IGS: Current and Recent Graduate Research
Aaron Krolikowski
Mobile-enabled payments for water service in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: innovations, impacts, and implications
Supervisor(s):
Contact Info:
- Green Templeton College, Oxford, OX26HG
Academic Profile
Aaron is a DPhil student in the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. He graduated summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) in 2009 with a BA in Political Science and a BS in Environmental Studies. A Clarendon Scholar, Aaron completed an MPhil in Development Studies at Oxford in 2011 that focused on urban water governance in Mwanza, Tanzania. He has also completed work on the spatial distribution of environmental hazards in post-industrial landscapes - most notably in Buffalo, NY, USA.
Awards
- 2009-2013 - Clarendon Fund Scholarship
- 2008 - Morris K. Udall Scholarship
Current Research
Aaron's doctoral research explores the rapid proliferation of mobile communication technologies across East Africa and their applications within the urban water sector. His work draws on quantiative, qualitative, and geospatial data gathered from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In particular, mobile-enabled payment innovations have the potential to transform existing models of service delivery by shifting customer payment behaviours, water utility performance, and equity in access to water services. The outcomes of this research hold the potential to significantly mitigate the long-term challenges often faced by urban water authorities in Africa. The goals of wider access to water services and financial sustainability of the urban water sector may be achieved, even in the dual contexts of population growth and high rates of urbanisation.