The Life-Cycle Cost Approach Indicator list is now available on the WASHCost website. The list allows the costing of sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services by assessing life-cycle costs and comparing them to levels of service provided. It contains an overview of 105 key variables and the adequate tools that can be used to collect them.
Published on: 30/08/2011
The variables cover information on the different cost components linked to water and sanitation, the water and sanitation service levels provided, infrastructure and technologies used to deliver WASH services, as well as, contextual information. The list also suggests data collection tools that can be used to collect and triangulate information gathered, at what institutional level specific information may be available, and what set of questions may be used to retrieve information. Where applicable, the units in which the data can be collected (e.g. metres or litres per capita per day) and answer categories/responses to specific questions are provided.
The Life-Cycle Cost Approach Indicator list enables a poverty analysis of service levels received by different (social and economic) groups in a specified area. When planning for new WASH services, a poverty analysis can assist in improving and targeting investment which can contribute to equitable and sustainable WASH access. At the same time, the indicator list can also help examine the factors that drive the overall and relative magnitude of the costs of water and sanitation service delivery.
To allow easy use, the indicator list is available in an Excel 2007 format and can be sorted based on the type of information, the level of data collection and the type of data collection tool. For example, you can arrange the list based on variables that are collected at the level of household, with the use of a household survey tool. Or, you can select all variables that are related to collecting life-cycle cost information as expenditure on capital maintenance.
When applying the life-cycle cost approach, it is not necessary to collect information on all 105 variables detailed in the indicator list. A selection can be made based on the types of technologies employed in the country (and other context specificities), the resources available and the purpose of data collection,
For more information or assistance on how to use the life-cycle Cost Approach indicator list, please see the link below.
30-August 2011.
