Evaluating water and sanitation facilities in schools

What is shaping water

Water research covers households, utilities, purifier brands and development programmes. Access, quality, reliability and trust in the source decide how people use and pay for water.

• Many households combine several water sources
• Trust in water quality drives purifier adoption
• Utilities are judged on reliability and billing

An international NGO, working in South Africa & Egypt. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

An international NGO

Sector

Water

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Government research, Quantitative research, Qualitative research

The NGO had built toilets and handwashing stations in schools and wanted to know whether facilities were used, maintained and had improved attendance, especially for girls. Earlier reports had counted facilities built but said little about whether they were still working.

• Deliver on the brief: evaluating water and sanitation facilities in schools.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 10 weeks.

Scope: 240 schools.

Audiences we typically reach in water

HouseholdsUtility customersPurifier buyers and ownersCommunity water committeesWASH programme beneficiaries

Coverage: South Africa & Egypt. Markets: South Africa and Egypt. 240 schools covered.

• South Africa
• Egypt

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2School facility audits
3. 3Teacher interviews
4. 4Student discussions with consent
5. 5Insight

Field teams audited facilities, interviewed teachers and held discussions with students following child-safeguarding procedures and consent from schools and parents. Audits recorded water availability, cleanliness, privacy and accessibility for children with disabilities, with photographs for verification. Interviews were conducted in English, isiZulu and Arabic as appropriate, with women researchers speaking to girls.

Government researchQuantitative researchQualitative research

• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
• Auditors and mystery shoppers followed a standard checklist, recording evidence at each visit.

• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Photo or document evidence for audit points
• Second-reviewer checks on scores
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Facilities were used where schools had cleaning budgets and soap supplies, but fell into disuse elsewhere.
• Girls’ attendance was higher in schools with well-maintained facilities, strengthening the case for maintenance funding.

Maintenance mattered as much as construction.

• Build on the core insight: maintenance mattered as much as construction.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: facilities were used where schools had cleaning budgets and soap supplies, but fell into disuse elsewhere.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The NGO added maintenance funding and school WASH committees.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims
• Evaluation findings with programme recommendations

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: how do households source and store water?