Supporting community needs for rural water management through community-based co-design

Abstract

We set out to support three rural communities in Uganda to manage their water supplies using a locally relevant and fit-for-use technological intervention developed with the Community-Based Co-design (CBCD) method. This participatory and inclusive approach allowed us to introduce Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to communities that are untrained and inexperienced in technology design. We describe the intervention and identify research learnings for CBCD. Our design experience with the communities highlights the barriers and enablers of using the CBCD method with rural users. We conclude with reflections on the use of intermediaries and the issue of reciprocity in community-based ICT for development research.