: survey conducted to 1211 community members of Robles-Jamundi, by ACCRC
project.

CWO located in the rural area of Jamundi municipality, their water source is Timba River
watershed and has 2,587 users up to December 2012, 98% of which are classified at the
lowest socioeconomic and income level.
Its infrastructure has a large distribution network (21.8 km from the water intake
to treatment plant). It has a unique representation system where, regardless of the
population size, its 13 communities have 3 representatives per village before the
Assembly of Delegates. This way, small populations have a major representation in the
Assembly which stimulates participation.
Complete
primary school
23%
Incomplete
primary school
15%
Complete
Secondary
school
34%
Incomplete
Secondary
school
13%
Post-
secondary
school
5%
No
studies
0%
NA
10%
Educational level of Acuasur’s
community

Acuasur monitors watershed precipitation and water flow since August 2011 with
the collaboration of University Del Valle researchers and Evaristo Garcia Foundation.
Precipitation is approximately 2,500mm per year. This is a much larger precipitation than
other CWO watersheds at lower and higher altitudes. Acuasur does not have access to
State subsidies thus cannot apply the subsidized legal water tariffs due to its high
concentration of low income population. The major self-identified challenges are water
subsidies and infrastructural works.

Asocascajal

Interviewees
Name Gladys Valencia
Alejandro Angulo
Velasco
Nancy Caldas
Job title
President of Board
of Directors
Operator and
plumber
Secretary of Board
of Directors
Educational level /
Occupation
Primary school Primary school High school
Gender Female Male Female

Source: survey conducted to 288 community members of El Hormiguero, by ACCRC
project.

Complete
primary
school
14%
Incomplete
primary
school
5%
Complete
Secondary
school
39%
Incomplete
Secondary
school
6%
Post-
secondary
school
13%
No studies
2%
NA
21%
Educational level of Asocascajal’s
community

CWO located in the El Hormiguero corregimiento, very close to the southeast of Cali
city, their water source is underground water from well No. VC 688 (140m in depth built
in 1996); this water comes from rain water that has passed by the Pance River watershed
ground. Given that this underground water has been filtered by the ground, it is free of
bacteria and coliforms, but the ground adds salts such as iron and manganese. Under this
scenario, Asocascajal water system is very different from the other CWOs and is more
complex and expensive to maintain and operate due to the larger amount of energy
required to purify underground water. Its water treatment plant is specially designed to
remove those salts that can obstruct pipelines. The current administration does not
exactly know how many users it had up to December 2012. Since July 2011 Asocascajal
has monitored precipitation and water flow with the collaboration of University Del Valle
researchers and Evaristo Garcia Foundation. Annual precipitation is around 1,000mm in
their watershed.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are a few points to have in mind when analysing
Asocascajal, first there are current water quality issues in Asocascajal, water comes
brown out of the faucet, which does not happen with any other of the CWOs under study
and didn’t happen with them ever before during the project, it seems to be a momentary
situation but worth having in mind. Second, the main line needs flushing, this has not
allowed the CWO to charge water tariffs per volume, which has generated waste of fresh
water and has made Asocascajal charge the same fix tariff to all their users (except from
some private schools where they charge more) due to this issue. Third, Asocascajal’s
President changed abruptly and most of the information from the previous administration

Board was not accepted by the new President, which generated an important loss of
information. There were evident problems between the predecessor and current President
of the Board during field work time. Under this scenario Asocascajal’s case study does
not generate a good sample of a CWO under normal conditions and their opinions were
taken into account only when they resonated with other CWOs opinions.
3.5. Data collection
Data collection was conducted using a Concurrent Triangulation Strategy, where both
quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently (or happening in one phase),
and the two databases compared to determine if there was convergence, differences, or
some combination (Creswell, 2009, p.213; Flick, von Kardorff & Steinke, 2000, p. 178).
The data collected over a 1.5-month period in the field was compounded by (Table 5 and
6):
1. A preliminary literature review, including academic sources, government
publications, relevant legislation, and documents from non-governmental
organizations
2. Semi-structured interviews with the 6 CWOs and 1 CWO association
3. Interview Surveys involving 6 CWOs
4. Document review: Financial statements and Minutes of Board of Directors
meetings of 4 CWOs and some financial information from the remaining 2
CWOs
5. Observation exercises through 2 to 3-day visits to each one of the 6 CWOs.
6. Additionally, there were 2 focus groups led by CINARA institute from which
data was collected in videos and note-taking.

Data collected
through
Total Observation
Interviews 7
For Acuabuitrera there is a focus
group video
Surveys 6

Financial statements 4
Some financial info from
another 2
TOTAL SOURCES 17

Table 5: Data collection summary

CWO
Video
Interview
Recorded
Interview
Financial
Statements
Surveys
Golondrinas 1 N 1 1
Tribunas Córcega
N but
there is
video
2 1 1
Acuabuitrera
N but
there is
video
N 1 1
Acuasur N N 1 1
La Sirena 1 N Some 1
Asocascajal 1 N N 1
Meeting summary
(with Pereira’s
Mayor)
53

OTHER CWOs 1

N = Not available
Table 6: Detailed information about data collected
Based on the information collected, research was focussed on five CWOs with the
largest amount of information, namely: Golondrinas, Tribunas Córcega, Acuabuitrera and
Acuasur. As mentioned before, the other participants will be taken as a reference when
needed.

53
This meeting was scheduled by FACORIS Association and intended to discuss some issues with the city’s
Mayor. Andreina Pulido was invited to participate as a viewer and got authorization from the President
(Mr. Oscar Gómez) to collect statements.

1. Literature Review
My theoretical framework serves two main purposes. First, it provides structure for the
data collection in terms of indicators of sustainability, and second, it illustrates the global
and domestic context of CWOs.
2. Semi-structured interviews (CWOs staff)
Semi-structured interviews were conducted through a questionnaire to gain qualitative
knowledge about their perceptions of a sustainable rural water supply system. Here a
semi-structured or informal framework was used to gather information from individuals,
starting with three general questions on a particular topic and then probed for details
(Chevalier & Buckles, 2010).

Open questions asked:
1. What is a sustainable water system for your community? What does a
sustainable CWO mean to you? In case sustainability wasn’t understood as
a term (case of Golondrinas and Asocascajal’s president of Board of
Directors), the question was reframed as what characteristics would
describe a CWO that operates in optimal conditions, what would be a
successful water system for your rural community? How should a rural
water system interact with its environmental, social and financial aspects,
from your CWO’s perspective?

2. Why is the water system in better hands in the hands of the community
than in external parties’ hands? Why is the CWO a better option? What is
your CWO’s contribution to its community?
3. What are the financial problems that affect your CWO and why? what
would be the possible solutions from your point of view?

Depending on the participant’s answers, other questions would emerge in these
semi-structured interviews.
3. Interview Surveys
Additionally, surveys were conducted to collect financial, legal and administrative data to
answer the financial component of the research question about the sustainability of a rural
water system. Surveys were also used to collect data to corroborate information found in
the literature. In this method, face-to-face interviews were used with standardized
questions (Chevalier & Buckles, 2010).
Surveys included the following questions (see survey specific questions in
Appendix 4):
 Current water tariffs charged to all socio-economic stratification
54
users
(calculation formula if available)
 Investment forecast for the short and long term (if available)

54
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

 Property rights of infrastructure of every section of water system, latest upgrade
date and investor
 Population per socio-economic stratification
 Average water consumption per socio-economic stratification
 Legal applicable subsidies or contributions
 Hidden cost not recognized in financial statement
4. Document review:
Official financial statements were collected from the sites when they were available, as
well as Minutes of Board of Directors meetings, investment budgets, copies of water bills
charged to users, letters and documents sent to authorities to apply for subsidies,
information about property rights of the water systems, among others.
5. Observation exercises
Observation exercises consisted of two to three-day visits to each one of the 6 sites under
study where CWO staff or community members involved voluntarily in the CWO Board
of Directors would host me to talk about their sustainability issues. In those visits several
unstructured interviews took place through Active Listening methods (Chevalier &
Buckles, 2010), where they would share stories about the sustainability of their
community organizations. Open-ended questions were used in addition to note-taking
technics. This method allowed me to get as involved as possible in the context they
referred to. Observation exercises took place in Golondrinas (hosted by community
member involved in CWO Board of Directors), La Sirena, (hosted by CWO staff),
Acuabuitrera (hosted by both CWO staff and community members), Tribunas Córcega

(hosted by CWO staff), Asocascajal (hosted by community members of the CWO Board
of Directors and staff), Acuasur (hosted by both CWO staff and community members).
6. Focus groups (CWOs staff)
There were two (2) focus groups with the participant case studies and with other CWOs
interested in the information that would be discussed. The purpose of the two focus
groups was to corroborate the information collected at a given point in time. The first
focus group took place at the beginning of the field work when information had been
collected from three (3) sites (Acuabuitrera, Acuasur and Tribunas Córcega). The second
focus group took place after visiting all six (6) sites under study and had also the
intention of corroborating the information and the preliminary conclusions this was
leading to (the other three sites were Golondrinas, La Sirena, and Asocascajal).
Another source of valuable information was a meeting of FACORIS association’s
CWOs with the Pereira’s Mayor to discuss common difficulties. The participants in this
meeting were CWOs members of FACORIS association and one representative from the
Municipal Secretary of Finance. This meeting was scheduled by FACORIS Association
and intended to discuss some issues with the city’s Mayor. Andreina Pulido-Rozo was
invited to participate as a viewer and got authorization from the President (Mr. Oscar
Gómez) to collect statements (More details about focus group methodology in Appendix
8).

Chapter 4 – Research Findings

Picture 1, July, 2013: CWOs during focus group
55
debating about access to State subsidies at
CINARA Institute.

Preliminary survey
Community-based Water supply Organizations had expressed to the ACCRC project their
need for further research in organizational (internal) and institutional (external) issues,
but there were many gaps about what were the specifics of what these rural water
suppliers needed to research. Therefore, in order to better understand these and other
possible problems ahead of the field work, seven CWOs involved in the ACCRC project

55
See focus group methodology in Appendix 8

that could potentially become part of this research were asked to complete a survey with
two questions before this researcher’s arrival. The first questions asked about the primary
current needs of their CWO, and the second asked what topics related to their costs would
they like to discuss in the next workshop. With this last question the idea was to know
more specific details about what these communities had expressed to the ACCRC project
as problems with “costs” as they understood them (later identified as administrative
problems).
Their answers are illustrated in Table 7 and were divided into three main topics:
(i) technical needs, (ii) administrative needs, and (iii) community participation needs.
According to the communities’ answers to the first question, among the general
needs of these seven organizations, 14 answers referred to administrative problems (A),
11 referred to technical problems that needed solution (T), and 4 answers referred to
community participation needs. This can illustrate why communities find they need more
help in terms of management and accounting skills, which they refer to as “costs”. In the
end, if they do not have a clear cost structure, then they are familiar with they can’t apply
for subsidies, schedule maintenance, or buy new assets. Moreover, their answers reflect
how poor legal knowledge can be another administrative problem for these communities.

CWO Name Interviewee
Questions
Make a list of the primary current
needs of your CWO
What topics related to your costs would
you like to discuss in the next workshop
Acuabuitrera Manager –
Claudia
Villamarín
– Technical vulnerability study
(T)
– Generate conditions to receive
subsidies (A)
– Apply CRA water tariffs (A)
– Investment costs (A)
– How to elaborate a cost analysis (A)
La Sirena Administrative
and financial
assistant –
Anyela Torres
– Statutes reform (A)
– Community leadership focus
(C)
– Loss index (A)
– Property rights (A)
– Apply to subsidies (A)
– Infrastructure legitimacy (A)
Acuanariño Member of the
Board of
Directors –
Jorge Luis
Amaya
Dominguez
– Access to subsidies (A)
– Construction of a water plant to
remove minerals (T)
– Replacement of some sewage
pipelines (T)
– Replacement of some sewage pipelines
(T)
– Waste water treatment plant (T)
Villa del
Rosario –
Corregimiento
la paz, Cali
Fiscal auditor
– Hernando
Castillo
Martinez
– Build water storage tank (T)
– A computer, office facilities (A)
– Expansion of pipeline network
and replacements (T)
– Create more community
commitment to support the CWO
(C)
– Legalize land property (A)
– Calculate the real cost of 1 m3 of fresh
water (A)
– Minimize water tariffs according to users
income (A and C)
Acuasur Manager –
Edgar Vivas
– Infrastructure improvement (T
and A)
– Legalize land property (A)
– Increase water storage capacity
(T and A)
– Decrease water pressure (T)
– Investment costs (investment in the
water system) (A)
* They insisted in doing research about
cost analysis and subsidies in several
ACCRC meetings and focus groups.
Acuasur has unsuccessfully applied to
subsidies many times, and they would like
to know how other CWOs managed to
have access to subsidies. (A)
Golondrinas Treasurer –
Daciely
Gómez
Information
assistant –
Edinson
Suárez
– Watershed vulnerability (T)
– Community users apathy (C)
– Community engagement (C)
– Operating and technical costs: operating
costs and some technical costs are done
voluntarily because there is not money to
cover them. (A)
– Water tariffs definition (estudio tarifario)
(A)
Asocascajal María
Eugenia
Labrada
Plumber –
Alejandro
Angulo
– Main line flushing, to improve
water quality (T and A)
– Macrometering, to measure
consumption (T and A)
– Statutes reform (A)
– Water storage tank (T)
– Identify costs (A)
– Strategy to avoid payment default of
water tariffs (A)
(T) = Technical needs = anything that merely refers to solving technical operating problems inherent to the water system
(A) = Administrative needs = anything referring to issues that can be solved through better management practices
(C) = Community needs = anything referring to issues that can only be solved through community engagement
Table 7: Preliminary survey about CWOs’ needs

In the second question, these seven CWOs were asked about where they needed
help in terms of their costs. As expected, their answers were mainly about administrative
issues, 12 answers refer to issues that can be solved though better management practices
(A), but they still referred to 2 technical (T) problems and 1 community participation (C)
problem as issues to be addressed in the next workshop. This can be a reflection of the
strong relationship between management, technical and community participation issues,
or be a reflection of the lack of management knowledge in some of the CWOs.
Nevertheless, most of the communities’ answers correspond to what the ACCRC
project had previously identified, that is, that addressing administrative problems at
CWOs was an emergent issue that needed to be researched. Now with more specific
details about what they needed to research in terms of “costs” (as CWOs called it) or
organizational and institutional problems (as the ACCRC called it), the field work
strategy could be developed. The major emphasis would be on understanding more those
administrative problems to formulate possible solutions.
Field work
To understand what sustainability means to the main water suppliers in rural Colombia
(CWOs), six CWOs were asked three main open questions that many times led to further
questions in every semi-structured interview. Namely Golondrinas, Tribunas Córcega,
Acuabuitrera, La Sirena, Acuasur and Asocascajal were the six participant case studies in
these interviews. The questions were: 1) What is a sustainable water system for your
community? What does a sustainable CWO mean to you? In case sustainability wasn’t
understood as a term (which as the case for Golondrinas and Asocascajal’s president of

Board of Directors), the question was reframed as what characteristics would describe a
CWO that operates in optimal conditions, what would be a successful water system for
your rural community? How should a rural water system interact with its environmental,
social and financial aspects, from your CWO’s perspective? 2) Why is the water system
in better hands in the hands of the community than in external parties’ hands? Why is the
CWO a better option? What is your CWO’s contribution to its community? 3) What are
the financial problems that affect your CWO and why? What would be the possible
solutions from your point of view?
These three open questions would initiate the discussion and these rural water
organizations would start describing the characteristics of what for them was a successful
CWO (as you will see in characteristics of sustainability 1 to 10). The discussion would
always lead to other kind of questions depending on every particular case and story. All
their answers and descriptions are thematized and summarized in this chapter.
Besides the six case studies, other CWOs were asked these questions or indirectly
addressed them in associations’ meetings, workshops, observation exercises, side
interviews and informal talks, namely CWOs members of AQUACOL and FACORIS
association, such as Acuanariño, Villa del Rosario, among others.
Asocascajal is a problematic case study among CWOs mainly because of its
internal problems between the predecessor and the current President of Board of
Directors. Temporary water quality issues, information loss and other problems have
emerged since that change happened and the information is not as reliable as that of the
other five CWOs. However, their perspective was included (with restrictions) to

understand a CWO’s definition of sustainability under an internal crisis. Their analysis on
the situation provides important information about how problematic CWOs perceive
external help, how community participation can fail under the wrong conditions and what
are the core Characteristics of sustainability that prevail even under times of crisis.
All the answers to the three open questions are summarized in the following
chapter in two main topics that emerged from the data, namely: 1) characteristics of a
sustainable water supply system for their communities, and 2) problems faced by CWOs.
When CWOs described the problems that affect their short term and long term existence
and their sustainability, three main topics were identified: a) external threats to the
sustainability of their rural water system; b) internal weaknesses that affect their
sustainability (self-identified and emergent from data analysis), and c) problems
emergent from both internal and external forces. A success story called Tribunas Córcega
CWO is merged into these sections but will also be described in more detail in section 3)
A success story: Tribunas Córcega – a sustainable rural water supplier.
The similarities of these main emerging topics with a SWOT analysis (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats) are evident. However, none of the participants
talked about any external opportunities, which will be further discussed in chapter 5. For
now, the findings will be illustrated based on the collected data and data analysis.

1. Characteristics of a sustainable rural water supply system according to CWOs

The different descriptions of what constitutes a sustainable rural water supply system as
described by the six participants and other CWOs can be summarized in ten main
characteristics, organized in order of frequency (how many times it was said) and
importance (how relevant it is for the participants and the water system sustainability).
Thus, a sustainable water supply system for these rural communities has to: 1) offer
affordable water tariffs, 2) provide high water quality, 3) adopt good management
practices, 4) create a community participation model, 5) be autonomous and generate
sense of ownership in its community, 6) be accountable to the community, 7) be a
development catalyzer, 8) create or be part of CWOs’ associations, 9) not be politicized
and be transparent organizations, and 10) encourage environmental awareness to protect
water sources (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: Characteristics of a sustainable rural water supply system according to CWOs
“For La Sirena CWO to continue being sustainable there
must be a link between the environmental, the social, and
the financial part”. – Jose Noé Garcia – President of Board
of Directors
In line with La Sirena’s statement, none of these characteristics can be seen in isolation.
They are all interconnected, and although some are more frequently mentioned than
others (see frequency of statements in Table 8), or certain CWOs consider some
characteristics more important than others, evidence suggests that they are all necessary
conditions for the existence of a sustainable water system for those rural areas in
Colombia.

Table 8 summarizes the emergent themes about the characteristics of
sustainability described by CWOs in ten main characteristics. Every characteristic is
supported by evidence in either quotations, document review or observation exercises
from field work (See quotations in Appendix 7). The column “Themes merged” refers to
the theme code (see Appendix 1.1.) merged into that category. Characteristics are
organized from the most to the least mentioned (frequency), and from the most important
to the least (importance). For example, characteristic of sustainability No. 1 was
mentioned by 6 different CWOs, No. 2 by 4 CWOs, etc., this denotes frequency;
importance is denoted by the researchers analysis of the overall picture observed in the
field and data, for example, high water quality and being a development catalyzer are
examples of low frequency but highly important characteristics mentioned by CWOs.

Characteristics of sustainability Themes merged*
How many
CWOs said
it
CWOs Quotations
from **
1
Lower water tariffs due to
efficient use of resources
1.1., 1.16., 1.17.,
1.18.,
1.19., 1.20.
6
S, TC, AC, G, B,
AS
2 High water quality 1.2., 1.22. 4 G, S, TC, B
3
Adopt good management
practices
3.1. 3 G, TC, AS
4
Community Participation
Model (Community
Engagement)
1.4., 1.15. 3 TC, AS, S
5
Autonomy and sense of
ownership
(Community Engagement)
1.3., 1.5., 1.7. 3 AC, TC, S
6
Accountability
(Community Engagement)
1.8. 2 TC, S
7 Be a development catalyzer 1.6. 1 TC
8
Create or be part of
associations
2.11. 1 FP
9
Issues of environmental
awareness
1.13., 1.14. 5 S, FP, TC, G, B
10
Non-politicized and
transparent
1.9, 1.12 2 S, TC
Table 8: Characteristics of sustainability according to CWOs in rural Colombia
*See Appendix 1 for full description of themes
** Quotations available in Appendix 7
*** S = La Sirena, TC = Tribunas Córcega, AS = Acuasur, AC = Asocascajal, G = Golondrinas, B =
Acuabuitrera, FP = CWOs FACORIS Pereira.

Characteristic 1. Sustainability is affordable water tariffs due to efficient
56
use of
resources:
A perception widely shared by all CWOs that were studied is that water tariffs will
increase if water is provided by private or publicly owned utility companies. Tribunas
Córcega provided an example of how a municipal-owned utility company in the area
charges more than double (COP$1.500 per m3) than they do (COP$617 per m3).

56
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

If private or publicly owned utility companies take over CWOs, the autonomy of
the community would be lost. It happened to a community here, they made a
terrible mistake. They had their own water system and voluntarily gave it in to the
municipal-owned utility. They express it was their worst mistake. That was an
example for many of us, because now they don’t have good service and water
tariffs are very expensive (COP$1.500 pesos per m3)[Tribunas Córcega charges
COP$617 per m3 to Estrato 4].
Acuabuitrera also shares this perception:
If the State considers we are inadequate to provide water service, they can take
over and we would lose the water system. This would put us into the hands of
private companies which would cause water tariffs to sky rocket and they would
treat water as an economic good and a commercial service. – Acuabuitrera’s
manager – Claudia Villamarín
Likewise, Golondrinas states that a sustainable water system must be owned and
managed by its community and consequently it will offer affordable water tariffs:
“For me, a sustainable water system has to be owned by its community, and has to
be managed by the community to ensure the cost of the service is not going to be
too high” – Oliverio Suarez – Former President of Board of Directors.
Asocascajal’s perception is also that water tariffs will increase if water is provided by
private or publicly owned utilities:
“If the water system is taken over by a publicly owned utility company water
tariffs would increase, we would have to pay more, as it happens with all the other
utilities” – Nancy Caldas – Asocascajal Secretary

La Sirena mentioned how lower water tariffs was one of the benefits CWOs offered to
their communities:
“I think that one of the main benefits for La Sirena community is lower water
tariffs, because we make a more efficient use of money without bureaucracy or
corruption” – Jose Noé Garcia – President of Board of Directors

For all these CWOs, community-owned water systems translate into more affordable
water tariffs and publicly-owned water systems translate into more expensive water

tariffs for their communities. But is this statement true? The document review supports
this argument.
Traditionally, development policies for rural water systems in emerging countries
have been built (especially since the 90s) under the assumption that economies of scale
57

offer a better solution in terms of higher water quality at cheaper costs than local efforts.
However, the data collected under this research shows that the opposite is actually true
and that the previously cited CWOs are right in their perception that water tariffs are
more expensive when provided by municipally-owned utility companies. Indeed, as
illustrated in Figure 8, all community-based water supply organizations close to Cali city
involved in this research offered cheaper water tariffs to their communities for all the
socio-economic levels than the municipally-owned utility company in Cali – EMCALI.
Cali is the closest large city to Acuabuitrera, Acuasur, Golondrinas and La Sirena.

57
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

Figure 8: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 assuming all water suppliers have state subsidies
Exchange rate: USD$ 1 – COP$ 2,000
The same is the case for Tribunas Córcega and its closest city water supplier
Aguas y Aguas of Pereira, in the city of Pereira, a publicly-owned utility company.
Tribunas Córcega offers cheaper water tariffs and excellent water quality (see
Characteristic 3) to their users (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3
Exchange rate: USD$ 1 – COP$ 2,000

$-
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
1 Low-Low 2 Low 3 Medium-
Low
4 Medium 5 Medium-
high
6 High Comercial Industrial Official and
Special
W
a
te
r
ta
ri
ff
s
in
U
S
D

Socioeconomic stratification level (estrato)
Acuabuitrera Acuasur Golondrinas La Sirena EMCALI
$-
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
1 Low-Low 2 Low 3 Medium-
Low
4 Medium 5 Medium-
high
6 High Comercial Industrial Official and
Special
W
a
te
r
ta
ri
ff
s
in
U
S
D

Socioeconomic stratification level (estrato)
Tribunas Corcega Aguas y Aguas Pereira

This means that all community-based water supply organizations involved in
this research offered cheaper water tariffs to their communities for all the socio-
economic and income levels than the municipally-owned utility, even when working
above break-even point. So, how do CWOs maintain that efficiency
58
level? Why are
they cheaper than their municipally-owned counterparts? What actions do they take in
practice to implement this Characteristic of sustainability?
According to Golondrinas and La Sirena, the key elements to allow low water
tariffs for users are efficient
59
use of resources and profit management.
“In financial terms, what is sustainable is to make an efficient use of profits, good
resource management, forget about bureaucracy, corruption, while maintaining
not too high but not too low water tariffs”. – Jose Noé Garcia – President of Board
of Directors

Tribunas Córcega and La Sirena agree that their CWOs manage the community
resources without corruption and bureaucracy, which contrasts with the CWOs
perception of State management
Before the community took over Tribunas (1998) the water system was immersed
in abandonment [when it was ran by the municipal government]. Now with the
CWO, service has improved considerably, the community is less affected because
the organization’s response is much faster – Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega
manager
Acuabuitrera mentioned many times during the semi-structured interviews, focus groups
and informal talks how long it had taken them to deal with the process of applying for
State subsidies (see more in section 2.a.1.4.). Since 2010 this CWO has unsuccessfully
tried everything in their hands to apply for State subsidies, with very slow and evasive

58
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary
59
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

responses from the government. This behaviour can be interpreted as bureaucratic and in
line with the previous statements of Tribunas Córcega, La Sirena and Golondrinas.
These CWOs refer to State’s corruption and bureaucracy, but what do they mean?
According to informal conversations, observation exercises and context, by corruption
these CWOs refer to bribery and embezzlement, which they described as an expected
behaviour of the State when supplying water services; however there were no specific
examples provided. Their only argument is that if they are offering good water quality at
a cheaper tariff than municipally-owned companies then those companies are certainly
doing something wrong and corrupt.
By bureaucracy, they mainly referred to the slow response and slow procedures in
the water service (surveys to Acuabuitrera and La Sirena) and an example is the slow
payment of subsidies (La Sirena, FACORIS association Pereira) and the slow response to
access to subsidies (Acuabuitrera and Acuasur) – see more about this in section 2.a.1.
State subsidies.
In summary, these six CWOs make emphasis on the fact that affordable water
tariff are a characteristic of sustainability, but also point out that the right water tariff is
necessary for a sustainable model, maintaining a water tariff that is neither too high, nor
too low (see more in section 2.b.1. working below break-even point and Table 15).

Characteristic 2. Sustainability is high water quality
Another very frequently mentioned characteristic of sustainability was that a sustainable
rural water supplier must provide high water quality to its users at all times and without

shortages. La Sirena, Acuabuitrera and Tribunas Córcega proudly talk about their water
quality and how it complies with the highest quality standards.
“We offer water with all the highest quality standards, and we also offer service
continuity” – Jose Noé Garcia – President of Board of Directors

Evidence collected after the field work proves that water quality complies with all
the legal requirements to be considered potable water for human consumption. Water
quality in Colombia is regulated under the Resolution 2115 of 2007. This resolution
establishes 22 parameters (see Appendix 2) to determine whether water is potable for
human consumption or not. These 22 parameters refer to different chemical, physical and
microbiological characteristics and the acceptable values they must have to consider the
water potable. Those 22 parameters are compounded in one only indicator called IRCA
(Human Consumption Water Quality Risk Index, as per the acronym in Spanish). If all
parameters are within the acceptable values for potable water, the IRCA should score
zero points (0), but if one of the parameters is not acceptable, it starts accumulating until
a maximum of 100 points.
IRCA results for Acuasur, La Sirena and Golondrinas CWOs scored zero (0)
points, demonstrating that water quality is good and potable for human consumption (See

Appendix 3). In the case of Golondrinas, IRCA results scored zero (0) according to the
Municipal Secretariat of Public Health. Likewise, Acuasur’s IRCA results scored zero (0)
in all sampling sites according to the CINARA institute laboratory, as well as La Sirena.
Tribunas Córcega and Acuabuitrera didn’t submit information after the completion of
field work, but the fact that they are being periodically monitored by the Superintendence
of Utilities and they allow them to keep operating demonstrates they have to be providing
water quality with IRCA results of zero (0). In Colombia, any water system that is
monitored by the Superintendence has to conduct periodic tests and they have to score
IRCA zero (0) or else the service is suspended immediately. All case studies under
research are registered in the Superintendence and therefore have to comply with this
rule, which suggests that if they are operating without suspensions it means they are
supplying good water quality.
Moreover, the evidence clarified the importance of having property rights over the
watersheds’ land as a key component to provide high water quality in a rural water
system. In the preliminary survey, four (4) CWOs acknowledged this as matter of
research under different names (see Table 7): legalize land property, watershed
vulnerability, and property rights. In the field this was corroborated; five (5) CWOs
60

mentioned how the ownership over watershed land allows them to protect the watershed
and how many of them are at risk because land acquisition for conservation is not seen as
a priority by local authorities. In many cases they have had to acquire watershed land
with their own resources, even when it is “the municipality´s obligation to invest 1% of

60
See Appendix 1.1., characteristic 13.

their annual budget to land purchase for watershed conservation” Oscar Gómez –
Tribunas Córcega manager.
For CWOs like La Sirena
To continue being sustainable (…) there must be watershed conservation at the
micro and macro level, a permanent restoration. As La Sirena CWO we are
planning to have our own native plant garden with species from the region, to
make appropriate restorations wherever we are allowed and at the appropriate
time – Jose Noé Garcia – President of Board of Directors.
Acuabuitrera CWO also manifested the importance of having control over the watershed
land and considers itself an example on how to handle the issue at hand:
“A weakness of other CWOs is lot division and population increase, it generates
pressure on the water sources and can even put at risk that new constructions take
place on the watershed itself if the zone keeps being populated” – Acuabuitrera’s
manager – Claudia Villamarín

There was a significant concern among those five case studies about collecting
information about the owners of their watershed lands, in order to stablish the potential
risk on their water sources.

