Placing sustainability at the centre of water, sanitation and hygiene: Knowledge co-production for sectoral transformation

Abstract

Efforts to expand the delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are occurring in the context of increasing pressures on the environmental and resource systems on which WASH services depend. As such, it is imperative to explore how sustainability considerations can be made central to WASH initiatives in ways that strengthen both service delivery and environmental systems. This article contributes insights from a transdisciplinary knowledge co-production process designed to bridge conceptual and practical priorities in a sectoral context – the WASH sector – with the intent to inform transformations at multiple levels from local practice through to global discourse. The co-production process was held online with a select group of WASH professionals from 10 countries. The design involved three components: engaging with worldviews and sustainability concepts; discussing the practical relevance of featured research studies in participant's professional roles; and co-creating ideas about desirable futures and transformation pathways. Findings from the process relate to its method, outcomes and implications for future knowledge co-production across four themes: (i) fostering self-reflection and engaging with purpose; (ii) considering sustainability across scales and contexts; (iii) generating ideas for individual and sectoral action; and (iv) reflecting on researcher power and considerations for future co-production processes. The case demonstrates the potential for co-production in a sectoral context to foster generative self-reflection, shared understandings and practical ideas for action towards sustainability transformations. Methodological insights suggest that future knowledge co-production proponents could beneficially emphasize purpose, work across scales and contexts, and take a reflexive approach to power.