Water and sanitation services at scale : meeting the challenges of sustainability : summary of a meeting in London on january 31, 2012

Nearly 60 representatives from 44 different organisations participated in the London Sustainable WASH learning event held on 31 January 2012. Actors in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector are increasingly aware that enhanced progress depends on a greater focus on the sustainability of investments. Yet changing the last 20 years’ of ‘business as usual’ to re-focus on service outcomes rather than infrastructure outputs is an on-going and challenging process. It requires new tools, and approaches, and collaborative learning between implementers, donors and beneficiaries. Developing and promoting these practices is the objective of the Sustainable Services at Scale Initiative (Triple-S). This report provides a snapshot from one of the sustainable WASH learning events as part of facilitating and promoting this process of long-term change. [authors abstract]