Resources RWSN Library

RWSN Activities & Services

If you are interested in any of the above services, please contact the RWSN Secretariat. Find out more about how RWSN works with academic researchers and organisations to help them collaborate and communicate with likely end-users of their research. Participate or contribute to our webinars, publications, events, and specialist multi-language Communities of Practice. The automatic translation service in the sidebar on this website is performed by Google Translate, a third-party service which we have no control over. Google collects, stores and processes information to provide users with better services.

The secretariat has been hosted from the start and until now by Skat Foundation in St. Gallen, Switzerland.3 It coordinates and runs the network activities, in partnership with theme leaders and under the supervision and guidance of the executive steering committee. Global Water Center (GWC), Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), and Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) are proud to announce the release of the “Rural Water Capacity Needs Assessment” report. This comprehensive report, based on a thorough analysis of 280 responses, sheds light on the critical gaps and challenges in the rural water sector.

For more information about obtaining a license for these purposes, please fill out the media licensing request form. RWSN Talks in lecturesMany trainers and universities use RWSN materials to stimulate discussions with students or to complement course materials and we encourage you to do so as well. You can stream RWSN Talks from RWSN’s official YouTube or Vimeo channels, as long as you comply with the terms of the Creative Commons license outlined above. Feel free to share links to RWSN’s official YouTube and Vimeo channels with students on online forums or class websites.

Release of Our 2023 Annual Report

Licenses for commercial applications involve a fee, which supports RWSN nonprofit mission. An RWSN Theme is a broad area of interest that the RWSN Executive Steering Committee sees as strategically important. Each of the RWSN Themes and Topics are led by Theme Leaders, i.e. an individual from among the seven RWSN Executive Steering Committee Organisations with support from some Member Organisations who have expressed a willingness to provide in-kind support for a specific Topic. Screening to groups A variety of companies, organizations and institutions request use of RWSN Talks for screening within common areas, for educational use in exhibits, and for employee training and development.

About RWSN

The scope has moved far beyond handpump technology to encompass a more holistic and integrated approach to improving rural water services as part of the wider Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights. The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) is a global, multi-stakeholder network focused on achieving universal access to safe, affordable drinking water for all rural people worldwide. Established in 1992 as the Handpump Technology Network (HTN),12 the organization originally concentrated on the development and maintenance of handpump technologies. Over time, it expanded its scope to address broader rural water supply issues, and in 2004, it was rebranded as RWSN.3 The network has no legal structure and instead is a loose collaboration.

The RWSN networking activities focus on rural people most in need of safe access to drinking water, which means its geographic focus by default is developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. However, in principle anyone living in a rural area anywhere in the world could benefit from the network’s activities. Find out how you or your organisation can get involved in RWSN activities for rural water practitioners and organisations around the world. Our vision is of a world in which all rural people have access to a sustainable and reliable water supply which can be effectively managed to provide sufficient, affordable and safe water within a reasonable distance of the home. RWSN aims to bridge the gap between academic research, policy and practice and RWSN Forum to encourage evidence-based decision-making, and decision-based evidence making..

Is to be a convening space for individual professionals and organisations to collaborate, develop guidelines and standards, curate knowledge, and promote lifelong learning in the rural water sector. Our Mission is to be a convening space for individual professionals and organisations to collaborate, develop guidelines and standards, curate knowledge, and promote lifelong learning in the rural water sector. Is that of a world in which all people enjoy safely managed water services that are resilient and sustainable. Our Vision is that of a world in which all people enjoy safely managed water services that are resilient and sustainable. The humble handpump was seen as a cornerstone of improving rural water supplies by making clean groundwater available to millions of people. The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) is the global network of individual professionals and organisations who are dedicated to rural water supply.

By using the services of Google Translate you express your explicit consent that your data will be transmitted, stored, processed etc. according to Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO/GDPR. Nothing on the Websites shall form any legally binding contract about products or services, unless explicitly noted. The RWSN Secretariat is hosted by Skat Foundation, which is a ZEWO certified non-profit registered in the Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The RWSN Secretariat is the coordination unit the RWSN and plays a crucial role in coordinating RWSN activities, ensuring they are in line with the overall objectives and as per the guidance provided by the RWSN Steering Committee and communicating with the RWSN members. Contact the RWSN Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. Translating RWSN TalksFor those interested in helping to translate RWSN talks, please contact the RWSN Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots.

We encourage the RWSN members, non-profit organizations, bloggers, companies news media, and the like to share RWSN talks, films and webinar recordings that are open for distribution, through social media, other platforms and public events. While sharing ideas openly is a big part of who we are, we do license our content under certain conditions listed below. RWSN has joined Agenda for Change as a Strategic Ally, and they have joined RWSN as a partner network. Established in May 2015, Agenda for Change is a collaboration of like-minded organizations (“Members”) that have adopted a set of common principles and approaches.

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