Characteristic 3. Sustainability is to adopt good management practices
High dependence on voluntary work can be problematic
Tribunas Córcega and Acuasur argue that a sustainable CWO has to have in mind that for
community participation to work, an organization has to recognize their members’ effort.
In the words of Tribunas Córcega
When you are inviting community members you have to keep in mind that you
are asking them to leave their duties to come to a 2-hour, half-a-day, or whole-day

meeting. Besides you need that assistance to be periodic and consistent, and you
are asking them to even pay for their own transportation to come voluntarily to
these meeting? That can demotivate many people to come – Tribunas Córcega
manager – Oscar Gómez
Both Tribunas Córcega and Acuasur understand that to engage the community
long enough into their activities they have to compensate the time invested. To do so,
they give a very small remuneration (roughly CAD$15 for a whole day of participation)
to community members that want to get involved in the CWO’s Board of Directors,
which barely pays for their transportation costs and lunch for the day. They say the
emergent benefits of such a small contribution in exchange for people’s time are worth
the effort (see more in section 2.b.1.).
According to Golondrinas, Acuabuitrera and Asocascajal some members of their
communities are apathetic and indifferent in terms of community participation, and
curiously enough, none of them remunerates in any way the volunteer work of their
community members. Is there a possible correlation between a small remuneration for
volunteer time and higher community participation? According to Tribunas Córcega and
Acuasur, there is a positive correlation between the two. Currently Golondrinas is
suffering the effects of being dependent on volunteer work; their President of Board of
Directors who is also the manager is about to retire and there is nobody to replace him in
both positions, simply because there is nobody as generous as him to work ad-honorem
for so many hours. In consequence, the only person interested in taking that role was a
former plumber that is self-authorizing maintenance works that he does himself and
charges the CWO for it. Under a scenario of small remunerations for the day, the
community could ask for more accountability for his actions and could even attract
people who are truly interested in the common good but also need to work for a living

every day and do not have the freedom to not get paid for a full day to participate in
community issues.
Even the Colombian State publicly adopts this measure to promote community
participation. In the Permanent Socio-economic Stratification
61
Committee, where
there must be an equal number of companies and community participants, those
community participants that attend are remunerated with the equivalent of one
day of the Mayor’s salary – Tribunas Córcega manager – Oscar Gómez

Thus, a characteristic of sustainability for CWOs according to Tribunas Córcega
and Acuasur is to fairly compensate members for their participation, not in the form of
payment but in the form of recognition for their effort to participate in a periodic manner
(see more in section 2.b.1.).
Other good management practices need to take place
As it will be illustrated in the problems faced by CWOs, management practices such as
documentation processes, information management to avoid information loss, and use of
accounting systems are applied by the success story Tribunas Córcega, Acuasur and
Acuabuitrera, but are not a common practice in other case studies. This and other
management practices are referred to as necessary conditions for the sustainability of a
water system in rural areas by those who use them. In that sense, many of the internal
weaknesses have been overcome by other case studies and are characteristics of their
sustainable practices.

61
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

Characteristic 4. Community Participation Model (community engagement)
Beyond supplying water services, the CWO model provides a unique contribution to their
communities, a Community Participation Model where only community members can be
the decision-makers. When a community takes ownership of their own issues, formulates
solutions and implements them, sustainable solutions arise. That is what some of the
interviewed CWOs answered as one of the biggest contributions of CWOs: they are
locally formulated solutions for the community’s water problems and are accountable to
their population.
For the Tribunas Córcega CWO, their company (as they call it) not only
contributes with water services but also encourages community participation and
commitment (as said by Abers, 1998 and Novy and Leuboldt, 2005):
This enterprise not only contributes to a better life quality for the community from
the water supply perspective but also through other duties that encourage
community participation in public events. Examples of this are the coordination of
the traditional festivities of our town and gastronomic activities; we even
cooperate with the Rural Inhabitant Celebration that is an activity organized by
the municipal government. The municipal government asks for our logistic help
for activities like this and to carry out all sorts of trainings and community
meetings – Tribunas Córcega manager – Oscar Gómez.
Acuasur is another example of the creation of a community participation model.
During field work visit, this CWO fully explained their inclusive community
participation model which seems to promote community engagement. Acuasur has a
unique representation system where its 13 communities have 3 representatives per village
before the Assembly of Delegates, regardless of the population size. This means that
small populations have equal rights as large populations before the Assembly of
Delegates and its decision-making processes. A village with 50 or 100 people has the
same decision power and representation as a village with 1,000 or more people. This

equally distributed representation in the Assembly, they say, stimulates participation in
the community. Their model ignores democratic participation practices and finds more
value in applying inclusive participation practices where all villages are seen as equal.
CWOs are a scenario to enhance the sense of unity between community members.
When Acuasur Secretary Board member – Henry Popo – was informally asked about why
he would offer his free time and effort to help build and operate this water system he had
to ask many times what the question was about, because in his understanding of things,
he could not exist without his community, because community well-being equalled
personal well-being. He couldn’t understand how there could be a question about the why
he was doing what we was doing as a member of his community, because under his set of
values, such behaviour is expected. After looking at the interviewer in a strange way
Henry Popo answered “I work for my community because that’s the way it is, this is the
way I was raised, because it is expected…” “Without a proper water system we would all
have had to go back to the river and bring water on our backs… we would continue
having sick children. Today, it is easy for us and for the generations to come, but it is
easy because we cared as a community.” When community members care about their
water issues as a community and not as individuals, then a sustainable water system can
exist.

Characteristic 5. Sense of ownership
CWOs seem to provide a sense of ownership, at the beginning of this research it was
difficult to understand why CWOs were so afraid of being acquired by the State or
private companies. One of the reasons was certainly the perception mentioned in

Characteristic 1, where communities expect water tariffs to increase when managed by
outsiders. However, another important component of this fear is the sense of ownership
that these community organizations provide to their members.

According to Yadira Gutierrez – a former staff at Asocascajal and now staff at La
Sirena and community member in La Sirena – almost burst into tears when she was asked
about why CWOs should continue being in the hands of their communities and wouldn’t
be in better hands with municipally or privately owned companies. For her, these water
systems are a result of the community’s effort for years and are directly accountable to
their community’s interest only. They are part of the community and they take pride on
this accomplishment; if it is taken away from them, the sense is that all their effort was
for nothing and that the water system would follow the interests of outsiders who do not
even drink that water.
In the words of Alejandro Angulo – Plumber at Asocascajal CWO – “This CWO
is the community’s heritage because is the only thing that belongs to them,
because it doesn’t depend on anyone else’s mandate…it is the only thing they can
say is theirs”.

For Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega CWO Manager “There is a large sense of
ownership from the community towards this CWO, there is a strong commitment
from the community, [if you had to rate it from 1 to 10 what would you rate it
as?] To me there is a strong commitment; I would give it a 9.5 out of 10”

Characteristic 6. Accountability
For some of those interviewed at the CWOs, a sustainable rural water supply system has
to be accountable to the community. Accountability in the words of Tribunas Córcega
means being there to give a fast response to their community. “We are known for our
punctuality in the service and the community acknowledges our effort,” – Tribunas

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Córcega Manager – Oscar Gómez. In the words of La Sirena’s Manager, –Jose Noé
Garcia they are accountable to the community because – “we are near for water billing,
complaints, and have workers available 24 hours a day”. La Sirena believes they engage
the community by being accountable: “We engage the community, we are close to them,
we are with them, and we invite them to the restoration activities or any other activity
organized by the CWO to build empathy and a link between Board of Directors and the
community.”
A sustainable water system owned and managed by the community is a meeting
point for the community where they discuss water and other issues not related to water or
sanitation, helping them create a sense of community. As local organizations, CWOs are
accountable and close to their communities.

Characteristic 7. Be a development catalyzer
In an interview to the manager of the success story of Tribunas Córcega illustrated a very
important characteristic of a sustainable water system for their rural community. Their
organization is more than just a water system; they are a development catalyzer for their
local community, in the words of Oscar Gómez:
Beyond money, in terms of benefits for the community, in particular this CWO
(Tribunas Córcega) became a development facilitator for the community. In
addition to water supply we contribute with rural roads improvement, because we
transport the necessary material in our own dumper-trucks and have to maintain
the roads. – Tribunas Córcega CWO Manager
We support the community in all sorts of sports, cultural and even economic
activities; we contribute with groceries, medical prescriptions, and with enormous
logistic support for community meetings, such as tents, amplification equipment
and meeting rooms. Basically, from this CWO we have developed an important

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infrastructure to solve community problems and needs, such that the people put us
in the same level of the local government, because they come to us to look for
solutions to many of their problems and needs. – Tribunas Córcega CWO
Manager
These local organizations can create environmental campaigns, take ownership of
local unattended issues and improve technology.
We create new strategies through environmental education, through septic system
maintenance, which is a very innovative step that no other CWO is doing.
Tribunas created a strategy to reduce pollution through taking ownership of the
septic system maintenance that was previously not being taken care of – Tribunas
Córcega CWO Manager

Tribunas Córcega recently implemented a chlorine contact chamber to improve
the chlorine mix with water in an attempt to continue improving.
Other CWOs constitute development catalyzers such as La Sirena, where they run
a local library in a peri-urban
62
area without access to public libraries. They are also
building a community center for community meetings (see pictures 2 and 3).

62
See definition of peri-urban in the Glossary

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Picture 2, August 15
th
, 2013: Jose Noé Garcia,
President of La Sirena Board of Directors,
showing what is going to become the new
CWO headquarters where second floor will be
fully dedicated to a community center to hold
community meetings.
Picture 3, August 15
th
, 2013: La Sirena’s
community library. Run and founded by La
Sirena CWO.

Characteristic 8. Create or be part of CWOs’ associations
As it will be discussed in section 2.b.2 of this chapter, associations like FACORIS and
AQUACOL enhance the sustainability of rural water systems in many ways, including
through: 1) the creation of associations CWOs generate a collaboration network where
they improve their bargaining power before authorities and outsiders; 2) association,
these organizations make information widely available, such as new regulations, their
rights as water suppliers, new technologies, training, ease subsidies application processes,
among many others; and 3) associations of CWOs helping them solve problems among
themselves, making them more independent from outsiders and more self-sustained.
These and many other benefits emerge from the creation of a collaboration
networks such an association of CWOs, as evidenced by FACORIS and AQUACOL,
which positively contribute to the continuous improvement of these rural water system in
the short and long term.

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In section 2.b.2, more examples will be provided of what are the weaknesses
emergent from the absence of associations of CWOs and how partial information, as in
the statement below, can prevent the continuous improvement and sustainability of these
rural water systems:
[When talking about PDAs – a government funding alternative] “CWOs are afraid
of forming associations with other CWOs to have access to PDA funding because
they are afraid to lose their water systems” – CWO member of FACORIS, during
meeting with Pereira’s Mayor, July 27
th
, 2013.
Under the Colombian legislation it is nearly impossible that local governments
take over a community-based water system, unless they do not know their rights, in
which case local governments have tried to take advantage in the past (as expressed by
Tribunas Córcega and La Sirena).
I have not been immune, some administrations have shown interest in [taking
over] this company, and yet even the company providing the service in the city of
Pereira has shown interest in some kind of merger, partnership or something. But
in that sense the community has been very elusive, because they consider politics
are complicated, where people only seek for personal interests and personal
profits benefiting only a few officials – Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega
manager

According to the evidence, CWOs that were part of an association were better
informed, more protected and aware of their rights and duties than those isolated.
Therefore, acting as a collaborative network and creating associations of CWOs is
considered a characteristic of a sustainable water system for rural areas in Colombia.

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Characteristic 9. Non-politicized and transparent water system
Given that CWOs are independent organizations, whenever they do not fully depend on
resources from the State or any political parties, it is easier for them to make decisions to
avoid bureaucracy or bottle necks, and can change structures within their organizations
depending on the community’s needs to make them more transparent and efficient. In
other words they are non-politicized or do not owe political favours or depend on current
politics to operate. This allows a more transparent operation of the water system
resources and internal policies.
La Sirena CWO consider themselves as an non-politicized water system, that
works based on the community’s interest rather than on external political interests which,
according to them increases efficiency
63
and transparency, improving the water service.
In the words of the President of the Board of Directors – Jose Noé Garcia –
When La Sirena CWO was operated by the municipal government, they wouldn’t
make repairs, they wouldn’t give training to the staff, and they wouldn’t make
new water connections required by the community. CWOs are non-politicized
which makes them work based on the community’s interests rather than in
external political interests. The water system is better on the community’s hands.

An example of this is the community of Tribunas Córcega where they changed
one key part of the structure of its organization in order to give more transparency to the
election of the CWO manager (see Figure 10).
The Assembly of Delegates (community members that gather around twice a year
to discuss major decisions about the CWO) decided to take responsibility for the
election of the manager, usually a responsibility of the Board of Directors. Given
that the Board [usually around 4 people] gathers much more often and is more
subject to personal or political interests and easier to convince than the Assembly

63
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

105

(around 60 people), the Board could eventually make decisions without asking for
the Assembly’s permission. Therefore, the Assembly decided to be the only
responsible for the election of the CWO manager in order to ensure transparency
in the manager’s selection – Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega Manager.
The CWO community-based governance where an Assembly of Delegates and the
Board of Directors, both formed only by members of the community, enhances the
transparency potential of these community organizations (see Figure 10). According to
Adriana Velez – Tribunas Córcega treasurer, this hierarchy within the community
enhances control and transparency over the goals and objectives of the water system:
The Board of Directors works as a control entity, such as the Superintendence of
Utilities, that is responsible for watching that things are working well. The
mission of the Board of Directors is to watch, support and review that the
manager’s administration is well focused, is doing things well, and that resources
are being well invested. Then the day to day activities are up to the manager.

Figure 10: Hierarchy of CWO’s management in practice*
Source: as per interview with Adriana Velez – Tribunas Córcega Tresurer , July 26
th
,
2013.*Regulation is vague about CWO hierarchy so they many times adopt their own hierarchy,
read more about this in Chapter 1, section 1.2.1.2, Figure 2. AD = Assembly of Delegates.

106

Under the CWO model, it is the community and its leaders who decide what are
the objectives, priorities and decisions over their water system, not outsiders, politicians
nor shareholders, but the community itself is the one that decides what is important for
their water services and watches and controls that those objectives are fulfilled.

Characteristic 10. Sustainability is to raise environmental awareness
Another very frequently mentioned characteristic of sustainability was that watershed
conservation was key for the existence of a rural water supply system. Some examples of
CWOs actions towards it are the creation of innovative partnerships with the municipal
government towards land acquisition for watershed conservation, such as facilitating the
purchase process and helping both parties of the process to come to a final decision faster
(Tribunas Córcega).
On this regard, La Sirena refers to the importance of “permanent restoration at the
watershed and microwatershed” and for that purpose is “planning to build our own
garden center with native species of plants and trees from our region to make restorations
on time wherever we are allowed” – Jose Noé Garcia. CWOs in Pereira city and
Golondrinas also mentioned the importance of watershed conservation for a CWO to be
sustainable and operate in optimal conditions (see more in section 2.a.4.).
Although there are ten commonalities among the six case studies as shown above,
evidence suggests that the differences in sustainability definitions and main problems
affecting a rural water system are larger in number and size as shown in Appendix 1.
Every CWO has a slightly different perception of what are the characteristics of

107

sustainability depending on their particular water supply service conditions and needs.
This tells us that there is not a single template that fits all CWOs, because each one
develops under the very different circumstances of their particular communities and
realities. In that sense, if these ten characteristics take place it does not necessarily mean
that a rural water system in Colombia would be automatically sustainable because it will
highly depend on the local conditions of the community it serves. However, these ten
characteristics describe a minimum platform from which local issues can start being
addressed.

2. Problems faced by CWO and their effects on the sustainability of water supply to
their communities
To better understand what constitutes a sustainable rural water supply service in the
Colombian context it is necessary to understand what are the problems they face, both in
the short and the long term. In this research, case studies express different kinds of
internal and external problems that affect their short and long term sustainability.
External identified problems, from now on threats, included: slow governmental
processes to access for subsidies, lack of environmental awareness from water users;
while internal problems, from now on weaknesses, referred to weak legal knowledge, low
association interest, underestimation of costs, among others (see summary of identified
problems in Figure 11). This second section summarizes those external and internal
problems faced by CWOs as described by their own players in an attempt to encourage

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the discussion about possible solutions for those issues of sustainability. External
problems will be called threats and internal problems will be referred as weaknesses.

Figure 11: Summary of problems identified by CWOs that affect their sustainability
Such weaknesses and threats were extracted and grouped from the raw data
collected (see Appendix 1.2). Table 9 illustrates what themes were merged under what
was interpreted as a common weakness or threat in order of importance or from the most
to the least mentioned. For instance, State subsidies were mentioned as a threat by all
CWOs (high frequency) and were identified as a threat from the document review and
association meetings (high importance); while the lack of environmental awareness about
watershed conservation was only mentioned by one CWO (low frequency) but was
mentioned in association meetings and informal conversations during field visits (high
importance). The explanations of each merge are contained in every section below with
its supporting quotations and data.

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2 Problems faced by CWOs
How many
CWOs said it
Themes
merged
Which
CWOs
a. EXTERNAL THREATS
1. State Subsidies

Government subsidies payment
delays
3 3.8.
S, FP,
AS
Stratification: without the socio-economic
stratification
64
, CWOs cannot apply for subsidies
3 3.10.
FP, B,
O
Subsidies application process is slow, on
purpose?
3 3.15.
O, B,
AS
No subsidies means social inequality, watershed
environmental risk and limiting CWO’s
investment capacity specially for the poorest
CWOs
3 3.20.
AS, B,
G
Others
2.
Watershed conservation and land acquisition for
protection
5
1.13., 2.22.,
2.14.
S, TC,
FP, G,
B
3.
CWOs need more training to be sustainable, in
areas such as management, computer skills,
water system operation management
5
3.12., 3.19.,
3.6.
G, AC,
B, FP,
TC
4. Issues of environmental awareness 1 3.14. FP
b. INTERNAL WEAKNESSES
1.
Strong dependence on voluntary work and
underestimation of costs
4
3.1, 3.2.,
3.16, 3.4,
3.18
G, TC,
AS, B
2.
Low associativity
among CWOs
more than
one
3.11 FP
3.
Changes of Board of
Directors

2 3.9 S, B
c. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL THREATS
1.
Absence of communication channels between
authorities and CWOs
5 3.13., 3.3
TC, FB,
AS,
VR, S
2.
No community engagement, community
participation apathy
2 3.17 AC, B
3. Overpopulation and pressure on watersheds 1 3.22. B
Table 9: Problems faced by CWOs
S = La Sirena, AC = Asocascajal, G = Golondrinas, B = Acuabuitrera, FP = CWOs FACORIS association
in Pereira, O = Other CWOs in Focus Groups, AS = Acuasur, TC = Tribunas Córcega, VR = Villa del
Rosario.

64
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

110

2.a. External threats
External threats to the sustainability of CWOs include several problems with the State
process to access for subsidies such as slow application processes and delayed payments
of assigned subsidies, some argue that there is not enough training and that regulations
exceed the comply capacity of the community water providers. Other external threats not
related to the government or the State are the lack of environmental awareness in some
communities, overpopulation, among others.

1. State subsidies
A major external threat identified by five CWOs (see Table 10) was the variety of
problems associated with access to State subsidies. They identified three main reasons
why it is difficult to have access to State subsidies in Colombia, even when it is a given
right according to the Law 142 of 1994, those reasons are: 1) government payment
delays, 2) inexistent socio-economic stratification
65
(though a governmental
responsibility is a reason to deny access to subsidies for CWOs), and 3) subsidies
application process is slow. In the end, as Asocascajal, Acuabuitrera and Golondrinas
mentioned, no subsidies means limiting CWO’s investment capacity and forcing them to
operate below break-even point and depend on voluntary work.

65
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

111

Identified threats from State subsidies
How many
CWOs said
it
Mentioned
by
Payment delays 3 S, FP, AS
Stratification: without the socio-economic stratification
66
,
CWOs cannot apply for subsidies
3 FP, B, O
Subsidies application process is slow 3 O, B, AS
No subsidies means social inequality, watersheds
environmental risk and limiting CWO’s investment
capacity
3 AS, B, G
Table 10: Identified threats from State subsidies
* S = La Sirena, AC = Asocascajal, G = Golondrinas, B = Acuabuitrera, FP = CWOs
FACORIS Pereira, O = Other CWOs in Focus Groups, AS = Acuasur.

It is interesting how Tribunas Córcega did not mention any particular problems
with subsidies payments and in every meeting with other CWOs gave several advices
about the extensive legal resources available in the Colombian legislation to fight for
their right to subsidies. Anyhow, it took nearly 2 years for Tribunas Córcega to have
access to subsidies even though its manager is a lawyer which suggests that there is bottle
neck in the access for subsidies for all kinds of CWOs. The CWOs’ perspectives of each
of these problems are described below in numeral 1.1 to 1.4.

1.1. No subsidies means social inequality, watershed environmental risk and limiting
CWO’s investment capacity specially for the poorest CWOs
Before going to the field it was known that the absence of subsidies negatively affected
CWOs, therefore once in the field, CWOs were asked what were the disadvantages of not
having access to State subsidies for their CWO? Their answers are below:

66
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

112

Acuasur (where 98% of its population is poor, see Table 11) answered that no
access to subsidies for CWOs represents forcing these organizations to operate below
break-even point, because without them the only way to keep charging affordable water
tariffs to their communities is through reducing costs even below break-even point.
By not having subsidies Acuasur cannot charge the real cost of its water service to
users. It limits our investment capacity for infrastructure projects.
Decreasing water tariffs [through subsidies] would alleviate users’ tariffs –
Acuasur – survey taken during field visit in July 2013.

Population per socio-
economic or income levels
Acuabuitrera Acuasur
Tribunas
Córcega
La Sirena Golondrinas
Does your CWO serve low-
income people (Socio-
economic level or “Estratos” 1
and 2)? Up to Dec 2012
38% 98% 53% 99% 95%
Low Low income level =
Estrato 1
123 2517 572 896 22
Low income level = Estrato 2 459 23 560 452
Medium-Low income level =
Estrato 3
55 93 2
Medium income level = Estrato
4
833 11 643
Medium-high income level =
Estrato 5
113 42
High income level = Estrato 6 0 105
Commercial 23 69
Industrial 9 20 2
Official and special 8 36 23 3 23
TOTAL POPULATION 1623 2587 2127 901 499
Table 11: Concentration of population per socio-economic or income level

Some CWOs like La Sirena (where 99% of their population is poor, see Table 11)
even argued that having access to State subsidies makes them more vulnerable because
the State payments are many times delayed. In the answer to this question of what were
the disadvantages of not having access to subsidies, they answered:

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(La Sirena Administrative and financial assistant – Anyela Torres). “We would
instead be prejudiced by having access to subsidies because we would not be self-
sustainable because the State payments are delayed”
“We’ve heard from other CWOs that they don’t receive their money on time”

(La Sirena Manager – José Noé García) “While waiting for the subsidies to be
paid on time, we would have to get in debt, and what we’d obtain from subsidies
would have to be paid in interests”

It is understandable how depending on subsidies as it would be the case for La Sirena
with 99% of their population in need for subsidies, one can hesitate taking that benefit in
a scenario of late payments. Under such scenario La Sirena has to charge all the operating
costs to their users and try to keep water tariffs as low as possible, which puts their
community in a situation of inequity with other communities that receive subsidies.
Golondrinas (where 95% of the population is poor, Table 11) said shortly that no
access to subsidies meant less money for investment and limited resources for their
operations; currently Golondrinas is struggling to pay for their daily operating costs
without subsidies and is operating below break-even point.
Acuabuitrera has a smaller concentration of poor population with only 38% of
low-income people in their community (Table 11) and would depend less on subsidies.
However, they also agreed that no access to subsidies meant social inequity and
watershed environmental risk:
For Acuabuitrera there are two main disadvantages: social and economic.
1. Social: people from La Buitrera community is in a situation of inequity before
other communities that receive subsidies
2. Economic: subsidies affect our financial forecast for watershed land purchase,
repairs, and other works.” – Claudia Villamarín – Acuabuitera Manager, July
2013.

Tribunas Córcega agreed with many CWOs in several focus groups and meetings and
encouraged them and gave them advice on how to have access to their legal right of

114

subsidies. Tribunas Córcega manager cited several articles in the Constitutions, Law 142
of 1994 and many other regulations according to which they should apply for subsidies or
else would be denying that right to their populations. According to this behaviour
Tribunas Córcega seems to back up the idea that no access to subsidies means social
inequality, puts at risks CWOs infrastructure investments and environmental protection
efforts.

1.2. Government subsidies payments are delayed: La Sirena, Acuasur and other
FACORIS CWOs mentioned how payment delays are a common measure that seriously
affects their Cash Flows and operations:

If we had access to State subsidies we immediately would have to decrease water
tariffs, apply the new lower percentage to every user, but the government many
times defaults on subsidies’ payments , which generates a financial imbalance that
would force the company to acquire debt with Banks or look for other more
expensive capital sources, and when finally subsidies arrive, what happens is that
part of those subsidies that have already been assigned to users will have to be
used to pay credit interests that needed to be taken to give the subsidies on time.
So we would always have an embezzlement that would threat our financial
situation – La Sirena – Jose Noé Garcia – President of Board of Directors.
They also mentioned how those payment delays would affect them:
(Administrative and financial assistant – Anyela Torres) If the State doesn’t pay
on time we can’t:
– Make investments
– Do preventive maintenance
– Pay salaries on time
However, the water quality and service wouldn’t be affected because the
technology of this plant (FIME) makes the operation very cheap.
(Manager – Jose Noé Garcia) If the State doesn’t pay on time we would:
– Run out of chlorine
– Have no money to pay salaries
– Therefore we would offer a bad service, and the community would come against
us.

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Without subsidies we are fine, funding through water tariffs from users is enough.
We are as efficient
67
as possible and we only depend on the good use we make of
our profits.
When Acuasur handed in its financial statements, they expressed their worry about
becoming vulnerable in the case of obtaining subsidies due to possible governmental
payment delays; something they expressed was a common measure familiar to all CWOs.
According to their financial statements Acuasur would put at risk 50% of their monthly
income if the government delay the payments.
Although utilities law 142 of 1994 provides in its Article 99.8 that the transfer of
funds from the government to CWOs has to be in no longer than 30 days’ time from the
date of invoice by the municipality, in practice CWOs complain about payments delays
of up to 6 months, period where normally CWO have to ask for debt to cover their
expenses, making water service more expensive due to the dependence on third parties
(E.g. banks).
“Subsidy payments are delayed, they take a long time and this could lead rural
water suppliers to bankruptcy because they depend on these subsidies to survive
and to supply water service” – CWO member of FACORIS – during meeting with
Pereira’s Mayor – July 27
th
, 2013.

Such payment delays discourage the application to subsidies, an acquired right that
benefits low-income populations, possible future investments in their water system’s
infrastructure, among other benefits.

