The Global Water Institute (GWI) would like to invite you to the eighth installment of Water Conversations, our brown bag lunch series. These are informal talks that aim to introduce water researchers to each other, establish friendships, and help us to better understand the type of water research that Carleton faculty and students are undertaking so that we can collaborate better and successfully team up for larger projects. Please bring your lunch and we will serve the drinks and cookies.

Our May speaker is Nadia Springle from the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. Nadia just completed her Bachelor’s degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management, specializing in development studies. Her presentation will be based on the work she completed in her final year for her Honours Research Essay.

Abstract: Expanding access to safe drinking water stands as one of the key priorities on the international development agenda. Sub-Saharan Africa is viewed with particular concern, as the region lags behind most continents regarding progress in this area. In response to this local and international concern, policy makers in the water sector have shifted their focus to what some have declared a ‘crisis of governance’. The agenda of governance in the water sector has emphasized the need to decentralize decision-making and management of water resources to the lowest appropriate level. Since the 1990s, this call for decentralization of water supply and resources management has informed the policy paths of the water sector in sub-Saharan Africa as well as globally. However, despite the widespread adoption of decentralization across sub-Saharan Africa, rates of progress in water access have been uneven across countries, and the region continues to face substantial problems regarding water access. As such, I seek to critically engage with the performance of decentralized water governance systems and their capacity to increase access to improved water sources. This research compares Ghana and Tanzania in this area, as both countries have undergone decentralization reforms in their water sectors since the 1990s. Despite similar policies and institutional frameworks, these countries have achieved considerably different levels of water access.