Creating equitable sanitation, water and hygiene services in the face of climate change (Ref: ABCE-SECC-RS)

About the Project

Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and services underpins human health and wellbeing, equality of opportunity, the preservation of ecosystems and several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This interdisciplinary PhD project will explore the intersection of local cultural values and traditions to help achieve co-production of equitable, inclusive and resilient sanitation provision, water use and hygiene practices in the face of climate change. By effectively engaging individuals at risk of marginalisation, it will enable inclusive design solutions that are needsoriented and adequately resourced, suitably designed and implemented to address current and future impacts of climate change.

Focusing on identified case study communities, it will support the understanding of causes, impacts and recommendations to achieve greater equity in the provision, access and use of inclusive, safe and sustained sanitation, with associated water supply and hygiene (WASH) interventions.

By situating all citizens within the framework of realising the human right to water and sanitation, it will:

• Assess opportunities for full and effective participation of contributors at all scales, specifically people with disability and intersecting characteristics, including sex/gender and age, to better understand experiences and capacities, cultural value and traditions, as they influence sanitation, water use and hygiene practices
• Co-create knowledge and solutions for communities to fully participate in identifying their needs, challenges, priorities, and future best practice, ensuring they are expressed in a manner that does not exclude anyone
• Examine how best to enable the provision of sufficient, safe, and acceptable sanitation, water, and hygiene services for personal and domestic uses, that is physically accessible and affordable to all, and resilient to future climate change impacts

Name of primary supervisor/CDT lead:

Rebecca Scott R.E.Scott@lboro.ac.uk

Entry requirements:

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject. A relevant master’s degree and/or experience is desirable

English language requirements:

Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website (http://www.lboro.ac.uk/international/applicants/english/).

Bench fees required:

No

Closing date of advert:

30th June 2026

Start date:

October 2026

Full-time/part-time availability:

Full-time 3 years

Fee band:

2025/26 Band RB (UK £5,006, International £28,600)

Project search terms:

cultural geography, disability studies, gender studies, sanitation, water, hygiene, equity, climate change, interdisciplinary

Email Address ABCE:

abce.pgr@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk