The relationship between participation and project outcomes: Evidence from rural water supply projects in India

This study examines data collected at the household and village level in 45 villages in two water supply projects in India. Based upon the results of regression models, capital cost contribution and household involvement in decision making are both found to be independently significant predictors of village level measures of household satisfaction, equal access, and time savings. This suggests that projects should continue to encourage both contributions and household involvement in decision making from as many households within a village as possible. Neither form of participation is a significant predictor of whether households in a village pay tariff.