The Triple-S theory of change

This document sets out, in broad strokes, the theory of change that guides IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre's Sustainable Services at Scale (Triple-S) project. The document explains and justifies the course of action set by the project in achieving its goal of contributing to provision to all people of sustainable water services. 

Triple-S (Sustainable Services at Scale) promotes sustainable water services at scale by helping to catalyse change in the rural water sector. Triple-S is guided by an understanding that current, de-facto, practice is overly focused on the provision of new infrastructure and as a result contributes to a failure to provide sustainable water services.

Triple-S brings to this work a package of knowledge, strategies and tools that we believe can support the required change towards a more appropriate paradigm – one that we refer to as a service delivery approach.

At the heart of our approach to change is a vision of how the rural water sector needs to function if sustainable water services are to be provided; and a set of guiding messages intended to inspire stakeholders to start creating change in their own context. This approach is informed by our understanding of the water sector as a complex adaptive system, consisting of multiple actors and relationships, all of which need to work together effectively for services to be delivered. While the vision of sustainable and appropriate rural services provided to all is universal, the paths by which each country will achieve these are entirely context dependent.