The key policy issue to be addressed in this project is how best to analyse the governance and political economy of water and sanitation service delivery in developing countries, in order to inform policy, programming and influencing work.

The research will examine the variety of approaches which exist or are emerging from different stakeholders for analysing the governance and political economy of sectors; draw lessons from case studies of such analysis within the water and sanitation sectors, including recent work by DFID; and develop recommendations and guidance for improved future analysis.

The overall goal is to enable more effective support to water and sanitation service delivery, in order to make faster progress towards reaching the MDG targets.

The purpose of the research is to improve understanding among policy makers and practitioners of how to analyse the governance and political economy of water and sanitation in a given country context, in order to inform policy, programming and influencing work. It should be of interest to donors, multilateral agencies, developing country governments and civil society.

The objectives include advancing knowledge on three levels:

• how governance and political economy can be analysed effectively in the water and sanitation sectors;
• what governance and  political economy constraints and opportunities commonly emerge from such analyses; and
• what the implications are for policy, programming, and influencing.