67
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

116

1.3. The Stratification vicious cycle: without the socio-economic stratification, CWOs
cannot apply for subsidies
68

One of the obstacles faced by these community organizations is that their municipal
governments have not established the town’s stratification despite being their
responsibility under Law 142 of 1994, section 101, section 101.1. A vicarious fact
impairs their ability to apply for subsidies to which they are entitled by law, since without
proper stratification community organizations cannot apply to subsidies.
Examples of rural areas without proper stratification are the surrounding areas of
Cali city, where La Sirena and Acuabuitrera CWOs are located. These areas have not
been stratified according to the method proposed by the National Administrative
Department of Statistics (DANE) due to the lack of cadastral property tax base. Base that
can be difficult to obtain because of people’s fear to give information about their
properties which could increase their taxes, a vicious cycle that negatively affects CWOs,
even though it is an indirect player that has no power over this situation.
Another example of this obstacle comes in the rural area of Pereira where
Tribunas Córcega is located. There, pressure from Community Water Organizations in
the rural areas prompted the Mayor’s Office to overcome this obstacle and undertake
rural stratification that was done with the participation of CWOs.
In some cases the stratification is never achieved and CWOs are forced to apply
for subsidies with stratifications produced by other utilities services suppliers (e.g.
electricity) or other methods suggested by municipal governments or created by the

68
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

117

CWOs themselves. Evidence shows that there are community organizations that have
access to subsidies in rural areas that are not yet properly stratified according to the
requirements of the DANE.
If there are CWOs where it has been possible to acquire State subsidies without
the proper socio-economic stratification required by DANE, one wonders why
stratification is still imposed as a prerequisite for approval of subsidies in rural areas?
Why is it still a requirement even though subsidies are allocated to community
organizations in not stratified municipalities?. If it is clear that the State faces a
bottleneck to stratify rural areas of the country, why does the State requires stratification
according to DANE rates from CWOs for access to subsidies?

1.4. Subsidies application process is slow, on purpose?
Three CWOs argued how subsidies application processes were terribly slow (see Table 9,
point a.1.) and verbally suggested this could be done intentionally. They say they know
these subsidies would have to come from the Municipal budget and this budget is already
committed to many other political interests such as health, education, and others, and is
difficult to allocate that money for new purposes like water subsidies. They argue this is
why processes take so long, and that this is done intentionally.
To illustrate this, Acuabuitrera CWO has been applying for subsidies since 2010
and still in August 2013 does not have access to subsidies, although under the law they
fulfill all the requirements to be eligible for this right. Here is Acuabuitrera’s description
of the long, frustrating and still unsuccessful process they have had to face for three
years:

118

We are in the application process since 2010, we requested the stratification to the
Municipal Planning Department, they manifested not having the methodology for
remote areas, so we tried consulting a large utilities supplier in the area [an
alternative suggested by the law], EMCALI, and asked for the stratification they
used, they said they could share their methodology but argued we couldn’t use
that as the stratification of those areas because that calculation was part of their
know-how because it was a municipal agreement process. We then went to the
Superintendence [of Utilities] arguing that the Mayor who is the responsible in
this matter hadn’t created the stratification, the alternative of a large utilities
supplier in the area did not apply because it was not an official stratification and
they didn’t allow us to use it, so what do we do? The Superintendence remained
silent, they said nothing, they said nothing!. We went back to the Municipal
Planning Department; they committed to do the stratification for remote areas
between 2011 and 2012. They took some actions, asked other suppliers about
possible methodologies, and made community surveys. However, we went again
in 2012 to ask for the stratification they had promised to have ready by 2012 and
they said they still didn’t have it. Finally we went directly to DANE (National
Department of Statistics) to ask for a certification of the existence of a
methodology for Cali (nearest city) and to certify that we could use that same
methodology, DANE approved that we used the same methodology for
stratification in La Buitrera. – Acuabuitrera – Claudia Villamarín, August 2013.

Even after this 3-year process to request the stratification, up to August 2013
Acuabuitrera didn’t have access to subsidies and continued to work in all the necessary
requirements. According to Tribunas Córcega’s manager in focus group with
Acuabuitrera and other CWOs said EMCALI’s stratification methodology is public
information that should not be considered as a company’s know-how and should not have
been forbidden to be used after being a result of a municipal agreement process.
Another CWO in focus group in Cali, after Acuabuitrera mentioned their long
process to have an official stratification stated how their CWO never obtained such
official requirement and after requests to several Mayors and entities they had to create
their own stratification and based on that finally had access to subsidies. This shows how
having official stratification is not a necessary step in the process and instead is only
causing more delays than solutions. It is understandable that the State asks for an official

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stratification to make sure low-income people are subsidized while high-income people
contribute, but if that becomes an obstacle where CWOs have to spend years trying to
find out how to obtain it, then its applicability to rural areas should be re-evaluated.
The evidence illustrates how slow the process can be and that there are
irregularities in the answers given to CWOs. Once again, if the official stratification
becomes a years-long obstacle, then its applicability to rural areas should be re-evaluated
to fulfill its real purpose.

2. Property rights over watershed land
In this research four out of the five case studies had no property right over the land or
parts of the land where their watershed was located, meaning that watershed conservation
is at risk and therefore the quantity and quality of water they can provide to their
communities (Acuabuitrera, Acuasur, La Sirena, Golondrinas). Only the success story of
Tribunas Córcega had managed to acquire most of the lands surrounding their
watersheds; Oscar Gómez (Tribunas Córcega Manager) explains the municipal
government accepted to buy those lands because the CWO helped them speed up the
process:
In terms of land acquisition for watershed conservation, Tribunas has oriented the
municipal government and has helped speed up the purchase process. We
provided help by contacting the current land owner, persuading the owner to
present his/her land before the Mayor and environmental authorities through
written request for the certificate necessary for acquisition. This CWO has told
the municipal government in place about their obligation under the Colombian
legislation to purchase land for watershed conservation, and has requested to
comply the law.

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Gómez mentioned how many times this is not a priority for local governments, and how
Tribunas decided to help the local government in the purchase process to speed up the
process rather than only ask and wait for its right to be given.

3. CWOs need more customized training to be sustainable
Two CWOs complained about the excessive amount of regulations necessary to have
access to subsidies, namely Acuabuitrera and a CWO member of FACORIS, although
under the current regulation there is special treatment for CWOs with populations smaller
than 2500 users. Legislation requires a smaller amount of documents, less information
and basic legal procedures to make sure water quality and water services are working
well. This evidence suggests that the bottle neck here is not the legislation, is how it is
executed. Legislation is asking for basic financial statements, registration in the local
chamber of commerce, water quality laboratory tests and other requirements, but some
CWOs don`t seem to have the necessary resources to comply not even these basic
requirements. Based on this analysis, the threat here seems to be the lack of training in
areas such as relevant legislation, management, finance, computer skills, and water
system operation management, among others.
As Tribunas Córcega mentioned many times, CWOs need to be well informed of
the legislation that affects them and there needs to be more governmental efforts to
provide training on these matters. If providing basic financial statements is a problem for
remote CWOs in a developing country like Colombia, the government should provide
tools and training on how to comply with those requirements, especially because it is
dealing with communities in educational levels not higher than high school in most of the

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cases (see Figure 12). Instead of punishing those CWOs who do not comply, it would be
easier, much faster and more sustainable to provide basic training on how to manage their
own system, rather than ignoring their efforts and implementing a whole new solution
through outside water suppliers who do not know the local conditions for water supply.

Figure 12: Education Level
Source: taken from ACCRC data 2013, elaborated by Andreina Pulido-Rozo, 2014

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During the visit to Golondrinas and Asocascajal it was evident how little these
CWO knew about accounting, regulations and in the case of Asocascajal about their own
water system operation. This is self-explanatory when looking at the educational levels in
both organizations. Golondrinas’ President of Board of Directors has only primary
school, other Board Members have primary and/or high school, and only 2 people have
post-secondary education, between the staff and Board of Directors. The case of
Asocascajal is even worse, where its President has primary education. In cases like this,
basic requirements like accounting systems, financial statements, list users per socio-
economic stratification, and other, can be highly challenging, excluding CWOs like
Asocascajal or Golondrinas from government regulation and State benefits.

Training in fields like water efficiency is needed in CWOs like Asocascajal, who
mentioned how environmental education in their community could enhance water
efficiency [although water quality should be improved first in this CWO, but this
statement was considered valid even under the scenario of good water quality].

People wash trucks, pedestrian ways with treated water! A possible solution
would be to educate people about water efficiency, although it is very difficult,
but we have to do it, we would need some sort of support to educate in water
efficiency those with the largest consumption rates – Alejandro Angulo –
Asocascajal’s plumber

As mentioned by a CWO member of FACORIS in meeting with Pereira’s Mayor,
if CWOs find that requirements exceed the comply capacity of the community water
providers, local and national government should create more tools to help CWOs comply
the requirements instead of becoming an obstacle to supply good water quality. In the
words of that CWO:

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“The Health Department is specialist in asking for requirements but not in
supplying the resources the help us comply with them” CWOs member of
FACORIS association said during meeting with Pereira’s Mayor July 27
th
, 2013,
Pereira, Colombia.

4. Issues of environmental awareness
According to a CWO member of FACORIS
Environmental awareness is another problem for CWOs, people are not aware of
not throwing garbage, not polluting or cooking in the watershed and wetland
zones. It is necessary to create campaigns to raise awareness about this issue that
contributes to pollution and degradation of the water sources – statement captured
during meeting with Pereira’s Mayor, July 27
th
, 2013.
During the same meeting, Santa Cruz de Barbas CWO, also member of
FACORIS, agreed with the previous statement, they mentioned to be worried about the
pollution in their water sources and indicated that the local environmental authority was
not doing enough to prevent this from happening. They emphatically asked the Mayor to
solve this problem.
We are Santa Cruz de Barbas CWO, we don’t have a school, health center, but we
are aware of climate change, we are worried about the pollution coming from the
highway due to pedestrians and irresponsible people that throw garbage to the
ditch where our wetland begins. We found diapers, yogurt cups, all kinds of
garbage. CAR [local environmental authority]came, watch and asked me who
were the people affected, I answered it was the community, and CAR suggested
that the community organized themselves to pick up the garbage, they only
installed a rack to try to prevent garbage from falling into the water, but that
garbage is hanging there and still pollutes our water. I request a solution to this
matter. – Statement collected in meeting with Pereira’s Mayor in July 27
th
, 2013.
These two FACORIS members are a good example of how these community-based
organizations take their community issues as their own and are truly engaged in fighting
for solutions to environmental issues affecting their water sources.

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2.b. Internal weaknesses
The sustainability of Community-based Water supply Organizations is not only affected
by external threats. Indeed, there are many external threats for CWOs that require
adequate risk management from them to adapt and overcome these obstacles and where
the State has a lot to improve, however how else can CWOs help themselves? How can
they improve from the inside out to make their water supply models sustainable?
In the case studies under research many internal weaknesses are identified,
weaknesses that have already been addressed by other CWOs through individual efforts
to improve and that can provide an example of what can be done to help CWOs be
sustainable.
1. Bad management practices
Strong dependence on voluntary work and underestimation of costs
Strong dependence on voluntary work can generate underestimation of real costs and can
make the organization very vulnerable to unpaid work. Additionally, such dependence
increases the risk of information loss and low community commitment. They are aware
of such risk but find it difficult to make their communities understand the importance of
charging the right water tariffs:
“The financial risk or vulnerability of the CWO is to go bankrupt, due to not
charging the right water fees that allow the sustainability of the water system”. –
Golondrinas – Oliverio Suarez – Former President of Board of Directors.
Working below break-even point
Under this research, all case studies were asked about their potential hidden costs (apart
from investment) or costs not currently reflected in the water tariffs and/or CWOs

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financial statements. The idea was to create an indicator to measure how dependent
CWOs were on voluntary or unpaid work, dividing hidden costs over total costs and
expenses up to Dec 2012. Table 12 shows the result of this indicator.
Table 12: Percentage of CWOs’ hidden costs over total costs and expenses
This indicator shows how La Sirena and Golondrinas are highly dependent on
voluntary work given that according to the estimation, they are not recognizing 46% of
their costs, which are currently covered through volunteer positions. During the
observation exercise in Golondrinas and the visit to La Sirena, the staff mentioned many
times how either they were working more hours than what they were being paid for
(Golondrinas) or how there was nobody to elaborate a budget (La Sirena and
Golondrinas) because the position did not exist. For Golondrinas more than half of the
46% hidden cost represents the salary that they should be paying to a manager to deal
with daily operations. Its treasurer is being paid to go four days a month but in reality is
going to work at times up to 3 times per week (See Table 13). The same happens at La
Sirena, where 65% of the hidden cots identified represent unpaid salaries for a manager
and other staff needed, currently in La Sirena the same person collects money from users
and does the accounting records, which increases the risk of accounting error.

Indicator Acuabuitrera Acuasur
Tribunas
Córcega
La
Sirena
Golondrinas
Percentage of hidden costs
(without investment) =
hidden costs / total costs
and expenses
(up to Dec 2012)
9% 17% 2% 46% 46%

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Hidden Costs and Expenses Golondrinas
La
Sirena
Acuabuitrera Acuasur
Tribunas
Córcega
In million pesos (2012)
Manager 16.8 22.0

Board of Directors Vice-
president
2.0

Secretary 0.1

Treasurer / accounting
assistant
4.9 10.8 8.8

Board of Directors members
representation expenses
7.6 2.5 6.9
Assembly of Delegates fees

34.2
Water Quality Samples 9.0

6.0

Technical and legal advice
by Admin Board
13.8 5.9 36.5
Community engineers

3.9

Training provided by Board
of Directors members
4.0

7.0
Community volunteer work
day “mingas”
0.8 1.9
Total hidden costs and
expenses
32.8 50.5 33.1 75.1 13.9
Total costs and expenses 71.7 110.5 383.6 439.2 716.9
Hidden Costs / Total
Costs and expenses
46% 46% 9% 17% 2%
Table 13: Annual hidden costs and expenses
Golondrinas water tariffs also force this CWO to operate below the break-even
point, which is not sustainable. Table 14 shows the different water tariffs charged to the
community according to their socio-economic level (Estrato in Spanish), where level 1 is
the lowest level 6 is the highest.
CRA tariff calculations (the official water tariff calculation model) include all the
Operating Costs and Expenses, namely: General and Administrative Expenses and Costs
of Goods Sold (COGS), where the resulting tariff covers all those costs plus a portion for

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future investments. According to this methodology, level 4 is neither subsidizes nor
contributes. In that sense, Golondrinas CWO fix tariff without subsidies or contributions
should be COP$4,919, while the variable tariff or tariff per m3 consumed should be
COP$735.
Although this CWO does not have access to subsidies, it is charging tariffs below
that minimum tariff to all socio-economic levels. The CWO charges a fix tariff of $4.860
and a tariff per consumption of $378 or below, which for them means to sacrifice quality
of materials, salaries and other costs to be able to operate, and means not even thinking
about saving capital for future investments. All to offer cheaper tariffs to users in their
community.
Comparative Chart (in Colombian Pesos)
Socio-
economic
level
Legal
applicable
subsidies or
contributions
Current Tariff CRA Tariff
Fix tariff Tariff per
consumption
(m3)
Fix tariff Tariff per
consumption
(m3)
Level 1 -68% $ 4,860 $ 216 $ 1,574 $ 235.26
Level 2 -31% $ 4,860 $ 270 $ 3,394 $ 507.29
Level 3 -1% $ 4,860 $ 324 $ 4,870 $ 727.84
Level 4 $ 4,919 $ 735.20
Level 5 50% $ 7,379 $ 1,102.79
Level 6 60% $ 7,871 $ 1,176.31
Commercial 50% $ 7,379 $ 1,102.79
Industrial 30% $ 6,395 $ 955.76
Official and
special
$ 4,860 $ 378 $ 4,919 $ 735.20
Table 14: Comparative chart of current vs. official water tariff calculation in Golondrinas CWO
According to the legislation for CWOs, CWOs should have a different person to
be the President of the Board of Directors and another one to be the manager. The
President of the Board of Directors should not have a salary and is supposed to be a
volunteer position to be fulfilled by a community member. The idea behind it is to have a
community leader that can speak freely on behalf of the community interests without any

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other economic interests behind. Unfortunately, many CWOs do not have enough
resources to have a paid manager, and delegate all the daily operation activities to the
volunteer figure of the President. Golondrinas is an example of this issue, where the
absence of a paid manager is letting the part-time treasurer and plumber to make
decisions on the water system’s operation without any supervision. This condition is not
sustainable and although is allowing the community to have lower water tariffs will fully
depend on the will of the people involved. Whenever volunteers have a better job offer or
get tired of working for free, the CWO will have to start paying a manage, inevitably
increasing water tariffs.
When compared against their income (see Table 15) it is evident that Golondrinas
and Acuasur (Income data not available for La Sirena) are working below their break-
even point while CWOs like Tribunas Córcega, who have recognized almost all their
costs and expenses are working above break-even point. This means that the money
Golondrinas and Acuasur collect from users (in the absence of subsidies) is not enough to
cover their minimum operating costs and expenses and eventually will lead them to
system and service failures or in the worst case scenario to bankruptcy.

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Million pesos, up to Dec 2012

Break-even point Golondrinas Acuasur
Tribunas
Córcega
Acuabuitrera
Total Income $73 $456 $814 $429
Total Costs and Expenses $72 $439 $717 $384
Hidden Costs not
recognized
$33 $75 $14 $33
Total Costs and Expenses +
Hidden Costs
$105 $514 $731 $417
Balance -$32 -$58 $83 $12
Table 15: Break-even point after recognizing all operating costs and expenses
On the contrary, CWOs like Acuabuitrera or the success story of Tribunas
Córcega have successfully recognized most of their operating costs and expenses. As per
Table 12 Tribunas only depends on 2% on voluntary work and Acuabuitrera on 9%.
What is interesting in these communities is that even though they recognize almost all
their operating costs and expenses, water tariffs are still cheaper than those charged by
the closest municipal-owned utility company (Figure 8 and 9). This finding contradicts
what is thought by the theory about how economies of scale
69
are necessary to reduce
costs per capita and use resources more efficiently
70
.
In conclusion, it is financially unsustainable for a CWO to strongly depend on
voluntary work and operate below break-even point because this would eventually lead to
problems with the water service, bankruptcy (acknowledged by Golondrinas) or in the
worst case to bad water quality. There should be no fear to recognize the necessary and
real operating costs and expenses, because even if they recognize all their costs and
expenses, water tariffs will be cheaper than those charged by larger municipally-owned

69
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary
70
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

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utilities companies. Additionally, through CWOs communities are empowered to
efficiently
71
manage their water systems resources and can reduce operating costs and
expenses when needed, ideally never below break-even point.
It is understandable why CWOs with the poorest populations (Golondrinas, La
Sirena, Acuasur have more than 95% of their population between low-low and low
socioeconomic levels) try to reduce costs beyond break-even point, because this will
reduce their water tariffs. However, in the long term this not a sustainable measure.
Information loss and low commitment due to volunteer work
Acuabuitrera mentioned as an internal weakness of volunteer positions at other CWOs
the lack of process documentation and information transfer.
“People leave their voluntary positions (at the Board of Directors or other), and
take with them all the information they gathered without informing their
predecessors” – Claudia Villamarín – Acuabuitera’s manager, July 2013
Such risk of information loss has been addressed by Acuabuitrera through internal
process documentation and tries really hard to do an appropriate information transfer
whenever a volunteer has to leave. However, the most effective way to reduce the low
commitment and information loss risks seem to be the solution applied by Tribunas
Córcega and Acuasur: paying the day for volunteers.
As mentioned in section 1. Characteristic of sustainability No. 3., Tribunas
Córcega noticed “a greater commitment from the Board members to assist to CWO
periodic meetings only by recognizing transportation and a compensation for their time,

71
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

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which is roughly CAD$15 per participant”, as well as acknowledged how that greater
commitment was associated with a lower risk of information loss when participants leave
the organization.
Changes of Board of Directors
According to La Sirena, irresponsible resource spending due to bad management can
threaten the CWO’s financial sustainability from the inside out
I would say that one of the main financial risks for La Sirena CWO is the change
of Board of Directors. As there are Boards where people work honestly, without
corruption, without bureaucracy, there could be a time when a Board with other
intensions can weaken our internal economic situation, and if someone that
doesn’t know the administration, decides to merely spend and spend because they
see resources are available, that would create an extremely serious problem for
the water service supply, and to sustain the company. – Jose Noé Garcia – La
Sirena’s President of Board of Directors
Acuabuitrera agreed on the fact that changing Boards of Directors and Board members
can become a weakness when not well managed and added that a proper transition
between voluntary members is key to the sustainability of a CWO.
A weakness of other CWOs is that they don’t document their processes and
people leave their voluntary positions and take all the information with them,
there is not a transition between old and new members and therefore important
information is lost – Claudia Villamarín – Acuabuitera’s manager, July 2013.
As any other organization, CWOs need to build knowledge and without proper internal
policies and managerial practices to protect that information, CWOs put at risk their own
survival. Most of the participant organizations in this research had strict internal policies
on how to protect information and keep volunteers accountable to the CWO. In Tribunas
Córcega, Acuabuitrera, Acuasur information was publicly available for their communities
and Board members, well organized and complete. There were some information gaps in
La Sirena and Golondrinas such as a budget, investment forecast, users base or

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information management policies. However the worst case was Asocascajal, where they
have abruptly changed their Board of Directors and due to fights with the previous
management, all the knowledge built in the past years was gone and/or totally ignored.
This situation prevents growth and forces to repeat previous mistakes with the same
community. Indeed, changes of Board of Directors are a potential risk that any CWO
should take into consideration and plan ahead to avoid any information loss or abrupt
changes in the community and water service.
2. Low association or collaboration among CWOs
Low association among CWOs means limited access to information, especially for those
CWOs in more remote areas, where information is not widely available. Lack of
information can lead to numerous kinds of problems, such as breaking the law, no access
to funding sources, no access to opportunities formulated for CWOs, no access to raise
their voice when legislation projects negatively affect them, among others.
Examples of such problems were identified during the meeting with FACORIS an
association of multiple CWOs in Risaralda Department hold with Pereira city Mayor to
address common issues and difficulties faced by CWOs in the area. At this meeting the
CWOs invited expressed lack of knowledge of the application necessary to obtain a 10
year tax exemption specially formulated for CWOs under the Agreement 70 of 2009.
Without FACORIS association those CWOs would have wrongly continued applying the
tax exemption without knowing there was an application process requirement before
being eligible for such benefit, which would have meant more fines.
Low association also means low bargain power simply because it is different to
negotiate as a community with 500 users, than as an association of entire regions with

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thousand or millions of users. In the meeting with Pereira’s Mayor, some CWOs
expressed how they do not want to associate among themselves because they are afraid to
be acquired by the State if they ask for PDA funding for investment projects. An easier
way to access for funding from the PDA or Water Departmental Plans (Planes
Departamentales de Agua in Spanish) is through association with other CWOs. However,
many CWOs wrongly believe that by associating among themselves and by applying to
PDA State funding, the State will start regulating them and will take over their
community-based organizations. It is all a misconception that was surprisingly believed
by most of the CWOs under study and other CWOs that participated in focus groups and
meetings, like the one with Pereira’s Mayor. It is interesting to see how those CWO
without a strong legal knowledge and with the less educated staff had more fear to
associate and apply for subsidies, PDA funding and other kinds of help from the State, all
under the assumption that contacting the State translated into the State taken over their
organizations.
Association can help to solve common problems, such as land acquisition for
watershed protection. The Pereira Mayor suggested to FACORIS CWOs to associate
among themselves for watershed protection and reforestation efforts and for water flow
analysis during draughts, both very important topics according to participants. Certainly,
before the Mayor, good or bad, negotiating in group translates into priorities for his
political agenda, which can lead to faster action from the current government.
Another example of the bargain power an association can have is how in
FACORIS, CWOs asked for a solution for the extremely expensive monthly water
samples required by law. Instead of being forced to break the law due to lack of resources

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to comply it, as an association they expressed how the Health Department should provide
them with one common certified laboratory to take the water samples required by law,
instead of only asking for small CWOs to pay around CAD$250 for a sample from an
external certified laboratory. Ultimately, being an association empowers them to
negotiate as a group and not as a single individual CWO unable to comply the law. Other
negotiations that took place were solutions for watershed contamination, campaigns to
raise environmental awareness to reduce pollution of water sources, climate change
adaptation measures such as the construction of water tanks to collect rain water, among
others.
When CWOs do not associate among themselves it makes them vulnerable in
terms of knowledge, information about opportunities, taxes exemption, land acquisition
for environmental protection, etc. According to the evidence, CWOs that were part of an
association were better informed, more protected and aware of their rights and duties than
those isolated. Only by discussing problem solving among themselves, CWOs have more
to gain through association than without.

2.c. Internal and external threats
Other identified problems can be addressed internally by CWOs themselves as well as
through external help, for instance training in areas such as management, finance,
computer skills, water system’s operation management, or the creation of stronger
communication channels between authorities and CWOs, are strategies that can be
addressed simultaneously by CWO associations and by authorities and other outsiders.

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1. Absence of communication channels between authorities and CWOs
The absence of communication channels between authorities and the community
organizations was a major problem identified in this research. During the FACORIS
association meeting with the Pereira’s Mayor the lack of communication between the two
parties was evident. One example is how some FACORIS members didn’t know the
Mayor’s office offered free help to fill in the water efficiency form requested by
environmental authorities, with which they have faced several problems. As mentioned
before in section 2.b.2. CWOs didn’t know that they had to apply to be eligible for a 10
year tax exemption specially formulated for CWOs under the Agreement 70 of 2009; if
the Finance Department knew about this precondition to be eligible, it should have
divulgated that information broadly to avoid fines.
Another piece of evidence of the lack of communication channels is the
miscommunication among CWOs about how they can be taken over by local
governments. Before field work, many CWOs (namely TC, FP, AS, VR CWOs) said to
be afraid of the risk of acquisition by the local government or private companies,
although “there is no legal risk if CWOs know their rights” – Tribunas Córcega manager
– Oscar Gómez. There is large miscommunication about the ownership of CWO’s
infrastructure and the “potential” (in reality inexistent) legal risk of losing the
administration of their community water organizations when the infrastructure is under
the local government’s name.
Miscommunication about how to apply for subsidies is another example of the
lack of communication between CWOs and authorities. In all Focus Groups with
different CWOs the process to access for subsidies was No. 1 in the meeting’s agenda.

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There was no clarity about what were the procedures to access for subsidies; the topic
was very confusing for many even after several governmental efforts to divulgate such
information. Current and previous governments in the country have tried to broadly
communicate the steps through workbooks, and mega-projects, but evidence shows those
communication channels haven’t reached many CWOs, as demonstrated with the CWOs
under this research.
2. No community engagement, community participation apathy
Acuabuitrera and Asocascajal claimed both of their communities were apathetic and said
they had problems engaging the communities in the organization’s activities, especially
in the case of Asocascajal.
Gladys Valencia – President of Board of Directors – Asocascajal: The hardest part
in the social perspective is charging defaulting debtors, I have to visit them and
although there are very educated people there are also people who are very rude
and insult us, even here in the office, they stop on the road to insult us, curse us! I
think that is the hardest part in the social side, this behaviour is what negatively
affects this CWO the most.
“In the long term this CWO is not going to exist, because people here don’t want
to cooperate and contribute.”
Acuabuitrera’s case is not as radical but they have noticed their community is not fully
engaged with democratic participation processes:
“In our community people are still not engaged in democratic participation
processes, here people are very apathetic, however we continue being a
community entity and continue working for the interests of the community
members” – Acuabuitrera’s manager – Claudia Villamarín
However, this was not the case in any of the other CWOs under research, to which one
could argue they have found alternative solutions to this weakness. Possible internal

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solutions to this problem are the payments for the day to volunteers, applied by Tribunas
Córcega and Acuasur with successful results as discussed in section 2.b.1.
Another possible solution is to maintain very active communication with the
community, periodically showing results, which has been the strategy of La Sirena
instead of paying for the day of work to volunteers.
In Asocascajal’s case, the low water quality may be causing the communities
apathy to get involved, given that the water service is bad. This suggests water quality is
a necessary component to allow community participation, which does not mean that high
water quality translates into community participation per se.
3. Overpopulation and pressure on watersheds
Overpopulation is definitely an external threat but its pressure on watersheds can be
addressed by CWOs internal planning. In the opinion of Acuabuitrera’s manager, Claudia
Villamarín:

“A weakness of other CWOs is lot division and population increase, it generates
pressure on the water sources and can even put at risk that new constructions take
place on the watershed itself if the zone keeps being populated”

CWOs like Acuabuitrera fight to properly execute lot divisions that do not threaten the
watershed and they consider other CWOs should do the same to have environmentally
sustainable water systems.

