Professor Rob Hope

Professor of Water Policy

Profile

Professor Rob Hope is Director of the Water Security Initiative at the School of Geography and the Environment and Director of the Water Programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. His research interests focus on water policy, poverty and economics, largely in Africa and Asia.

How research can deliver social and environmental impacts has shaped his work and long-term partnerships with governments, social enterprises, private sector and academia. For example, between 2015 and 2024, he directed the £22m FCDO-funded REACH (www.reachwater.uk) which improved water security for 10 million vulnerable people in Africa and Asia. As part of the Exit Strategy, this work is being scaled up and scaled out in existing and new geographies to target 100 million vulnerable people by 2030.

One example includes collaboration with Uptime Global, which designs and executes results-based contracts for over 5 million rural people in 16 countries in 2024. Oxford research has informed the institutional and financial architecture for results-based contracts, which is guiding wider sector change and investments in collaboration with development banks, bilateral donors and governments. Foundational research grants for this work have been awarded through multiple competitive grants by ESRC, NERC, FCDO, the EU, and USAID.

The impact of the research has been recognised in the University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor’s Awards in 2024 (Research Engagement winner, REACH) and 2018 (Overall winner and Capacity Building category winner, Smart Handpumps). To support the impact of this work, Rob has acted as pro bono Trustee for the Kenyan Water Services Maintenance Trust Fund (2016-2025) and the Uptime Catalyst Facility (2020-present).

Rob has served as both the Academic Director and the Course Director for the MSc Water Science, Policy and Management (WSPM). He teaches and supervises students on WSPM and the MSc on Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment.

Current research projects

The 100 Million Initiative
REACH - Improving Water Security for the Poor (FCDO, 2015-2024)

Teaching

Current graduate research students

Publications

Journal (67)

Open

Zhao J and others, ‘The Structure of Informal Water Markets: Insights from Spatial Monitoring in Lodwar, Kenya’ (2025) 4 PLOS Water

Garrick D and others, ‘We Must Account for the Results of Water Governance to Deliver the SDGs and Beyond’ (2025) 1 Environmental Research: Water

Wagner J, Koehler J and Hope R, ‘Managing Contractual Uncertainty for Drinking Water Services in Rural Mali’ (2025) 30 Ecology & Society

Grafton R and others, ‘Rethinking Responses to the World’s Water Crises’ [2024] Nature Sustainability

Wagner J and others, ‘Can Solar Water Kiosks Generate Sustainable Revenue Streams for Rural Water Services?’ (2024) 185 World Development

Hope R, ‘Four Billion People Lack Safe Water’ (2024) 385 Science 708

Wagner J and others, ‘Is Volumetric Pricing for Drinking Water an Effective Revenue Strategy in Rural Mali?’ (2024) 7 npj Clean Water

Hope R and others, ‘Science–practitioner Partnerships for Sustainable Development’ (2024) 2 Nature Water 502

Akhter T and others, ‘Hydrogeologic Constraints for Drinking Water Security in Southwest Coastal Bangladesh: Implications for Sustainable Development Goal 6.1’ (2023) 15 Water

Chintalapati P and others, ‘Improving the Reliability of Water Service Delivery in Rural Kenya through Professionalized Maintenance: A System Dynamics Perspective’ (2022) 56 Environmental Science and Technology 17364

Armstrong A and others, ‘Intra-Seasonal Rainfall and Piped Water Revenue Variability in Rural Africa’ (2022) 76 Global Environmental Change 102592

Munday C and others, ‘Observations of the Turkana Jet and the East African Dry Tropics: The RIFTJet Field Campaign’ (2022) 103 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society e1828

Armstrong A, Hope R and Koehler J, ‘Piped Water Revenue and Investment Strategies in Rural Africa’ (2022) 2 Environmental Research Infrastructure and Sustainability

Sinha R, Dadson S and Hope R, ‘Does Subjective Well-Being Matter When Assessing the Impacts of Irrigation Infrastructure? Empirical Evidence from Madhya Pradesh, India’ (2022) 71 Irrigation and Drainage 155

Sinha R and others, ‘Do Rehabilitated Canals Influence Irrigation Technology Choices? Evidence from Smallholders in Madhya Pradesh, India’ (2021) 7 Water Economics and Policy

Hope R and Ballon P, ‘Individual Choices and Universal Rights for Drinking Water in Rural Africa’ (2021) 118 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Hoque S and others, ‘River Pollution and Social Inequalities in Dhaka, Bangladesh’ (2021) 3 Environmental Research Communications

Grasham C and others, ‘Engaging With the Politics of Climate Resilience towards Clean Water and Sanitation for All’ (2021) 4 npj Clean Water

Roman O and others, ‘Optimizing Rural Drinking Water Supply Infrastructure to Account for Spatial Variations in Groundwater Quality and Household Welfare in Coastal Bangladesh’ (2021) 57 Water Resources Research

Armstrong A, Hope R and Munday C, ‘Monitoring Socio-Climatic Interactions to Prioritise Drinking Water Interventions in Rural Africa’ (2021) 4 npj Clean Water

Koehler J and others, ‘Institutional Pluralism and Water User Behavior in Rural Africa’ (2020) 140 World Development

