1. Capacity to tap into services: Link between capacity building, participation, transparency and decision making

2. In search of Transparency, Accountability & Participation in WASH Why? Accountability is relevant when the expectations from various actors/ institutions are well defined and agreed upon in terms of roles, responsibilities, principles/ norms to be performed by each actor/ institution. Belief in promoting transparency in various operating systems is a necessary requirement for ensuring accountability of the actors/ institutions. Participation of communities could lead to higher levels of accountability and transparency.

3. The methodology consists of focused group discussions based on set of pre-determined 19 questions with four different groups within each village – Grama Panchayath (GP); Self Help Groups (SHG’s) members; Youth Groups (YG); SC/ST communities. This was repeated in 107 villages across Andhra Pradesh How did the search proceed?

4. Institutional space and decision making related indicators: Functioning of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) Functioning of the Gram Sabha on WASH Issues Participation by women in community-level decision-making on water supply Participation by SC/ ST in community-level decision-making on water supply Capacity building related indicators: Effectiveness of Training Effectiveness of Information, Education and Communication inputs Some of the Indicators

5. What did we find? The good, the bad and the ugly The good : The special cases Effective institutional spaces are linked to increased participation, accountability and capacity building within a community Self-help group meetings, a space for women to discuss influence each other's behavioral pattern and WASH related habits. The bad: General situation Around 50% of the groups mentioned that the Gram Sabha are not effective platform for decision making. 74% of the respondents stated that women hardly participate or contribute towards decision making. The Ugly More that 90% of the community groups are unaware of the VWSC. More than 70% said that no training had been carried out on WASH issues.

6. Purpose of 5th Symposium Thank you for your attention. Contact details Safa Fanaian and M. V Ramachandrudu Watershed Support Services and Activities Network safafanaian@gmail.com wassanmail@gmail.com