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3. A success story: Tribunas Córcega, a sustainable rural water supplier

Located in the rural area surrounding Pereira, besides fulfilling the ten Characteristics of
sustainability described by CWOs in this research, Tribunas Córcega gives periodic and
free assistance to many other CWOs in their Department and in other Departments,
helping others achieve sustainability as well. This CWO not only provides an excellent
service in water supply but also in sanitation and has created other business lines such as
waste collection and management and maintenance of septic systems in the community.
It is also a meeting point for the community where they discuss other issues not related to
water and sanitation, helping them create a sense of community.
Tribunas Córcega helps its fellow CWOs for free with legal advice and
experience sharing, it receives State subsidies since December 2010, and is seen as a
meeting point for the community and even for other CWOs where they interact and create
a sense of community. Tribunas Córcega is considered a success story among CWOs in
the region based on the following criteria (Table 16):
Criteria
Fulfills the 10 Characteristics of
sustainability identified in this research:
Yes
Overcomes most of the problems identified
in the data collection:
Yes
Access to subsidies: Is the only CWO of the 14 ACCRC sites with
access to State subsidies
Help provided to other CWOs: Tribunas is the go-to-person for FACORIS
and AQUACOL members whenever they face
institutional and organizational difficulties,
help usually offered for free.
Other services to the community: Offers many other services such as sanitation,
waste treatment, community center
Other help received from the State: One of the only CWOs in the country
receiving PDA resources
Table 16: Selection criteria for success story

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The documentation of Tribunas Córcega success factors is illustrated below as
described by its manager and some of its staff (extracted from raw data in Appendix 1.3),
and as found in the document review, association’s meetings and other data analysis. This
illustration can help replicate these good practices among other CWOs. This section
answers the following questions: What were the success factors they implemented? What
conditions allowed it to be more than a solution for the water service in its community?
Oscar Gómez, Manager of Tribunas Córcega mentioned the following success factors.

1. Strong legal knowledge is key for any Community-based Water supply Organization,
without it there is a high risk of breaking the law in terms of water quality and service but
also in terms of the rights you have as a Community Organization. Having strong legal
knowledge has been one of the key factors of success for Tribunas Córcega where they
have been able to use the existent legal framework in their favour and have allowed them
to defend themselves from external threats through legal tools.
Tribunas Córcega is one of the few CWO in Colombia that has been granted with
public investment in their infrastructure through the so called Water Departmental Plans
or PDA (for their Spanish acronym). Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, was
going to personally inaugurate one of the few effective investments of this controversial
national program in Tribunas Córcega. Oscar Gómez notes how Tribunas did nothing
different from following what was written in the law, and argues that their legal
knowledge was key in that process. Oscar Gómez takes every opportunity he has to warn
other CWO about the importance of learning about the legal framework that affects them.
He repeated many times in focus groups, interviews, informal meetings with other CWOs

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and informal conversations how important it was for CWO to learn about their rights and
duties.
Unfortunately, rural Colombia is known for the low educational level, which is an
obstacle to building legal knowledge among these Community Organizations.

2. Show results to the community. Another key factor in Tribunas Córcega’s success is
that they show real results to their community instead of making promises. The
community sees, lives and feels the continuous improvement of the company. They are
continuously incurring in new services with an environmental focus. Take ownership of
environmental projects that the municipal government left in hands of the community
without a direct responsible, for example through the maintenance of the septic system
given by the Municipal Government and other local entities.
Tribunas is offering additional services to its community, such as waste collection
and management, where they add value where other companies don´t, for instance they
seem to be extremely punctual and professional in their waste management service.

3. Work together with the local government rather than against. In terms of land
acquisition for watershed conservation, Tribunas has oriented the municipal government
and has helped speed up the purchase process. Under the Colombian legislation it is an
obligation of the municipal government to purchase land for watershed conservation, but
many times is not a priority for local governments. Tribunas decided to help the local

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government in the purchase process to speed up the process rather than only ask and wait
for its right to be given.

4. Be a development catalyzer
More than a water system the community-based approach used by Tribunas Córcega
transform them into a community participation center that encourages community
development in many forms. In the words of Oscar Gómez:

This CWO became a development facilitator for Tribunas Córcega corregimiento.
Before the community took over Tribunas (1998) the water system was immersed in
abandonment. Now with our company service has improved considerably, the
community is less affected because the organization’s response [to shortages] is much
faster. But beyond water supply we contribute with rural roads improvement, because
we transport the necessary material in our own dumper-trucks, we support the
community in all sorts of sport, cultural and even economic activities; we contribute
with groceries, medical prescriptions, and with enormous logistic support for
community meetings, such as tents, amplification equipment and meeting rooms.
Basically, from this company we have developed an important infrastructure to solve
community problems and needs, such that the people put us at the same level of the
local government, because they come to us to look for solutions to many of their
problems and needs.

This company not only contributes to a better life quality for the community from the
water supply perspective but also through other duties that encourage community
participation in public events. Examples of this are the coordination of the traditional
festivities of our town and gastronomic activities; we even cooperate with the Rural
Inhabitant Celebration that is an activity organized by the municipal government. The
municipal government even asks for logistic help for activities like this and to carry
out all sorts of trainings and community meetings.
Political candidates always see this CWO as a politic fort, because of the credibility
we have generated among the community, which can be used in our favour or against
us at any given moment.

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Tribunas Córcega has proven through example that encouraging development in all forms
in its community is a success factor to become a sustainable water system for their rural
community.

5. Maintain a communication channel with the community: for example a
newspaper. Tribunas Córcega has implemented a newspaper called “El Informativo”
(The Informative) that circulates every 2 months. Through this communication channel
they report to the community about the organization´s improvements.

6. Continuous innovation
From the environmental perspective Tribunas Córcega says it has dabbled in very
innovative projects, not very usual in other places in Colombia E.g.
 Maintenance of the community’s septic system complying with environmental
legislation, sending waste to wastewater treatment plant and respective
environmental authority’s permission. Not a trend in the industry.
 Only municipal company to do selective recyclable routes
 Employees involved in waste management are fully equipped with protection
tools, and epidemiological picture provided by the insurance company (ARP).
 Waste collection is known by its punctuality in the recollection, something unique
among local waste collection companies.
 Create innovative partnerships with the municipal government towards land
acquisition for watershed conservation, such as facilitating the purchase process
and helping both parties of the process to come to a final decision faster.

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 Innovative transparency measure at the Board of Directors and election of the
CWO manager (see description below)

7. Inter-institutional cooperation with the government and local entities at Tribunas
Córcega is high in the local, departmental and national level. Tribunas Córcega has
access to subsidies since 2010, has benefited from public investments from the local
government and is one of the few CWOs to benefit from the PDA national funding
resources. It discloses information to the national information system for water supplier –
SUI – and is constantly in touch with local, departmental and national authorities.
Colombia´s President was going to visit Tribunas Córcega a week before this researcher’s
arrival to inaugurate the new infrastructure built with PDA funds.

8. CWOs are strongly dependent on voluntary work and this is not sustainable!
When Tribunas was asked if by giving a small remuneration which barely pays for the
participant’s transportation costs and lunch when participating in CWO meetings, the
commitment of members had increased, Tribunas said yes
“That is correct, there has been greater commitment from the Board members to
assist to CWO periodic meetings only by recognizing transportation and a
compensation for their time, which is roughly CAD$15” – Oscar Gómez –
Tribunas Córcega’s manager
A key component in voluntary work and community participation is motivation, it can
come and go, and having periodic meeting can become a problem if you can’t find the
right motivation.
When you are convoking community members you have to have in mind that you
are asking them to leave their duties to come to a 2-hour, half-a-day, or whole-day
meeting. Besides you need that assistance to be periodic and consistent, and you

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are asking them to even pay for their own transportation to come voluntarily to
these meeting? That can demotivate many people to come.
“Love with hunger doesn’t last” comically says Gómez, referring to the fact that good
intentions are not an efficient
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way to keep people engaged in community matters. You
must acknowledge the effort they are making by being part of this community venture, at
least by compensating the opportunity cost of their time. Otherwise, love won’t last. He
says:
If there is an economic incentive or at least a payment for the day of work they
are dedicating to the CWO, that could be CAD$15 (COP$30.000), I think it
would be very beneficial to decrease the risk of low community participation in
Board of Directors
Gómez mentions how
Even the Colombian State publicly adopts this measure to promote community
participation. In the Permanent Socio-economic Stratification Committee, where
there must be an equal number of companies and community participants, those
community participants that attend are remunerated with the equivalent of one
day of the Mayor’s salary.

What is next: where does Tribunas Córcega need more research on?
 Water flow management: More research on this topic can help Tribunas and other
CWOs to prepare for Climate Change
 Restrict indiscriminate logging in watersheds: Governmental measures have not
been helpful and more research on this topic is required.
 Preparation for climate change: governmental measures are poor and only benefit
economic conglomerates

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There is precarious governmental management of environmental protection and
poor preparation for climate change.

A very important legal right is being violated here, and it is the Prevention
Characteristic, it has been widely announced how Climate Change will severely
affect our area and nothing has been done, that makes us understand that for the
government, economic conglomerates are more important to protect than the
communities that will suffer due to Climate Change. More research on why the
government is violating this Prevention Characteristic and why climate change
prevention is not being executed is fully required – Oscar Gómez – Tribunas
Córcega’s manager.

In conclusion, these research findings identified ten main characteristics of what these
community water organizations called CWOs define as a sustainable rural water system.
In the definition of such system, these important players illustrated some of the many
threats and weaknesses they face. Finally, the success story of Tribunas Córcega provided
important insights of what it takes to become a sustainable solution for their rural
community.

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Chapter 5 – Analysis and Conclusions

The case study analysis has shown us many characteristics of a sustainable water system
for rural areas and many strengths of the community-based approach for rural water
supply systems. It has also illustrated the main weaknesses and threats faced by those
Community-based Water supply Organizations (CWOs). But what has the literature said
about all this? What points are these case studies missing and what arguments is the
literature missing?
Through a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats),
opinions of the case studies were consolidated and compared with the literature in regards
to the characteristics or conditions that constitute a sustainable water system for rural
areas in Colombia. Finally, the chapter will be concluded by answering the research
question and summarizing the main internal and external necessary conditions or
characteristics for the existence of a sustainable water system in rural Colombia. Those
characteristics were divided in internal and external to clearly identify who is responsible
for what characteristics of sustainability (State, authorities, or CWOs) in rural water
supply systems.

Strengths
The case study analysis has shown that CWOs in rural Colombia currently face multiple
challenges but that, if well addressed, they can become success stories in water provision
for rural areas. What participants describe as characteristics of sustainability is somehow
a description of their strengths, because every participant fulfills one or, in the case of

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Tribunas Córcega, all the identified characteristics, therefore one way or the other, they
can also become success stories. Case studies have demonstrated that under the right
conditions the CWO model can be a mechanism to:
1. Offer affordable water tariffs
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to rural users
2. Provide high water quality to their community
3. Adopt good management practices
4. Create a community participation model
5. Generate sense of ownership among the community
6. Be accountable to the community
7. Be a development catalyzer
8. Enhance sustainability through associations
9. Be non-politicized and transparent water systems
10. Raise environmental awareness
The literature has also clearly identified many of these characteristics of
sustainability emergent from Community-based water systems like CWOs, such as: 1)
involvement of the communities in the water system’s design, construction, evaluation,
operation and maintenance, becoming water projects for the long term (Sun et al., 2010;
Isham and Kahkonen, 2002; Novy and Leuboldt, 2005; Smits et al., 2012); 2) create
social capital
74
and foster a sense of ownership that benefits local development (Sun et
al., 2010; Abers, 1998; Madrigal et al, 2010); 3) overcome economies of scale
75
and offer

73
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary
74
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary
75
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

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good water quality at very low costs in rural areas (Cadavid, 2008, p. 9); 4) reduce
bureaucracy (Novy and Leuboldt, 2005); 5) accountability to the community, and 6)
efficient
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management of water basins (Novy and Leuboldt, 2005; Smits et al., 2012).
In this regard, the case study has illustrated even more characteristics of
sustainability emergent from the community-based approach, which suggests there are
several positive repercussions worth conserving from rural water services when provided
by CWOs. Encouraging a best performance of the existent CWO solution for rural water
provision seems to be a faster and more sustainable approach than starting over, from
zero, with a brand new solution, because there is value added in their proposal.

Opportunities
None of the CWO participants refer to any external opportunities emergent from the
current conditions under which rural water systems have to develop in Colombia. None
identified any benefits coming from the authorities or the legislation; they all had
something to complain about when it came to external forces. This could be explained for
the bad reputation that the State and government have among rural areas in Colombia.
After decades of absence, where the State is only represented through (in many cases)
small, distant and apparently corrupt governments, many rural Colombians have a
negative perception of the State and the government.

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The literature agrees on the absence of opportunities from authorities and the
State to enhance the performance of CWOs as rural water suppliers (Krause, 2007; Rojas
et al., 2011; Domínguez & Uribe, 2005). Some argue that the legislation for water
management does not give clear guidance on how to interact with authorities (Blanco,
2008); others argue that the lack of feedback is an area where external entities like the
State could help CWOs’ performance as water suppliers. All in all, the national and local
governments support mechanism for these rural water suppliers has proven to be deficient
if not absent both in the case studies and the literature, jeopardizing access to potable
water for rural populations.

Weaknesses
In the literature, there is a tendency to think about what governments, development
agencies, NGOs and authorities should and shouldn’t do to help supply potable water in
rural areas. However, little has been said about what the existent rural organizations
(CWOs) need to do to help themselves? What are the areas of improvement that they can
address by themselves? Of course, some CWOs cannot do much for themselves without
basic tools that need to be provided, such as education, technical training and subsidies,
but there are many other features beyond those basic tools that, once provided, CWOs
can focus on.
Only Madrigal et al. (2010) warned that the good performance of CWOs was
highly dependent on the leadership skills of its managers, a weakness of the model itself,
but not many authors went beyond this point. The case study analysis illustrated several
areas of internal improvement that can negatively affect the sustainability of a water

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system if not addressed, and actually found that most of them have been addressed
internally by the success story – Tribunas Córcega – which means that under similar
conditions to the ones of the success story, CWOs can address those issues themselves.
Those weaknesses are (described more in detail in Chapter 4, section 2.b.1. Bad
management practices):
1. Working below break-even point
2. Strong dependence on voluntary work and underestimation of costs
3. Information loss and low commitment due to volunteer work
4. Abrupt changes of Board of Directors
5. Poor communication with local authorities
6. Having poor legal knowledge
7. Absence of communication channel with the community, not showing results to
the community in a constant basis
8. Lack of innovation
It is important to note that every case study has different backgrounds in education,
resources, water system technology, and water sources, which challenges in different
ways the possibility of addressing the listed weaknesses. Therefore under conditions of
education like the one of Oscar Gómez, lawyer, manager of Tribunas Córcega, and his
qualified staff; in Tribunas Córcega corregimiento, a town next to the city of Pereira,
close to local authorities and knowledge sources; a CWO should be able to address these
internal weaknesses. However, when educational levels are low and rural water systems
are located in remote areas, addressing these listed weaknesses can be much more
challenging and may require external support from authorities and outsiders. More about

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the relations between CWOs and external players is discussed in Chapter 6:
recommendations.

Threats
As it was evident in the case study analysis, the largest threat for these rural water
organizations was the difficult access to State subsidies. All case studies referred to it as a
hazardous practice against their existence. They complained about government payment
delays, nonexistent socio-economic stratification
77
(though a governmental responsibility
is a reason to deny access to subsidies for CWOs), and extremely slow subsidies
application processes. For these rural organizations, especially for those with higher
concentrations of low-income populations, no subsidies mean social inequality, reduced
infrastructure maintenance or higher water tariffs (the only two alternatives to cover
operational costs without subsidies), and lack of resources for technology upgrades or
even repairs, which in the end translates into poor water quality and quantity.
Supporting the evidence, the literature widely talks about the limited access to
State subsidies in rural Colombia (Krause, 2007; Rojas et al., 2011; Melendez, 2008;
Domínguez & Uribe, 2005). At times, the evidence points to political interests that give
priority to other projects and do not allocate the resources towards potable water (Rojas et
al., 2011, p. 73); other times it blames the incorrect socio-economic stratification system
(Melendez, 2008), in any case, the limited access to subsidies for rural water suppliers in
Colombia is undeniable.

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In addition to limited access to State subsidies, these rural water organizations
complained about other external forces that threaten their sustainability such as lack of
environmental awareness from the community and other outside water users, and lack of
training opportunities even in basic water system knowledge.
The literature supports the argument that technical assistance and training are
important components in the sustainability of rural water supply systems (Mansuri &
Rao, 2013; Rojas et. al, 2011), however it suggests that local environmental awareness
efforts would have results mostly in the long term but environmental consciousness
through legislation and education at a national level has much more significant impact
(Narayan, 1995).

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Conclusions

Regardless of CWO’s contribution to the system’s sustainability, building upon existing
water supply structures is often more sustainable than creating new ones (Fonseca &
Bolt, 2002; van Dijk, 2008; Kariuki et al., 2003). Given the ambitious Millennium
Development Goals MDG water target 7c of reducing by half the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and adequate sanitation by 2015 (MDG,
2000), governments should be inclined to promote the existing on-site water solutions to
achieve goals faster (van Dijk, 2008; Kariuki et al., 2003). By supporting the CWO
model, success stories in sustainable water supply services in rural areas like Tribunas
Córcega can be replicated where water systems not only supply water but see water as a
community right rather than as a commodity.
The previous SWOT analysis described what are the current conditions of water
supply services in rural Colombia and helps to understand what needs to be preserved and
what needs to be done to implement a sustainable solution. It also answers the secondary
research question about what are the aspects that threaten the sustainability of CWOs and
how important is the role of management and financial knowledge in the sustainability of
a rural water system in Colombia. Under this description, what is the answer to the main
research question? What are the characteristics and conditions that constitute a
sustainable rural water supply service in the Colombian context? What are the conditions
that have allowed the accomplishments of the Tribunas Córcega success story?

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The answer is that there is a list of internal and external conditions that need to
coexist for a sustainable rural water supply system to exist. While the following list is not
exhaustive, this research indicated that these internal and external conditions are
necessary for the existence of a sustainable alternative. The internal conditions are
described in further detail below and include: 1) Have proper infrastructure conditions; 2)
Keep users satisfied; 3) Adopt best management practices; 4) Create social capital
78
; 5)
Be a development catalyzer to its community; and 6) Raise environmental awareness.
Simultaneously, the external conditions necessary for the existence of a sustainable water
supply system in rural areas are: 1) easy access to subsidies and public investment; 2)
efficient
79
communication channels between CWOs and authorities; 3) continuous
training; and 4) environmental legislation and education (See Figure 13).

78
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary
79
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

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Figure 13: Basic conditions for the existence of a sustainable water supply system in rural Colombia
There are two reasons why this research makes a difference between the internal
and the external conditions. Firstly, the literature does not make a clear distinction
between the internal (within the CWOs themselves) and external (organizations and
players outside of the CWOs) necessary conditions that allow the existence of a
sustainable water supply system in rural areas. Secondly, identifying internal conditions
provides empowerment to these local community-based organizations because they
represent a list of aspects that they can address by themselves.
The division between external and internal conditions necessary for sustainability
also allows seeing the strong relationship between some external characteristics and their

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effect on internal CWO performance. For instance, without easy access to subsidies, it is
not possible to be financially sustainable and therefore is not possible for a CWO to
provide equitable access to high quality water that improves with time, with enough
frequency or without shortages.
Likewise, without efficient communication channels between the State or sector
authorities and the CWOs, the necessary public investments cannot take place where
more needed. Without continuous training coordinated by authorities, CWOs can be
easily outdated putting their infrastructures and water sources at risk.
In summary, both conditions, internal and external, complement each other and
are necessary for a sustainable rural water service to exist. But how did we get to this list
of characteristics or conditions and what do they represent? Each condition was selected
based on whether it was identified as an indicator of sustainability in the literature (in
Chapter 1, section 1.2.2.2.) and/or if it was indicated in the case studies as characteristics
or problems (in Chapter 4 as Characteristics and Problems). The characteristics (C) going
from C1 to C10 as in Chapter 4; and problems (P) going from P.2.a.1 to P.2.a.3 when
referring to the external threats, from P.2.b.1 to P.2.b.2 when referring to internal
weaknesses, and going from P.2.c.1 to P.2.c.3 when referring to both internal and
external threats. Figure 14 is a summary of that merge, further illustrated in Figures 15
and 16.

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Figure 14: Merger process about sustainability characteristics and problems found in literature and case studies
Each category in Figure 14 was selected based on importance, or in other words
on how a theme would potentially threaten the short-term or long-term existence of a
rural water system. More specifically, it referred to whether a given theme would
positively or negatively affect the CWO’s sustainability, in terms of 1) water quality, 2)
financial sustainability, 3) technical knowledge, 4) environmental issues, and/or 5) self-
governance and community engagement (see description of a sustainable water supply
service in rural Colombia, in Chapter 2, section 2.1. But what do we mean with
sustainability?). It important to note that they are not in order of importance (e.g. Proper
infrastructure condition is not more important than environmental awareness) and all of
them have to coexist simultaneously.

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Once again, these conditions do not constitute an exhaustive list, and aspects such
as culture, national and local economics, politics and other factors also play an important
role. In any case, these guidelines provide a starting point in terms of what policies
should be looking at as goals when looking for a sustainable alternative to rural water
services based on case study analysis and indicators from the literature.
If these conditions took place they could reduce the problems faced by CWOs and
more specifically could break the vicious cycle described in Chapter 1, section 1.2.1.2
when describing the research problem (Figure 2). The easiest and fastest way to start
breaking this vicious cycle would be through facilitating access to State subsidies, given
that it would lead to more available resources to cover operating costs, maintenance and
small investments in infrastructure, ultimately helping increase water quality and making
the organizations eligible for other State benefits.
In the case studies analyzed in this study, technical and geographical problems
were rarely major problems for the sustainability of these water systems. Instead,
administrative and political challenges were more threatening. These findings are
consistent with those identified by Jiménez Fernández de Palencia & Perez-Foguet
(2010) in their studies of implementation of a rural water supply and sanitation program
in Tanzania. Water governance seems to be a larger threat to the sustainability of a rural
water system than any other aspect.
A more detailed explanation of the internal and external conditions can be found
below, where the opinion of CWOs, data analysis and literature are merged in every
category.

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I. Internal conditions for sustainability

The internal characteristics within a CWO necessary to supply a sustainable service in
rural areas are:

Figure 15: Internal conditions necessary for the existence of a sustainable water supply system in rural Colombia

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1. Proper infrastructure conditions

A sustainable water supply system for rural areas in places like Colombia needs to count
with an infrastructure that at least offers equitable high water quality, is self-sufficient in
maintenance and where the staff has technical knowledge about the technologies
implemented.
1.1. Offer equitable high water quality: A sustainable CWO provides equitable access to
high quality water that improves with time, with enough frequency to fulfill the
community basic needs, ideally without shortages.
1.2. Self-sufficiency in maintenance and repairs services (Kubzansky et al., 2011): An
indicator that can help measure self-sufficiency is the one suggested by Kubzansky
(2011):

Four of the CWOs involved in this study responded with 100% self-sufficiency to
this indicator, except from Acuasur, who is 90% self-sufficient, still a very high self-
sufficiency result, reflecting independence from the larger cities. These results show their
operation is mainly independent from third parties and has lower risk of system failures
for long periods of time.

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It is important to remember that Acuabuitrera, Tribunas Córcega and Golondrinas
are peri-urban
80
CWOs, meaning they are very close to larger cities and dependence on
maintenance services from the city is not a major problem, even if there was some sort of
dependence. For Acuasur it is somehow different, as they are farther away from Cali city
(the largest city in the area). In any case, this does not represent a problem for the case
studies selected due to their overall relative proximity and accessibility to larger cities in
the area. However, they represent an ideal level of independence for a sustainable rural
CWO.
1.3. Technical knowledge and appropriate technologies: A sustainable solution for rural
water provision has to use appropriate technologies to the local needs and have periodical
technical training. As predicted by Hart, (2010) a sustainable CWO creates strategies to
reduce pollution. Such is the case of the success story Tribunas Córcega where they took
ownership of the septic system maintenance that was previously not being taken care of:
“We create new strategies through environmental education, through septic
system maintenance, this last is a very innovative step that no other CWO is
doing. We took ownership of the septic system maintenance that was previously
not being taken care of” – Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega’s manager
A sustainable water system develops new technologies (Hart, 2010) or infrastructure.
Tribunas Córcega recently implemented a chlorine contact chamber to improve the
chlorine mix with water.

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See definition of peri-urban in the Glossary

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2. User satisfaction
A sustainable solution for rural water provision must satisfy the following basic users’
demands:
2.1. Offer affordable water tariffs
81
: Offering good water quality at affordable prices for
rural inhabitants means alleviating poverty by increasing their available income and
reducing health issues. All community-based water supply organizations involved in this
research offered cheaper water tariffs to their communities for all the socio-economic
levels (poor and rich) than the closest municipally-owned utility. As per the opinion of all
case studies in this research, this condition is key to the sustainability of a rural water
system.
2.2. Provide high water quality: Water quality has to be measured by authorities, not just
individually, following national standards, as it happens in the case studies under
research. The five CWOs under study provide water quality according to the national
standards, which means CWOs offer high water quality at affordable prices.
2.3. Continuity of water service: meaning no shortages or if they are required due to
water scarcity or other unpredictable issues, do timely communication of future shortages
explaining service hours and shortage period.
2.4. Water quantity satisfaction: water pressure and again shortages can be a
dissatisfaction factor.

81
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary

163

2.5. Absence of illness caused by drinking tap water: this characteristic can be a
measurable indicator of user satisfaction.
2.6. Utilisation rates: is the community using the CWO water as the main source of
water? How important are other water sources in the overall water consumption? Is water
too expensive for the community to use it? in Kenyan case studies utilisation rates
spreads from 5 to 50 per cent (Kubzansky et al., 2011), where other sources of water are
bottled water, water kiosks, among others. Another factor that can negatively affect
utilisation rates is additional costs generated by using water, such as fuel to boil water
(De Carvalho et al., 2011). If the community is using other water sources to access
potable water, then price, quality or other service related problems might be restricting
the demand, making the model unsustainable.

3. Best management practices
Given that the participant CWOs had previously requested to do further research on
possible solutions for their management vulnerabilities, it is understandable that this
section is significantly longer than all the others. This however, does not mean that in
practice, management practices have a more important role than the social or
environmental features in the overall sustainability of a rural water supply system.
Nevertheless, good management practices are a key component in the
sustainability of rural water provision, without which a water system can offer poor water
quality or go bankrupt easily (as mentioned by Golondrinas).

