Our Water and WASH Futures sessions

A picture of large colourful letters on a south bank of Brisbane spelling out 'BRISBANE'

The Water and WASH Futures Conference 2023 is part of the Water and WASH Futures knowledge forums – a series of knowledge sharing and learning activities for practitioners and professionals in the international water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and water resource management (WRM) sectors.

The Water and WASH Futures Conference 2023, taking place in Brisbane from 13 -17 February will bring together WASH and WRM professionals and actors from connected sectors, to discuss the challenges facing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 targets, in the context of a changing climate.

Water for Women is a proud to be a core partner of Water and WASH Futures. Below, we share a guide to all Water for Women-led and our partner-led sessions taking place at this event. View the full program to see the wealth of sharing and learning opportunities on show, an event not to be missed!

View the full program

Monday 13th February

Morning

11:00AM - 12:45PM | Room P7

Climate-resilient WASH in practice

Climate resilient urban sanitation: State of the evidence and a collective learning agenda

Avni Kumar, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

A practical tool to assess the climate resilience of WASH programming

Tanvi Oza, WaterAid Australia

11:00AM - 12:45PM | Room P9

GEDSI - from inclusion to transformation in water management and WASH

Adapting Targeted Sanitation Subsidies for Climate Vulnerable Households

Tyler Kozole, International Development Enterprises (iDE) Cambodia

Transforming Gender Roles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

Anwar Zeb, International Rescue Committee

Leaving no-one behind: Menstrual Health for people with intellectual disabilities

Chloe Morrison & Relvie Poilapa, World Vision Vanuatu

11:00AM - 12:45PM | Room P10

Strengthening enabling environments

Building a viable governance model for peri-urban piped water supply in Papua New Guinea

Tim Davis, WaterAid Australia

11:00AM - 12:45PM | Room P11

Strengthening enabling environments

Bringing partnership principles into practice

Donna Leigh Holden, Water for Women

This session will draw and reflect on experience of Water for Women to explore practical measures that can be built into partnering arrangements to facilitate collaborative working and learning and support new ways of working that challenge power dynamics.

Read the abstract

Working in partnership has become an accepted and common approach for addressing development issues, including in the water and WASH sectors. Partnering agreements and principles are central to articulating what partners intend to do together and expressing positive intent for how they will work together. But are they enough?

Transformative partnerships cannot be based on goodwill and ideas alone. As the obligation for water and WASH actors to extend and level out our partnerships, it is important to approach the design and MEL of partnerships with sharper intent and ensure that they are supported by business processes/ways of working that create and reinforce strong foundations for change.

The Australian Government’s Water for Women Fund is a partnership of 10 civil society organisations (CSOs) (comprising local, international and Australian CSOs), five research organisations (three Australian and two international), DFAT and the Fund Coordinator.

The Fund Partnership Group was established as the central partnership forum to provide strategic leadership, and collaborate to maximise the collective value and impact of the Fund on WASH and GEDSI outcomes by supporting:

Fund-wide learning and knowledge sharing
Governance and direction
Positioning in the Australian and global WASH policy contexts.

Specifically, the session will explore:

What were the drivers for the partnership and how did these inform the choices made around the structure of the partnership and its business processes/ways of working?
What practical tools and processes did the partnership use to support partners work to and within their principles?
What partnership reflection processes were used and how did they drive adaptation in our ways of working?

