An Overview Of Our Solution
Given the complexity of the challenge of access to water and its sustainability in Brazil, launched in 2017, Água + Acesso (Water + Access) is a collective impact initiative undertaken by an alliance of companies, institutes and civil society organizations that cooperate to expand access to safe and sustainable water in rural areas and communities in Brazil. This initiative acts through the construction, improvement, expansion and/or revitalization of supply systems and distribution networks, as well as by identifying appropriate innovative solutions and prioritizing self-sustaining models, where residents organize themselves in order to ensure the operation, management, maintenance, analysis and monitoring of systems in their communities, and finally, it acts in the promotion of events, studies, communication actions, exchanges and articulation of public an
- Population Impacted: 130,000
- Continent: South America
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Context Analysis
Although considered a right and a fundamental component of quality of life, access to treated water is still a huge challenge in Brazil. According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), there are 35 million people without access to treated water in the country, 20 million of whom are in communities and rural areas. Besides generating illness, deaths, loss of work and school days, the lack of access and water treatment generates high costs for people and governments. According to the Plano Nacional de Saneamento Básico (Plansab)[1], it would take R$503 billion to universalize access to water and sanitation in the country until 2033. Even with such a demand, according to the Fundo das Nações Unidas para a Infância (UNICEF)[2] half of the water and sanitation projects in Latin America fail in up to 5 years after their implementation due to the lack of models for their viability and continuity.
Describe the technical solution you wanted the target audience to adopt
Access to safe drinking water is a major challenge in Brazil today. Any individual or isolated initiative would be insufficient to promote a relevant impact.
Together, these organizations from different sectors work with integrated projects and initiatives on around three major fronts: Infrastructure for access and treatment, models of community water management, integration and strengthening of the ecosystem. The project works through the construction, improvement, expansion and/or revitalization of supply systems and distribution networks, as well as the identification of appropriate innovative solutions. It prioritizes self-sustaining models, where the residents organize themselves in order to ensure the operation, management, maintenance, analysis and monitoring of the systems in their communities, and finally acts to promote events, studies, communication actions, exchanges and articulation of public and private actuators to strengthen the theme and sector.
Describe your behavioral intervention.
The project aims at community water management models, being self-sustainable models where residents organize themselves in order to ensure the operation, management, maintenance, analysis and monitoring of the systems in their communities. Thus, the model works by mobilizing rural communities, which are responsible for organizing and creating support opportunities in the realization and implementation of the project. The initiatives benefit the residents and can promote the creation of alternative water supply systems, based on the engagement of the local community and the use of technologies that offer reduced costs. In this way, a greater integration and strengthening of the ecosystem occurs.
Behavioral Levers Utilized
As needed, please explain how you utilized the lever(s) in more detail.
- Construction of water supply and treatment systems and stations;
- Revitalization, improvements and/or expansion of cisterns;
- Innovative solutions appropriate for water access and treatment;
- Mobilization and awareness of residents;
- Community organization through associations;
- Definition and training of operators in the communities;
- Water quality analysis and monitoring;
- Promotion of good practices and integrated management;
- Channeling Private Social Investment and co-investment with counterparts from public authorities and community water management organizations;
- Support to publication and studies;
Describe your implementation
Água + Acesso is a collective impact initiative undertaken by an unprecedented alliance of companies, institutes and civil society organizations that act and cooperate to expand access to safe and sustainable water in rural areas and communities throughout Brazil. It also brings technological solutions to rural communities in Brazil to improve access to safe drinking water.
The project relies on the selection of allied partners with complementary action and expertise, fostering and encouraging collaboration among partners, transparent and participatory governance and management model, and solid and consistent community water management models to be expanded and replicated. Finally, it also promotes dialogue with actuators from all sectors in order to identify synergies and opportunities for joint action.
Today there are 16 partners motivated by the issues of access to safe water for communities, the greatest challenges being the feasibility of equipment for structure, analysis and monitoring of the quality of water consumed and training for effective community management.
Describe the leadership for your solution. Who is leading the implementation?
Besides co-investors such as Instituto Iguá e do Instituto Coca-Cola Brasil, the Fundação Avina, World-Transforming Technologies (WTT) and Instituto Trata Brasil are currently part of the initiative as support organizations. These organizations provide know-how and social technology, support access organizations and co-investors in the design, implementation, management and evaluation of individual and collective projects. They also record results and learnings from and mobilize and articulate partners, co-investors and networks in favor of the project and theme. In addition to these, nine social organizations working in communities are also part of Projeto Aliança.
SISAR-CE, SISAR PI, Central de Associações (BA) Projeto Saúde e Alegria (PA), Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (AM), Cáritas de Pesqueira (PE), ABES-ES, ASPROC (AM) and CPCD (MG).