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The conditions that show a CWO is using good management practices, according to what
was found in the literature and case study evidence, are:
3.1. Be financially sustainable: a financially sustainable rural water system is self-
sufficient by virtue of its ability to pay for its operation, maintenance, and repairs. Its
water tariffs are affordable for users and cover the operating costs and expenses, and
minor infrastructure investments. Major investments in infrastructure are not charged to
the user but are provided by the State, otherwise tariffs become unaffordable for users.
This all assuming a cross-subsidy system like the one in Colombia takes place, where the
State covers any unbalances in the subsidies system.
Here, external players such as the State and sector authorities play an important
role, where their performance directly affects the financial performance of CWOs via
subsidies, investment and training.
3.2. Public investment: State intervention through investment that require large amounts
of capital are a condition for the sustainability of a rural water system. If not, charging the
major investments in infrastructure to tariff’s calculation exponentially increases water
tariffs for users, making any water system financially unsustainable. Such measure is not
applied by any of the five case studies and their reason is consistent, the community
wouldn’t allow it because water tariffs would become unaffordable.
3.3. Good leadership: an important characteristic of sustainability observed in all the
participant CWOs was good leadership, where the figure of a good leader made the
difference between a struggling CWO like Golondrinas or Asocascajal, and a well-

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oriented CWO like Tribunas Córcega or Acuabuitrera (with clear management policies,
information processes, regular meetings and good communication with the community).
The important role of a good leader was also mentioned in the literature. Madrigal
et al. highlight that the value contribution of CWOs to their communities is not an
intrinsic characteristic but depends on the CWO’s demand-driven approach, coupled with
local accountability, working rules for tariff collection and infrastructure maintenance,
and appropriate support from the government (Madrigal et al., 2010), all conditions that
are somewhat dependant on the leader of the organization.
More details about this characteristic of sustainability can be found in Chapter 6 –
recommendations, section 3.b.
3.4. Associativity: as seen in Chapter 4, section 2.b.2. CWOs should form associations
among themselves to improve from within, help each other and endure in the long term.
Evidence shows that when CWOs do not associate among themselves they become
vulnerable in terms of knowledge, information about opportunities, taxes exemption, land
acquisition for environmental protection, etc. According to the evidence, CWOs that were
part of an association were better informed, more protected and aware of their rights and
duties than those isolated. Only by discussing problem solving among themselves CWOs
have more to gain through association than without. Read more about this in Chapter 6,
section 1.b.
3.4. Not strongly dependent on voluntary work: As addressed in the literature, empirical
issues identified in Community-Driven Development – CDD approaches, like CWOs, are
the dependence on voluntary labour, potential bad planning, and low technical or

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managerial knowledge (Mukherji, 2013). Due to the voluntary work nature of CWOs a
trend is to rely too much on this free labour source to reduce costs and thus reduce water
tariffs. However, there is a big organizational risk at following that trend, because it
allows lack of commitment, information loss, and difficulty in finding predecessors.
Therefore, it is a best management practice towards the sustainability of a rural water
system not to be too dependent on voluntary work. Read more about this trend in Chapter
4, section 2.b.1. and chapter 6, section 3.b.
3.5. Work above break-even point (without covering major capital expenditure): It is a
good management practice for CWOs to operate above the break-even point. As in any
other organization, profit or non-profit, costs and expenses have to be efficiently and
timely covered. In the case studies under research there was a range of operating margins,
which varied from -43% (Golondrinas) to 10% (Tribunas Córcega). The same was found
by Kubzansky in Kenyan case studies, that showed huge variance in operating margins,
going from -122% to 42% (Kubzansky et al., 2011). In any case, working above break-
even level, even if it is only 1%, is necessary for financial sustainability.
However, the literature is mistaken when it suggests including all capital
expenditure in the calculation of water tariffs for break-even point (Kubzansky et al.,
2011, p. 113). Capital expenditure in water systems is compounded by minor and major
investments. As stated before, charging the major investments in infrastructure to tariff’s
calculation exponentially increases water tariffs for users, making any water system
financially unsustainable. In that sense, the condition for a sustainable rural water supply
system seems to be to operate above break-even point where break-even point is
calculated with water tariffs that do not include major capital expenditure but only minor

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investments, such as repairs and maintenance costs and expenses. Once again, major
investments should be provided by the State and not charge to users.
3.6. Strong legal knowledge: as learnt from the success story of Tribunas Córcega, legal
knowledge is key for any Community-based Water supply Organization, without it there
is a high risk of breaking the law in terms of water quality and service but also in terms of
the rights you have as a Community Organization. Having strong legal knowledge has
been one of the key factors of success for Tribunas Córcega where they have been able to
use the existent legal framework in their favour and have allowed them to defend
themselves from external threats through legal tools.
3.7. Being apolitical: A rural water system has to be apolitical to be sustainable. If water
management is subject to changes of government or priorities in the political agenda, the
only losers are the community’s water users. When water systems depend on political
will, efficiency
82
is affected because water management does not depend anymore on the
efficiency of the water system but on external independent variables.
Under the CWO model, it is the community and its leaders who decide what are
the objectives, priorities and decisions over their water system, not outsiders, politicians
nor shareholders, but the community itself is the one that decides what is important for
their water services and watches and controls that those objectives are fulfilled.

82
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

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4. Create social capital
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The literature and the evidence agree in the CWO capacity to be closer to their
communities, enhance transparency, reduce bureaucracy and corruption, and create
citizenship through effective community participation models or social capital. Local
democratic models like the one in Acuasur, Acuabuitrera, La Sirena or Tribunas Córcega
teach citizens how to participate in a democratic environment, how to deliberate,
mobilize, and achieve goals as a society. Being close to their community also allows
providing a more customized service, as stated by Tribunas Córcega and La Sirena, they
are accountable to their communities and can respond to their needs more efficiently.
4.1. Community engagement: Indeed, community engagement is a key factor in the
sustainability of any rural water system. Not just community engagement in a particular
activity or period of time, but from the design face to the decision-making and operation
of the system. Such level of engagement creates a community participation model where
the community knows its water system from beginning to end. Such knowledge
encourages the generation of customized solutions for its population, a sense of
ownership, ultimately benefiting the water system’s operation. Such engagement creates
social capital or the “ease with which community members act collectively” (Labonne &
Chase, 2011, p. 349). Read more about CWO capacity to create community participation
models in Chapter 4, section 1, Characteristic 4.

83
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary

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4.2. Can community homogeny lead to sustainability?
One of the factors allowing these five case studies to provide good water quality and
simultaneously create a community participation model could be the homogeny of their
communities (ethnical, religious, economic and political homogeny). As mentioned by
Mansuri & Rao (2013), Mukherji (2013, p. 1549), Wong (2012), and other authors, when
political, economic and social powers are concentrated in the hands of a few, the
Community-Driven Development approach usually fails. In the case of our five case
studies:
a) Social characteristics are similar in terms of religion and ethnicity
b) Political power is more or less homogeneous and constantly challenged by
community participation (especially in cases like Acuasur and Tribunas Córcega)
c) Economic power is more equally distributed among these particular rural areas
where the main economic activity is agriculture and livestock (see Chapter 3,
section 4: Valle del Cauca and Risaralda context).
This could be evidence that community homogeny contributes to the
sustainability of a rural water system because the level of complexity between
community members is rather simple. However, monitoring the power levels in these
organizations is a key component to the success of community-based approach because in
its absence the capture of decision making by elites who control the local cooperative
infrastructure can lead to a high risk of corruption (Mansuri & Rao, 2013).
4.3. Being accountable: A sustainable water system owned and managed by the
community is a meeting point for the community where they discuss water and other

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issues not related to water or sanitation, helping them create a sense of community. As
local organizations, CWOs are accountable and close to their communities.

5. Be a development catalyzer
A sustainable rural water system has to be not only a water supplier, but has to become a
development catalyzer, where the water system grows with the community and makes it
better and stronger. Case studies like La Sirena, Tribunas Córcega, Acuabuitrera and
Acuasur represented a physical space for community participation through the
construction of facilities that worked as community centers, they built local librar ies, new
paved roads, created environmental campaigns, became the hub for community
celebrations and events, and a hub to discuss issues that affect the community in general
(See more in Chapter 4, Characteristic 7). If the community-based water supply
organization grows with the community it will certainly help provide a sustainable water
service because it will address the concerns affecting their people, water or not water
related.

6. Water source conservation
Although the literature argues CWO effect on the environment is not significant, in a
scenario of growing population (applicable to all our case studies) water sources become
indeed a threat to sustainability. Thus, watershed and water source conservation efforts
must take place if a rural water supply system wants to be sustainable in the long term.
6.1. Water source conservation and restoration: A sustainable rural water system must
focus on its long term existence, which means making sure there will be water in the

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future. To do that, water organizations need to be responsible of their local water source
conservation and restoration (if needed). As stated by Narayan (1995, p. 26) “compared
to large infrastructure such as dams or river basin management, rural drinking- water
projects have little dramatic impact on the environment […However] the long-term
environmental effects […] from localized reforestation efforts can be significant”. Thus,
the benefit of conservation and restoration of water sources becomes more a matter of
assuring water for their communities rather than an impact action to protect the
environment as a result from community participation.
In other words, community participation will not necessarily mean water source
conservation, but in the case of long term risk of the water source, community
participation does encourage water source conservation. The case studies under research
are all under the risk of climate change and have already seen its consequences. Their
community participation models are an ideal platform for the discussion of long term
environmental protection of watersheds and water sources.
6.2. Planning for overpopulation: As stated before, overpopulation is an external threat
difficult to prevent, but with the correct planning, this threat to the water source can be
minimized. CWOs like Acuabuitrera fight to properly execute lot divisions that do not
threaten the watershed and they consider other CWOs should do the same to have
environmentally sustainable water systems.
6.3. Ownership over watershed land
Control over watersheds land is a key component in water conservation, water quality,
and quantity. As illustrated in the evidence, those water organizations without control

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over watershed land encountered water conservation problems that threaten the water
source. The misusage of those lands in other activities different from conservation, such
as cattle grazing, agriculture and others, can represent water scarcity and low water
quality, especially under the current climate change scenario. Allowing local CWOs to
have control over their communities’ water sources is a condition that can be
strengthened both internally and externally. Internally, just as the success story of
Tribunas Córcega did, the CWO can take leadership in making the municipal government
comply with the law and acquire and contribute in the purchase process of watershed
lands. Externally, in Colombia, the legislation already protects watershed lands but it is
the political agenda in every municipality that many times ignores this obligation.

II. External conditions for sustainability

For a rural water supply system to be sustainable external players like the government
and sector authorities must ensure:

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Figure 16: External characteristics for a sustainable water supply system in rural Colombia (field work + literature)

1. Easy access to subsidies and public investment
Limited access to subsidies for CWOs represents forcing these rural organizations to
operate below break-even point, because without them the only way to keep charging
affordable water tariffs to their predominant low-income population is through reducing
costs even below break-even point. Likewise, public intervention in capital intensive
investment is necessary for the sustainability of the system. Without it, those investments
would have to be charged in the user tariff (unviable) or else (usually the case)
investments cannot be done at all. In other words, public intervention in the CWO model
is a key component of its sustainability in the form of subsidies for the poor and major
investments in infrastructure.
Access to subsidies in rural Colombia is limited for the poorest municipalities.
CWOs under research identified three main reasons why it is difficult to have access to
Sustainable
rural water
systems
Easy access to
subsidies and
public
investment
Efficient
communication
channels with
authorities
Continuous
training
Environmental
legislation and
education

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State subsidies in Colombia, even when it is a given right according to the Law 142 of
1994, those reasons are: 1) government payment delays; 2) inexistent socio-economic
stratification
84
(though a governmental responsibility is a reason to deny access to
subsidies for CWOs); and 3) subsidies application process is slow. However, the
Colombian State is highly involved in any major investment made in CWOs’
infrastructure, although infrastructure upgrade is not as common in rural as in urban
areas. Besides, the investment in infrastructure is highly dependent on the political will of
municipal governments.

2. Efficient communication channels with authorities
A strong relationship between authorities and rural water suppliers is necessary for the
sustainability of access to water, and this can only be done through efficient
communication channels. Current efforts to in rural Colombia do not seem to be enough
and communities are being left behind in the policies created to benefit them (such as
PDA and subsidies). See more about this condition for sustainability in Chapter 4, section
2.c.1. and Chapter 6, section 1.a. State could create communication channels between
authorities and CWOs.

3. Continuous training
Water projects improved access to water, and improved water quality, only when
community level training was provided. This suggests that in order for
participatory projects to succeed they need to go beyond the construction of
facilities and may require the continuing and active involvement of external

84
See definition of socio-economic stratification in Colombia in the Glossary

175

agencies who can provide marginal inputs and training.(Mansuri & Rao, 2013, p.
20).
As stated by Mansuri & Rao, the sustainability of rural water systems not only
depends on the construction of new facilities, but on the strengthening of the
organizations that manage them after they are built. To do so, local communities cannot
be left alone based on the argument that local communities know better what is best for
them. To a certain extent, they can manage by themselves, but to provide a good water
service in the long term they need continuous training. Such training, as observed in the
case studies under research, needs to be customized due to the radical differences
observed regarding their individual needs (some need technical training, some need
business training, some need more legal knowledge, or even as simple as computer skill
training).
Indeed, such customized training needs to come from outsiders that can address
their information gaps faster, be it the State, aid agencies, or NGOs, in any case it has to
be continuous to accompany the learning process and help identify knowledge gaps.

4. Environmental legislation and education
According to Narayan’s study in Tanzania (1995), a country’s environmental
consciousness through legislation and education happens when there are geological,
hydrological and political contexts supporting it. This means, three components have to
be in place for environmental legislation and education to happen. If 1) geological and 2)
hydrological conditions make access to water difficult and there is 3) political will to
pursue alternatives to solve this issue for society, then environmental legislation and
education can take place.

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His argument is that community environmental efforts have little impact (still
significant in the long term) on environmental protection without the intervention of
competent authorities, legislation and education. In rural Colombia, CWOs like Tribunas
Córcega and La Sirena complained about the poor management from environmental
authorities in regards to environmental protection and climate change, and argued how
their rural organizations were much more committed to it. However, if Narayan is right,
their local efforts need to be matched by environmental authorities and legislation to
build sustainable water systems in rural areas, or else their local efforts will not be
enough.
Finally, as mentioned in section I.6.3. of this chapter, ownership of watershed
lands should be under the control of environmental authorities, CWOs or organizations
that consider the interest of the communities who use those water sources. Unfortunately,
in many of the municipalities under study, those lands are under private property and
municipal governments are not doing enough to change that reality. The local political
agenda many times has other more urgent issues to address, and leaves the investment in
watershed land purchases aside, putting the water sources at high risk. This is an example
of how the adequate environmental legislation not always translates into adequate
environmental behaviours, and is in cases like this where environmental education and
awareness play an important role in transforming law into practice.

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Reflections on the literature’s perspective of a sustainable rural water service
Additional insights to the literature
Without economies of scale
85
, costs of water services increase
According to Krause, a major concern of the water sector atomization through the
thousands of CWOs existent in Colombia is that
(i) organisational economies of scale are lost, driving up costs of service and
compromising quality of service and that (ii) it is practically infeasible for the two
national agencies CRA and SSPD to regulate the large number of small providers
(Krause, 2007, p. 124).
Perception shared by Kariuki and Schwartz, (2005) who believes that there are many
benefits on economies of scale in networked water systems.
However, the results in this case study analysis show the opposite is actually true:
(i) losing organisational economies of scale in rural areas in Colombia through the
community-based approach actually reduces costs of services and it has been proven they
can offer excellent water quality when monitored and positively regulated (see Figure 8
and Figure 9 and information about beating economies of scale in this Thesis), (ii) the
State alternative of being the only supplier in rural areas before the 90s or after that the
privatization of water services was neither a better solution for rural access to water, in
that sense, national agencies should work towards enhancing the current only effective
alternative to make it as efficient and sustainable as possible.

85
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

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Is water safe in the hands of informal players?
Dardenne and other authors express their concern on leaving such a basic service as water
in the hands of unregulated and informal players:
“they are informal, which means also unregulated. Is it convenient to leave such a
basic service, with such impact on the environment, the health and the global
wealth of the population, uncontrolled?” (Dardenne, 2006, p. 29).
Indeed, unregulated and informal players can provide poor water quality,
interrupted service, water inefficient use, and local environmental damage. This is why a
parternship between the water sector authorities and local rural water suppliers is an
important condition for a sustainable water supply system. “Recognizing and supporting
the small providers” (Dardenne, 2006, p. 34) is an efficient alternative, but more
specifically should recognize and support community-based models such as CWOs, not
simple private sector small-scale providers, because CWOs involve the communities
providing a long term solution.
86

What can authorities ask from rural suppliers?
As stated by Dardenne, the Colombian water legislation after the Constitution of 1991
remains a pioneer initiative (Dardenne, 2006). However, the author argues that “small
private participation in public service provision is encouraged”, and that registration as
formal rural water suppliers is easy and requires “some basic requirements” (Dardenne,
2006, p. 34). Those requirements are:

86
See success stories of CWOs: Access to safe water for the base of the pyramid, lessons learnt
from 15 case studies (de Carvalho et al., 2011)

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a) To demonstrate a roster of employees with professional qualifications; To present
to the Regulatory Commission an annual business development plan indicating
goals and means for achieving them;
b) To organise and support a customers’ association that elects a permanent
representative to the board of directors;
c) To have an accounting department which employs at least one full-time
professional accountant (Dardenne, 2006, p. 34)
Contrary to at least some of Dardenne’s conclusions, based on the evidence of this
research these requirements are not basic at all. They do not take into account the
population they are addressing. In response to point a), requiring professional
qualifications to present an annual business development plan, a rural water supplier
needs at least people with basic computer skills and have some sort of business or
management knowledge. However, people with these skills are readily available in rural
Colombia. In fact, in this research, case studies such as Golondrinas and Asocascajal did
not identify these skills as “basic knowledge”; it was evident that they needed training.
Regarding point c), having an accounting department and at least one full-time
professional accountant is a challenge in rural Colombia, where having secondary school
is a privilege.
This does not mean that these requirements are unnecessary, they are, but rural
populations need support and training to be able to comply with these requirements.
Unfortunately there are not enough regulations or support mechanisms specifically
intended to control, train or benefit CWOs, the State does not have in mind the kind of
population it is intending to provide water to. The Colombian State cannot expect to

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request CWOs to fulfil those requirements without further training in basic skills such as
computer skills or management best practices, and cannot expect to hire an accountant in
populations where professionals are not available. The issue is not about not asking for
those very fair minimum requirements; the issue is about providing the tools to then ask
for the requirements from these communities.

Women participation is not an immediate benefit of community participation models like
CWOs
Unfortunately, the role of women in community participation models like those created
by CWOs is not as important as it should be. Authors such as Sun, Asante and Birner
explain that in Ghana (country with geographical and social similarities to Colombia) one
of the important factors contributing to the success of community-based approaches to
drinking water systems in rural areas is “provisions to ensure women’s participation”
(Sun et al., 2010, p. 3). A more important role of women could definitely benefit the
long-term view of water systems and its sustainability. However, in Colombia, as
confirmed by Tribunas Córcega, women have the same role in CWOs that they would
have in any other democratic election in the country, were no further preferences are
ensured rather than those dictated by the role of women in Colombia society.
Women do participate in the studied CWOs but is purely because of their own
interest in public issues like water, not because their participation is ensured by the
community participation model. A major role of women in this community-based
approach to rural water supply would indeed benefit rural water sustainability, but
ensuring their participation should not be assumed as a responsibility of CWOs in any

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case. If women’s participation is to be ensured in community-based approaches to rural
water solutions, it should be the Colombian authorities in the water sector who should
pursue it. Colombian society has radically enhanced the role of women in politics and
society since 1950s but has great room for improvement. Women are still a minority in
the politic scheme and such role can only be enhanced by further regulations or changes
in education. Local efforts can have localized impacts but they could easily change with
different Board of Directors. If we are talking about the role of women to improve the
sustainability of rural water systems as a whole, a national regulation needs to take place
to ensure larger women participation.

Can we consider CWOs as social enterprises
87
?
As defined by Ray Dart (2004) social enterprises are businesses with a social purpose
Most descriptions of social enterprise build from a premise of frame-breaking and
innovation in the social sector (Emerson and Twersky, 1996; Leadbeater, 1997;
Grenier, 2002). Most are significantly influenced by business thinking and by a
primary focus on results and outcomes for client groups and communities. Most
would frame social-enterprise activities as jointly prosocially and financially
motivated in a manner that Emerson and Twersky (1996) describe as ‘double
bottom line (Dart, 2004, p. 413).
According to those general definitions and what we have seen about CWO
operations, this community-based approach to rural water services seems to constitute a
social enterprise.

87
See definition of social enterprises in the Glossary

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However, when social enterprises refer to market-based solutions for poverty,
CWOs are not part of the definition. According to Kubzansky market-based solutions for
poverty are
Initiatives that use the market economy to engage low-income people as
customers, offering them socially beneficial products at prices they can afford, or
as business associates — suppliers, agents, or distributors — providing them with
improved incomes (Kubzansky et al., 2011, p. 3).
Community-based Water supply Organizations like the ones under study in this
research do not see water users as customers or business associates, where somebody can
profit somehow. Water supply services like the one offered by CWOs in Colombia does
not generate any kind of income for users or for community members managing the
system, because instead of selling a good, the philosophy is that they are providing a
community service.
In that sense, CWOs can be called social enterprises but not market-based
solutions for poverty due mainly to their philosophy of seeing water as a human right
rather than as a commodity.

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Reflections on case studies perspective of a sustainable rural water service

Local perception of sustainability
“What do you mean with sustainability?” asked Golondrinas and Asocascajal members
when they were asked about what constitutes a sustainable CWO in rural Colombia. Two
reasons could explain such answer to a highly vulnerable topic for these rural water
systems that one could assume they should know about. One explanation is that this
researcher’s presence was expected to address mainly short-term problems such as cost
structure, tariff
88
calculation and subsidies, and my question about sustainability was out
of place according to their expectations. A second explanation is that they didn’t know
what the term sustainability meant, which is unlikely according to their answers that
always involve long term perspectives, environmental protection, user satisfaction,
community engagement in the short and long term, and many other synonyms of
sustainability explored in this study.
According to their answers, the first explanation could describe why they didn’t
understand the term sustainability in the first place. Indeed, these organizations refer to
the short and long term perspectives of their water organizations, but pay special attention
to the overwhelming short-term risks, (as described in the following section), which does
not mean they do not adopt the concept of sustainability in their operations. A main
reflection here is that a local perception of sustainability exists even when the
terminology is unknown like in the cases of Golondrinas and Asocascajal. Their

88
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary

184

behaviour as organizations that go beyond the bottom line, beyond community
engagement and beyond water management under the goal of providing good water
quality service to their communities reflects their understanding of the term
sustainability.

Political influences also affect the sustainability of rural water systems
Understanding how the national and local political influences affect the sustainability of a
rural water system is an important factor in the formulation of policies for access to
potable water in rural areas in Colombia. However, this was not the scope of this research
and is a potential field of study for farther research.
Issues of political influence in the water sector were evident at the local level in
many forms. Answers from Tribunas Córcega, La Sirena and even Acuabuitrera referred
to the issue of the State’s corruption and bureaucracy as one of the obstacles in the access
to state subsidies (See Chapter 4, Characteristic 1), and examples were abundant in those
three case studies of local governments trying to take over CWOs to gain more political
power. However, given that 1) this research didn’t interview governmental staff or
community members to evaluate the levels of corruption indicated by the CWOs; and 2)
the scope of this research is not to understand how policies should be formulated or
changed but about what those policies have to pursue as end results; this research gives
less relevance to the political scene under which sustainability has to occur.
Nevertheless, the political influence of national and local governments in the
sustainable access to potable water in rural areas, as well as within the communities

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themselves, is a field that requires further research. The data collected may have not
shown more signs of that political influence possibly because it is a topic often raised by
the community but seldom addressed successfully. This research represented an
opportunity for them to express freely their opinion about the sustainability issues that
affect them, and it was the communities who decided to address the issue of financial
sustainability at the center of the discussion, perhaps due to the urgency and clear threat
that this represents for their existence in the short term and the same economic focus trap
that the State itself is involved in. In any case, the political influence at national and local
levels is an important issue that requires further research. Additional research with a
broader scope and more ample resources could provide for a more comprehensive view
of the issues at hand.

Long term contribution of CWOs
Some may think that CWOs’ claims are mainly focused in the short term, and not so
much in the long term (see Appendix 1). However, this characteristic is not surprising in
a historically violent and unstable country like rural Colombia, where short term
problems are a constant threat to life and existence, for both people and organizations.
Political and economic threats are so common that it is difficult to focus in the future.
Nevertheless, the community-based approach of these organizations removes the political
aspect of periodic changing Mayors and local policies relative to the government in
power. CWOs also create sense of ownership and social capital, which enhances the
discussion about long term measures within the community more than private suppliers

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would ever do. Indeed, CWOs are focused in solving the short-term as well as the long-
term water management issues of their communities, but there is a predominance to focus
in maintaining their existence in a challenging context such as rural Colombia.

Self-definition conflict
It is interesting to see how CWO identified themselves. Although they proclaim they
offer a radically different alternative to provide water, that they defend their users and
allocate fair tariffs, they defined themselves as companies, associations dedicated to
achieve economies of scale and other traditional definitions. In the case of Tribunas
Córcega, the success story, it calls itself a company because it believes more management
knowledge needs to be included in the community-based model without losing the non-
profit spirit. In the case of FACORIS association they partly define themselves as
“dedicated to achieve economies of scale in the water supply and sanitation services”, as
if economies of scale and mass water services had done anything to reduce rural water
costs or provide water more efficiently.
Under the current regulation Law 142 of 1994 and subsequent Laws, this is not
hard to understand. The legal system promotes a financially viable water services sector
where the State acts as a regulator and intervenes only when major investments are
needed. Under such scenario, water sector players have to act independently and show
they promote the same values to be accepted. Being financially sustainable is a rule
rather than an option, the State is not the paternalistic figure it used to be in the 80s and
will not hesitate in replacing inefficient players.

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Words like economies of scale, companies, break-even point, became the reality
of those water suppliers who want to survive in the Colombian context, even if they offer
a different option. Until the regulation does not accept new alternatives for special cases
like rural areas, these rural players will continue to define themselves as part of the
system they overcame and can unfortunately fall in the profit trap of putting financial
sustainability over social benefits, their most important proposal.

There is no take-over risk if CWOs provide a good water service
Contrary to what was believed by most Community-based Water supply Organizations
local governments cannot take over their rural organizations at any given time or are at
any risk because the water system property rights are under public property. According to
the Colombian Constitution, article 365, the only reasons why the State can replace a
community-based water organization is for sovereignty or social interest reasons, in
which case the State will have to obtain approval through a law emitted by the Senate and
Congress, and will have to fully compensate those providing the licit service of water
provision. In that scenario, it is very unlikely that local authorities will take over if the
CWO knows its legal rights under the Constitution and fights for them.

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Chapter 6 – Recommendations

The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the CWO as another player in the
water sector in rural Colombia. Based on the findings of this study, this chapter explores
the role of every player in the water sector and what each one should be doing in order to
implement a sustainable alternative for rural water supply services in the country. If
Figure 17 illustrates the current rural water supply players in the water sector, what
should each one of those players be doing for the system to operate efficiently
89
and
provide a good water service in the long term? This chapter tries to answer the question
of what can each player do better to make rural water systems more sustainable based on
the studied evidence and literature, what can they learn from each other? How should
these relationships really operate?.
The relationship between the State, CWOs and private-public water suppliers in
rural Colombia should address deficiencies in water provision through what Hardoy et al.
call parternship-based management, a participatory process where all the different types
of actors cooperate with each other, contributing with their own particular strengths
(Hardoy et al., 2005). They suggest that to extend water services to as many unserved
people as possible, all actors must be involved – public sector, private companies,
regulator, NGOs and communities – and be commited to working together towards a
solution (Hardoy et al., 2005). More specific answers to the questions above are
represented in Figure 17 and described below, in terms of the linkages between the key
actors – the State, CWOs, and private-public water suppliers. This is presented in the

89
See definition of efficient in the Glossary

189

form of recommendations for rural Colombia and any other countries in similar
conditions, based on all the information presented in previous chapters.

