Highlights of RWSN's projects, partnerships and knowledge products
REACH: Improving water security for the poor A global research programme to improve water security for millions of poor people in Asia and Africa.
Project starts: 2015
Project finished: 2022
Collaborators & Partners: Oxford University, UNICEF, Water and Land Resource Centre, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, icddr,b, University of Dhaka, University of Nairobi, IFPRI, IWA, RWSN, IRC.
Funder: DFID
Summary
REACH is a seven-year, global programme of research (2015-2022) led by Oxford University and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) that aims to improve water security for over 5 million poor people by 2022.
As a Research into Action partner, the Rural Water Supply Network will support the design and implementation of the programme’s communications strategy, supporting the uptake of the research findings and ensuring that they translate into positive policy and practice outcomes.
Project Description
The REACH programme will improve water security for over five million poor people by:
• generating new evidence on water security through an innovative, interdisciplinary, risk-based approach
• establishing science, practitioner and enterprise partnerships to ground research in approaches that will benefit the poor
• building capacity and networks for the next generation of water managers and scientists in Africa and South Asia.
REACH works in Africa and South Asia, focusing on the under-researched linkages between: drinking water supply, water for livelihoods, water for economic growth and water ecosystem risks. Eight Water Security Observatories in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Kenya, are the locations for in-depth, long-term and interdisciplinary research on water security and poverty. The research looks at how water security risks impact poor women, men, girls, boys and marginalised groups, to inform better policies and practices that benefit all of these groups.
Through its Partnership Funding, REACH awards Catalyst Grants and Major Grants to fund projects which complement its core research programme. These grants promote the co-production of approaches, tools and technologies relevant for policy-makers, practitioners, civil society organisations and enterprise.
Perspectives
Dr Rob Hope, Programme Director
'We’re developing a risk-based framework for policy-makers to assess water security risks at global, national and individual household scales.'
More Information
Visit the programme website to find out more and how you could get involved.
See the latest photos from the programme and our partners
Follow REACH on twitter for up-to-the-minute news and announcements