Investments in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) monitoring systems are not yielding the transformative change promised. Even where data are collected, they are not necessarily being used to improve decision-making.

Within the WASH sector, monitoring has traditionally been viewed as a technical concern. Little attention has been paid to the political and behavioural factors that determine how monitoring data are used.

This publication, from WASH Matters WaterAid, draws on knowledge of evidence-informed decision-making beyond the WASH sector to analyse case studies of monitoring systems in Nicaragua, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. The starting point is the uses and users of data, in particular the political economy of decision-making – that is, the institutions, incentives and ideas that shape the behaviour of key decision-makers. To a lesser extent, the report also draws on insights from behavioural science. 

To maximise the value and effectiveness of external investments in WASH monitoring, it is vital that stakeholders engage with these factors. To support this engagement, the report provides a step-by-step planning guide on how donors and other stakeholders can better understand the use of WASH data in decision-making.

Tiina Pasanen and Nathaniel Mason