Implementing water and sanitation systems in rural India : the role of NGOs

NGOs are an important actor in rural India, and are increasingly important in implementing water and sanitation infrastructure. This thesis first systematically investigates physical conditions that lead to good bacteriological water quality in rural India, and then investigates how NGOs are inserting themselves into this space. Ultimately, this work examines under what conditions NGOs are effective in advancing water and sanitation systems, with a focus on how they build up, empower, and utilize local community organizations to do so. Thus, the strategies of two NGOs working in rural India that have facilitated the implementation of water and sanitation infrastructure are analyzed using an extension of Field Theory by Asad & Kay (2014). The way these NGOs create alliances, use resources, and change frames to advance water and sanitation infrastructure are similar in some ways, while distinct in others. This analysis demonstrates that these organizations are able to harmonize and negotiate their development agenda with that of the state in order to make progress in water and sanitation systems. Combining a systems analysis of rural communities' water quality with an analysis of strategies of NGOs illuminates practical implications for how policymakers can expect these organizations to incorporate new technologies and policies.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Beasley, Sydney Brooks

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Chintan Vaishnav and Gabriella Carolini.

• Urban Studies and Planning.
• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118264

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/118264