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The WASH Systems Academy

The WASH Systems Academy

The learning platform for water, sanitation and hygiene systems strengthening

Costing sustainable water services

Also available in French

Course objectives: This course is for anyone wanting to know how to use the Excel tool "Life-Cycle Costing of water services" to identify the costs and financing gap of water services in a specific area, often a district or municipality.

Course content: The course is designed as a standalone course, although it is recommended that participants are familiar with the concepts of water, sanitation, and hygiene systems strengthening and the Life-Cycle Cost Approach (LCCA). The course includes video tutorials and is divided into two parts:

  • The first three sessions provide a recap of the underlying basic concepts of LCCA, an overview of the tool and the preparation requirements for using the tool with a focus on data requirements and assumptions to be made.
  • The second part (i.e., sessions 4 to 6) are the tutorials on how to use the Excel tool "Life-Cycle Costing of water services" and carry out a financial gap analysis and apply this to your water and sanitation service planning.
  • The final session 7 provides examples (testimonials) of practical applications of the tool, including information about variations and extensions of the tool that are available.

This course includes animations, graphics, videos, documentation, and multiple-choice tests. There is also the opportunity to connect with other WASH sector professionals through online forum discussions. The majority of this course is also available offline. You can download the complete session texts, including all the exercises, via the course resources tab. This allows you to follow part of the course offline. However, you will need to connect to the online platform to participate in the forum discussions, upload the materials you create, and complete the multiple-choice tests and quizzes.

The tool provides important inputs for school directors and others involved in school budget planning process, producing clear and convincing budget requests with ample evidence
Abinet Kebede | IRC Ethiopia

This tool can be used by government, NGOs, civil society to establish the true costs for delivering services and ascertain the current levels of investment in support of the delivery of these services
Jeremiah Atengdem | IRC Ghana

Session overview: This course consists of 7 sessions and needs to be completed in consecutive order (from session 1 to 7). The subjects of the individual sessions are:
Welcome and introduction to the course

  • Session 1
    WASH systems strengthening and the importance of understanding costs
  • Session 2
    Introducing the Excel tool "Life-Cycle Costing of water services"
  • Session 3
    Preparing yourself for using the Excel tool
  • Session 4
    Infrastructure expenditures (i.e., Capital Expenditure, Capital Maintenance Expenditure and Operational and minor Maintenance Expenditure)
  • Session 5
    Direct Support expenditures
  • Session 6
    Financial gap analysis
  • Session 7
    The tool in action

Length: On average, the course takes a minimum of 4 hours to complete.

Register here

This course has been made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the PRO-WASH Award and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the US Government.

USAID          PROWASH         IRC            Waterforpeople  

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