Who pays what? : communicating financial data of rural water supply in India : Community Water plus research output for DFAT, Australian Aid

Community management is the common model for rural water supply, but it has limitations, particularly when it comes to the ability to sustain services over the long-term. In an effort to identify what works and what doesn't when it comes to community management, the Community Water Plus project is investigating successful community-managed rural water supply programmes and approaches across India.

The project is funded by DFAT, Australian Aid and has been implemented by a consortium of partners, including: the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), the Centre of Excellence for Change (CEC), Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), the Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) and IRC, The Netherlands with overall project coordination provided by Cranfield University. It has also been working closely with national and State government agencies as well as civil society partners.

This research output, undertaken by Cranfield University Masters students, finalised the cross-case study financial costs summary reports of the 20 case studies, to deliver consistent indicative costs incurred by external support organisations relative to varying technical modes of supply and then designed and tested a 'Financial Flow Diagram' that visually conveys the message of the 'plus', while being easily reproducible in order to encourage understanding of financial implications of Community Water plus across the WASH sector. However, displaying of financial data (recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure) together in one flow diagram is not recommended as this may mislead readers. Less misleading displays such as stacked histograms, which separate capital and recurrent expenditure, are preferable.