More than four years ago, an international group of collaborators embarked on a comparative study of Groundwater Futures in Sub-Saharan Africa (GroFutures) in three ‘basin observatories’, the Upper Great Ruaha in Tanzania, the Upper Awash in Ethiopia, and the Iullemmeden in Niger and Nigeria. One key aim of the project was to identify a range of existing, emerging and potential ‘groundwater development pathways’ in each basin. This work linked interdisciplinary, multi-scale research with a deliberative, multi-stakeholder engagement process in order to inform groundwater planning processes in the basins. Physical infrastructure to assess groundwater recharge and storage (i.e. piezometer arrays, soil-moisture probes, rain gauges) were co-located with stakeholder communities where the social science was conducted (i.e. household surveys, rapid rural appraisals, well inventories). The ultimate aim of GroFutures is to generate new evidence and policy relevant insights to open up new pathways towards more sustainable and ‘pro-poor’ groundwater futures in the wider region. To continue reading the rest of the story click here. The outcomes of this analysis have also been published (open-access) in the journal, Environmental Science and Policy.