Localisation for Transformation

Wahyu Triwahyudi, (Plan International Australia), Navara Kiene (WaterAid PNG), Lee Leong and Matthew Bond (Water for Women Fund Coordinator)

Read the abstract

The WASH and WRM sectors have notably shifted to realise, expect, and in cases, lead inclusive approaches towards transformative changes, particularly for those most marginalised. As with the wider development sector, the global pandemic impacted work in the WASH and WRM spaces. Whilst COVID-19 did not discriminate, impacting every person in the world, it did exacerbate existing harmful norms, particularly for those already vulnerable based on their different identities and situations including gender, disabilities, and poverty. Whilst in some instances COVID-19 restrictions provided opportunities including North-South partnerships to embrace more localised ways of working, there was also a concerning rise in racial discrimination. For the authors, who are long-term practitioners in the sectors, this has driven explorations around localisation, and more broadly decolonisation or post-colonisation. This is complex, challenging and uncomfortable work involving questioning power, privileges, biases, and discrimination of ourselves and others in the sectors and society. The authors hypothesise that localisation contributes to tackling discrimination and to genuine sectoral change, and that sustainable and equitable WASH and WRM outcomes cannot be achieved until our sectors continuously shift to localised approaches.

This presentation seeks to surface and encourage healthy discussions around localisation in the WASH and WRM sectors. It will explore the importance of localisation and at different levels (e.g. CSO partnerships with rights-holder and research organisations). Development sector evidence around localisation will be drawn together with a reflection process to share experiences and perspectives including from CSO WASH practioners in Indonesia and PNG. This evidence and experiences will contribute to a practical framework to support individuals and partnerships in the sectors to consistently reflect and take constructive steps forward in localisation, whilst helping fill this evidence gap. Collectively, as the WASH and WRM sectors, we can play our part to evolve practices, challenging and reducing systemic power imbalances.

Afternoon

1:45PM - 3:30PM | Room P6

Tackling local water security and scarcity

Embedding Circularity in Urban Water Resources

Nutan Zarapkar, RTI International

1:45PM - 3:30PM | Room P7

Climate-resilient WASH in practice

Challenges of water and WASH services in Nepal in a Changing Climate

Santosh Nepal, International Water Management Institute
(IWMI)

Tourism, water scarcity and inclusive WASH in Eastern Indonesia

Anindrya Nastiti, Institut Teknologi Bandung

1:45PM - 3:30PM | Room P9

GEDSI - from inclusion to transformation in water management and WASH

Partnerships for Transformative Change: Guidance for WASH and Rights Holder Organisations

Isobel Davis, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Read the abstract

Leaving no one behind in access to water and WASH services cannot truly be achieved without the voices and representation of the marginalized in WASH systems and decision-making fora. Rights Holder Organisations (RHOs), which are made up of and advocate for marginalised groups, are key to ensuring this happens. They include organisations which support the rights of diverse women, persons with disabilities (OPDs), sexual and gender minorities (SGM), ethnic minorities, or economically disadvantaged. However, there is a dearth of guidance for WASH organisations seeking to develop meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships with RHOs. To address this gap, Water for Women partners came together in 2022 to develop guidance for WASH organisations wishing to partner with RHOs for transformative change.

The guidance development process involved partner webinars (including RHOs), literature review, synthesis of recent studies, interviews and co-creation of the guidance with expert inputs. The guidance provides practical recommendations for effective collaboration in all types of partnerships, and identifies common partnership themes arising from Water for Women projects. It shares experience of the drivers, benefits and challenges of partnerships, as well as case studies and links to further resources. It particularly looks at WASH partnerships involving women’s organisations, OPDs and SGM organisations - a focus of Water for Women.

This presentation will share the guidance which is designed to support WASH and rights holder organisations looking to begin, build or strengthen their partnerships. Partnerships are needed to tackle deeply interconnected issues such as WASH, health, education, gender equality, inclusion, fair work and climate change. Ensuring opportunities for diverse voices and leadership, as well as more equitable decision-making processes, is central to strengthening inclusive WASH services and systems that are resilient to climate change.

