SanCoP UK
The UK Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) started in the 2008 International Year of Sanitation, to encourage a vibrant sanitation sector in the UK. SanCoP is convened by an active volunteer coordinating team and advisory board, consisting of representatives working on sanitation across academia, consultancy and practice.
The aim is to strengthen the UK and international sanitation sector and provide a forum for learning and debate. More specifically SanCoP aims to:
- Share evidence-based knowledge and experience
- Encourage the participation of early-career researchers and professionals
- Stimulate innovation and learning in science, practice learning and exchange of experiences
- Provide an opportunity for networking, inter-generational learning and mentoring
- Encourage multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral dialogue
SanCoP events bring together a wide range of professionals with an interest in sanitation from academic and research institutions, NGOs, public and private organisations. Participants’ backgrounds’ include engineering, public health, social and political science, economics and urban development disciplines. SanCoP workshops take place twice a year under Chatham House rules allowing lively debate on topical sanitation issues.
For more information or to join the Sanitation Community of Practice mailing list please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Members will receive updates about forthcoming meetings and UK related sanitation news that may be of interest. 'We particularly encourage those from currently underrepresented backgrounds in WASH and the wider sector to join us. If you are interested in getting more involved as a committee member, please also reach out to us on the email above.
These pages look to provide a database of resources from previously held SanCoP meeting that may be of use to our members with the SanCoP UK LinkedIn page acting as a source for topical debate.
'28th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) meeting “SanCoP28: The State of Sanitation in the UK: Uncovering Failures and Identifying Pathways to Sustainable Service Futures”
The 28th SanCoP meeting was hosted at Leeds University, UK on the 23rd May 2023, 10.00-16.00
The event was hybrid, with around 30 in-person and 10 online attendees. The aim of the event was to challenge some of the assumptions and imaginaries of universal and equitable coverage in the UK, and question Global North/South dichotomies. We wanted to explore what the current state of sanitation is in the UK, who might be overlooked and why, and how we might address challenges going forward.
See the synthesis notes here and a summary blog (written by Amita Bhakta and Ruth Sylvester) here.
27th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) meeting “SanCoP27: Sustainable and Resilient Sanitation Systems”
The 27th SanCoP meeting was held in-person at WEDC, Loughborough University, on the 20th June 2022, 10.30-16.00
The event was the first in-person session for over two years, and was an excellent opportunity for our 40+ participants to network and share updates on their work. We had talks from 10 speakers, covering a range of topics from Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) to using arts-based methods in sanitation research (BrownGold), and an opportunity to reflect collectively on SanCoP topics and priorities past, present and future.
See the session outline here.
26th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) meeting “SanCoP26 / CoP26: Sanitation & Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation”
The 26th Sanitation Community of Practice meeting was held virtually, in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, on the 19th October 2021, 10.00-13.00
The webinar focused on three key themes – climate impacts and hazards; emissions and mitigation and climate finance – to highlight and better understand the intersections between sanitation and climate change. The webinar took place shortly before CoP26.
See the session outline here.
25th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) meeting “Towards SDG 6.2 – Reflecting on and Responding to the Pandemic and ODA Cuts”
The 25th Sanitation Community of Practice meeting was held virtually, in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, on the 29th June 2021, 11.00-13.00
The primary objectives for participants were:
- To identify ways in which the pandemic has highlighted inequalities and improved North-South collaboration
- To reflect on the impact of ODA cuts on SDG 6.2
- To identify most effective ways (for UK) to contribute to SDG 6.2 going forwards
See the session outline here.
The presentations below will be available for download from the SuSanA library:
1) SanCoP 25 Introductory Presentation & Rapporteur Notes – SanCoP Committee & WaterWISER
24th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) meeting “Managing Uncertainty from COVID-19 in the UK WASH Sector”
The 24th Sanitation Community of Practice meeting was held virtually, in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, on the 18th June 2020, 9.30-11.15
The primary objectives for participants were:
- To build a better understanding of how COVID-19 might affect/is affecting your work
- To gain knowledge of how others are managing uncertainty caused by COVID-19
- Help you get some ideas for how individuals and ‘the collective’ (i.e. SanCoP/UK WASH sector) might move forward
See the session outline here.
23rd Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: "Municipal Capacity Building to Sustain Sanitation Services"
22nd Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: "Financing Sustainable Sanitation"
21st Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: "Addressing the Complexities of Citywide Environmental Sanitation"
19th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: “Container Based Sanitation"
20th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: “Inclusion in global sanitation and hygiene services knowledge, practice, gaps, and emerging issues"
The 18th SanCoP meeting involved a research workshop on WASH in low- and middle-income countries. The event was hosted by WEDC, Loughborough University on Tuesday 27th September 2016, from 10:30am to 4:30pm.
Read the Synopsis of the 18th SanCOP meeting here.
17th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: “The next generation of sanitation professionals - skills gaps & curricula”
16th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: What can the UK SanCoP bring to the post 2015 SDG agenda? Learning from progress and failure
14th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: Sanitation in Emergencies
15th Sanitation Community of Practice (SanCoP) Meeting: Faecal Sludge Management, Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
12th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Assessing and Responding to Risk in Sanitation Planning
13th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Behaviour Change in Sanitation
10th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Achieving and Sustaining Scale in Urban Sanitation
11th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Learning from failure in Sanitation
8th Community of Sanitation Practice Meeting Urban Sanitation Planning: How to Think About Scale from the Start?
9th Community of Sanitation Practice Meeting: The Enabling Environment: The pre-requisites for city wide improvements
6th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Sanitation in Fragile and Conflict Affected States
7th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Making Sanitation Enterprises Viable?
4th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Changing Behaviour for Better Sanitation
5th Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Sanitation for Climate Change and Adaption
1st Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Sanitation at the household level in low-income countries
2nd Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Sanitation at the neighbourhood level in low income countries
3rd Sanitation Community of Practice Meeting: Sanitation at the urban & policy level in low income countries