Figure 17: Major water suppliers in rural Colombia

190

1.a. State –> CWOs
What can the State learn from CWOs? What should the State know about the CWOs
role?
 The State should see CWOs as strategic partners rather than informal players
Colombia has made significant progress in comparison to other Latin American countries
in relation to the creation of a legal framework that redistributes resources from water
tariffs
90
to subsidize low-income people through contributions from high-income
populations (Pulido-Rozo & Roa, 2014, in press). In addition, the Colombian State has
recognized the existance of community-based water systems as formal water suppliers
under the law. However, in practice, this legal framework is far from reality. The poorest
populations still do not have access to subsidies due to the absence of clear rutes on how
to apply for subsidies, and political obstacles. In addition, CWOs are recognized under
the law as formal players but are treated as informal, where the State punishes any system
failure instead of providing training or tools to make this highly efficient alternative
viable.
CWOs provide much more than water services to their communities and use
resources more efficiently than private-public suppliers simply because of the nature of
their business model. In CWOs, clients are managers and managers are clients. In such
business model, it normally is on everybody’s interest to keep lower water tariffs and

90
See definition of water tariffs in the Glossary

191

make the system operate in the long term. In poor rural communities this is a huge
advantage that should not be ignored by the State and policy makers.
Traditionally, development policies for rural water systems in emerging countries
like Colombia have been built under the assumption that economies of scale
91
offer a
better solution in terms of higher water quality at cheaper costs than local efforts.
However, as demonstrated in Chapter 4, section 1, Characteristic 1, the opposite is
actually true and water tariffs are more expensive when provided by municipally-owned
utility companies than when offered by CWOs. Indeed, all community-driven water
supply organizations involved in this research offered cheaper water tariffs to their
communities for all the socio-economic levels than the municipally-owned utility
companies in Cali and Pereira cities (see Figure 8 and Figure 9).
Under such a scenario, CWOs can be an important strategic partner for the State
in seek of efficient and sustainable solutions to supply potable water in rural areas. As
mentioned, CWOs lower tariffs makes sense due to the nature of the CWO business
model. Nonetheless CWOs not only can offer cheaper water tariffs for the BoP, but can
create community engagement, apolitical and anti-bureaucratic water systems, that care
about the water sources because it is them (the community) who will suffer the
consequences of environmental or social desasters.
It is difficult to understand why the State would not give a more important role to
what can potentially be the cheapest, most holistic and most efficient alternative to bring
access to potable water in rural areas. A possible reason is explored in the next point and

91
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

192

is that the State is too focused in a miope economic perspective of what it means to
manage water in Colombia.
 The State needs to get out of the economic focus trap when managing water in rural
areas
The Colombian State, as in other developing countries, has fallen in the trap of treating
water management as an economic issue, where efficiency
92
is the only important factor.
The State needs to recover the overall picture and stop treating water as a commodity.
Water is community resource where the community affected needs to be fully involved in
any kind of decision. Indeed, focusing on the efficiency of water services has improved
water quality and quantity in urban areas, but has forgotten the community focus that
water has in rural areas. CWOs are an alternative to that economic focus trap because
they not only can be even more efficient than private-public suppliers, like in the success
story of Tribunas Córcega, but fully involve the community in the service provision at all
levels, building spaces for democratic participation.
It is understandable that the Colombian State does not trust community water
suppliers due to experiences with poor water quality and bad leadership that are terrible
mistakes the State wants to avoid at all costs. However, the State is ignoring a
community-based alternative based on failure cases. In community-based water supply
organizations, failure does not only happen due to bad leadership (in which case the
leader is the problem, not the business model). Failure also happens when there are not

92
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

193

enough resources to operate, or when people involved do not have the necessary skills to
manage the system by themselves.
If the State focused on reducing those risks of lack of resources and operating
skills, instead of focusing on reinventing the wheel and starting from zero in rural areas
through public or privately-publicly-owned utility companies that ignore community
participation models, maybe rural areas could have a faster and more efficient solution
for access to water, an strategic partner, Community-based Water supply Organizations.
Indeed, the State should consider CWOs as an strategic partner to achieve the
Millenium Development Goal 7.C. of “halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population
without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation,” because with the
right tools and resources CWOs can be much more efficient in achieving that goal than
private or public efforts. Many more reasons for this strategic partnership are illustrated
below.
 The benefits of micromanagement in rural water systems
Bigger does not always mean better, and that is the case for rural water systems. As
shown in Appendix 1, CWOs know well their individual problems, which are very
different at each CWO. They can vary from operational to organizational and their nature
could be rooted in completely different local issues. If water is supplied by a large public
or privately-publicly-owned water supplier, such a centralized model could generalize
problems and therefore address issues at a slower pace.
For example, in Appendix 1, a problem identified by two CWO members of
FACORIS association was problem 3.14 that refers to the “lack of environmental

194

awareness about watershed conservation”. If a large utility company was offering the
service it would probably apply environmental campaigns that have been successful in
other rural areas, ignoring the differences between them. And even if it tried to include
local differences it would take the company longer to understand the whole context of the
local problem. As an illustration of this, lack of environmental awareness for one
particular CWO in FACORIS meant stopping people from “throwing garbage, polluting
or cooking in the watershed and wetland zones” – statement captured during meeting
with Pereira’s Mayor, July 27
th
, 2013. A possible effective campaign would be to train
the community in environmental protection. However, for Santa Cruz de Barbas another
CWO member of FACORIS, pollution of their watershed does not come from the
community members, but from outsiders, in their words “we are worried about the
pollution coming from the highway due to pedestrians and irresponsible people that
throw garbage to the ditch where our wetland begins”. In this case, training the
community would not help much to stop pollution but a solution to keep pedestrians and
outsiders away from the watershed would work better (they suggested a fence because
pedestrians can come from many places in Colombia and training them would be
pointless). If a rural water supply player does not know the context in which a problem is
developed, the formulation of solutions will take longer and will be more expensive than
when formulated by locals.
As in the example, the same problem of watershed pollution can have very
different solutions depending on the roots of the problem, which are easier to address
from a local perspective, by people who understand the problem and live with it. In that

195

sense, water micro management, or in this case micro-environmental protection practices
can provide more efficient solutions to local problems than macro management.
Micro management in rural water systems helps accelerate decision-making
processes for local problems and solutions can be more accurate, because they are closer
to the community and know the area better in case of system failures, emergencies, water
billing complaints, collection problems, etc. Based on the assumption of the existence of
good leadership, CWOs can provide a faster response to emerging problems in remote
rural areas. In the words of La Sirena CWO “we are near for water billing, complains,
have 24-hour workers available” – Jose Noé Garcia – President of La Sirena’s Board of
Directors.
 Why subsidies?
Public funding is key to the sustainability of the system
Why should the State provide subsidies for the system to work? Do CWOs really need
public funding to operate?
First, no subsidies mean limiting CWO’s investment capacity and forcing them to
operate below break-even point and depend on voluntary work. Second, restricting access
to subsidies through late subsidies payments and requesting anticipated application of
subsidies prior to approval exploits the resources of rural communities and will lead any
water system to bankruptcy. These last two practices are a current failure of the State
subsidies system that all CWOs under research complained about.

196

But how can we prove absence of subsidies really creates those two problems?
Among the four case studies with complete financial information (Tribunas Córcega,
Golondrinas, Acuabuitrera, and Acuasur); three CWOs do not have access to subsidies
(only Tribunas Córcega has access to subsidies). Based on their financial statements,
calculation of hypothetical subsidized water tariffs, and the identification of hidden costs,
a comparison could be made of the effects of subsidies on their financial situation.
The results of such comparison dictate that in the absence of subsidies someone
else always pays for the price and can be either the community through higher water
tariffs or the water system by operating below break-even point.
In the case of Acuasur and Golondrinas CWO, both are operating below break-
even point. When hidden costs like salary for a manager or technical and legal advice
honorarium are charged to the current costs and expenses (see detail in Table 13), the
CWOs end up with a negative balance (Table 17) when compared against their total
income. This means that the money Golondrinas and Acuasur collect from users (in the
absence of subsidies) is not enough to cover their minimum operating costs and expenses
and eventually will lead them to system and service failures or in the worst case scenario
to bankruptcy.
Million pesos, up to Dec 2012

197

The other alternative CWOs have in the absence of subsidies is to charge more to
users to compensate for the operating costs and expenses of the water system. In the case
of Golondrinas and Acuasur were 95% and 98% of their population is very low-income
(see Table 11), charging more is not even an alternative. However, for a CWO
community like Acuabuitrera, were income is more equally distributed; charging most of
the cost and expenses to the community is a possibility, in which case it is the community
who is paying the price for the absence of subsidies. In such scenario, Acuabuitrera can
only reduce costs and expenses as much as possible through volunteer work and other
measures to decrease the water tariffs for its members.
In both cases the absence of subsidies creates an unsustainable system and
threatens the possibility of providing potable water to users. Regardless of this clear
threat, CWOs try as hard as possible to keep water tariffs low in a remarkable effort to
protect the interest of their communities and their access to potable water.
To prove this, a simulation was built to calculate what tariffs CWOs would have
to charge to cover current costs and expenses plus the identified hidden costs. In all cases,
water tariffs were still cheaper than the ones charged by the closest municipally-owned
company EMCALI (see Figure 18).

198

Figure 18: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 assuming all water suppliers have state subsidies and recognize all
their operating costs and expenses

This tells us that CWOs use resources very efficiently but need subsidies to cover
all their operating costs and expenses instead of trying to hide them. Subsidies provide
the right support and CWOs provide the right water tariffs for rural users, but without
subsidies, CWOs are forced to depend on voluntary work, reduce maintenance, and cut as
many operating costs as possible to maintain the right water tariff. Until subsidies are not
provided, tariffs will look like in Figure 19 and models will continue to be unsustainable.
$-
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
1 Very-Low 2 Low 3 Medium-
Low
4 Medium 5 Medium-
high
6 High Comercial Industrial Official and
Special
W
a
te
r
ta
ri
ff
s
in
U
S
D

Socioeconomic stratification level (estrato)
Acuabuitrera CWO Acuasur CWO Golondrinas CWO
La Sirena CWO Publicly-owned company EMCALI

199

Figure 19: Comparable water tariffs for 20m3 in the absence of subsidies

 State could create communication channels between authorities and CWOs
To avoid miscommunication between the governments and CWOs, CWOs associations
and governments should sit together and establish what the fastest communication
channels available are at the moment to initiate better communications between the two.
In this research, fear was identified as a major obstacle for CWOs to look for State help.
Misconception or not, CWOs are afraid to communicate with authorities because they are
afraid government will replace them for private or publicly owned companies that will
inevitably increase their water tariffs and will take away “the only heritage they have” as
said by Asocascajal’s plumber and operator. Although under the current legislation,
governments can take away a CWO from its community only if the organization is
providing a bad water quality service and the whole community agrees in a referendum
that the CWO should be replaced by authorities; many CWOs believe any government
can come at any time and take their organizations away from the community’s hands
$-
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
1 Very-Low 2 Low 3 Medium-
Low
4 Medium 5 Medium-
high
6 High Comercial Industrial Official and
Special
W
a
te
r
ta
ri
ff
s
in
U
S
D

Socioeconomic stratification level (estrato)
Acuabuitrera CWO Acuasur CWO Golondrinas CWO
La Sirena CWO Publicly-owned company EMCALI

200

without permission. Therefore, CWOs are afraid to contact authorities, making
communication even harder.
Under this preconception, it would be easier for the State to take the first step to
try to enhance communication channels with CWO associations. In the end, it will
depend on the State’s effort to start this process. Yet, once it is started, it will also depend
on CWOs associations to keep enhancing relations with the State, because they are the
major players in rural areas who should know what they need and when, and should be
able to demand it.
 CWOs are different among each other, there is not a one mold fits all
CWOs are water suppliers but are conditioned to very different and local realities and
cannot be treated as equals when compared with large private or publicly-owned utility
companies, or even when compared among themselves. An illustration of this is
Appendix 1, the list of intangible benefits (up to 12 items), Characteristics of
sustainability (10 Characteristics), and problems (22) expressed by only 6 participant
CWOs shows how diverse these organizations can be among themselves. They are so
diverse that only 12 out of 48 items were common to more than 50% of the CWOs under
research. The rest of items were expressed by only 1 or maximum 2 CWO participants.
In the formulation of State policies for rural potable water supply systems this
should be seriously taken into account. There is no single solution for the complexity of
their problems, and a key component in the formulation of State policies must involve
better communication channels to understand that complexity.

201

 Knowledge gap: CWOs need customized training according to their particular very
unique needs
As previously mentioned, CWOs can be very different from each other, and so can be
their training needs. The importance of training local communities for a sustainable rural
water supply system has been widely mentioned (Sun et. al, 2010; Mansuri et al., 2003;
Colombian Ministry of the Environment, 2006).
However, there is current little training that works well, because the State creates
training programs based on the assumption that these rural organizations have similar
problems. Instead, the State could listen more carefully to what CWOs demand as
relevant training, and develop customized training rather than expensive massive training
programs that do not apply for everybody (Rojas et al., 2011; Urrea & Cárdenas, 2011).
Again, new and effective communication channels between the CWOs and State
authorities is a key component to the success of customized training and can be a more
efficient approach to close the knowledge gap between community organizations and
water supply authorities.

1.b. CWOs –> State
How should CWOs act before the State?
There is an assumption that communities can solve all water-supply related issues. In the
words of Karen Bakker (2008)

202

Improving governance through involving consumers in decision-making can improve
transparency and accountability, but can rarely deal effectively with issues of
financing, access, and operational management. The assumption that communities are
the sole solution to water management problems is flawed for another reason: its
implicit rejection of state provision. The State remains, in many instances, the best
vehicle through which consumers’ interests can be balanced against one another, and
against other interests. The need to balance equity and sustainability suggests the
need for the continued, active role of the state in setting and enforcing water
management criteria in community-managed initiatives (Bakker, 2008, p. 246).
She states that the role of the communities in water supply systems can fall into
the “trap of romanticising communities”, rejecting the potential of “state-led
redistributive strategies” (Bakker, 2008, p. 248) and the importance of control entities in
water provision. Below are some lessons that CWOs can learn in terms of their role in
front of the State.
 Associate to be stronger
Through association CWOs can demand their importance in the system and obtain
help and resources.
Little association among CWOs means limited access to information, especially for those
CWOs in more remote areas, where information is not widely available. Lack of
information can lead to numerous kinds of problems, such as low compliance with the
law, no access to funding sources, no access to opportunities available to CWOs, no
access to raise their voice when legislation projects negatively affect them, among others.

As mentioned before, all community-based water supply organizations under
research were part of an association and during association meetings it was observed that

203

the exchange of knowledge benefited each other in many ways (see more in Chapter 4,
section 2.b.2.).
Low interconnectedness among CWOs also means low bargaining power simply
because it is different to negotiate as a community with 500 users, than as an association
of entire regions with thousands or millions of users.
However, many CWOs wrongly believe that by associating among themselves
and by applying to State funding, the State will start regulating them and will take over
their community-based organizations, starting to charge higher water tariffs to their
communities. It is all a misconception that was surprisingly believed by most of the
CWOs under study and other CWOs that participated in focus groups and meetings. It is
interesting to see how those CWO without a strong legal knowledge and with the less
educated staff had more fear to associate and apply for subsidies, funding and other kinds
of help from the State, all under the assumption that contacting the State translated into
the State taking over their organizations. Once again, under the current regulation in
Colombia (Colombian Constitution, article 365), it is legally impossible for
municipalities to take over a CWO if the organization is operating well and providing
good water quality services.
Contrary to that assumption, association can help to solve common problems,
such as land acquisition for watershed protection, training, application to subsidies,
negotiation with authorities, underestimation of costs, dependence on volunteer work,
change of board members, and many others. This has been the case for FACORIS and
AQUACOL associations, which share knowledge in meetings and help each other in

204

numerous ways. Certainly, negotiating in group translates into priorities for political
agendas, which can lead to faster action from the current government.
Ultimately, CWOs can take a different approach toward the State and associate
among themselves to become stronger. When CWOs do not associate among themselves
it makes them vulnerable in terms of knowledge, information about opportunities, taxes
exemption, land acquisition for environmental protection, etc. According to the evidence,
CWOs that were part of an association were better informed, more protected and aware
of their rights and duties than those isolated. Through association CWOs can share
experiences and can help other CWOs overcome difficulties.

2.a. State –> Private-public water suppliers
How should the State understand the role of private-public water suppliers?
 Private-public water suppliers should only operate in cities
Studies have shown that water privatization has brought improvements in the quality of
water and increase in the frequency of the service in urban areas, but it has also brought a
negative effect on price of water and disparities between rural and urban access to water
(Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009). The Colombian State seems to be aware of this fact given
that it offers legitimacy to CWOs as a legal water supplier, but continues to treat them as
private suppliers where they are measured only under the economic perspective, and not
under the social or environmental effects their water service can generate. If private-
public water suppliers have been a better solution only in urban areas and organizations

205

like CWOs perform better in the rural context, perhaps private-public water suppliers
should only operate in cities.
In any case, stronger regulation for private-public water suppliers is needed to
stop treating water as a commodity and profit from this service. Stricter measures to
avoid this could mean auditing private-public water suppliers in more detail in order to
reduce profits from this service as much as possible, utlimately benefiting rural users. As
shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 higher efficiency
93
in rural water systems is possible and
financially sustainable (case of Tribunas Córcega).

2.b. Private-public water suppliers –> State
What should private-public water suppliers understand about their role before the State?
To maintain affordable water tariffs for users, private-public water suppliers as well as
CWOs need the State to provide funding for future investments, so that they do not have
to be charged to the user via tariffs.
One could argue that private-public water suppliers include future investments in
the current water tariff, which is an appropriate financial practice. Unfortunately, water
cannot be seen as a commodity or regular business, where all costs and expenses,
including future investment in infrastructure, have to be included in the final price of the
product or service. Charging future investment to the users’ water tariff is not a

93
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

206

sustainable measure when applied to rural communities because it would rocket water
tariffs.

3.a. Private-public water suppliers –> CWOs
What can private-public water suppliers learn from CWOs?
 Water as a human right rather than as a commodity
Private-public water suppliers could learn from CWOs on how to see water as a human
right rather than as a commodity (Maude Barlow, 2013) to make their business model
more sustainable.
In the neoclassical economic theory, completely inelastic goods, such as petrol,
diamonds, iPhones or tap water
94
, are always consumed regardless of their price.
According to this theory, tap water would be consumed regardless of its price, because
people need water to survive and will continue to demand it. Unfortunately, in practice,
people’s resources are limited especially in rural areas of developing countries, and tap
water cannot increase prices based on cost of operations and necessary future investments
because this would put people’s welfare in great danger. Indeed, people can and will stop
consuming tap water if price is too high. They will instead start looking for other
alternatives, such as rain water, closeby rivers and other sources, which are common
sources of diseases.

94
For a simple explanation of the neoclassical economic theory and elastic and inelastic goods go to

Examples of elasticity

207

Private-public potable water suppliers cannot see water as any other economic
good, any other resource or commodity. Water is a human right. However, private-public
water suppliers tend to forget this basic truth and charge unnecessary profits to water
supply services, innevitably increasing the price of water both in rural and urban areas.
CWOs represent a fast, participatory and economically efficient solution for this
problematic, where water can be provided to people based on a business model that
involves the community’s will and does not charge profits on water prices. CWO’s
business model treats water as a human right where people decide what price and service
they want because the community is engaged. These organizations cannot and do not
profit from water because clients are managers and managers are clients, and it is in the
best interest of both to charge the right water tariff that covers operating costs and
expenses but has into account people’s available income in rural areas. In brief, private-
public water suppliers could learn from CWOs about how to use resources more
efficiently and how to treat water as a right for its population in order to be a sustainable
business in the highly vulnerable rural context.

3.b. CWOs–> Private-public water suppliers
What can CWOs learn from private-public water suppliers?
 Lessons from private-public water suppliers
Based on the problems faced by the case studies under research (see Appendix 1.2.),
CWOs also need to improve from within. Not all solutions to CWOs problems have to

208

come from outside, private-public water suppliers and private entities in general can
provide a good example of how to overcome those issues.
CWOs can learn from the private sector about better organizational practices,
because although they are accountable to their communities, enhance all stakeholders’
conditions, and micro manage environmental issues; when CWOs ignore their financial
sustainability they can become mere charity entities or short-term solutions for the long
term need of access to potable water. In other words, they become unsustainable.
If the CWOs under research applied best organizational practices to the
weaknesses and threats listed in Appendix 1, their problems could be reduced
significantly. For example, through knowledge management and documentation of
processes, these community organizations could avoid information loss when voluntary
workers quit. By understanding break-even point, CWOs wouldn’t charge such low water
tariffs that in the end do not even cover the basic operating costs and expenses of the
water system and put the infrastructure and the organization at risk. Through the correct
voluntary work management, these organizations wouldn’t depend so much on voluntary
work and understand that voluntary work also needs clear rules and certain level of non-
monetary compensation to make it sustainable. If CWOs knew more about the
importance of good leadership, negotiation skills and legal knowledge, their role before
authorities could change from submitting information to demanding information and
rights. Another possible lesson to learn from private-public suppliers is that more
knowledge on marketing campaigns can make useful for education strategies for
environmental campaigns to make them more efficient and accurate.

209

The application of these and other private sector organizational best practices can
definitely benefit CWOs without risking the nature of their community model. On the
contrary, this strategy would allow them to be successful social enterprises
95
. Such is the
case of Tribunas Córcega CWO, considered a success story among other CWO
associations and the only CWO with access to subsidies among the case studies under
research. Tribunas Córcega does not profit from its operations, but reinvests all surpluses
into the water system, has clearly identified their costs, expenses and break-even point,
and complies with all the management conditions for sustainability discussed in Chapter
5. Its staff talks about their organization as “the company” rather than the NGO and have
clear process management, excellent negotiation skills with local and national authorities,
effective education campaigns strategies that engage the community in water and
environmental issues, and a very strong legal knowledge. They are an example of how a
CWO can become a successful social enterprise.
In conclusion, a sustainable solution to provide potable water in rural areas in
Colombia and potentially in the world must involve the efforts of all the water sector
players, namely the State and private sector, but also and very importantly the
participation of communities and their local organizations. This asseveration has been
widely mentioned in the literature and can sound very utopic, but as these case studies
have shown, is the necessary condition to make it work in the long term.

95
See definition of social enterprises in the Glossary

210

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217

Appendices

Appendix 1

Raw data: emergent themes

CWO name Acronym
Golondrinas G
Tribunas Córcega TC
Acuabuitrera B
La Sirena S
Asocascajal AC
CWOs FACORIS Pereira FP
Other CWOs in Focus Groups O
Acuasur AS
Villa del Rosario VR

Interviews (video and recording)
Surveys
Financial Statements
Discussed in chats

215

Appendix 1.1. Characteristics of a sustainable water system according to CWO
participants
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216

Appendix 1.2. Problems faced by CWOs according to CWO participants

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s
at
C
W
O
s
1
C
W
O
s
ar
e
s
tr
o
n
gl
y
d
e
p
e
n
d
o
n
v
o
lu
n
ta
ry
w
o
rk
G
TC
G
A
S
In
te
rn
al
2
C
W
O
s
o
p
e
ra
te
b
e
lo
w
b
re
ak
-e
ve
n
le
ve
ls
G
A
S
In
te
rn
al
4
R
is
k
o
f
lo
w
c
o
m
m
it
m
e
n
t
b
e
h
in
d
v
o
lu
n
ta
ry
w
o
rk
in
C
W
O
‘s
B
o
ar
d
o
f
D
ir
e
ct
o
rs
TC
In
te
rn
al
5
P
ay
m
e
n
t
d
e
fa
u
lt
: m
o
re
o
ft
e
n
f
o
u
n
d
a
t
C
W
O
s
w
it
h
lo
w
w
at
e
r
q
u
al
it
y?
A
C
M
o
re
r
e
se
a
rc
h
n
e
e
d
s
to
b
e
d
o
n
e

to
p
ro
ve
t
h
is
s
ta
te
m
e
n
t
Ex
te
rn
al
6
En
vi
ro
n
m
e
n
ta
l:
C
W
O
s
w
it
h
lo
w
e
r
w
at
e
r
q
u
al
it
y
p
re
se
n
t
h
ig
h
e
r
ra
te
s
o
f
w
as
te
d

w
at
e
r?
A
C
M
o
re
r
e
se
a
rc
h
n
e
e
d
s
to
b
e
d
o
n
e

to
p
ro
ve
t
h
is
s
ta
te
m
e
n
t
In
te
rn
al
7
En
vi
ro
n
m
e
n
ta
l:
S
u
ga
r
ca
n
e
p
ro
d
u
ct
io
n
a
ff
e
ct
s
o
u
r
u
n
d
e
rg
ro
u
n
d
w
at
e
r
A
C
M
o
re
r
e
se
a
rc
h
n
e
e
d
s
to
b
e
d
o
n
e

to
p
ro
ve
t
h
is
s
ta
te
m
e
n
t
Ex
te
rn
al
9
C
h
an
ge
s
o
f
B
o
ar
d
o
f
D
ir
e
ct
o
rs
S
B
In
te
rn
al
11
Lo
w
a
ss
o
ci
at
iv
it
y
am
o
n
g
C
W
O
s
FP
In
te
rn
al
12
R
e
gu
la
ti
o
n
s
e
xc
e
e
d
t
h
e
c
o
m
p
ly
c
ap
ac
it
y
o
f
th
e
c
o
m
m
u
n
it
y
w
at
e
r
p
ro
vi
d
e
rs
FP
B
Ex
te
rn
al
13
A
b
se
n
ce
o
f
co
m
m
u
n
ic
at
io
n
c
h
an
n
e
ls
b
e
tw
e
e
n
a
u
th
o
ri
ti
e
s
an
d
C
W
O
s
FP
In
te
rn
al
a
n
d
E
xt
e
rn
al
14
En
vi
ro
n
m
e
n
ta
l:
L
ac
k
o
f
e
n
vi
ro
n
m
e
n
ta
l a
w
ar
e
n
e
ss
a
b
o
u
t
w
at
e
rs
h
e
d
c
o
n
se
rv
at
io
n
FP
Ex
te
rn
al
16
U
n
d
e
re
st
im
at
e
w
at
e
r
ta
ri
ff
s
G
In
te
rn
al
17
N
o
c
o
m
m
u
n
it
y
e
n
ga
ge
m
e
n
t,
c
o
m
m
u
n
it
y
p
ar
ti
ci
p
at
io
n
a
p
at
h
y
A
C
B
In
te
rn
al
a
n
d
E
xt
e
rn
al
18
N
o
p
ro
ce
ss
d
o
cu
m
e
n
ta
ti
o
n
, n
o
in
fo
rm
at
io
n
t
ra
n
sf
e
r
B
In
te
rn
al
19
C
W
O
s
n
e
e
d
m
o
re
t
ra
in
in
g
to
b
e
s
u
st
ai
n
ab
le
, i
n
a
re
as
s
u
ch
a
s
re
le
va
n
t
le
gi
sl
at
io
n
,
m
an
ag
e
m
e
n
t,
f
in
an
ce
, c
o
m
p
u
te
r
sk
il
ls
, w
at
e
r
sy
st
e
m
o
p
e
ra
ti
o
n
m
an
ag
e
m
e
n
t
G
A
C
TC
Ex
te
rn
al
22
O
ve
rp
o
p
u
la
ti
o
n
a
n
d
p
re
ss
u
re
o
n
w
at
e
rs
h
e
d
s
B
In
te
rn
al
a
n
d
E
xt
e
rn
al
St
a
te
s
u
b
si
d
ie
s

8
G
o
ve
rn
m
e
n
t
su
b
si
d
ie
s
p
ay
m
e
n
t
d
e
la
ys
S
FP
S
A
S
Sa
id
t
w
ic
e
i
n
s
u
rv
e
y
b
y
tw
o

d
if
fe
re
n
t
p
la
ye
rs
Ex
te
rn
al
10
St
ra
ti
fi
ca
ti
o
n
: w
it
h
o
u
t
th
e
s
o
ci
o
-e
co
n
o
m
ic
s
tr
at
if
ic
at
io
n
, C
W
O
s
ca
n
n
o
t
ap
p
ly
f
o
r
su
b
si
d
ie
s
FP
B
O
Ex
te
rn
al
15
Su
b
si
d
ie
s
ap
p
li
ca
ti
o
n
p
ro
ce
ss
is
s
lo
w
, o
n
p
u
rp
o
se
?
O
B
A
S
Ex
te
rn
al
20
N
o
s
u
b
si
d
ie
s
m
e
an
s
so
ci
al
in
e
q
u
al
it
y,
w
at
e
rs
h
e
d
e
n
vi
ro
n
m
e
n
ta
l r
is
k
an
d
li
m
it
in
g
C
W
O
‘s
in
ve
st
m
e
n
t
ca
p
ac
it
y
sp
e
ci
al
ly
f
o
r
th
e
p
o
o
re
st
C
W
O
s
A
S
B
G
Ex
te
rn
al
Le
g
a
l r
ik
s
3
R
is
k
o
f
ac
q
u
is
it
io
n
b
y
th
e
lo
ca
l g
o
ve
rn
m
e
n
t
o
r
p
ri
va
te
c
o
m
p
an
ie
s:
T
C
–
”
th
e
re
is
n
o

le
ga
l r
is
k
b
u
t
if
C
W
O
s
d
o
n
´t
k
n
o
w
t
h
e
ir
r
ig
h
ts
t
h
e
re
is
a
n
in
st
it
u
ti
o
n
al
r
is
k”
TC
FP
A
S
V
R
S
In
te
rn
al
21
A
b
se
n
ce
o
f
e
as
e
m
e
n
ts
o
r
la
n
d
t
ru
st
s
(r
ig
h
t
to
u
se
o
th
e
rs
‘ l
an
d
)
A
S
In
te
rn
al
a
n
d
E
xt
e
rn
al
Id
e
n
ti
fi
e
d
a
t
C
W
O

