To celebrate 45 years of Irish membership of the EU, 45 stories that illustrate just some of the ways Ireland has benefited over the past four and a half decades have been put together. The Irish led Waterspoutt programme has been selected to show how membership has supported the global reach of our research scholarship and impact. The social science dimension of the programme is led by Professor G. Honor Fagan. She, alongside Dr. Chandana Mathur of the Anthropology Department and a range of other social scientists from four African Universities, aims through a research partnership to build an integrated understanding and a profound analysis of the social, political and economic context of water use, needs and vulnerability in four case study areas in South Africa, Malawi, Ethiopia and Uganda. They have identified the relevant governance practices that potentially impact water resources, and in particular the use of integrated solar technologies for point-of-use drinking water treatment in rural and informal settlements. The social science team is analysing the social, political and economic context of water use, as well as needs and vulnerability in the four case-study areas. The team is examining the effect of gender relations on controlling water resources too. This is important because research has shown that water projects designed and run with the full participation of women are more sustainable and effective. The WATERSPOUTT Consortiuum, which is led by Professor Kevin Mc Guigan, an alumni of Maynooth University and an RCSI-based physicist, has received the funding to support this programme from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research innovation programme.
A video of the project's work can be found here -
https://vimeo.com/indiepicsclient/review/305758759/d3c3759a74