Water Users Association Governance Index (WUAGI):  A Multi-Dimensional Diagnostic Tool to Assess and Improve Water Governance

Rajkhowa, Pallavi; Sikka, Alok; Sarangi, Arjamadatta

Water Users Association Governance Index (WUAGI): A Multi-Dimensional Diagnostic Tool to Assess and Improve Water Governance

Autores

Rajkhowa, Pallavi

Sikka, Alok

Sarangi, Arjamadatta

Editor

International Water Management Institute

Descripción

Existing assessments of irrigation performance largely focus on technical indicators and fail to adequately capture the institutional, participatory, and equity dimensions of water governance. This technical brief summarizes the Water Users Association Governance Index (WUAGI), a multidimensional, survey-based index designed to measure governance performance, institutional effectiveness, and inclusion within Water User Associations (WUAs). Drawing on the Alkire–Foster methodology and inspired by multidimensional frameworks such as the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), the WUAGI measures governance deprivation across six domains: water delivery and performance, member awareness, participation and collective action, perceived governance quality, institutional legitimacy and women’s participation, and social capital. Using primary survey data collected from 833 WUA members across 4 WUA in Odisha, India, the index captures both the incidence and intensity of governance deprivation and can be disaggregated by dimension and WUA to identify key governance gaps. The WUAGI is designed as a practical diagnostic and decision-support tool that enables policymakers and practitioners to identify priority areas for intervention, strengthen participatory irrigation management, and monitor governance outcomes over time. By moving beyond conventional technical metrics and macro-level governance indicators, the WUAGI provides a more comprehensive and locally grounded framework for assessing water governance performance.