217

Appendix 1.3. A success story: the case of Tribunas Córcega

Li
st
o
f
th
e
m
e
s
e
x
tr
a
ct
e
d
f
ro
m
d
a
ta
O
b
se
rv
a
ti
o
n
s
3
A
s
u
cc
e
ss
s
to
ry
:
th
e
c
a
se
o
f
T
ri
b
u
n
a
s
C
o
rc
e
g
a
1
S
u
cc
e
ss
f
a
ct
o
rs
a
cc
o
rd
in
g
t
o
T
ri
b
u
n
a
s
C
o
rc
e
g
a
s
u
cc
e
ss
s
to
ry
T
C
1
S
tr
o
n
g
l
e
g
a
l
k
n
o
w
le
d
g
e
T
C
B
R
e
p
e
a
te
d
3
t
im
e
s
b
y
s
u
cc
e
ss

st
o
ry
T
ri
b
u
n
a
s
C
o
rc
e
g
a
2
S
h
o
w
r
e
s
u
lt
s
t
o
t
h
e
c
o
m
m
u
n
it
y
T
C
3
C
o
n
ti
n
u
o
u
s
i
n
n
o
v
a
ti
o
n
T
C
4
W
o
rk
t
o
g
e
th
e
r
w
it
h
t
h
e
l
o
c
a
l
g
o
v
e
rn
m
e
n
t
ra
th
e
r
th
a
n
a
g
a
in
s
t
T
C
5
M
a
in
ta
in
a
c
o
m
m
u
n
ic
a
ti
o
n
c
h
a
n
n
e
l
w
it
h
t
h
e
c
o
m
m
u
n
it
y
:
fo
r
e
x
a
m
p
le
a
n
e
w
s
p
a
p
e
r
T
C
6
In
te
r-
in
s
ti
tu
ti
o
n
a
l
c
o
o
p
e
ra
ti
o
n
w
it
h
t
h
e
g
o
v
e
rn
m
e
n
t
a
n
d
l
o
c
a
l
e
n
ti
ti
e
s
a
t
T
ri
b
u
n
a
s
C
o
rc
e
g
a
i
s
h
ig
h
i
n
t
h
e
l
o
c
a
l,
d
e
p
a
rt
m
e
n
ta
l
a
n
d
n
a
ti
o
n
a
l
le
v
e
l.
C
o
lo
m
b
ia
´s
P
re
s
id
e
n
t
w
a
s
g
o
in
g
t
o
v
is
it
a
w
e
e
k
b
e
fo
re
m
y
a
rr
iv
a
l.
(
A
m
b
o
s
e
K
a
ia
,
2
0
0
2
;
S
m
it
s
e
t
a
l.
,
2
0
1
2
)
T
C
7
W
e
b
e
c
a
m
e
a
d
e
v
e
lo
p
m
e
n
t
c
a
ta
ly
ze
r
fo
r
th
e
c
o
m
m
u
n
it
y
T
C
2
W
h
a
t
is
n
e
x
t:
w
h
e
re
d
o
e
s
T
ri
b
u
n
a
s
C
o
rc
e
g
a
n
e
e
d
m
o
re
r
e
se
a
rc
h
o
n
?
1
W
a
te
r
fl
o
w
m
a
n
a
g
e
m
e
n
t:
M
o
re
r
e
s
e
a
rc
h
o
n
t
h
is
t
o
p
ic
c
a
n
h
e
lp
T
ri
b
u
n
a
s
a
n
d
o
th
e
r
C
W
O
s
t
o

p
re
p
a
re
f
o
r
C
li
m
a
te
C
h
a
n
g
e
T
C
2
R
e
s
tr
ic
t
in
d
is
c
ri
m
in
a
te
l
o
g
g
in
g
i
n
w
a
te
rs
h
e
d
s
:
G
o
v
e
rn
m
e
n
ta
l
m
e
a
s
u
re
s
h
a
v
e
n
o
t
b
e
e
n

h
e
lp
fu
l
a
n
d
m
o
re
r
e
s
e
a
rc
h
o
n
t
h
is
t
o
p
ic
i
s
r
e
q
u
ir
e
d
.
T
C
3
P
re
p
a
ra
ti
o
n
f
o
r
c
li
m
a
te
c
h
a
n
g
e
:
g
o
v
e
rn
m
e
n
ta
l
m
e
a
s
u
re
s
a
re
p
o
o
r
a
n
d
o
n
ly
b
e
n
e
fi
t
e
c
o
n
o
m
ic

c
o
n
g
lo
m
e
ra
te
s
T
CId
e
n
ti
fi
e
d
a
t
C
W
O

218

Appendix 2

Water risk score according to Colombian Resolution 2115 of 2007, Art. 13, Chapter IV: Basic
instruments to ensure water quality for human consumption.
Water risk score
Characteristic Risk Score
Color Aparente 6
Turbiedad 15
pH 1.5
Cloro Residual Libre 15
Alcalinidad Total 1
Calcio 1
Fosfatos 1
Manganeso 1
Molibdeno 1
Magnesio 1
Zinc 1
Dureza Total 1
Sulfatos 1
Hierro Total 1.5
Cloruros 1
Nitratos 1
Nitritos 3
Aluminio (Al3+) 3
Fluoruros 1
COT 3
Coliformes Totales 15
Escherichia Coli 25
Sumatoria de puntajes asignados 100

219

Appendix 3
Official laboratory Water quality samples

Versión:
MÉTODO
RESOLUCIÓN
b
2115 de 2007
Nefelométrico ≤ 2
Espectrofotométrico ≤ 15
Potenciométrico 6,5-9,0
DPD 1 0,3-2,0
DPD 3 –
Filtración por membrana 0
Filtración por membrana 0
RED
0.32
1
6.80
1.0
0
0
LABORATORIO DE AGUAS DEL INSTITUTO CINARA
Cra 15 con Calle 75 Esquina, Puerto Mallarino
Teléfono: 662 9505 – Telefax: 662 9488
Correos electrónicos: clara.gonzalez@correounivalle.edu.co; noel.munoz@correounivalle.edu.co
IRCA por muestra 0 –
1. Los resultados presentes en este informe se refieren unicamente a los ensayos realizados a la muestra.
2. Se prohibe la reproducción parcial o total de este informe sin el consentimiento del laboratorio.
a
Valor de puntaje de riesgo asignado al parámetro que no cumpla con los valores establecidos en la Resolución 2115.
c
IRCA por muestra (%) =
(∑ de riesgo por los parámetros NO aceptables por muestra)
x 100
(∑ total del riesgo por los parámetros evaluados por muestra)
b
Resolucion 2115 de Calidad de agua para consumo humano. Ministerio de la proteccion social y ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrrollo
∑ de los parámetros NO aceptables por muestra 0 –
∑ del riesgo de los parámetros evaluados por muestra
c 77.5 –
COORDINADOR DEL LABORATORIO ANALISTA DE MICROBIOLOGIA ANALISTA DE FISICOQUIMICO
Color Aparente (UPC)
15
0
0
0
15
0
Cloro Residual Libre (mg/L)
Coliformes totales (UFC/100mL)
0,3-2,0
0.32
Color Aparente (UPC)
Cloro Residual Libre (mg/L)
0
Cloro Total (mg/L)
1
025E. Coli (UFC/100 mL) 0
0
PUNTAJE DE
RIESGO POR
RESOLUCIÓN
b
2115
15Turbiedad (NTU)
PUNTAJE DE
RIESGO OBTENIDO
pH (Unidades) 1.5
0 6
6,5-9,0
PARÁMETRO
≤ 15
≤ 2
Coliformes Totales (UFC/100 mL)
1.00
pH (Unidades)
1.0
6.80
0
E. Coli (UFC/100 mL)
DETERMINACIÓN DEL ÍNDICE DE RIESGO DE CALIDAD DE AGUA (IRCA)
1.0
FECHA (dd.mm.aaaa): N° 0178-B
F-1. 3.03.01
04.03.2014
Dirección: Calle 3 N 3-48 Robles- Jamundí
Lugar de muestreo: Robles, Loma
de la Cruz.
Descripción de la muestra: Agua Potable (RED)
Teléfono: 3108312896
Fecha de recepción: 27.02.2014
Fecha muestreo: 27.02.2014
Muestreado por: Personal Acuasur
Correo electrónico: acuasur@hotmail.com
Servicio solicitado por: Edgar Vivas Larrahondo Ciudad: Jamundí
Turbiedad (NTU)
PARÁMETRO
RESULTADOS DE ENSAYOS DE LA CALIDAD DE AGUA
RED
FORMATO
FACULTAD DE INGENIERIA
LABORATORIO DE AGUAS DEL INSTITUTO CINARA
Página: 1 de 1
Fecha de emision: 09.09.2013 Titulo: INFORME DE RESULTADOS DE ENSAYOS
Elaborado por: Revisado por: Aprobado por:
Edwin Fernando Benitez Barahona Noel Muñoz Soto Inés Restrepo
Código interno de la muestra: MF-RED-0178-B-14
Hora de muestreo: 09:00 a.m Fecha de realización de ensayos: 27.02.2014
Empresa: ACUASUR
Código:

220

Versión:
MÉTODO
RESOLUCIÓN
b
2115 de 2007
Nefelométrico ≤ 2
Espectrofotométrico ≤ 15
Potenciométrico 6,5-9,0
DPD 1 0,3-2,0
DPD 3 –
Filtración por membrana 0
Filtración por membrana 0
RED
0.30
1
6.80
1.00
0
0
PARÁMETRO
RESULTADOS DE ENSAYOS DE LA CALIDAD DE AGUA
RED
FORMATO
FACULTAD DE INGENIERIA
LABORATORIO DE AGUAS DEL INSTITUTO CINARA
Página: 1 de 1
Fecha de emision: 09.09.2013 Titulo: INFORME DE RESULTADOS DE ENSAYOS
Elaborado por: Revisado por: Aprobado por:
Edwin Fernando Benitez Barahona Noel Muñoz Soto Inés Restrepo
Código interno de la muestra: MF-RED-0178-A-14
Hora de muestreo: 08:38 a.m Fecha de realización de ensayos: 27.02.2014
Empresa: ACUASUR
Código:
Coliformes Totales (UFC/100 mL)
1.0
pH (Unidades)
1.2
6.80
0
E. Coli (UFC/100 mL)
DETERMINACIÓN DEL ÍNDICE DE RIESGO DE CALIDAD DE AGUA (IRCA)
1.0
FECHA (dd.mm.aaaa): N° 0178-A
F-1. 3.03.01
04.03.2014
Dirección: Calle 3 N 3-48 Robles- Jamundí
Lugar de muestreo: Chagres,
Colegio Horacio Gomez.
Descripción de la muestra: Agua Potable (RED)
Teléfono: 3108312896
Fecha de recepción: 27.02.2014
Fecha muestreo: 27.02.2014
Muestreado por: Personal Acuasur
Correo electrónico: acuasur@hotmail.com
Servicio solicitado por: Edgar Vivas Larrahondo Ciudad: Jamundí
Turbiedad (NTU) 0.30
Color Aparente (UPC)
Cloro Residual Libre (mg/L)
0
Cloro Total (mg/L)
1
025E. Coli (UFC/100 mL) 0
0
PUNTAJE DE
RIESGO POR
RESOLUCIÓN
b
2115
15Turbiedad (NTU)
PUNTAJE DE
RIESGO OBTENIDO
pH (Unidades) 1.5
0 6
6,5-9,0
PARÁMETRO
≤ 15
≤ 2
Color Aparente (UPC)
15
0
0
0
15
0
Cloro Residual Libre (mg/L)
Coliformes totales (UFC/100mL)
0,3-2,0
∑ de los parámetros NO aceptables por muestra 0 –
∑ del riesgo de los parámetros evaluados por muestra
c 77.5 –
COORDINADOR DEL LABORATORIO ANALISTA DE MICROBIOLOGIA ANALISTA DE FISICOQUIMICO
LABORATORIO DE AGUAS DEL INSTITUTO CINARA
Cra 15 con Calle 75 Esquina, Puerto Mallarino
Teléfono: 662 9505 – Telefax: 662 9488
Correos electrónicos: clara.gonzalez@correounivalle.edu.co; noel.munoz@correounivalle.edu.co
IRCA por muestra 0 –
1. Los resultados presentes en este informe se refieren unicamente a los ensayos realizados a la muestra.
2. Se prohibe la reproducción parcial o total de este informe sin el consentimiento del laboratorio.
a
Valor de puntaje de riesgo asignado al parámetro que no cumpla con los valores establecidos en la Resolución 2115.
c
IRCA por muestra (%) =
(∑ de riesgo por los parámetros NO aceptables por muestra)
x 100
(∑ total del riesgo por los parámetros evaluados por muestra)
b
Resolucion 2115 de Calidad de agua para consumo humano. Ministerio de la proteccion social y ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrrollo

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Appendix 4
Survey questions
Tariffs, subsidies and stratification
About current tariff calculation
1. What are the current water tariffs charged to all socio-economic stratification users and how
do you calculate them (calculation formula if available)
2. How many user are there per socio-economic stratification
3. Average water consumption per socio-economic stratification
4. Legal applicable subsidies or contributions (in %)
5. Investment forecast for the short and long term (if available)
Questions about access to subsidies
1. What were the disadvantages of not having access to State subsidies for your CWO?
Que perjuicio genera para su acueducto el que no reciban subsidios del Estado?
2. Do you have a budget? (it is necessary to apply for subsidies)
Ustedes elaboran presupuesto? (se necesita para aplicar a subsidios)
Questions based on preliminary literature review
1. How many employees does your CWO have? (to understand if CWOs generate employment
in their communities)
Cuántos empleados tiene el acueducto? (generación empleo)
2. How many low-income people does your CWO serve? (E.g. slums)
Qué poblaciones de bajos recursos atiende el acueducto? (Ej. Invasiones)
3. Percentage of self-sufficiency in maintenance and repairs services (Kubzansky et al., 2011) =
Maintenance and repairs operated by CWOs staff / total maintenance and repairs operated in
the community water system.

Hidden costs
To identify hidden costs not identified in financial statements I would start by asking about how
their water system operated, from beginning to end, while they explained it I would ask about
potential costs of all that operation and whether they were paying for it or not. In a second set of
questions I would ask about the organization chart in both administration and Board of Directors,
and about how much they were getting pay for that position and how many hours they would
work. In a third set of questions I asked about any type of volunteer work that they were
benefiting from and would ask further questions about each individual case to find other potential
related costs such as diem, donated materials, etc.
Property rights over water system
Property rights of every section of the water system, going from intake to distribution network, I
asked about the latest upgrade date and who was the investor (CWO, State or donation). I also
asked questions about self-identified risks of their water system regarding property rights,
perceived risk of State taking over their system, their water, community engagement, and in
general other risks identified in their and other CWOs.

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Appendix 5
Global Context
1. Potable water supply issues in the world

According to World Bank statistics (The World Bank, 2014), at least 768 million people
worldwide lack access to improved water sources. For multilateral institutions, an improved
drinking-water source is one that, by the nature of its construction, adequately protects the source
from outside contamination, particularly faecal matter (WHO/UNICEF, 2013). However,
improved water source is not the same than safe drinking water in the home, which suggests
the number of people without access to good quality drinking water could be much larger
(CAWST, 2012; Goff & Crow, 2014). By the end of 2011, 83% of that population without access
to an improved drinking-water source lived in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF, 2013).
Indeed, access to potable water is a global risk. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2014
report identified water supply crises as top three out of the ten most impactful global risks. “This
illustrates a continued and growing awareness of the global water crisis as a result of
mismanagement and increased competition for already scarce water resources from economic
activity and population growth. Coupled with extreme weather events such as floods and
droughts, which appears sixth on the list, the potential impacts are real and happening today”
(World Economic Forum, 2014). As stated by the Canadian Global Agenda Council on Water
Security (GACWS), this is not surprising given the evident devastating effects of floods and
draught in local communities worldwide. However, tensions over access to water are expected to
become more globally impactful, and water shortage combined with poverty and societal injustice
could weaken intra-state structures (World Economic Forum, 2014).
The GACWS warns that due to the significant importance of water in the global economy, any
deficiencies in its planning, management or use in one country can spread across the world. If
83% of the population without access to such delicate global issue live in rural areas, it is
imperative to understand the increasing complexity of rural freshwater demand and supply in the
context of an expanding world, in order to formulate the right policies and eradicate the problem.

1.1. Current policies for rural potable water supply

In a global effort to seek for solutions for limited access to potable water, in 2000 world nations
signed for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), in which Goal 7c stated the water target
of reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and
adequate sanitation by 2015 (MDG, 2000).
In 2012 the UN announced that the world had met early the Millennium Development Goal
(MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water (“World meets
goal”, 2012). However, there is a great debate even within the UN itself of whether the goal was
satisfactorily met or not (Onda et al., 2012; Goff & Crow, 2014; Dar & Khan, 2011; Fehling,
Nelson, & Venkatapuram, 2013). In the strict definition of improved drinking water and based on
1990 statistics, the goal was met, but many parties, including the UN agree that even people who
have access to water supply services often use unsafe water and have poor water provision (The
World Bank, 2014; Onda et al., 2012; Goff & Crow, 2014).

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Rural water policies need to strengthen rural institutions
The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation is the official United
Nations program in charge of monitoring progress towards the MDG related to drinking water
and sanitation (MDG 7, Target 7c), and it agrees that the formulation of water policies to reduce
the worldwide population without access to potable water has room for improvement. According
to this programme, and given that most of the world population without water live in rural areas,
rural water policies have to focus on (The World Bank, 2014):
v. Improving utilities’ performance to ensure continuous service and lower levels of
leakage, which affect both the quality and quantity of water available to end-users,
vi. On the utilities’ revenue and its financial sustainability;
vii. Social and financial considerations should also be addressed in the design, planning and
implementation of water policies and facilities to keep the services affordable for the
poorest;
viii. JMP says that tariff policies and strategic financial planning involving governments,
service providers, end-users, and donors are considered key to ensure sustainable water
services for all.
Unfortunately, the global water policy for the rural water systems sector has been focused on the
construction of infrastructure, rather than the strengthening of the institutions to manage
infrastructure, local maintenance and repairs services, community engagement and in general
create a sustainable solution for the long term (as suggested by the JMP). The result is an
unsustainable solution where “water supply systems continue to fall out of service as fast as new
ones are constructed” (Venkataswamy, 2011). The JMP, despite recognizing its limitations,
currently focuses on promoting the construction of a set of ‘improved’ water sources: piped water
into dwelling; piped water into yard; public tap or standpipe; protected dug well or spring; and
rainwater (Goff & Crow, 2014), but currently does not pay much attention to the management of
such systems, water quality, or how to make those infrastructures socially or environmentally
sustainable in the long term.

Water as a human right
Other global perspectives on what should be the right water policies for rural areas state that
water should be treated as a human right. The UN, in the 1992 Dublin Statement on Water and
Sustainable Development, expressed that all humans have the right to access clean water and
sanitation at an affordable price (Goff & Crow, 2014). Eighteen years later, the UN General
Assembly reinforced that statement by recognizing in Resolution 64/292 on July 28, 2010, access
to clean water and sanitation as a human right. The text “Recognizes the right to safe and clean
drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and
all human rights”. The Resolution was presented by Bolivia and approved by 122 countries, to
none against with abstention of 41, out of 192 UN Member States (UN, 2011). Nevertheless,
water continues to be treated as a commodity in many countries, where only those capable of
paying or making water provision financially viable (such as large cities) obtain the service faster.

Looking forward
Based on the challenges of the MDG 2015, consultations for the new post-2015 Development
Goals have taken place in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) formulated four main targets based on aspirational and

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/brochure_event_deutsche_welle_low_res

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visionary goals rather than on practical goals in order to “strive for the best we can do as a global
society”. One of those four targets states:
Target 4: (By 2040) All drinking-water supply, sanitation and hygiene services are
delivered in a progressively affordable, accountable and financially and environmentally
sustainable manner (WHO/UNICEF, 2013).
This constitutes a much more complete approach to promoting a sustainable rural water supply
system than current efforts. According to the Post 2015 JMP report, by 2030 nations worldwide
should (JMP, 2014):
• Eliminate open defecation;
• Achieve universal access to basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for households,
schools and health facilities;
• Halve the proportion of the population without access at home to safely managed
drinking water and sanitation services; and
• Progressively eliminate inequalities in access.
It is to wonder what safely managed means to the JMP, but assuming from its statement on the
current limitations of measuring water quality, one could think the global water policy will take
into account this important figure from now on. All these new goals attempt to address the gaps in
the current MDGs, but it will depend on the capacity and political will of world nations whether
these vision can be implemented or not, especially in the most vulnerable areas of all, the rural.

1.2. Is a bottom-up approach a better solution for rural potable water?

Much has been said in the literature about the potential benefits of a bottom-up approach that
empowers rural communities to manage water systems. However, is such potential true?
Community-Driven Development (CDD) projects have gained great popularity since the 90’s
96

among international aid organizations, multilateral organizations and national governments as an
alternative to top-down, centralised mechanisms for managing small rural community public
goods such as water (Bado, 2012; Labonne & Chase, 2011; Ghanzala Mansuri & Rao, 2013;
Mukherji, 2013). Currently, the World Bank supports 400 CDD projects in 94 countries in a
portfolio estimated to be near US$30 billion, which represents 5-10% of the overall World Bank
lending portfolio. The philosophy behind CDD is that involving local communities in
development decisions is not only their right, but that their participation can often lead to a better
use of resources and meet the needs of communities (Wong, 2012).
CDD is a term created by the World Bank that refers to Community-Based Development (CBD)
projects where communities have direct control over crucial project decisions such as planning,
implementation and investment decisions, but especially have control over the management of
funds (Labonne & Chase, 2011; Mansuri et al., 2003; Wong, 2012). In Community-Based
Development projects local communities are involved in the project development but not in
control of the resources, while in CDD they are in control of the management of financial

96
Read more about the history of community-based development and decentralization projects at G.
Mansuri & V. Rao, p. 3, 2013.

229

resources (Mansuri & Rao, 2013). Under the new concept of CDD the local community improves
not just incomes but also people’s empowerment and governance capacity, the lack of which is a
form of poverty as well (World Bank, 2010).
Nevertheless, CDD opponents argue that CDD projects are only successful in more homogeny
communities (ethnic, caste, religion or economic equality), because it is apparently easier for
communities to cooperate in collective activities (Mansuri & Rao, 2013). Mukherji (2013) claims
that “while greater mobilisation and information sharing helps socially homogeneous groups
achieve greater coordination, Fearon, Humphreys, and Weinstein (2011) show that these
possibilities dissipate with mixed groups and may never lead to greater engagement on the
community project itself”.
A great body of literature supports this arguments and recognizes that communities in which
inequality is high have worse results and are subject to ‘elite capture’, especially where political,
economic, and social power are concentrated in the hands of a few (Mansuri & Rao, 2013;
Mukherji, 2013; Wong, 2012). Monitoring then seems to be a key component in the success of
CDDs, because in its absence the capture of decision making by elites who control the local
cooperative infrastructure can lead to a high risk of corruption (Mansuri & Rao, 2013). Other
empirical issues identified in CDD approaches are the dependence on voluntary labour, potential
bad planning, and low technical or managerial knowledge, among others (Mukherji, 2013).
Despite this, a growing body of literature acknowledges the ability of CDDs to provide local
public goods, their capacity to reduce poverty, solve issues more efficiently, and theorizes about
the nature of institutions and socio-economic conditions needed to create functional CDDs
(Mansuri & Rao, 2013; Mukherji, 2013). Elinor Ostrom (Ostrom, 1990) in her Reflection of the
commons describes institutions and contexts where CDDs would be successful.
More importantly, the CDD approach as water supply solution is seen as a mechanism to
(Mansuri et al., 2003):
i. “enhance sustainability;
ii. improve efficiency and effectiveness
97
;
iii. allow poverty reduction efforts to be taken to scale;
iv. make development more inclusive;
v. empower poor people, build social capital and strengthen governance; and
vi. complement market and public sector activities”.
The claim is that it does so by: “(a) reducing the information problems that face both the social
planner and potential beneficiaries by eliciting development priorities directly from target
communities and allowing target communities to identify projects as well as eligible recipients of
private benefits, like welfare or relief; (b) expanding the resources available to the poor, via
credit, social funds, capacity building and occupational training; and (c) strengthening the civic
capacities of communities by nurturing organizations which represent them, and by enabling them
to acquire skills and organizational abilities that strengthen their capacity for collective action”.
(Mansuri et al., 2003).
In practice, studies have shown that the performance of water systems were evidently better in
communities where households were able to make informed decisions about the type of system

97
See definition of efficiency vs. effectiveness in the Glossary

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and the level of service they needed, and where decision making was truly democratic and
inclusive (Katz and Sara, 1997). In contrast, Katz and Sara argued that “projects which were
constructed without community supervision and where project management was not accountable
to the community, tended to be poorly constructed by private contractors. Poor quality
construction by community members, on the other hand, was often due to inadequate technical
support.”
According to such evidence, the CDD approach can be an attractive alternative for rural water
systems and is the model applied by the current predominant rural water supply system called
Community-based Water supply Organizations or CWOs.

Social entrepreneurship efforts
Can we consider CWOs as social enterprises
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?
A private sector initiative that has been very important in looking for immediate solutions to
access to safe water for the Bases of the Pyramid (BoP) are social enterprises. These enterprises
have dramatically improved the lives of millions of poor people through innovative customized
strategies, while also being less dependent on subsidies and grants, and being economically
sustainable in many cases (de Carvalho et al., 2011). Such organizations complement and support
public efforts and have “considerably scaled-up and accelerated” over the past 5-years in
particular (de Carvalho et al., 2011).
According to a report on access to safe water for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) written by Hystra
Project Team were more than 140 safe water access projects across the world were reviewed,
social enterprises offer four different ‘clusters’ of safe water solutions (de Carvalho et al., 2011):
 Pumping and harvesting
 Devices, flasks and tabs
 Plants and kiosks
 Pipes and taps
Hydra Project Team estimates that people without access to safe water (different from access to
improved water) go up to 2.1 billion people. In their view “if these innovative approaches were
successfully scaled-up in every developing country, they could effectively reach about 950-1,100
million people in need, or about 50% of today’s total poor population without access to safe
water”. According to them this would mean saving approximately 300-350.000 lives annually by
preventing deaths due to diarrhea and lack of safe water.
They estimate that addressing access to water through these entrepreneur initiatives “could create
employment and business opportunities for thousands of local entrepreneurs and companies” (de
Carvalho et al., 2011). To make this happen, the Hystra Project Team estimates a large
investment needs to be made, over US$15 billion, where one third would come from grants and
the rest can be obtained from loans and equity financing. If the World Bank is currently investing
US$40 billion in CDD projects (Wong, 2012), which is a similar alternative, one can deduct that
the international financial system can provide such funding.

98
See definition of social enterprises in the Glossary

231

Unfortunately, even the proposed scale-up solutions have their limitations: the Hydra Project
Team forecasts that “there are over 200 million poor that existing approaches cannot serve, and
another estimated 800-900 million that existing approaches could serve but which will not be
effectively adopted by users, given the low level of penetration they achieve today”. More
importantly, improving access to safe water only reduces diarrhea-related deaths by about 30%.
To reach 100%, hygiene and sanitation need to be addressed concurrently. As a result, the
remaining 70% of diarrhea instances will not be affected – resulting in about 900,000 deaths that
will not be averted.” (de Carvalho et al., 2011)
In any case, social enterprises are a private sector alternative that are currently providing solutions
and should also be closely studied when formulating a sustainable solution for rural access to
potable water. The fact of whether CWOs constitute an example of social enterprises will be
discussed in chapter 5.

1.3. Current situation of rural water suppliers in the world

In the one hand the case of the rural water sector in developing countries over the past two
decades is a success story: an overall reduction in the number of people without an improved
drinking water source in developing countries of approximately 700 million from 1990 to 2011
(WHO/UNICEF, 2013), and the use of surface water has declined significantly benefiting
adaptation to climate change, especially in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF, 2011). Unfortunately, the
disparity between rural and urban areas persists, although rural areas withhold 83% of the global
population without access to water, urban areas doubled that accomplishment by providing
improved water to 1.4 billion people (WHO/UNICEF, 2013).
In the other hand, the story is more disappointing: many of the built supplies stopped functioning,
or function poorly. Several studies have pointed towards serious challenges to sustained services;
“one recent survey in Ghana estimated that 70% of rural point source water supplies functioned at
a substandard level (Venkataswamy, 2011). Many other estimates point to 30 to 50% of non-
functionality of water supply at any given moment” (Venkataswamy, 2011).
Small rural communities worldwide tend to have access to drinking water through water systems
directly managed by their communities. Community management faces several limitations, and
requires new alternatives and support mechanisms to help rural community water management
provide a better service for its users (WHO/UNICEF, 2011).
In areas without access to drinking water, technical or geographical problems are rarely the
reason for the lack of this service. “To a large extent, these are socially and politically induced
challenges, defined by the established water governance” (Jiménez Fernández de Palencia &
Pérez-Foguet, 2010). Contrary to the current practice, which relies on building new
infrastructures and new technologies to address the issue of access to drinking water, addressing
operational and management issues can be a more efficient alternative. According to the World
Health Organization and UNICEF “Well-run utility supplies which have human capital in the
form of trained staff, and financial capital to invest in upgrading technology and new
infrastructure, are potentially highly resilient to climate change. Many supplies are not
resilient in practice because their resilience is reduced by factors such as excessive leakage or
intermittent supply. In order to become climate resilient, utility operational performance needs to
be addressed” (WHO/UNICEF, 2011).

