WATER
Water security
Access, reliability, source protection, management, affordability, and climate pressure.
Research and Innovation
Research & Innovation · Since 1997
Evidence that improves decisions. Innovation that strengthens delivery.
Maji na Ufanisi turns community experience, programme learning, field research, and partnership into practical knowledge that improves water, sanitation, hygiene, climate resilience, inclusion, and governance across Kenya.
Why research matters
Good projects answer today’s needs. Good research helps improve tomorrow’s decisions.
Maji na Ufanisi does not treat research as a separate academic exercise. It is part of how we understand needs, design programmes, test assumptions, monitor progress, identify risks, and improve sustainability.
Our work brings together community participation, technical evidence, institutional learning, policy engagement, and practical innovation.
The purpose of evidence is not to sit on a shelf. It is to help communities, governments, schools, donors, and implementers make better choices.
Research and innovation themes
Evidence across the systems that shape WASH outcomes.
Our portfolio reflects the complex realities surrounding water, sanitation, health, climate, governance, inclusion, and local capacity.
SAN
Sanitation systems
Inclusive facilities, public sanitation, sustainability, management, and service delivery.
SCHOOL
School WASH
Learning environments, hygiene behaviour, menstrual health, inclusion, and learner dignity.
ASAL
ASAL and rural resilience
Water technologies, livestock needs, household access, community management, and local capacity.
CLIMATE
Climate adaptation
Urban vulnerability, drought, flood risk, water security, and practical resilience options.
GOV
Governance and policy
Public participation, accountability, institutional mandates, planning, and sector dialogue.
INCL
Inclusion and gender
Disability access, women’s participation, menstrual dignity, equity, and universal design.
CAP
Institutional capacity
Partner systems, governance, financial management, technical skills, and organisational sustainability.
M&E
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
Baselines, progress tracking, outcomes, lessons, sustainability, and programme improvement.
One documented innovation
WASHEM shows how technical, social, and economic systems can reinforce one another.
The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Enterprise Model brings together public-private partnership, public participation, and social enterprise.
The model was designed to rehabilitate or develop inclusive WASH facilities in public spaces while creating youth employment, supporting local management, strengthening hygiene practice, and generating revenue for operation and maintenance.
PPPGovernment, private-sector, and institutional collaboration
ParticipationCommunity involvement in design, management, and accountability
EnterpriseRevenue generation linked to sustainability and employment
InclusionWomen, youth, and persons with disabilities considered in design
WASHEM is presented here as one notable Mombasa County innovation within Maji na Ufanisi’s broader national portfolio.
From evidence to action
Research creates value when it moves through the full decision cycle.
Maji na Ufanisi connects inquiry, implementation, learning, and advocacy so that evidence can improve real programmes and public decisions.
1
ListenCommunity priorities, lived experience, and local context2
StudyBaselines, surveys, assessments, and policy review3
DesignProgrammes and innovations grounded in evidence4
TestImplementation, monitoring, and adaptation5
LearnEvaluation, community feedback, and documented lessons6
InfluencePolicy dialogue, replication, funding, and better decisions
Selected publications
Research designed to be used—not simply archived.
Explore selected studies, assessments, programme reports, and evidence resources from Maji na Ufanisi’s work.
Baseline Study
Baseline Survey for Informal Settlements in Nairobi
A detailed assessment covering WASH, education, livelihoods, health, sanitation, security, and socio-economic conditions.
Climate Resilience
Climate Resilience for Nairobi’s Informal Settlements
An evidence resource examining climate risks and practical resilience options for underserved urban communities.
Research Analysis
Analysis of Climate Resilience Options
A technical study of vulnerabilities, adaptation opportunities, and practical responses for Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Impact Assessment
Impact Assessment Study on WASH in Schools
An assessment of implementation, outcomes, lessons, and the difference WASH investments made in participating schools.
Governance & Advocacy
Water Resources and Sanitation Governance
Evidence and learning linked to advocacy, accountability, and service delivery in Mombasa and Taita Taveta counties.
Institutional Learning
ASAL Water Security & Community Resilience
Evidence from Maji na Ufanisi’s ASAL work shows how community-managed water systems, climate adaptation, local governance, hygiene promotion, and institutional capacity can strengthen resilience in drought-affected communities.
Research capability
Methods selected to answer the question—not to decorate the report.
BASE
Baseline studies
Establish conditions, needs, risks, and indicators before implementation.
SURVEY
Household and institutional surveys
Capture access, behaviour, expenditure, vulnerability, and service experience.
FGD
Focus group discussions
Understand lived experience, barriers, priorities, and community interpretation.
MAP
Participatory mapping
Identify service gaps, risk areas, infrastructure, and excluded populations.
M&E
Monitoring and evaluation
Assess effectiveness, sustainability, value, outcomes, and unintended effects.
POLICY
Policy analysis
Review laws, plans, budgets, mandates, and implementation gaps.
PRA
Participatory research
Ensure communities shape questions, findings, and recommendations.
LEARN
Learning synthesis
Translate evidence into practical recommendations for programmes and institutions.
Who research serves
Evidence becomes more valuable when the right people can use it.
Communities and local organisations
Research helps communities understand risks, advocate for services, manage systems, and improve local decisions.
County and national institutions
Evidence can support planning, budgeting, public participation, policy dialogue, and service improvement.
Donors and foundations
Baselines, evaluations, and learning help funders assess need, performance, value, and sustainability.
Schools and universities
Research partnerships can strengthen learning, school WASH, student engagement, and knowledge exchange.
Civil society and networks
Shared evidence supports advocacy, coordination, accountability, and stronger sector-wide learning.
Private-sector and technical partners
Evidence helps shape responsible investment, innovation, service models, and long-term partnership.
Learning from implementation
Some of our most important innovations began with a practical problem.
Maji na Ufanisi’s research and innovation work grows from questions that matter on the ground: Why do facilities fail? How can youth employment support sustainability? How can women, girls, and persons with disabilities participate more fully? What makes a local organisation stronger?
Infrastructure alone is not enoughLong-term service delivery depends on maintenance, management, behaviour, and governance.
Local capacity changes sustainabilityCommittees, artisans, staff, and partner organisations need skills and systems—not only assets.
Participation improves designCommunities help identify risks, priorities, accessibility needs, and workable solutions.
Evidence should influence actionResearch has greatest value when it improves programmes, policy, funding, and replication.
Responsible interpretation
How to read the evidence on this page.
Historic programme evidence
Some findings relate to specific projects and periods. They should not be treated as current organisation-wide totals.
Innovation case studies
WASHEM and other models are examples of applied learning within a wider portfolio, not the whole organisation.
Future proposals
Projected beneficiaries and anticipated outcomes should only be presented when clearly labelled as estimates.
Commission or partner on research
Need evidence for your next WASH, climate, education, governance, or inclusion programme?
Partner with Maji na Ufanisi to design a baseline, conduct an assessment, evaluate an intervention, document community experience, analyse policy, test an innovation, or translate learning into practical action.