About the Resource

This resource was developed from a lecture titled "Applying the Systems Lens to Rural Water Service Delivery" presented by Dr. Pranav Chintalapati to the PPGA 391A class in March 2024. This resource provides a brief background on water as a human right as well as lessons from Dr. Chintalapati's experience applying a systems thinking lens to improving rural water service delivery in the Kitui and Turkana Counties of Kenya.

About the Source

Dr. Pranav Chintalapati

Dr. Chintalapati is an Assistant Professor of Teaching with the UBC Faculty of Applied Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering. He is also the Director of the MEL Program in Integrated Water Management. His research interests include exploring adaptable approaches for developing engineering knowledge and integrating holistic learning processes through experiential learning. In recent years, he has worked on the application of systems approaches to improve the reliability of rural water services in East Africa.

Further Reading

Chintalapati, Pranav, Cliff Nyaga, Jeffrey P. Walters, Johanna Koehler, Amy Javernick-Will, Rob Hope, and Karl G. Linden. “Improving the Reliability of Water Service Delivery in Rural Kenya through Professionalized Maintenance: A System Dynamics Perspective.” Environmental Science & Technology 56, no. 23 (December 6, 2022): 17364–74. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c00939.
Libey, Anna, Pranav Chintalapati, Styvers Kathuni, Bernard Amadei, and Evan Thomas. “Turn up the Dial: System Dynamics Modeling of Resource Allocations toward Rural Water Supply Maintenance in East Africa.” Journal of Environmental Engineering 148, no. 4 (April 1, 2022): 04022006. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001982.
Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership: Resources on Priority Learning Themes
Allocate Away: Existing Budgets for Maintenance