Addressing the infrastructure maintenance gap while creating employment and transferring skills: An innovative institutional model

The 'social franchising' model for the operation and maintenance of selected water and sanitation infrastructure, the conceptual origins of the model, its subsequent development by desktop research methods, and its piloting in the field, are described. Piloted in South Africa by a team with extensive experience of water and sanitation infrastructure and business development, the model has since been rolled out to scale, simultaneously bringing about (i) the servicing of selected infrastructure, returning it to full use, and (ii) micro-business development and nurturing, job creation, and skills development. Development and implementation of the model over two decades have demonstrated its robust nature compared to equivalent stand-alone micro-businesses, how it can partner in schools to improve health and hygiene education, and the effectiveness of the work it has done on infrastructure servicing and to accomplish tasks other than basic maintenance.