For practitioners, technological choice plays a huge role in designing water supply and sanitation (WSS) systems. Often considered in isolation, this study looks at factors that surround technological choice. This is by no means an exhaustive list of factors, but rather an attempt to start looking more closely at what factors should be considered when making technological choices, and how.

This report presents the key findings of a study undertaken by Research-inspired Policy and Practice Learning in Ethiopia and the Nile Region (RiPPLE) and Practical Action Consulting (PAC) in Ethiopia and Sudan in 2008. A sector review from Kenya was also carried out and included in the analysis.