Share some of the key partners or stakeholders engaged in your solution development and implementation.
Initially formed by 7 organizations and operating in 3 states in 2017, this alliance currently has 16 organizations in 8 states that cooperate in a model of participatory governance, contributing to impacting about 130,000 people in more than 350 communities since its foundation.
The alliance is formed by Instituto Coca-Cola Brasil, Fundação Avina, World-Transforming Technologies – WTT, Instituto Iguá, Trata Brasil, Cáritas Diocesana, Fundação Amazonas Sustentável – FAS, Central de Associações Comunitárias para Manutenção dos Sistemas de Saneamento de Seabra, Sistema Integrado de Saneamento Rural – Sisar, Centro Popular de Cultura e Desenvolvimento – CPCD, Saúde e Alegria, Associação dos Produtores Rurais de Carauari – Asproc, Associação Brasileira de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental (ABES)from different sectors that work with projects and initiatives integrated around three major fronts: Infrastructure for access and treatment, models of community water management and ecosystem integration and strengthening.
Who adopted the desired behavior(s) and to what degree? Include an explanation of how you measured a change in behavior.
In addition to the organizations that are part of Projeto Aliança (Alliance Project), in all more than 350 rural communities were impacted, which means approximately 130,000 beneficiaries throughout Brazil.
The projects are monitored through virtual meetings, on-site visits and monitoring and evaluation of monthly online questionnaires. Monthly project update reports are sent to the Executive Secretariat.
How did you impact water pollution? Please be specific and include measurement methodology where relevant.
The basic right to water, within the standards of potability, is not yet possible for people living outside the big cities, however, through the project, access to safe drinking water has reached rural communities throughout Brazil.
Many of the communities served by the project did not have access to water and, when existing, there was no better quality control and monitoring. The project worked on the implementation of new water supply systems, as well as innovative treatment solutions and participatory monitoring.
How has your solution impacted equity challenges (including race, gender, ethnicity, social class/income, or others)?
They prepare and execute work plans for their region and participate in the collective actions foreseen in the project. It is worth mentioning that these organizations interface and collaborate daily with communities, local associations, public power in the three spheres, as well as universities and companies that supply consumables and equipment.
Projeto Aliança has also played an important role in social impact ecosystem events (Fórum de Finanças Sociais e Negócios de Impacto), access to water (Fórum Mundial da Água em Brasília) and community water management (Encontro Nacional de Gestores Comunitários de Água).
What were some environmental co-benefits?
Aliança Água + Acesso promotes the strengthening and dissemination of good environmental practices, being directly or indirectly associated with access to safe water and preservation of distribution sources. It also promotes greater awareness of the need for care and attention to water resources.
What were some sustainable development co-benefits?
Strengthening and dissemination of innovative solutions and self-sustainable community models, the expansion of partnerships and efforts to give visibility to the theme, in addition to contributing to public policies for access to water in rural areas of the country. The importance of the project lies in local socioeconomic development, through the effectiveness and improvement of the quality of water. Access to water results in a large-scale transformation in favor of sustainable development.
Sustainability: Describe the economic sustainability of your solution.
The financial sustainability of the initiative is guaranteed through investments made in annual project cycles that demand funding from funding allies and new partners. In any case, the organizations that are part of Projeto Aliança have their own sustainability models and can guarantee, individually, the continuity of actions in the territory even with fluctuations in investments. On the other hand, Projeto Aliança as a community of practice that accelerates learning and exchange of experiences and Advocacy platform, also follows independently of the amounts of investments that may occur, since there are solid relationships between allies for collaborations and articulations.
Return on investment: How much did it cost to implement these activities? How do your results above compare to this investment?
The Aliança Água + Acesso project is made up by some of the main organizations that fight for access to water in Brazil, as well as by foundations, companies and diverse entities that seek to expand the impact and access of this resource. In addition, the project ensures support in the implementation of the work of gathering data on family registration and the updating and maintenance of data in relation to the numbers of communities, families and people benefited. With a view to increasing sustainability at the community level, actions in the area of Water Quality Analysis and Monitoring have been taken across the organizations that are part of Projeto Aliança. A total of R$ 13 million has already been invested.
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
To continue expanding actions and investments in construction, renovation or new technologies for community water systems, Aliança foresees the strengthening and dissemination of innovative solutions and self-sustainable community models, the expansion of partnerships and efforts to give visibility to the theme, in addition to contributing to public policies on access to water in rural areas of the country. The project also has the premise of creating models that can be replicated and expanded by all sectors of the economy, including the government. The project follows in a progressive way. Currently, it is in the implementation phase of the systems, analysis and monitoring of water quality. For this, it is necessary the acquisition of equipment and kits to carry out the analyses by the communities served by the project, as well as training and capacity building so that they become capable of community management, which is the central proposal of this project.