IRC is an independent, non-profit organisation that drives resilient WASH systems from the ground up. We know how to do this and we already are: with district, country and international partners.

People and relationships are at the heart of our work. We want every person in the world to enjoy their human right to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, now and forever.

Driving change. Partnerships. Research. Advocacy. Influencing. Lobbying. Consultancy. Developing new tools and approaches to planning, developing and delivering resilient WASH systems. Acting as a ‘change hub’ in-country. Sharing lessons learned. Transforming the way global decision makers address WASH challenges by campaigning and advocating, sharing evidence of what does (and doesn’t) work, and lobbying for change. Experimenting. Finding solutions that work. Leading, multi-country, multi-million dollar research and learning programmes. Tackling complex problems with experimental approaches. Advancing effective practice by documenting research, sharing knowledge and tools – through work on the ground, working groups, learning programmes, conferences and publishing. Strengthening national and local WASH systems is at the heart of our new Strategy Framework 2017-30 and our Theory of Change tells us what we have to do – and why – in order to achieve our goals on three levels of intervention: district, national and global.

Who we are

From knowledge broker to international think-and-do-tank: we’ve evolved a lot over the last 50 years. IRC was founded in 1968 under an agreement between the World Health Organization and the Government of the Netherlands as a hub for information dissemination, a ‘knowledge broker’. We were the focal point of a world-wide network of collaborating institutions active in water supply research and development.

During the 1980s and 90s our work became more focused on finding solutions that work through action research. We started to test and adapt innovative approaches to tackle complex problems. This work has taught us the value of taking a systems approach – involving everyone from the people on the ground, to the people who hold the purse strings. That’s why now, we champion and enable the vital change from short-term interventions to building resilient local and national WASH systems.

Today, we’re working with governments, NGOs, entrepreneurs and people around the world. Together we find and implement long-term solutions to make access to safe water and sanitation available for everyone, for good.