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Sustainability of current rural water suppliers
In regard to the sustainability of rural water services, the WHO/UNICEF (2011) estimates that
unfortunately, the worst effects of climate change will continue to have more consequences on
small unprepared communities with inadequate operation and maintenance practices that usually
lead to system failures and contamination. Their forecast indicates that by 2020, the majority of
rural populations (an estimated 57%) “will collect their drinking water from community sources
such as boreholes, tubewells, protected springs and protected wells”. However, only boreholes
and tubewells will be resilient to most climate changes. Many of those sources rely on community
management, which is associated with high rates of failure and contamination, therefore “climate
change will increase stresses on community management”. Under that scenario, even
technologies which appear to be resilient on a technical level may fail to deliver sustainable
drinking water supplies if community management do not work properly (WHO/UNICEF, 2011).

“Monitoring the sustainability and safety aspects of water systems and services will need to be further
stepped up”. (WHO/UNICEF, 2011, p. 57).

A great body of literature is concerned about the limitations of the MDG water target (CAWST,
2012; Fehling et al., 2013; Goff & Crow, 2014) and agree that the current efforts need to think
about a sustainable rural water supply alternative (Venkataswamy, 2011). Currently the JMP and
other multilateral agencies are focused on creating more “improved water sources” but do not
provide information on the water quality being used, the reliability of water services, or whether
people’s sustained access to them is vulnerable to economic, financial, social or environmental
aspects. In summary, “the simplicity of having one relatively well-defined indicator has been at
the root of JMP’s success, but it is also its limitation – and this needs to be overcome at global,
regional and national levels in the post-2015 period” especially in rural areas
(WHO/UNICEF, 2011).

Rural and urban disparity
Despite rural-urban disparities in access to drinking water have decreased; many countries in
Africa, Asia and America remain having large gaps between rural and urban areas. In Sub-
Saharan Africa there are 25 countries
in which the percentage point gap between use of improved drinking water in urban and
rural areas is more than 25%. In seven countries – Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Niger, Sierra Leone and Somalia – it is more than 50%. (Figure
20). (WHO/UNICEF, 2011).
In Asia, America, and other regions of Africa urban-rural disparities are less noticeable but there
are several countries in which the percentage point gap is also more than 25%. In Latin America
these countries include Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru, and in Asia they
include Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan. Other regions around the world with such
disparities include Morocco, Papua New Guinea and Iraq (WHO/UNICEF, 2011).

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Figure 20: The number of percentage points by which the use of improved drinking water in rural areas lags behind
that in urban areas, worldwide, 1990 and 2008 (WHO/UNICEF, 2011)
Although rural coverage considerably lags behind urban coverage worldwide, aid funding for
basic water systems targeted for rural populations, declined from 27% to 16% of total ODA
(Official Development Assistance) for drinking water and sanitation from 2003 to 2008 (in
absolute terms, the amount remained stable) (WHO, 2010b; WHO/UNICEF, 2011).
Basic drinking water systems refers to “the provision of drinking water through low-cost
technologies such as handpumps (installed on boreholes, tubewells or dug wells), spring
catchment, gravity-fed systems, rainwater collection, storage tanks and small distribution
systems” (WHO/UNICEF, 2011) . Meanwhile, large drinking water systems include

234

infrastructures with components such as: “intakes, storage facilities, treatment, pumping stations,
conveyance and distribution systems, or sophisticated technology such as desalination plants”
(WHO/UNICEF, 2011). Most rural communities in developing countries rely heavily on basic
systems, and “if the trend continues rural areas may fall even further behind urban areas”
(WHO/UNICEF, 2011).
For better or for worse, small-scale water systems are the predominant water source for millions
of people in rural areas around the world, and helping them succeed means working towards a
faster solution than reinventing new development costly projects for access to potable water.
2. CWOs in the World
As we have seen, undeniably, Community-based Water supply Organizations are the leading
model (for better or for worse) for implementing water supply projects in rural areas in
developing countries. The model has developed since late 1980’s (Sun et al., 2010) and is a direct
result of the broader transition from centrally planned, or supply-driven, approaches to those
based on demand (Lockwook, 2004). The following sections describe (1) what are CWOs in the
global scheme, (2) what is their role in the world, (3) how do they contribute to a sustainable
rural water supply system, and (4) what are some of their challenges.

2.1. Global definition of CWOs

These organizations are known under different names in the literature: Community-based Water
supply Organizations (World Bank), Small community water supplies (WHO/UNICEF, 2013),
Community managed Small-scale Water Supply Systems (IRC), water Small-Scale Individual
Providers or Small Scale Water Providers – SSIPs- (Ahlers, Schwartz, & Perez Guida, 2013;
Kariuki & Schwartz, 2005), Community Water Organizations (CINARA institute, Del Valle
University, IDRC). All referring to system(s) used by a small community to collect, treat, store
and distribute drinking-water from source to consumer (De France, 2012).
As expressed by the WHO (2012) “The definition of a Community-based Water supply
Organizations can vary widely within and between countries. Some countries define small
community water supplies by, for example, population size, the quantity of water provided, the
number of service connections or the type of supply technology used. However, it is the
operating and management challenges they face that most commonly set small community
water supplies apart” (De France, 2012).
For the purpose of this research these organizations will be called Community-based Water
supply Organizations or CWOs and will refer to small rural water systems fully managed and
operated, and at times built, by their own users and community members, dedicated to collect,
treat, store and distribute drinking-water from source to consumer, that operate . They are not
called Community-driven Water supply Organizations, despite the fact that they follow the CDD
model of being in control of the water system’s funds. This because given that the State monitors
and controls these organization and the author considers a State-CWO cooperation is needed for
this model to work, they will be called Community-based rather Community-driven Water supply
Organizations.

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2.2. Role of CWOs in the world

CWOs are an important player in rural water services in most developing countries. In Africa,
South Africa’s national water and sanitation program for community-based rural water
organizations is one of the largest in Africa (Sun et al., 2010). CWOs provide water services in
rural areas of Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Senegal and Uganda. In Asia they are
the main player in rural areas of India and Sri Lanka. Studies on CWOs in Sri Lanka and India
helped reveal that involving household members in the design and construction process of
community-based water systems make it work better, because this creates social capital
99
(Isham
and Kahkonen, 2002; Sun et al., 2010).
Katz and Sara (1997) analyzed the performance of water systems in Benin, Bolivia, Honduras,
Indonesia, Pakistan and Uganda, and found that the community-based approach significantly
increased sustainability. They established a strong linkage between participation of household
members and sustainability of the projects. The most important contributions to success were
information accessible to the households, training in operations and maintenance, control over
funds, and good quality construction. But the study also showed that the approach did not work
consistently well among all the communities (Sun et al., 2010).
The literature suggests that some of the important factors contributing to the success of
community-based approaches to drinking water supply in rural areas are (Sun et al., 2010):
1. Involvement of the communities in design, construction, evaluation, operation and
maintenance, becoming water projects for the long term;
2. Household contributions to water projects in the form of cash and labor;
3. Social capital and local leadership;
4. Provisions to ensure women’s participation
A study in 33 cities showed that CWOs in developing countries served from 5% to even 95% of
all households in cities (Kariuki and Schwartz, 2005). Their relevance and wide participation in
providing access to potable water is undeniable. Although there are many benefits on economies
of scale
100
in networked water systems, CWOs are tremendously important because they
complement formal water supply services and fill the gap between the public suppliers and no
supply (Kariuki et al., 2003, p.53; van Dijk, 2008).

2.3. Contributions of the CWO approach
According to the literature, the value contribution of Community-based Water supply
Organizations varies from community participation in decision-making, social control and CWOs
accountability to the community, to efficient management of water basins, sense of ownership,
among others (Novy and Leuboldt, 2005; Smits et al., 2012).
Mansuri & Rao argue that local decentralization reduces the distance between government and
citizens allowing governments to be closely observed, according to them in community
development and decentralized models:

99
See definition of Social Capital in the Glossary
100
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary

236

Citizens can communicate their preferences and needs to elected officials and closely monitor their
performance, which improves both transparency and accountability; they are more likely to notice
when local government officials steal money from a construction project, engage in nepotism, or
spend their budgets without taking the views of citizens into account. Enhanced visibility is
coupled with a greater capacity for citizens to mobilize and demand better services and hold local
governments “socially accountable” by activating the local capacity for collective action.”[…]
Advocates of both community development and decentralization also argue that these forms of
participatory development can be a training ground for citizenship. Local democracies teach
citizens how to Community engage in democratic politics and to engage, deliberate, and mobilize
in ways that strengthen civil society. (Mansuri & Rao, 2013)
Authors like Novy and Leuboldt (2005) also say that CWOs reduce bureaucracy and foster a
sense of ownership that benefits local development. They call it Participatory Budgeting,
referring to a more transparent structure where the local community participates on the decision-
making instead of being only consulted, as it usually is the case. The local community participate
in the decision-making of their spending, operation and governance, and this can change a
bureaucratic culture and strengthen the significance of community (Abers, 1998).
However, there is little quantitative and qualitative evidence that demonstrates these value
contributions or success aspects enhance the performance or level of service of rural water
providers (Smits et al., 2012, p. 11). The success of community participation seems to depend
highly on the leadership of the CWO and the influence of its delegates in the community.
CWOs constitute an example of what the World Bank prefers to call Community-Driven
Development (CDD) that as mentioned before improves not just incomes but also people’s
empowerment and governance capacity, the lack of which is a form of poverty as well (The
World Bank, 2010).
Other theories about CWO’s value contribution to communities in the form of “alternative
economies” said that local development efforts that generate wealth to their communities, not
only in terms of money, can be an alternative to the “uncontrolled selfish growth problem of
capitalism”. Something called alternative economic development practices named community
economies (Gibson-Graham, 2006).
Beating economies of scale
101

Contrary to the practice that promotes privatization, the literature has found that the average costs
are higher at larger water utility companies than at CWOs, which raise questions about the truth
value behind economies of scale and who really reduces costs in this sector (Cadavid p. 9, 2008).
Since 1990’s privatization was considered the right path towards cost reduction in water services.
However, a review of all economic studies of water and waste production since 1970s proves
there is little evidence of a possible link between privatization and cost savings (Bel & Warner,
2008). Theories about costs differences under public or private water supply have been based
primarily on competition, which is not a characteristic of the utilities service market, especially in
remote or rural areas (Bel & Warner, 2008; Budds & Mcgranahan, 2003).
A large body of literature defends private water suppliers as successful alternatives for large cities
where they indeed generate multiple benefits like coverage increase, lead to efficiency
102
gains,

101
See definition of economies of scale in the Glossary
102
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

237

remove politics from the sector, enhance water quality and reduce costs (Brown, 2002; Budds &
Mcgranahan, 2003; Dardenne, 2006). The World Bank considers small-scale water suppliers as a
second-best solution for urban areas apparently because they are not capable of making service
work for all (Moretto, 2007).
Yet, peri-urban
103
and rural areas do not have the same fate when water is provided by private
supplier, simply because for utility companies, when compared to pure urban areas, it is clearly
less attractive to provide water services: lower population densities or uneven geographies
increase investment and operational costs per capita, meanwhile lower income levels shrink the
average consumption and the capacity to pay (Dardenne, 2006; Kubzansky, Cooper, & Barbary,
2011).
Then why the practice and sometimes the literature insist in proposing public or private
alternatives as better solutions for rural areas? The question emerges because neither public nor
private suppliers have been successful at supplying water in rural areas. Public providers have
proven to be less cost efficient than private providers (Barrera-Osorio et al., 2009), and private
providers have supplied good water quality but at unaffordable prices for rural populations
(Brown, 2002; Davis, 2005). “In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that private sector
involvement, as envisioned and implemented in the 1990s, was far from the ‘golden solution’ that
many believed it to be a decade earlier” (Ahlers et al., 2013; Madrigal et al, 2010).
In contrast, there is literature supporting small water suppliers as provider of high quality water
services at low costs (Hardoy et al., 2005; Solo, 1999), therefore beating the concept of
economies of scale assumed to be the only way to reduce costs to the minimum through private
suppliers while maintaining good water quality services. CWOs, smaller water supply players,
then would overcome the economies of scale concept, which has neglected rural areas from
having access to drinking water for decades.
It is important to mention that the community approaches for rural water supply have also been
criticized when compared to public options. The arguments are truly valid and warn about “ the
trap of romanticising communities” referring to the dangers involved in isolating from the
progressive potential of partnerships with the State, state monitoring and public investment under
scenarios of high capital costs need (Bakker, 2008). Other studies warn about the “local trap”
reflecting on the important political ecology debate where some researches assume that the key to
environmental sustainability is as simple as empowering local-scale organizations to provide
water services (Jiménez Fernández de Palencia & Pérez-Foguet, 2010). As it will be addressed in
the challenges of CWOs, environmental sustainability is not a direct consequence of local water
management, because environmental policies depend on existing institutional arrangements and
very specific context (Smoke and Lewis, 1996).
In any case, the potential benefits behind successful CWOs that provide good water quality at low
cost for users (therefore overcoming economies of scale) have not been disproved by the
literature, but has not been extensively proved through case study analysis.
With this Thesis I argue that the idea of private suppliers being better at providing water services
in rural areas is an oversimplification of the function of rural markets and in particular of the
complexities of rural water service provision, and of the contributions and challenges of
community-based water supply organizations.

103
See definition of peri-urban in the Glossary

238

Using empirical evidence of the contributions and challenges faced by five rural water providers
in Colombia, I show how a sustainable rural water supply system functions in relation to the
context in which they are encouraged to unfold, and how CWOs can provide good water quality
at low costs.

2.4. Global challenges of CWOs

Sadly, CWOs face several difficulties in terms of water quality, appropriate infrastructure,
investment and financial management. In Costa Rica, drinking water is provided by different
types of community organizations, which at times leave consumers exposed to poor water quality.
Moreover, their poor organizational and financial performance further jeopardizes the future
provision of potable water (Madrigal et al., 2010).
In Zimbabwe, Cleaver (1999) found limitations of CWOs in mobilizing the necessary resources
from the community members or lobbying governmental officials, even when they were well
motivated and organized (Sun et al., 2010).
According to the extensive body of literature, it is evident that the main benefit emerging from
CWOs is community participation, and through it, development projects achieve effectiveness,
efficiency
104
, equity, and empowerment much faster (Narayan, 1995). However, it is intriguing
why the literature does not discuss much about the direct environmental benefits emergent from
CWO water management. The answer to this could be given by Narayan’s work with 121 Rural
Water Supply projects, where he states that there is little correlation between community water
management and environmental benefits (Narayan, 1995). The researcher states that “compared
to infrastructure such as dams or river basin management, rural drinking- water projects have
little dramatic impact on the environment”. Therefore the potential environmental benefits could
be difficult to perceive. Nevertheless, he argues “the long-term environmental effects […] from
localized reforestation efforts can be significant.” Results from his study show that “other
determinants – the geological and hydrological context, and the overall political context, which
encourage environmental consciousness through legislation and education – are more significant
for environmental benefits, although beneficiary participation remains important” (Narayan,
1995).
In regards to the environmental contribution of CWOs, other studies suggest that in an overall
picture, enhancing community participation enhances efficiency
105
and sustainability. In that
sense, in an environment where all stakeholders are well informed about the financial, social and
environmental concerns related to a development project (such as water systems), the choices are
expected to address environmental, social and financial sustainability (The World Bank, 2010). In
such case, environmental benefits would come as a sub-product of community participation. In
summary, the environmental contribution of community water management is actually a
challenge that depends on various external factors and cannot be generalized as a direct
contribution of CWOs to their communities.

104
See definition of efficiency vs. effectiveness in the Glossary
105
See definition of efficiency in the Glossary

239

Once again, if eighty three percent of the people without access to safe drinking water live in
rural areas and CWOs are the predominant current solution in that context, it is imperative to
study their approach and sustainability in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) through a sustainable solution.

240

Appendix 6
Goals and specific objectives of ACCRC project
As per Interim Report No. 5 – Jan – July 2013: The goal of this project is to understand the role
of local knowledge for water governance and climate change adaptation in mountain areas of
Colombia. We want to understand how information is currently used to make decisions and
design policies at the national scale given the high spatial and temporal variability of water
availability and use. We also want to test the hypothesis that local communities can generate and
use data about the variability of their water supply to design adaptation strategies to more extreme
climatic conditions. The specific objectives of the project are:
1. Comparison of national scale information on access to water in relation to equity
2. To design and test a set of indicators to monitor water availability, variability, distribution,
quality, access, prices, infrastructure, institutional capacity and stakeholder participation; and to
establish a local scale monitoring mechanism for water management and information transfer to
policy makers.
3. To strengthen institutional capacity of community water organizations to address
vulnerabilities, particularly institutional (accounting capabilities, access to subsidies, access to
concessions) and ideological (capacity to argue and defend community economies)
4. To diagnose the information needs and required procedures to grant water concessions that
could help communities adapt to current and expected climate change.
5. Generate local scenarios of water allocation, availability and use, based on collected data and
different policy alternatives; and to use these scenarios to propose alternatives for higher
efficiency, improved water allocation and infrastructure development.
6. To develop teaching materials to be used in training and capacity development of water sector
professionals in the academic, governmental and water provider institutions.
Source: (Roa, Maria Cecilia, 2013) 5
th
Progress Report to IDRC, Jan – Jul 2013, project
Adapting to climate change in rural Colombia: The role of water governance.

241

Appendix 7
Characteristics of sustainability according to CWOs in rural Colombia
Characteristics of
sustainability
Themes
merged*
How
many
CWOs
said it
CWOs Quotations**
1
Lower water
tariffs due to
efficient use of
resources
1.1., 1.16.,
1.17.,
1.18.,
1.19.,
1.20.
6
“I think that one of the main benefits for La Sirena
community is lower water tariffs, because we make a
more efficient use of money without bureaucracy or
corruption” Jose Noé Garcia – President of La
Sirena’s Board of Directors

Comment about how municipal-owned utility charges
much more ($1.500 per m3) than they do ($617 per
m3) – Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega Manager –
see Characteristic 1, Chapter 4.

“If the water system is taken over by a State owned
utility Company water tariffs would increase, we
would have to pay more, as it happens with all the
other utilities” Nancy Caldas – Asocascajal’s
Secretary

“For me, a sustainable water system has to be owned
by its community, has to be managed by the
community and therefore the cost of the service is not
going to be too high” – Oliverio Suarez – Former
President of Golondrinas’ Board of Directors.

“If the State considers we are inadequate to provide
water service, they can take over and we would lose
the water system. This would put us into the hands of
private companies which would rocket water tariffs
and they would treat water as an economic good and
a commercial service”. Acuabuitrera’s manager –
Claudia Villamarín

“By not having subsidies Acuasur cannot charge the
real cost of its water service to users. It limits our
investment capacity for infrastructure projects.
Decreasing water tariffs [through subsidies] would
alleviate users’ tariffs” – Acuasur – survey taken
during field visit in July 2013. See more in Section
2.a.of Chapter 4: Research Findings.
2
High water
quality
1.2., 1.22. 4
“An ideal CWO is one where the Board of Directors
and management are good, works well so that
everything goes well and the service is in optimal
conditions. High water quality is also important as
well as watersheds protection.” Oliverio Suarez –
Former President of Board of Directors, Golondrinas
CWO.

“We offer water with all the highest quality standards,
and we also offer service continuity” Jose Noé Garcia

242

Characteristics of
sustainability
Themes
merged*
How
many
CWOs
said it
CWOs Quotations**
– President of La Sirena’s Board of Directors

Intrinsic to its operation, it is applying to be certified
as the first CWO with Quality Management System
certification – Tribunas Córcega

Acuabuitrera was very proud of their water quality
and made remarks about it every time it was possible.
During site visit in Acuabuitrera the larger project
ACCRC researchers took water samples that were
tested in situ, Acuabuitrera’s water purity was higher
than the sample provided for comparative purposes.
3
Adopt good
management
practices
3.1. 3
Golondrinas financial statements clearly show how
the CWO is operating below breakeven point and is
highly dependent on volunteer work. See more in
Chapter 4, section 2.b.1.

“The financial risk or vulnerability of the CWO is to
go bankrupt, due to not charging the right water fees
that allow the sustainability of the water system”. –
Golondrinas – Oliverio Suarez – Former President of
Board of Directors

TC, AS, see more in section 2.b.1. of Chapter 4:
Research Findings.
4
Community
Participation
Model
(Community
Engagement)
1.4., 1.15. 3
“This enterprise not only contributes to a better life
quality for the community from the water supply
perspective but also through other duties that
encourage community participation in public events.
Examples of this are the coordination of the
traditional festivities of our town and gastronomic
activities; we even cooperate with the Rural
Inhabitant Celebration that is an activity organized by
the municipal government. The municipal government
asks for logistic help for activities like this and to
carry out all sorts of trainings and community
meetings”. Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega CWO
Manager

Acuasur has a unique representation system where,
regardless of the population size, its 13 communities
have 3 representatives per village before the Assembly
of Delegates. This way, small populations have a
major representation in the Assembly which
stimulates participation – Data collected during site
visits.

“I work for my community because that’s the way it is,
this is the way I was raised, because it is expected”
“without a proper water system we would all have had
to go back to the river and bring water in our backs,
we would continue having sick children, today it is

243

Characteristics of
sustainability
Themes
merged*
How
many
CWOs
said it
CWOs Quotations**
easy for us and for the generations to come, but it is
easy because we cared as a community”. Henry Popo
– Acuasur Secretary Board member

“We engage the community, we are close to them, we
are with them, we invite them to the restoration
activities or any other activity organized by the CWO
to build empathy and a link between Board of
Directors and the community”. Jose Noé Garcia –
President of La Sirena’s Board of Directors
5
Autonomy and
sense of
ownership
(Community
Engagement)
1.3., 1.5.,
1.7.
3
Is the only heritage of this community (repeated ONLY
6 times by the Operator and Plumber)
“Is the community’s heritage because is the only thing
that belongs to them, because it doesn’t depend on
anyone else’s mandate… is the only thing they can say
is theirs” Alejandro Angulo – Plumber at Asocascajal

“There is a large sense of ownership from the
community towards this CWO, there is a strong
commitment from the community, [if you had to rate it
from 1 to 10 what would you rate it as?] to me there is
a strong commitment, I would give it a 9.5” Oscar
Gómez – Tribunas Córcega CWO Manager

La Sirena, see Yadira Gutierrez comment in
Characteristic 5.

“The autonomy of the community would be lost. It
happened to a community here, they made a terrible
mistake. They had their own water system and
voluntarily gave it in to the municipal-owned utility.
They express it was their worst mistake. That was an
example for many of us, because now they don’t have
a good service and water tariffs are very expensive
($1.500 pesos per m3)” [Tribunas Córcega charges
$617 per m3 to Estrato 4].
“The community totally loses the administration and
management over the water system” – Tribunas
Córcega CWO Manager
6
Accountability
(Community
Engagement)
1.8. 2
“We are known for our punctuality in the service and
the community acknowledges our effort” – Tribunas
Córcega Manager – Oscar Gómez

“we are near for water billing, complains, have 24-
hour workers available” Jose Noé Garcia – President
of La Sirena’s Board of Directors
7
Be a development
catalyzer
1.6. 1
Beyond money, in terms of benefits for the community,
in particular this CWO (Tribunas Córcega) became a
development facilitator for the community.
In addition to water supply we contribute with rural
roads improvement, because we transport the

244

Characteristics of
sustainability
Themes
merged*
How
many
CWOs
said it
CWOs Quotations**
necessary material in our own dumper-trucks and
have to maintain the roads.
We support the community in all sorts of sports,
cultural and even economic activities; we contribute
with groceries, medical prescriptions, and with
enormous logistic support for community meetings,
such as tents, amplification equipment and meeting
rooms. Basically, from this CWO we have developed
an important infrastructure to solve community
problems and needs, such that the people put us in the
same level of the local government, because they come
to us to look for solutions to many of their problems
and needs. – Tribunas Córcega CWO Manager
8
Create or be part
of associations
2.11. 1
[When talking about PDAs]”CWOs are afraid of
forming associations with other CWOs to have access
to PDA funding because they are afraid to lose their
water systems” – CWO member of FACORIS, during
meeting with Pereira’s Mayor, July 27
th
, 2013.
9
Issues of
environmental
awareness
1.13.,
1.14.
5
“For La Sirena CWO to continue being sustainable
there must be a link between the environmental, the
social, and the financial terms. Starting from the
environmental terms, there must be watershed
conservation at the micro and macro level, a
permanent restoration. As La Sirena CWO we are
planning to build our own garden center with native
species of plants and trees from our region to make
restorations on time wherever we are allowed and at
the appropriate time […]” Jose Noé Garcia –
President of La Sirena’s Board of Directors

“We are Santa Cruz de Barbas CWO, we don’t have a
school, health center, but we are aware of climate
change, we are worried about the pollution coming
from the highway due to pedestrians and irresponsible
people that throw garbage to the ditch where our
wetland begins. We found diapers, yogurt cups, all
kinds of garbage. CAR [local environmental
authority]came, watch and asked me who were the
people affected, I answered it was the community, and
CAR suggested that the community organized
themselves to pick up the garbage, they only installed
a rack to try to prevent garbage from falling into the
water, but that garbage is hanging there and still
pollutes our water. I request a solution to this matter.”
CWO member of FACORIS, during meeting with
Pereira’s Mayor, July 27
th
, 2013.

“In terms of land acquisition for watershed
conservation, Tribunas has oriented the municipal
government and has helped speed up the purchase
process” Oscar Gómez – Tribunas Córcega CWO

245

Characteristics of
sustainability
Themes
merged*
How
many
CWOs
said it
CWOs Quotations**
Manager

“An ideal CWO is one where the Board of Directors
and management are good, works well so that
everything goes well and the service is in optimal
conditions. High water quality is also important as
well as watersheds protection.” Oliverio Suarez –
Former President of Board of Directors, Golondrinas
CWO.
“Water is a universal heritage that adds value to
individual heritage” Acuabuitrera has implemented
permanent restoration projects all across their water
sources, has organized volunteer community work
days to plant trees in water source areas (identified in
hidden costs as “mingas”). “We are making sure we
will have water for our community in the future”
– Acuabuitrera’s Manager – Claudia Villamarín
10
Non-politicized
and transparent
1.9, 1.12 2
“CWOs are non-politicized which makes them work
based on the community’s interests rather than in
external political interests. The water system is better
on the community’s hands” Jose Noé Garcia –
President of La Sirena’s Board of Directors.

Under the CWO model described by Adriana Velez –
Tribunas Córcega treasurer – it is the community and
its leaders who decide what are the objectives,
priorities and decisions over their water system, not
outsiders, politicians nor shareholders, but the
community itself. See more in section Chapter 4:
Research Findings, Characteristic of sustainability
No. 9: Non-politicized and transparent water system.
*See Appendix 1 for full description of themes
** Quotations available in Appendix 7
*** S = La Sirena, TC = Tribunas Córcega, AS = Acuasur, AC = Asocascajal, G = Golondrinas, B =
Acuabuitrera, FP = CWOs FACORIS Pereira.

246

Appendix 8
Focus Group methodology
There were two focus groups with the participant case studies and with other CWOs interested in
the information that would be discussed. The purpose of the two focus groups was to corroborate
the information collected at a given point in time. The first focus group took place at the
beginning of the field work when I had collected information from three (3) sites (Acuabuitrera,
Acuasur and Tribunas Córcega). Here I would present the information collected to corroborate
with those three sites and with the other participant CWOs if the information was addressing their
issues of concern. The second focus group took place after I had visited all six (6) sites under
study and had also the intention of corroborating the information and the preliminary conclusions
this was leading to (the other three sites were Golondrinas, La Sirena, and Asocascajal).
The methodology consisted in making presentations about the issues in the agenda for the day
were both the CWOs and researchers would share information; after every presentation the floor
was opened for questions and answers from the CWOs’ staff, researchers and other parties
involved. It closed with reading the main conclusions and assigning tasks regarding the steps
forward.
Focus groups No.1: THEMES: Hidden operating costs, property rights, access to State subsidies,
water source issues and other topics related to the ACCRC project.
Participants: CWOs involved in this research, FACORIS and AQUACOL CWOs, an IDRC
representative, ACCRC researchers, and Andreina Pulido-Rozo
Focus group No. 2: THEME: Water tariffs calculation according to current legislation, property
rights risks, water source issues, access to State subsidies and discussion with two Municipal
Secretary of Finance representatives, other topics related to the ACCRC project.
Participants: CWOs involved in this research, FACORIS and AQUACOL CWOs, two Municipal
Secretary of Finance representatives, ACCRC researchers, and Andreina Pulido-Rozo.

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