Past Projects

Phases I and II of the Municipal Services Project (MSP) ran from January 2000 to March 2007. The focus of these phases was the governance of basic municipal services, primarily water, sanitation, electricity and waste management – including research looking directly at the primary health care sector.  Particular attention was paid to the commercialization of these services (e.g. privatization, cost recovery) and the impact of these reforms on equity and health.

Geographically, the project’s main focus was on South Africa, with case studies in other parts of Southern Africa (Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana), Western Africa (Ghana) and some research in Latin America (Cuba, Argentina). Though the latter regions did not constitute a major part of the project’s activities in Phases I and II they helped establish a continental and international network of researchers and administrative experience with operating on a more global basis.

The findings of the project were disseminated in various formats: Occasional Papers series, newsletters, academic articles and books, radio and television productions, conferences and workshops, newspaper articles, special reports and the project website. In terms of outcomes, MSP research has had far-reaching impacts in South Africa and beyond, affecting government policy on service delivery, influencing debates and actions within labour organizations, NGOs and social movements. It has helped to shape a dynamic academic discourse on the future of service delivery in countries in the South.

With half a dozen books, dozens of academic and popular articles, broadsheets and radio productions (in more than six languages), and 15 Occasional Papers, Phases I and II of the MSP produced a large body of work that has received wide-spread recognition.

Visit Publications to view resources from Phases I and II.