Welcome to our site. The Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) and the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) received a research grant from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) to investigate gender outcomes in water and sanitation initiatives in the Pacific. The research runs from 2009-2011.

ISF and IWDA are working in partnership with Live and Learn Environmental Education in Fiji and World Vision in Vanuatu. The study focuses on two Pacific case studies that incorporate gender strategies and support community decision making processes: World Vision’s Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) initiatives in rural Vanuatu and Live and Learn’s water governance and sustainable communities projects in Fiji.

The field research used a strengths-based approach that is informed by principles of empowerment, appreciation and participation. The intention was for the research to build on existing strengths and be a learning process for all involved. For the participant organisations, this was hoped to lead to a stronger focus on gender, and increased capability to integrate gender into water and sanitation projects.

The research findings have been translated into a set of guidance materials for organisations undertaking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities, to enable uptake of practical strategies to incorporate gender into WASH initiatives, and to assist practitioners to understand what positive gender outcomes 'look like'.