Fischer A and others, ‘Risky Responsibilities for Rural Drinking Water Institutions: The Case of Unregulated Selfsupply in Bangladesh’ (2020) 65 Global Environmental Change

Katuva J and others, ‘Modelling Welfare Transitions to Prioritise Sustainable Development Interventions in Coastal Kenya’ (2020) 12 Sustainability 6943

Manandhar A and others, ‘Shallow Aquifer Monitoring Using Handpump Vibration Data’ [2020] Journal of Hydrology X

Ferrer Ramos N and others, ‘Evidence of Groundwater Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Economic Growth in Coastal Kenya’ (2020) 586 Journal of Hydrology

Fischer A and others, ‘Machine Learning to Evaluate Impacts of Flood Protection in Bangladesh, 1983–2014’ (2020) 12 Water

Hope R and others, ‘Rethinking the Economics of Rural Water in Africa’ (2020) 36 Oxford Review of Economic Policy 171

Katuva J and others, ‘Groundwater and Welfare: A Conceptual Framework Applied to Coastal Kenya (vol 10, 100314, 2020)’ (2020) 10 GROUNDWATER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Katuva J and others, ‘Groundwater and Welfare: A Conceptual Framework Applied to Coastal Kenya’ (2019) 10 Groundwater for Sustainable Development

Hoque S and Hope R, ‘Examining the Economics of Affordability through Water Diaries in Coastal Bangladesh’ (2019) 6 Water Economics and Policy

Sharma P and others, ‘Combining Multi-Modal Statistics for Welfare Prediction Using Deep Learning’ (2019) 11 Sustainability

Hope R and Ballon P, ‘Global Water Policy and Local Payment Choices in Rural Africa’ (2019) 2 npj Clean Water

Sharma P and others, ‘Combining Multi-Modal Statistics for Welfare Prediction Using Deep Learning’ (2019) 11 SUSTAINABILITY

Rampley C and others, ‘River Toxicity Assessment Using Molecular Biosensors: Heavy Metal Contamination in the Turag-Balu-Buriganga River Systems, Dhaka, Bangladesh’ (2019) 703 Science of the Total Environment

Whitehead P and others, ‘Modelling Heavy Metals in the Buriganga River System, Dhaka, Bangladesh: Impacts of Tannery Pollution Control’ (2019) 697 Science of the Total Environment

Ferrer N and others, ‘How Does Water-Reliant Industry Affect Groundwater Systems in Coastal Kenya?’ (2019) 694 Science of the Total Environment

Hoque S and others, ‘A Social-Ecological Analysis of Drinking Water Risks in Coastal Bangladesh’ (2019) 679 Science of the Total Environment 23

Greeff H and others, ‘Distributed Inference Condition Monitoring System for Rural Infrastructure in the Developing World’ (2018) 19 IEEE Sensors Journal 1820

Hirpa F and others, ‘Finding Sustainable Water Futures in Data-Sparse Regions under Climate Change: Insights from the Turkwel River Basin, Kenya’ (2018) 19 Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies 124

Thomson P and others, ‘Rainfall and Groundwater Use in Rural Kenya’ (2018) 649 Science of The Total Environment 722

Sinha R and others, ‘Understanding the Effectiveness of Investments in Irrigation System Modernization: Evidence from Madhya Pradesh, India’ (2018) 35 International Journal of Water Resources Development 847

Koehler J and others, ‘A Cultural Theory of Drinking Water Risks, Values and Institutional Change’ (2018) 50 Global Environmental Change 268

Koehler J and others, ‘A Cultural Theory of Drinking Water Risks, Values and Institutional Change’ [2018] GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS

Hoque S and Hope R, ‘The Water Diary Method – Proof-of-Concept and Policy Implications for Monitoring Water Use Behaviour in Rural Kenya’ (2018) 20 Water Policy wp2018179

Whitehead P and others, ‘Restoring Water Quality in the Polluted Turag-Tongi-Balu River System, Dhaka: Modelling Nutrient and Total Coliform Intervention Strategies’ (2018) 631 Science of the Total Environment 223

Foster T and others, ‘Risk Factors Associated With Rural Water Supply Failure: A 30-Year Retrospective Study of Handpumps on the South Coast of Kenya’ (2018) 626 Science of the Total Environment 156

Shand P and others, ‘Professor W Mike Edmunds: A Pioneer in Applied Hydrogeochemistry and Champion of International Collaboration’ (2017) 26 Hydrogeology Journal 351

Garrick D and others, ‘Valuing Water for Sustainable Development.’ (2017) 358 Science 1003

Colchester F and others, ‘Accidental Infrastructure for Groundwater Monitoring in Africa’ (2017) 91 Environmental Modelling and Software 241

Foster T and Hope R, ‘A Multi-Decadal and Social-Ecological Systems Analysis of Community Waterpoint Payment Behaviours in Rural Kenya’ (2016) 47 Journal of Rural Studies 85

Kovacs E and others, ‘The Politics of Negotiation and Implementation: A Reciprocal Water Access Agreement in the Himalayan Foothills, India’ (2016) 21 Ecology and Society