Table 3.

Intervention mechanism classifications

Mechanism of delivery	Sub‐categories	Interventions
Direct provision	None	The provision of any WASH hardware for free and which has been chosen by an external authority. This includes interventions where soap is handed out, water purifiers given away, or latrines built by external actors.
Health messaging	None	Directive hygiene, and sometimes sanitation, education where participants are provided with new knowledge or skills to improve their health. These information campaigns may be provided by television, radio, or printed media; provided directly to specific households or through sessions at community meetings / schools / etc.; or provided directly to community leaders or health workers.
Psychosocial ‘triggering’	Directive	Psychosocial ‘triggering’ covers campaigns that use emotional and social cues, pressure, or motivation to encourage community members to change behaviours. Directive mechanisms are typically social marketing campaigns, which use commercial marketing techniques to promote the adoption of beneficial behaviours.
	Participatory	Participatory mechanisms are typically a community‐based approach and promote behaviour change through consultation with the community, a two‐way dialogue, and joint‐decision making. Community‐led total sanitation (CLTS) is the most common intervention with this mechanism.
Systems‐based approaches	Pricing reform	This covers all interventions that aim to change behaviour, such as the use of a technology, through changing the price of the requisite hardware. This includes subsidies and vouchers aimed at consumers.
	Improving operator performance	These interventions improve access to WASH facilities and services by improving the functioning of the current service provider. This includes improving accountability, increasing oversight/regulation, and changing the financing structure.
	Private sector (PS) and small‐scale independent providers (SSIPs) involvement	These interventions encourage the private sector, including not for profits, to become the providers of WASH facilities and services on a commercial basis.
	Community driven development (CDD)	CDD is a form of decentralised delivery that focuses on putting the community at the centre of the planning, design, implementation, and operations of their service provider. It typically uses a participatory approach, cost sharing, and often a component of local institutional strengthening. It includes social funds.
Multiple mechanisms	Direct provision with health messaging	These interventions combine the direct provision of hardware with an intensive health messaging campaign. If only a single session is provided to explain the new hardware, this would simply appear under “direct hardware provision”.
	Direct provision with psychosocial ‘triggering’	These interventions combine the direct provision of hardware with behavioural change communication that uses psychosocial triggers; these can be either participatory or more often directive (e.g. a social a marketing campaign).
	Systems‐based approaches with health messaging	These interventions combine systems‐based approaches (e.g. subsidies) with health messaging.
	Systems‐based approaches with psychosocial ‘triggering’	These interventions combine systems‐based approaches with behavioural change communication that uses psychosocial triggers.