WASHCost Calculator

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre is developing an innovative app called the WASHCost calculator. The app will help implementers and donors of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes better plan and evaluate sanitation and water services using cost and service level data. The WASHCost calculator aims to ease the use or planning of the life cycle costs approach by governments, multilaterals, training institutions, International NGOs and donors.

The vision for the WASHCost Calculator is that WASH sector practitioners use life cycle costs information to adapt their plans and achieve water and sanitation services that last for generations. Users without expert knowledge about the life cycle costs approach will be able to run a sustainability check to strengthen delivery of water and sanitation services, make use of reliable life cycle cost information, and understand the benefits of the life cycle costs approach.

According to Project Coordinator Nicolas Dickinson of IRC, “People will simply type a technology and country, such as Burkina Faso and latrine, and examples based on existing data will appear. People can dig into it as little or as much as they want”. The calculator will allow organisations to collect, upload, analyse, and exchange data on the cost of water and sanitation services.

The WASHCost Calculator builds on the methodologies and experiences of the WASHCost project. For more information on IRC, the WASHCost Calculator, contact Vera van der Grift at [email protected].