Monitoring changes in city-wide sanitation: an assessment of two tools (India)

This research aimed to analyse the suitability of Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) and City Service Delivery Assessment (CSDA) tools for monitoring changes in the SSC for Tiruchirappalli city (Trichy) in India. The newly developed SFD and CSDA studies of the city were compared with their respective baseline studies. To evaluate the sensitivity of the tools, a separate assessment of the changes in the service outcomes and service delivery context of the city were conducted and compared with the results of the SFD and CSDA, respectively. The existing CSDA framework was only for faecal sludge management. Hence, in order to assess the offsite system in the city using CSDA, the tool was further developed. The newly developed offsite CSDA for Trichy was easy to understand and was thought to reflect the actual situation of the service delivery in the city. The SFD graphics captured the change in the service outcomes at a level of 1% of the city population while the CSDA Scorecards captured the changes in the service delivery context at a level of 25% of the city population. If the data of the SFD study is intended to be used for monitoring purposes, it is recommended to develop a comprehensive level SFD as it will provide sufficient and higher accuracy data to monitor change in the service outcome and service delivery context. The inclusion of the CSDA Scorecard in the SFD report will help to visualise changes in the service delivery context.