Transformative leadership for inclusive, resilient WASH; experiences and insights from Bhutan

Ugyen Wangchuk, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation Bhutan

1:45PM - 3:30PM | Room P10

Strengthening enabling environments: Governance models to support rural water supply and sanitation

Policy context for managing risks of self-supplied water in Indonesia

Cindy Rianti Priadi, Universitas Indonesia

Backstopping rural water management in Solomon Islands

Mark Love, International WaterCentre

Towards climate resilience rural water and sanitation services in Indonesia

Aisyah Nasution, Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia (Bappenas)

1:45PM - 3:30PM | Room P11

Strengthening enabling environments: Institutional Reform and Partnerships, Supporting integrated WASH and WRM: Institutions, partnerships and systems

Developing inclusive WASH and IWM frameworks for practitioners

John Kelleher, Plan International Australia

Tuesday 14th February

Morning

10:30AM - 12:30PM | Room P6

Tackling local water security and scarcity

Localising water safety planning: Lessons from Vanuatu and Fiji IWC

Mark Love, International WaterCentre

10:30AM - 12:30PM | Room P7

Climate-resilient WASH in practice

Planning for uncertain climate risks to community water: Water Security Improvement Planning in Solomon Islands

Collin Benjamin, Solomon Islands National University

10:30AM - 12:30PM | Room P8

Improving hygiene practices in a climate-stressed and COVID19 world

Sanitation and hygiene promotion and marketing in urban Solomon Islands

Tom Rankin, Plan International Australia

Evaluating WASH programming with a focus on GEDSI and social norms

Therese Tam, Univesidade Nacionale Timor Lorosa'e

10:30AM - 12:30PM | Room P9

GEDSI - from inclusion to transformation in water management and WASH

Perceptions of GEDSI-WASH climate resilient practices in post-Covid Fijian resorts Bronwyn Powell, International WaterCentre

Bronwyn Powell, International WaterCentre & Nanise Masau, University of the South Pacific, Fiji

Making participatory design inclusive: Including diverse residents in WASH Infrastructure

Josaia Thaggard & Liza Icha Marzaman, Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE)

Translating disability inclusive WASH policies into practice: lessons learnt from Cambodia

Jane Wilbur, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Afternoon

1:30PM - 3:30PM | Room P6

Tackling local water security and scarcity

Water is everyone's business: Social marketing to motivate water committees and communities

Mark Love, International WaterCentre & Sheila Funubo, Solomon Islands National University

1:30PM - 3:30PM | Room P7

Climate-resilient WASH in practice

Bhutan's journey to 100% improved sanitation: insights from a decade of action

Raj Kumar Battarai, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Holistic approaches to improve environmental and public health in informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia

Tri Dewi Virgiyanti, Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia (Bappenas)

Effectiveness and Use of On-Site Safely Managed Sanitation Solutions in Rural Cambodia

Rana Abdel Sattar, International Development Enterprises (iDE)

1:30PM - 3:30PM | Room P8

Improving hygiene practices in a climate-stressed and COVID19 world

Progressing WASH in healthcare facilities - highlights from Asia-Pacific

Bernice Sarpong, WaterAid Australia

Improved hand hygiene for a safer birth

Senghort Ret, WaterAid Cambodia

Lessons from school-led WASH approaches in Solomon Islands and PNG

Enif Petsakibo, Live & Learn Solomon Islands and Gail Pigolo, Plan PNG

Climate resilient WASH in Health Care Facilities in the Pacific

Gail Pigolo, Plan International PNG

1:30PM - 3:30PM | Room P9

GEDSI - from inclusion to transformation in water management and WASH: Inclusion concepts & approaches - norms and stigma

Accelerating Inclusive Sanitation and Hygiene Access through GEDSI STBM Approach in Eastern Indonesia

Herie Ferdian & Novika Noerdiyanti, Plan Indonesia

Shifting social norms for inclusive, resilient and sustainable behaviour change

Jose Mott, Water for Women

This presentation will share learnings and approaches from the recently published social norms and partnering guidance papers developed as part of the Fund’s journey towards GEDSI transformative programming. Water and WASH practitioners will have the opportunity to build on their understanding of social norms, how norms change work can positively impact WASH behaviour change initiatives, and how WASH and RHO partnerships contribute significantly to strengthening water and WASH systems.

