Participation quantification in the water and sanitation sector

This article outlines the Methodology for Participatory Assessment (MPA), its potential usefulness for both community members and organisations providing water services, and some of the concerns and problems associated with its use. The MPA builds on the advantages of PLA approaches but also allows the results to be quantified, compared and statistically analysed. It was designed and tested by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) of the World Bank and the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) in response to participatory methods often generating qualitative information that is difficult to compare and analyse. The articles outlines the objectives of the MPA, describes the use of participatory tools at both community, agency and policy levels and then discusses how the PLA outcomes are quantified through the use of pre-determined scales. The article summarises the main lessons learned before discussing the potential, concerns and problems of the MPA.