Read the abstract

To ensure positive and sustainable behaviour change in water and WASH programs, we need to focus on the underlying social norms that drive people’s behaviours. Without this, development outcomes will be less equitable, effective, resilient or sustainable.

Social norms (i.e.. what people believe to be ‘normal’ in their community) can be positive, but some perpetuate harmful behaviours, especially those affecting women, girls, people with disabilities and people from other marginalised groups. Water and WASH programs can unintentionally reinforce negative social norms by leveraging some behaviours and roles that support the status quo, to achieve outcomes. Benefits are more likely to be short term if the norms that perpetuate inequalities and stigma are not more systematically addressed.

With increasing understanding of the critical connection between social norms and behaviour change, Water for Women has produced a guidance, together with a literature and practice review, which document examples from WASH projects that have been integrating social norms change work into their programming.

For example, through reciprocal, and respectful engagement with rights holder organisations (RHOs), water and WASH programs are in a better position to address harmful norms that drive inequitable behaviours and reinforce positive norms that benefit everyone. Guidance on engagement with RHOs has also been developed by Water for Women partners, led by UTS-ISF, which highlights the key drivers, benefits and challenges of these partnerships.

Inclusive WASH Workforce: guidance on how WASH organisations can become more inclusive

Avni Kumar, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Along the Continuum to transformation: Sexual and Gender Minorities in WASH

Lana Woolf, Edge Effect

1:30PM - 3:30PM | Room P10

GEDSI - from inclusion to transformation in water management and WASH: Menstrual health and hygiene

Tackling period poverty in the Pacific: Findings from the Pacific Menstrual Health Network's practice and evidence generation

Chelsea Huggett, WaterAid

Transformation Towards Inclusive and Resilient Menstrual Health Hygiene Services

Proshanto Roy, World Vision International

Understanding MHM through participatory approaches in PNG Plan International

Francis Wele, Plan International Pacific

Strategies to Advocate Menstrual Health and Hygiene among students with disabilities in Eastern Indonesia

Novika Noerdiyanti & Neky Nitbani, Plan Indonesia

1:30PM - 3:30PM | Room P11

Strengthening enabling environments

Strengthening Governance Capacities to Make Best Use of Resources

Junaid Khan, International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Strengthening WASH systems with partnerships between WASH and gender equality organisations in Timor-Leste

Melita Grant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Who is Critical to Water and WASH systems?

Fraser Goff, WaterAid Australia

Read the abstract

Strong enabling environments for resilient, and inclusive, water resources and WASH services require strong and diverse systems. But what does a system that effectively delivers water security and WASH look like, and how do we engage to strengthen it?

Water for Women’s Systems Strengthening Learning Agenda Initiative has considered these questions through a lens of systems as networks of interactions and interconnections between organisations and institutions.

This presentation draws on experiences from 20 Water for Women projects which seek to strengthen systems for equitable and sustainable WASH across 15 countries. The session will summarise lessons learnt, provide recommendations for how civil society organisations and research organisations can engage with water and WASH systems to strengthen enabling environments and practical examples.

Key takeaway messages include:

Water and WASH systems must be understood within political, economic, social and geographic contexts.
To understand how decisions are made we need to look beyond formal or visible power to consider who else has influence, who doesn’t have influence but should have, and what social and cultural norms constrain or perpetuate power imbalances.
The capacity of actors – as individuals and organisations – and prevailing mindsets affect how actors engage with others in the system and contribute to sustainable and inclusive services.
Relationships between actors are conduits for sharing information and ideas, including emerging research evidence.
Diverse systems are strong systems. Gender equality, disability and social inclusion issues need to be addressed at a system level to resolve and prevent inequality in WASH service provision .
Effective systems strengthening requires flexibility, reflection and adaptation.

The session reinforces Theme 6’s core message that CSOs and research organisations should embrace a systems view to strengthen enabling environments for WRM and WASH.

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